Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Physiol Behav. 2011 Mar 1;102(3-4):276-84. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.11.016. Epub 2010 Nov 16.
In a previous experiment, the behaviour of Oriental/Siamese/Abyssinian (OSA) kittens was compared with that of Norwegian Forest kittens (NFO) in a repeated Open Field Test (OFT), and significant differences emerged. To further investigate such variations, we analyzed kittens' responses to a potentially threatening object (TO) during the OFT. It was a metal spring enveloped in a cotton case suddenly bouncing out of the cylinder after the first 6 min of OFT exposure, and the test lasted 6 more minutes. From the 4th to the 10th week of age, during each test, the response of 43 OSA kittens and 39 NFO kittens to the TO was analyzed. Heart rate (HR) before and after the test was recorded. Behaviours were recorded and analyzed by focal animal sampling. Behavioural modifications recorded after TO exposure confirmed our suggestions on slow limbic system development in NFO kittens, as previously suggested by poor habituation and poor memory retention of repeated OFT exposure. The evident avoiding response to the TO confirmed the adoption in NFO kittens of an active-coping strategy towards challenge, as indicated also by their high scores for exploration and escape attempts. Otherwise, poor TO influence on exploration observed in OSA kittens suggested the adoption of a passive coping strategy, as previously shown by low levels of exploration and intra-session reduction in the number of vocalizations. Nevertheless, some of the behaviours observed, and the evidence of emotional tachycardia in OSA kittens, suggested also that the low level of activity recorded could have been due to a low arousability predisposition in this breed. The perception of a poorly arousing potential in the experimental setting might have influenced the perception of danger and the behaviour adopted in OSA kittens.
在之前的一项实验中，我们将东方/暹罗/阿比西尼亚（OSA）小猫和挪威森林猫（NFO）小猫的行为在重复的旷场测试（OFT）中进行了比较，结果发现了显著差异。为了进一步研究这种差异，我们分析了小猫在旷场测试（OFT）中对潜在威胁物体（TO）的反应。这是一个金属弹簧，包裹在一个棉质外壳中，在 OFT 暴露的前 6 分钟后突然从圆筒中弹出，测试持续 6 分钟。从第 4 周到第 10 周，在每次测试中，分析了 43 只 OSA 小猫和 39 只 NFO 小猫对 TO 的反应。记录测试前后的心率（HR）。通过焦点动物取样记录和分析行为。TO 暴露后记录的行为变化证实了我们之前关于 NFO 小猫慢边缘系统发育的建议，正如重复 OFT 暴露时习惯形成不良和记忆保留不良所表明的那样。对 TO 的明显回避反应证实了 NFO 小猫对挑战采取了积极应对策略，这也反映在它们的探索和逃避尝试得分较高。相反，在 OSA 小猫中，对 TO 的影响对探索的影响较小，这表明它们采用了被动应对策略，这也反映在它们的探索水平较低，以及在会话中减少发声次数。然而，观察到的一些行为以及 OSA 小猫的情绪性心动过速的证据表明，记录到的低活动水平可能是由于该品种的低唤醒倾向。在实验环境中感知到的低唤醒潜力可能会影响 OSA 小猫对危险的感知和所采用的行为。
