Espín-Iturbe Luz Teresa, López Yañez Bernardo A, Carrasco García Apolo, Canseco-Sedano Rodolfo, Vázquez-Hernández Maribel, Coria-Avila Genaro A
Doctorado en Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico; Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico.
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico.
Behav Processes. 2017 Sep;142:110-115. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.06.008. Epub 2017 Jul 8.
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a popular plant among cat owners because in about 60% of felids elicits active behaviors such as rolling over, grooming, motor activity and vocalizations. Herein, we assessed the display of active but also passive responses, such as time in sphinx-like position, and consequently hypothesized that 100% of cats respond to catnip. Accordingly, sixty domestic cats of different age (infant, juvenile, adults), sex (males, females) and gonadal status (early gonadectomized, gonadally intact) were placed in a cylindrical chamber (1.20×1.40m) during 5min and then exposed to 500mg of dehydrated catnip for another 5min. Behaviors were videorecorded and scored. Results indicated that about 20% of the cats (adults and juvenile only) displayed active behaviors (i.e. rolling over), whereas 80% displayed passive responses at any age (sphinx-like position, decreased frequency in vocalizations, and decreased motor activity). These results suggest that all cats respond to catnip but they express it actively, passively or with a combination of both types of responses, which mainly depends on age and sex, and early gonadectomy to a much less extent. We discuss the possible implications of brain maturation on this dichotomy and speculate on the role of opioidergic system on the catnip responses.
猫薄荷（荆芥）在猫主人中是一种受欢迎的植物，因为在大约60%的猫科动物中会引发诸如翻滚、梳理毛发、运动活动和发声等活跃行为。在此，我们评估了活跃反应以及被动反应的表现，比如处于类似狮身人面像姿势的时间，因此推测100%的猫会对猫薄荷产生反应。相应地，将60只不同年龄（婴儿期、幼年期、成年期）、性别（雄性、雌性）和性腺状态（早期去势、性腺完整）的家猫放置在一个圆柱形房间（1.2米×1.4米）中5分钟，然后再暴露于500毫克脱水猫薄荷中5分钟。行为被录像并评分。结果表明，约20%的猫（仅成年猫和幼猫）表现出活跃行为（即翻滚），而80%的猫在任何年龄都表现出被动反应（类似狮身人面像姿势、发声频率降低和运动活动减少）。这些结果表明，所有猫都会对猫薄荷产生反应，但它们以主动、被动或两种反应方式结合的形式表现出来，这主要取决于年龄和性别，早期去势的影响程度要小得多。我们讨论了大脑成熟对这种二分法的可能影响，并推测了阿片样物质系统在猫薄荷反应中的作用。
