Abstract
THE recent finding by Cherkin and Meinecke1 that aggressive behaviour in previously isolated male rabbits could be suppressed for some weeks by allowing them to recover in pairs from barbiturate anaesthesia, raises an interesting question concerning the action of components of the pituitary/adreno-cortical axis on behavioural responses. It is well established that most forms of anaesthesia are “stressful” in that they result in activation of the adrenal cortex, and the possibility thus exists that findings such as those by Gherkin and Meinecke are a consequence of changes in ACTH.
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BRAIN, P. Possible Role of the Pituitary/Adrenocortical Axis in Aggressive Behaviour. Nature 233, 489 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233489a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233489a0
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