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A simple device for eliciting tail pinch induced behavior in the rat
Physiology & Behavior, Vol. 27, pp. 951-952. Pergamon Press and Brain Research Publ., 1981. Printed in the U.S.A.
A Simple Device for Eliciting Tail Pinch Induced Behavior in the Rat ERIK SOBEL AND DALE CORBETT 1
Department of Psychology and Social Relations, Harvard University, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138 R e c e i v e d 18 J u n e 1981 SOBEL, E. AND D. CORBETr. A simple device for eliciting tail pinch induced behavior in the rat. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 27(5) 951-952, 1981.--The device described is an inexpensive reliable means for eliciting tail pinch behaviors. As an improvement over previous methods it allows a wide range of stimulus parameters with minimal restriction of movement or distraction of the animal.
Tail-pinch
Feeding
Cable release
Stress
R E C E N T L Y there has been a considerable amount of interest in stress elicited behaviors. It has been noted that a mild tail pinch will rapidly elicit eating in sated rats and that this behavior is similar to ingestive behaviors elicited by electrical stimulation o f the lateral hypothalamus (ESLH) [1]. In addition, it has been shown that both E S L H and tail pinch elicited behaviors are mediated by the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway [6]. In the study of tail pinch elicited behaviors the most common method of applying the pinch has been the use of padded hemostats [1, 2, 4, 6, 7]. Other methods have used the finger pressure of the experimenter's gloved hand [4] and paper clips [3]. Clearly there are several shortcomings inherent to these methods which make results difficult to reproduce and evaluate. First, these mehtods are not strictly quantitative. Second, they are difficult to apply with consistant pressure from rat to rat and even to the same rat over the course o f testing. Perhaps the main disadvantage of these methods is that the experimenter and the apparatus both restrict the movement of the animal and pose as distracting stimuli. Recently a pressurized piston assembly for inducing tail pinch behaviors has been described that avoids all of the above difficulties [8]. However, this device is complicated to manufacture and is somewhat expensive. The device described here is reliable in producing tail pinch elicited behaviors such as eating with characteristics similar to those noted previously [ 1]. The device consists of a small Plexiglas tail cuff constructed from a 12 mm long section of tubing with an external diameter of 15 mm and an internal diameter of 12 ram. The inside of the cuff is insulated with a small section of surgical rubber tubing which fits
snugly inside. The cuff is fitted from 1.5 to 2.0 cm from the base of the tail and secured with adhesive tape (Fig. 1A). The pinch is administered remotely by a 50 cm camera cable release which screws tightly into a hole tapped on the dorsal side of the cuff (see Fig. 1B). The cable release comes with the tip threaded and may be purchased in varying lengths at any camera equipment store. In addition the cuff may be made out of other light materials such as aluminum and in a range of diameters with varying wall thickness depending on the brand of cable release used, and the position it is to be placed on the tail. The entire device may be suspended by an elastic band attached to a slip-ring assembly to allow freedom of movement within the test chamber. The device is simple, sturdy, and can be easily and inexpensively constructed for six to ten dollars. The animals tolerate and habituate to the presence of the entire assembly or the tail cuff alone after a short period of adjustment. After this period of habituation the rats rarely bite the cable. Since most shutter release cables are made of metal, biting should not be a problem. The device allows a wide range of stimulation parameters. Pinch intensity may be varied from a mild level to one producing vocalization. Most cable releases are equipped with a locking screw which allows application of continuous and constant pressure for any length of time. Ths ease of applicaton and rapid initiation and discontinuation of the pinch allows greater variance and accuracy of stimulation frequency, and duration. Greater precision of on-set/off-set times facilitates better contingencies between the behavior of interest and the delivery of stimulation. The nature of the device allows the administration of the stimulation remotely and with minimal distraction or restriction of the animals' movements.
~Address reprint requests to Dr. Dale Corbett, Department of Psychology and Social Relations, Harvard University, William James Hall, Room 820, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138.
C o p y r i g h t © 1981 B r a i n R e s e a r c h P u b l i c a t i o n s Inc.--0031-9384/81/110951-02502.00/0
952
SOBEI~ A N D C ( ) R B E T ' I
#,
cl
B
FIG. 1. A: Illustration of entire tail-pinch apparatus, (a) camera cable release; (b) locking screw; (c) Plexiglas tail cuff; (d) rubber tubing. See text for specific dimensions of each component. B: Illustration of mode of operation of tail-pinch device.
REFERENCES 1. Antelman, S. M., N. E. Rowland and A. E. Fisher. Stimulation bound ingestive behavior: a view from the tail. Physiol. Behav. 17: 743-748, 1976. 2. Katz, R. J. and K. Roth. Tail pinch induced stress-arousal facilitates brain stimulation reward. Physiol. Behav. 22: 193-194, 1979. 3. Koob, G. F., P. J. Fray and S. D. Iverson. Tail pinch stimulation: sufficient motivation for learning. Science 194: 637-639, 1976. 4. Mufson, E. J., S. Balagura and W. Riss. Tail pinch-induced arousal and stimulus bound behavior in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions. Brain Behav. Evolut. 13: 154-164, 1976.
5. Rowland, N. E. And S. M. Antelman. Stress-induced hyperphagia and obesity in rats: a possible model for understanding human obesity. Science 191: 310-311, 1976. 6. Rowland, N. E., D. M. Marques and A. E. Fisher. Comparison of the effects of brain dopamine-depleting lesions upon oral behaviors elicited by tail pinch and electricl brain stimulation. Physiol. Behav. 24: 273-281, 1980. 7. Shipley, J. E., N. Rowland and S. M. Antelman. Orbital or medial frontal cortical lesions have different effects on tail pressure-elicited oral behaviors in rats. Physiol. Behav. 24" 1091-1094, 1980. 8. Szechtman, H. and I. Levy. An automatic device for delivering "tail-pinch" stimulation to freely moving rats. Physiol. Behav. 23: 197-199, 1979.
A Simple Device for Eliciting Tail Pinch Induced Behavior in the Rat ERIK SOBEL AND DALE CORBETT 1
Department of Psychology and Social Relations, Harvard University, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138 R e c e i v e d 18 J u n e 1981 SOBEL, E. AND D. CORBETr. A simple device for eliciting tail pinch induced behavior in the rat. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 27(5) 951-952, 1981.--The device described is an inexpensive reliable means for eliciting tail pinch behaviors. As an improvement over previous methods it allows a wide range of stimulus parameters with minimal restriction of movement or distraction of the animal.
Tail-pinch
Feeding
Cable release
Stress
R E C E N T L Y there has been a considerable amount of interest in stress elicited behaviors. It has been noted that a mild tail pinch will rapidly elicit eating in sated rats and that this behavior is similar to ingestive behaviors elicited by electrical stimulation o f the lateral hypothalamus (ESLH) [1]. In addition, it has been shown that both E S L H and tail pinch elicited behaviors are mediated by the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway [6]. In the study of tail pinch elicited behaviors the most common method of applying the pinch has been the use of padded hemostats [1, 2, 4, 6, 7]. Other methods have used the finger pressure of the experimenter's gloved hand [4] and paper clips [3]. Clearly there are several shortcomings inherent to these methods which make results difficult to reproduce and evaluate. First, these mehtods are not strictly quantitative. Second, they are difficult to apply with consistant pressure from rat to rat and even to the same rat over the course o f testing. Perhaps the main disadvantage of these methods is that the experimenter and the apparatus both restrict the movement of the animal and pose as distracting stimuli. Recently a pressurized piston assembly for inducing tail pinch behaviors has been described that avoids all of the above difficulties [8]. However, this device is complicated to manufacture and is somewhat expensive. The device described here is reliable in producing tail pinch elicited behaviors such as eating with characteristics similar to those noted previously [ 1]. The device consists of a small Plexiglas tail cuff constructed from a 12 mm long section of tubing with an external diameter of 15 mm and an internal diameter of 12 ram. The inside of the cuff is insulated with a small section of surgical rubber tubing which fits
snugly inside. The cuff is fitted from 1.5 to 2.0 cm from the base of the tail and secured with adhesive tape (Fig. 1A). The pinch is administered remotely by a 50 cm camera cable release which screws tightly into a hole tapped on the dorsal side of the cuff (see Fig. 1B). The cable release comes with the tip threaded and may be purchased in varying lengths at any camera equipment store. In addition the cuff may be made out of other light materials such as aluminum and in a range of diameters with varying wall thickness depending on the brand of cable release used, and the position it is to be placed on the tail. The entire device may be suspended by an elastic band attached to a slip-ring assembly to allow freedom of movement within the test chamber. The device is simple, sturdy, and can be easily and inexpensively constructed for six to ten dollars. The animals tolerate and habituate to the presence of the entire assembly or the tail cuff alone after a short period of adjustment. After this period of habituation the rats rarely bite the cable. Since most shutter release cables are made of metal, biting should not be a problem. The device allows a wide range of stimulation parameters. Pinch intensity may be varied from a mild level to one producing vocalization. Most cable releases are equipped with a locking screw which allows application of continuous and constant pressure for any length of time. Ths ease of applicaton and rapid initiation and discontinuation of the pinch allows greater variance and accuracy of stimulation frequency, and duration. Greater precision of on-set/off-set times facilitates better contingencies between the behavior of interest and the delivery of stimulation. The nature of the device allows the administration of the stimulation remotely and with minimal distraction or restriction of the animals' movements.
~Address reprint requests to Dr. Dale Corbett, Department of Psychology and Social Relations, Harvard University, William James Hall, Room 820, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138.
C o p y r i g h t © 1981 B r a i n R e s e a r c h P u b l i c a t i o n s Inc.--0031-9384/81/110951-02502.00/0
952
SOBEI~ A N D C ( ) R B E T ' I
#,
cl
B
FIG. 1. A: Illustration of entire tail-pinch apparatus, (a) camera cable release; (b) locking screw; (c) Plexiglas tail cuff; (d) rubber tubing. See text for specific dimensions of each component. B: Illustration of mode of operation of tail-pinch device.
REFERENCES 1. Antelman, S. M., N. E. Rowland and A. E. Fisher. Stimulation bound ingestive behavior: a view from the tail. Physiol. Behav. 17: 743-748, 1976. 2. Katz, R. J. and K. Roth. Tail pinch induced stress-arousal facilitates brain stimulation reward. Physiol. Behav. 22: 193-194, 1979. 3. Koob, G. F., P. J. Fray and S. D. Iverson. Tail pinch stimulation: sufficient motivation for learning. Science 194: 637-639, 1976. 4. Mufson, E. J., S. Balagura and W. Riss. Tail pinch-induced arousal and stimulus bound behavior in rats with lateral hypothalamic lesions. Brain Behav. Evolut. 13: 154-164, 1976.
5. Rowland, N. E. And S. M. Antelman. Stress-induced hyperphagia and obesity in rats: a possible model for understanding human obesity. Science 191: 310-311, 1976. 6. Rowland, N. E., D. M. Marques and A. E. Fisher. Comparison of the effects of brain dopamine-depleting lesions upon oral behaviors elicited by tail pinch and electricl brain stimulation. Physiol. Behav. 24: 273-281, 1980. 7. Shipley, J. E., N. Rowland and S. M. Antelman. Orbital or medial frontal cortical lesions have different effects on tail pressure-elicited oral behaviors in rats. Physiol. Behav. 24" 1091-1094, 1980. 8. Szechtman, H. and I. Levy. An automatic device for delivering "tail-pinch" stimulation to freely moving rats. Physiol. Behav. 23: 197-199, 1979.