Comparative Neuroanatomical study of the Amygdala and Fear Conditioning in Nigerian Breeds of Artiodactyla: Sheep (Uda) and Goats (Red Sokoto).

Comparative Neuroanatomical study of the Amygdala and Fear Conditioning in Nigerian Breeds of Artiodactyla: Sheep (Uda) and Goats (Red Sokoto). Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2020 Oct 06;: Authors: George I, Alawa J, Akpulu P, Alawa C Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate fear condition responses in sheep and goat and to relate this to the neuroarchitecture of their amygdala. Forty adult sheep (Uda breed) and 40 adult goats (Red Sokoto breed) were fear-conditioned by associating the sound of a car horn (neutral stimuli) with water spray (aversive stimuli) and the fear response was determined by direct observation of the behaviour of the sheep and goats and measuring their flight distances and escape time. Eight groups were studied, each comprising of ten animals (five sheep and five goats). Goats and sheep were tested alternately in the morning of every day of the week for three consecutive weeks, in which four days was used for habituation and three days for testing. Histologically, neurons in the central and basolateral complex of the amygdala were studied and analysed using Nissl and golgi staines. Behaviourally, goats elicited an active avoidance response expressed as flight with concomitant intense flight distances (p<0.001) compared to sheep. Although, sheep had larger brain parameters, it showed attenuated basolateral amygdala cytoarchitecture consistent with reduced fear perception and response. Goats had significantly more ...
Source: Anatomical Record - Category: Anatomy Authors: Tags: Anat Rec (Hoboken) Source Type: research