Effects of gonadotectomy on impulsive action in male rats

• Grant number: 19/04521-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2019
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Leyser Gonçalves
• Grantee: Henrique Souza Reis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Impulsivity, understood as impulsive behavior by the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) has received a lot of attention in Psychology due to its association to several psychiatric disorders. This kind of behavior has been understood in two distinct ways: impulsive action and impulsive choice. Beyond their conceptual differentiation, several studies have shown the differential role of endogenous variables on this kind of behavior, corroborating its distinction. Among such variables one wich stand out is the influence of sexual hormones on this two kinds of behavior. Several studies point to the direct association between impulsive action and testosterone levels. The influence of gonadectomy procedure on the impulsive action will be analyzed, in 8 wistar rats in comparison to 8 non-gonadectomized rats. Impulsive action will be evaluated through a differential reinforcement of low rates schedule (DRL- 72s). Initially, subjects will be submitted to DRL 18s and, after two weeks, the interval will be increased to 72s until stability. The response rate, ratio between number of reinforcement produced and number of response emitted (reinforcement density) and frequency of inter-response times distribution between groups will be analyzed through analysis of variance or equivalent non-parametric test.