Neuroscience Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Neuroscience - Article Example the center 4 tiles), the amount of time a rat spent in the center of the field (i.e. the center 4 tiles), and the number of tile crossings all indicated that rats treated with LiCl had indeed reduced risk taking, locomotor activity and exploratory behavior when undergoing the open-field test compared to sodium chloride (NaCl) treated control rats. Note, the tendency of the rat to cling and spend much time on the walls of the test apparatus indicates a high level of anxiety or fear. On the contrary, a less fearful rat portrays the tendency of greater exploration within the experiment apparatus. As such, the rats that had been injected with LiCl spent much time on the walls of the apparatus – a sign of increased fear and high level of anxiety. The results obtained in this test were in agreement with other studies previously conducted. Laboratory observations have suggested an interaction between lithium chloride (LiCl) and exploratory behavior of rats. Studies have confirmed that LiCl administration tends to suppress locomotor activity in rats (Johnson et al., 1972). An open field apparatus was used to observe the exploratory behavior and the movement of the rats one hour after the injection of LiCl. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of LiCl on risk taking, exploratory behavior, and locomotor activity of rats. The behavioral pharmacology test conducted was aimed at seeing the effectiveness of Lithium chloride on the various specimens used and their response. The experiment used Lithium Chloride as the main ingredient and sodium chloride as the control solution. The main objective of the experiment was an observation of the effects of taking against not taking Lithium chloride and on the other hand taking sodium chloride. We used an Open Field Apparatus from whence we could observe the behavior of the rat immediately after the injection with the drug.