The DOI matches its Crossref record; 89 of the 91 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Individual Variation in Aggression of Feral Rodent Strains: A Standard for the Genetics of Aggression and Violence?
Abstract
This article summarizes the broad individual differences in aggressiveness and its relationship with several other behavioral, physiological, and neurobiological characteristics that exist in an outbred laboratory strain of male feral rats. Based on the observations that the individual level of offensive aggressive behavior (i.e., the tendency to defend the home territory) is strongly related to the way they react to various other environmental challenges, it is argued that the individual's level of offensiveness is an important indicator and component of a more traitlike behavioral physiological response pattern (coping strategy) to environmental demands. The coping style of aggressive animals is principally aimed at a (pro)active prevention or manipulation of a stressor, whereas the nonaggressive individuals tend to passively accept or react to it. The (pro)active and reactive/passive behavioral coping styles are clearly associated with distinct patterns of autonomic/endocrine (re)activity and underlying neurobiological correlates and determinants. Consequently, these individual differences in aggression/coping style may not only determine the individual vulnerability to stress-related disease, and hence be an important factor in the population dynamics of the species, but may also determine responsivity to pharmacotherapeutic treatments. From an animal modeling point of view, it is argued that the aggressive extremes of this variation may, under the proper testing conditions, have an enhanced propensity to develop pathological forms of aggression and/or coping, for example, antisocial traits, violence, or impulsivity disorders. Finally, it is proposed that the use of these feral animals as base "material" for genetic association (i.e., QTL search, mRNA differential expression, nucleic acid microarray analysis) and manipulation (i.e., gene silencing or amplification by antisense ODN, siRNA, and/or viral gene-transfer methodologies) studies would most likely be the best option for dissecting successfully the genetic basis of both normal and pathological forms of aggression and/or coping.
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“In rats from wild group three subpopulations could be distinguished, which were characterized by low (<15% time spent on aggressive behaviors), intermediate (15%-55%) and high (>55%) aggression.”
From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [40]
In the citing paper
“Distribution of Wistar rats was clearly different, their aggression ranged from 0% to maximally 40% or 50%, with no high-aggression animals observed.”
From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [40]
In the citing paper
“There is some evidence that wild rats (from the first laboratoryborn generation) also display play fighting, but they do it less frequently and employ slightly different tactics, that is, keeping more distance than their laboratory counterparts.40,41”
From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [40]
In the citing paper
“Unfortunately, most research on such topics as aggression 188 or domestication 40,41 were performed in the 1980s.”
From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [40]
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Items 201–219 of 219
Untangling the neurobiology of escalated aggression in animals
de Boer, S. F. (2016) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology)
Development of aggression and impulsivity: Modulation by adolescent social stress?
Coppens, C. M. (2013) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology)
The two sides of the coin of psychosocial stress: evaluation by positron emission tomography
Feltes, P. K. (2018) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology)
Patel, D., Koutlas, I., de Waard, S. H., & Buwalda, B. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.02.12.946186
“To compare individual differences in susceptibility to these stressors we compared the results of the stress exposure in male rats of a typical laboratory Wistar rat strain with rats from a feral strain; descendants of rat pairs caught in the wild and outbred for many generations in our lab (23).”
ResultCoping styles and aggression: a biobehavioral approach
Koolhaas, J. M. (2004) · Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology · doi:10.2502/janip.54.29
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Biologische Evolution von Gewalt und Aggression. I. Evolution und Genetik
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Animal Models of Neurodegenerative Diseases
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Hypothalamic representation of aggressiveness across mouse strains
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Metadata
- Authors
- de Boer, S. F., van der Vegt, B. J., & Koolhaas, J. M.
- Venue
- Behavior Genetics
- Published
- 2003-09
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 485-501
- ISSN
- 0001-8244 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3297
- OpenAlex
- W2151519006
- Cited by
- 219
- References
- 91
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 3.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Behavior Genetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- aggression, individual differences, coping styles, proactive coping, reactive coping, stress response, neurobiology of aggression, antisocial behavior, impulse control disorders, genetic association, quantitative trait loci, gene silencing, antisense oligonucleotides, viral gene delivery
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Animals, Animals, Wild, Catecholamines, Corticosterone, Female, Housing, Animal, Male, Reaction Time, Genetic Variation, Rats
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