Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 60, Issue 3 868-875, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Determinants of behavioral response with ozone exposure
J. S. Tepper and B. Weiss
Three separate experiments were performed to evaluate how the topography of
a behavioral response and its consequences influence the behavioral effects
produced by ozone (O3) exposure. The first experiment measured the
responding of food-deprived rats working to obtain intermittent delivery of
small pellets of food by completing an active response, wheel running. Low
O3 concentrations (0.12 ppm) reduced the frequency of running responses
maintained by this fixed-interval 10-min schedule of food delivery. The
second experiment examined the effects of O2 on food-deprived rats
performing a response (nose poking) that required minimal physical effort
to produce deliveries of food pellets. Rats in this situation began to show
reductions in responding at 0.5 ppm O3. A third experiment showed that
responses requiring minimal physical effort, such as lever pressing, can be
a sensitive index of O3 exposure if the response provides access to wheel
running. We concluded that increased physical activity during exposure
appeared to be an important variable in determining sensitivity to O3
exposure.
