Defensive withdrawal

Ward HE, Johnson EA, Salm AK, Birkle DL (2000) Effects of prenatal stress on defensive withdrawal behavior and corticotropin releasing factor systems in rat brain. Physiol Behav 70 359-366... 

Rodents do not like to be out in the middle of a large open space. This makes sense, because going into open spaces increases the likelihood that the rodent will be spotted by a predator. Scientists can use the natural desire rodents have to avoid open spaces as a measure of how anxious a rat or a mouse is. In the defensive withdrawal test, rats or mice are placed in a bright open space that has an enclosed dark box off to one side. The amount of time that the rodent spends inside the box compared with the amount of time the rodent spends outside is thought to be a measure of anxiety. This test has been shown to be fairly sensitive to drugs. 

Bhatnagar S, Nowak N, Babich L, Bok L. Deletion of the 5-HT3 receptor differentially affects behavior of males and females in the Porsolt forced swim and defensive withdrawal tests. Behav Brain Res 2004 153(2) 527-535. 

Rodriguez de Fonseca, F, Rubio, R, Menzaghi, F, Merlo-Rich, E., Rivier, J., Koob, G.E and Navarro, M. (1996) Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) antagonist [D-Rhe Nle , C Melxtf ]CRE attenuates the acute actions of the highly potent cannabinoid receptor agonist HU-210 on defensive-withdrawal behavior in rats, J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 276 56-64. 

Phel2,Nle21,38,C alpha MeLeu37]CRF attenuates the acute actions of the highly potent cannabinoid receptor agonist HU-210 on defensive-withdrawal behavior in rats, J Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 216, 56-64. 

Page, L.R., 2007. Shrinking to fit fluid jettison from a haemocoelic hydrostatic skeleton during defensive withdrawals of a gastropod larva. Proc. Biol. Sci. 274, 2989-2994. 

Amphetamine effects on aggression are markedly modulated by opiates and opioid peptides. Withdrawal from prolonged exposure to opiates may lead to increased defensive and aggressive responses in mice and rats and increased hostility in humans (Lai et al. 1971 Gossop and Roy 1976 ... 

Kantak and Miczek 1986). Amphetamine and cocaine, as well as dopaminergic agonists, increase further the already high levels of defensive responses in aggregated rats undergoing withdrawal from opiates, leading in extreme cases to the death of the subjects (Lai et al. 1971 Puri and Lai 1973). 

Like pit vipers and wall lizards, various mammals are also sensitive to a predator s scent. Oftentimes, their best defense is retreat, and so frightened deer and squirrels withdraw quickly when they... 

Aplysia exhibits habituation. If the siphon is repeatedly touched lightly, the reflex withdrawal of gills and siphon gradually weakens. The snail has become habituated to the touch and its defensive reaction weakens as it no longer perceives a threat. 

On November 20, 1984, Secretary Heckler received from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) a petition to declare the subtherapeutic uses of penicillin and the tetracyclines in animal feeds an imminent hazard to the public health. NRDC argues that, on the basis of three recently published scientific studies—the O Brien and the two Holmberg studies discussed earlier—FDA is likely to eventually withdraw approval of the subtherapeutic uses of penicillin and the tetracyclines in animal feeds. NRDC argues, based on these studies, that these uses meet the criteria for imminent hazard under the law. The petition and its impact were discussed before Congress, in hearings before the Committee on Science and Technology in December of 1984 (15). 

Picture the crab. Vulnerable and soft within its protective armor, it approaches its target sideways and, when frightened, scuttles back into its shell. You do the same. Fretful and high-strung, afraid of addressing a problem directly, you defend yourself well — sometimes to your own detriment. At times you re so defensive, so imprisoned by your anxieties, that movement becomes impossible. You withdraw or enter a state of total denial, where you become unreachable. At your worst, your need for security paralyzes you. 

A development of civil defense programs such as suggested during the symposium shows clearly a defensive rather than offensive philosophy. It is a concrete demonstration not of aggressive intent but of our assuming responsibility to our families, our neighbors, and ourselves. Less apathy and more public support for a sound civil defense program will meet our moral responsibilities better than will withdrawal in horror. 

Key 2. Avoid the four behaviors that destroy relationships contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and withdrawal/stonewalling. 

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