Subclinical infections with the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus affect the behaviour and spatial learning of CD-1 mice in a Morris water maze. In early trials testing their ability to find and land on a hidden, submerged platform, uninfected mice displayed normal stress-related behaviours, such as avoiding the central areas of the circular maze and overswimming the platform. Infected mice manifested few such behaviours. Although both acquired the task, there were substantial differences between infected and uninfected mice in their patterns of task acquisition and execution. Although infected mice eventually reached comparable levels of competency, higher cognitive behaviours which suggest familiarity with the location of the platform, such as straight-line swimming, appeared earlier among uninfected mice. Other orientation behaviours, such as paddling and floating, occurred at higher levels among uninfected mice. These behavioural differences are discussed in terms of their adaptive significance to the survival of the host and the transmission of the parasite.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.81324 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | DesRosiers, Shirley Anne |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002173343, proquestno: AAIMR06387, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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