Defensive behaviours elicited by predator odours

当老鼠面对猫等捕食者的气味时，会表现出强烈的焦虑反应。即使老鼠以前从未遇到过真正的捕食者，这种反应也可能发生。这个项目旨在调查这种焦虑的性质以及产生这种焦虑的刺激的性质。结果应该是更好地理解焦虑状态的神经基础和药理学，并识别具有强大的啮齿动物驱避性的新化学物质。在啮齿动物是害虫的家庭和农业环境中，这些化学物质可能会有很大的用处。

Rats display a powerful anxiety responses when confronted with the odours of predators such as cats. This response may occur even though rats have never encountered an actual predator before. This project aims to investigate the nature of this anxiety and the nature of the stimuli that produce it. The outcomes should be a better understanding of the neural basis and pharmacology of anxiety states and the identification of novel chemicals that have powerful rodent repellent properties. Such chemicals may be of great use in domestic and agricultural contexts where rodents are pests.