Factor Analysis of Emotional/Behavioral Reactions in Cats of Different Types

Abstract

Tranquilizers are not found to exert any specific anxiolytic effect, even when dealing with overall trends in large groups of up to 200 healthy volunteers (Di Mascio, 1969). However, by dividing the whole population under investigation into sub-groups, according to anxiety level, a clear-cut tranquilizing effect may be seen in highly anxious individuals (De Mascio, Barrett, 1965). Investigations into the influence of tranquilizers on a number of physical and mental parameters showed (Nakano et al., 1978) that they increase speed of accomplishing a task while the number of mistakes made drops with highly anxious volunteers; the level of task fulfillment falls, however, in those with a low anxiety level. These and similar findings clearly indicate the part played by personal characteristics and individual level of emotional response in observed psychopharmacological effect. Hence the importance of choosing the right group of animals at the experimental stage of pre-clinical evaluation of psychotropic drugs; they should be physically and mentally suited to illustrate a specific effect. The averaging out of experimental data obtained in an entire animal group often conceals one of the unknown effects of a pharmacological compound.