ANXIETY VARIATION IN NAIVE AND HANDLED FE MALE WHITE-RATS DURING ESTRUS CYCLE

Experiments were carried out in naive and handled female white rats at the oestrus and dioestrus stages. The elevated plus-maze was used for anxiety measurements. Handled female rats, as compared with the naive ones at the same stage, showed much lower anxiety scores and higher g eneral level of activity. No statistically significant effect of the o estrus cycle was observed in the naive rats, and the handled ones show ed significant decrease of anxiety and increase of general level of ac tivity during the oestrus stage.