Abstract/Results: | RESULTS:
There are sequences of events that occur under conditions of stress which can be grouped in behavioural and physical adaptations. The link between the stimulus and the responses can be mediated or modulated by the nervous system. Previously, Peoc’h and collaborators have performed experimental telepathy in rabbits and reported the presence of spontaneous fear and blood flow variations in rabbits after their separation. The phenomenon of fear transmission between rabbits might be associated to a neuronal hypersensitivity as the result of a stress stimulus. In this context, the aim of the present study was the evaluation of biochemical characteristics developed during the occurrence of rabbit telepathic transmission of fear.
Telepathy experiments were performed according to Peoc’h and ten minutes after the end of the experiment, anticoagulated blood samples were collected from experimental rabbits and the following parameters were determined: free plasma cortisol and TNF-a levels, assessed by ELISA; erythrocyte acetilcholinesterase activity, determined by spectophotometry; and erythrocyte membrane fluidity, analysed by fluorescence anisotropy.
We could observe that rabbit erythrocyte integrity and acetilcholinesterase activity was maintained (AchE activity=68±20 U/min/mg Hb, compared to control rabbits AchE activity=67,5±20,5 U/min/mg Hb) and that TNF-a, a marker of inflammatory disturbance, was not detected as consequence of the telepathy experiments. Additionally, a bradycardia effect, induced by telepathic fear transmission was followed by a significant decrease of plasma cortisol levels (3,85±0,682 ng/mL) compared to control rabbits (4,951±1,146 ng/mL, p<0,05).
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