Increased Susceptibility to Herpes Simplex in Mice Subjected to Avoidance-Learning Stress or Restraint.

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Abstract
The course of experimental herpes simplex following intraperitoneal inoculation was studied in normal mice and in mice subjected to emotional stress produced by avoidance-learning and forced restraint. Avoidance-learning stress was produced by subjecting mice in a shuttle box to repeated cycles of, first, warning stimuli, a bright light and buzzer, followed by electric shock, a painful stimulus. Animals were able to avoid the painful stimulus by jumping a barrier immediately after the warning stimuli and animals learned to avoid the shock 50 to 80% of the time after 2 or 3 days. Restraint-stress was produced by confining mice in snugly wrapped wire mesh blankets. Mice subjected to either form of stress for periods of 6 hours daily for 2 to 4 weeks showed increased susceptibility to intraperitoneal inoculation with the virus of herpes simplex. The increase in susceptibility was manifested by statistically significant increases in mortality in stressed as compared to control animals, and by a trend toward shorter incubation periods in stressed animals.