Prolonged Suppression of Irritable Aggression in Rats by Facial Anesthesia

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Abstract
Local anesthesia of the mystacial epidermis with Lidocaine HCl reliably decreased shock-elicited fighting in 8 pairs of mature male Long-Evans rats. The decrease in aggressive responding was approximately twice as great as that reported for devibrissaed rats. Subsequent fighting, 3-hr. post-injection, did not differ from control or pre-injection baselines. Recording of intense vocalization accompanying fighting yielded objective data comparable to attack scores visually observed and allowed an independent measure of depressed fighting behavior. The results are discussed in reference to the import of tactual orientation for guiding directed attack and the relative merits of the technique as a vehicle for further investigation.

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