THE PREDICTION OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR FROM AUTONOMIC INDICES IN DOGS

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Abstract
Autonomic and behavioral measures that reliably discriminate 2 strains of pointer dogs were described. These 2 strains, 1 abnormal and the other normal in behavior, were produced by a combination of inbreeding and selection. In this context, abnormal behavior means marked timidity, excessive startle and catatonic-like immobility. The prepotent stimulus eliciting such phobic behavior is man. Discriminant analyses were done on 20 pathological and 19 normal dogs using behavioral measures alone, autonomic measures alone, and combined behavioral and autonomic measures. Resting heart rate (HR) as well as HR and ECG changes due to an i.v. administered parasympathetic blocker (atropine) and a sympathetic stimulant (isoproterenol) were studied. The combined battery of behavioral and autonomic variables separated the 2 strains of pointers with 100% accuracy. Behavioral measures alone and autonomic measures alone were 95% accurate. To test the validity of the discriminant coefficients derived from the autonomic analysis, 10 additional animals were studied. The previously computed discriminant coefficients were blindly applied to this new sample. Of the 10 dogs, 9 were correctly identified as abnormal or normal (1 misclassification). In these animals, abnormal behavior has specific autonomic correlates. These results and hematological and CNS biochemical data are discussed in terms of brain mechanisms that might underlie the behavior of the pathological strain.