Effect of low dose of ionizing radiation and psycho emotional stress on the behaviour of laboratory rats

Central nervous system activation, accompanied by decline of short-term memory was observed in the radial maze in rats exposed to ionizing radiation at dose of 0.5 Gy. Irradiated animals as compared to those exposed to stress, showed inhibition of exploratory activity. This resulted in some automation in the performance. Exposure to psycho emotional stress after irradiation significantly modified the animal behaviour causing inhibition of central nervous system accompanied by decline of long-term memory. (author)