Modulation of avian responsiveness to chemical irritants: Effects of prostaglandin E1 and analgesics

✍ Scribed by Clark, Larry

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 895 KB
• Volume: 271
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402710604

✦ Synopsis

Chemical irritation appears to be modulated by similar mechanisms in birds and mammals, despite an apparent difference between the two taxa for what constitutes a chemical irritant. Prostaglandin E l , a well-described mammalian pain modulating substance, was not itself aversive to starlings, although it did sensitize birds to the effects of the avian irritant oaminoacetophenone. Aspirin and aspirin-like drugs tended to desensitize starlings to the aversive effects of acetophenone bird repellents. Because the modulation mechanisms for the perception of pain appear to be similar in birds and mammals, the taxonomic differences in the perception of stimuli as irritating is inferred to be due to differences in receptor mechanism. The differences in sensory perception of chemical irritants has important implications for vertebrate foraging ecology and the evolution of plant-animal interactions. o 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.*