RUNNING RESPONSES OF TRICHINELLA-SPIRALIS-INFECTED CD-1 MICE

Male CD-1 mice inoculated by gavage with 400 larvae of T. spiralis exhibited an increased latency of the wall-seeking response and a decline in running speed and the distance traveled to the 1st stop when compared with normal controls or animals inoculated with only 100 larvae. Doses of 200 larvae of this parasite affected running speed and distance traveled but not the advent of the running response. Such changes in behavioral may reduce the competitive fitness of the host and render it more susceptible to predation.