Another complication of the hot-plate test is determining what constitutes a behavioral pain response; is it the lifting/licking of paws, vocalization, attempting to climb out of the cylinder, etc.
Feeding 11-ketotestosterone coated scallops to toadfish increases their calling behavior, which identifies 11-ketotestosterone, an androgen hormone, as a mediator of midshipman fish vocalization.
Symptoms of this type of presentation include lethargy, seizures, blindness, abnormal vocalization or gait, circling, and abnormal or no reflex responses.
The social communication by vocalization provides a shortcut to locating high quality habitats and saves the trouble of directly assessing various vegetation structures.
