Correlation among the Behavioral Features in the Offspring of Morphine-Abstinent Rats

Background: Critical analysis of new evidence in medical sciences relies on statistics in terms of correlation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation coefficients among the behavioral features in the offspring of morphine-abstinent parent(s). Methods: The offspring of various types of parental morphine-exposure were divided into 4 groups including offspring of healthy parents (CTL), offspring of paternal morphine-abstinence (PMA), offspring of maternal morphine-abstinence (MMA), and offspring of both morphine-abstinence (BMA). Pain perception, depression-like behavior, and avoidance memory in the offspring were quantified. The logical structure of association was measured using the Pearson correlation analysis. Findings: A strong correlation was observed between pain and depressive-like behavior in female and male offspring of healthy parents. Moreover, in the male and female offspring of healthy parents and BMA, no significant correlation was observed between avoidance memory and pain behavior or depressive-like behavior. However, in the offspring of MMA, a strong correlation was observed between avoidance memory and depressive-like behavior. Conclusion: The results of the study signified the importance of correlation analysis in addictive behavior. The results revealed that the pattern of correlation of the behavior of the offspring of MMA and PMA differed