was not intended to be part of the working definition. That list simply identified some stressors that can cause distress. My question is whether you were talking about some of those examples or were referring to the working definition that may inappropriately describe the distress and better describe stress.

DR. GEBHART: I was responding principally to the examples that were given as contributing to distress that, to me, contribute to stress. If they are prolonged, obviously, and the animal then cannot adapt to those stressors in the environment and begins to develop maladaptive behaviors, I would agree that every one of those stressors could lead to distress. I would suggest that “negative effects” be more clearly defined in terms of behavior, specifically maladaptive behavior.

DR. BAYNE (Kathryn Bayne, AAALAC): Dr. DeHaven, I believe you said that stress would have a negative impact on animal well-being. How is that negative impact going to be judged? Is the criterion going to be the expression of atypical behaviors or (what Dr. Gebhart and I are suggesting) that there is some evidence of maladaptation on the part of the animal?

DR. DE HAVEN: That is what we are here for, for you to answer that question for us. However, I seriously think there needs to be some evidence of negative effects upon the animal's well-being, and how we assess whether there have been those negative effects becomes critical.

DR. BAYNE: Yes, but I believe some people are going to assume atypical equals lack of well-being, instead of maladaptation reflecting a lack of well-being. Although you are not using either of those terms, the allusion to “negative impact on well-being” requires use of a method to assess the negative impact.

DR. HAYWOOD (J.R. Haywood, University of Texas Health Science Center): I believe we will have to involve stress physiology people to really start working on the development of measurements. However, we will have to address that at a later time. It is very interesting that when we start taking pharmacological approaches, we are going to be affecting all parts of the system and the response system.