Neurobiology of Stress最新文献

{"title":"Dynamic changes of media prefrontal cortex astrocytic activity in response to negative stimuli in male mice","authors":"Ai-Mei Wu ,&nbsp;Jing-Ya Zhang ,&nbsp;Wei-Zhong Lun ,&nbsp;Zhi Geng ,&nbsp;Ye Yang ,&nbsp;Jun-Cang Wu ,&nbsp;Gui-Hai Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100676","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Astrocytes play significant roles in regulating the central stress response. Chronic stress impairs the structure and function of astrocytes in many brain regions such as media prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in multiple neuropsychiatric conditions, but the astrocytic dynamics on the timescale of behavior remains unclear. Here, we recorded mPFC astrocytic activity in freely behaving mice and found that astrocytes are activated immediately by different aversive stimuli. Astrocyte specific GCaMP6s calcium indicator were virally expressed in mPFC astrocytes and fiber photometry experiments revealed that astrocytes are activated by tail-restraint (TRT), foot shock (FS), open arm exploration, stressor of height, predator odor and social defeat (SD) stress. ΔF/F analyses demonstrated that an unpredictable stimulus such as elevated platform stress (EPS) at the initial encounter induced the most intense and rapid changes in astrocytic calcium activity, while a predictable 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT) stimulus resulted in the weakest response with a longer peak latency. In TRT, FS or SD test, a somatic stimulus led to higher average calcium activity level and faster average peak latency in repeated trails. Similar to TMT stimulus, astrocytic calcium activity in elevated plus maze (EPM) test exhibited a smaller average change in amplitude and the longest peak latency during open arm exploration. Moreover, astrocytic calcium activity exhibited different changes across behavioral states in SD tests. Our findings show that mPFC astrocytes exhibit distinct patterns of calcium activity in response to various negative stimuli, indicating that the dynamic activity of astrocytes may reflect the stress-related behavioral state under different stimulus conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 100676"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142420393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behavioral and neural correlates of diverse conditioned fear responses in male and female rats","authors":"Julia R. Mitchell ,&nbsp;Lindsay Vincelette ,&nbsp;Samantha Tuberman ,&nbsp;Vivika Sheppard ,&nbsp;Emmett Bergeron ,&nbsp;Roberto Calitri ,&nbsp;Rose Clark ,&nbsp;Caitlyn Cody ,&nbsp;Akshara Kannan ,&nbsp;Jack Keith ,&nbsp;Abigail Parakoyi ,&nbsp;MaryClare Pikus ,&nbsp;Victoria Vance ,&nbsp;Leena Ziane ,&nbsp;Heather Brenhouse ,&nbsp;Mikaela A. Laine ,&nbsp;Rebecca M. Shansky","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pavlovian fear conditioning is a widely used tool that models associative learning in rodents. For decades the field has used predominantly male rodents and focused on a sole conditioned fear response: freezing. However, recent work from our lab and others has identified darting as a female-biased conditioned response, characterized by an escape-like movement across a fear conditioning chamber. It is also accompanied by a behavioral phenotype: Darters reliably show decreased freezing compared to Non-darters and males and reach higher velocities in response to the foot shock (“shock response”). However, the relationship between shock response and conditioned darting is not known. This study investigated if this link is due to differences in general processing of aversive stimuli between Darters, Non-darters and males. Across a variety of modalities, including corticosterone measures, the acoustic startle test, and sensitivity to thermal pain, Darters were found not to be more reactive or sensitive to aversive stimuli, and, in some cases, they appear less reactive to Non-darters and males. Analyses of cFos activity in regions involved in pain and fear processing following fear conditioning identified discrete patterns of expression among Darters, Non-darters, and males exposed to low and high intensity foot shocks. The results from these studies further our understanding of the differences between Darters, Non-darters and males and highlight the importance of studying individual differences in fear conditioning as indicators of fear state.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 100675"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000717/pdfft?md5=4b62059f360b89745fab62771589e0b0&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000717-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142312606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early life stress induced sex-specific changes in behavior is paralleled by altered locus coeruleus physiology in BALB/cJ mice","authors":"Savannah Brannan,&nbsp;Lauren Garbe,&nbsp;Ben D. Richardson","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100674","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100674","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with many neurodevelopmental and affective disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, with more exposures increasing negative risk. Sex and genetic background are biological variables involved in adverse psychiatric outcomes due to early life trauma. Females in general have an increased prevalence of stress-related psychopathologies beginning after adolescence, indicative of adolescence being a female-specific sensitive period. To understand the underlying neuronal mechanisms potentially responsible for this relationship between genetic background, sex, stress/trauma, and cognitive/affective behaviors, we assessed behavioral and neuronal changes in a novel animal model of early life stress exposure. Male and female BALB/cJ mice that express elevated basal anxiety-like behaviors and differences in monoamine signaling-associated genes, were exposed to an early life variable stress protocol that combined deprivation in early life with unpredictability in adolescence. Stress exposure produced hyperlocomotion and attention deficits (5-choice serial reaction time task) in male and female mice along with female-specific increased anxiety-like behavior. These behavioral changes were paralleled by reduced excitability of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons, due to resting membrane potential hyperpolarization in males and a female-specific increase in action potential delay time. These data describe a novel interaction between sex, genetic background, and early life stress that results in behavioral changes in clinically relevant domains and potential underlying mechanistic lasting changes in physiological properties of neurons in the LC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 100674"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000705/pdfft?md5=619d3e35ab97587f0de791597ebd7efb&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000705-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142316279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of chronic stress on cognitive function – From neurobiology to intervention","authors":"Milena Girotti ,&nbsp;Sarah E. Bulin,&nbsp;Flavia R. Carreno","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Exposure to chronic stress contributes considerably to the development of cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders such as depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addictive behavior. Unfortunately, unlike mood-related symptoms, cognitive impairments are not effectively treated by available therapies, a situation in part resulting from a still incomplete knowledge of the neurobiological substrates that underly cognitive domains and the difficulty in generating interventions that are both efficacious and safe.</p><p>In this review, we will present an overview of the cognitive domains affected by stress with a specific focus on cognitive flexibility, behavioral inhibition, and working memory. We will then consider the effects of stress on neuronal correlates of cognitive function and the factors which may modulate the interaction of stress and cognition. Finally, we will discuss intervention strategies for treatment of stress-related disorders and gaps in knowledge with emerging new treatments under development.</p><p>Understanding how cognitive impairment occurs during exposure to chronic stress is crucial to make progress towards the development of new and effective therapeutic approaches.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 100670"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000663/pdfft?md5=74817e2bd3e26a3097145e164803e3b3&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000663-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142157401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enduring memory consequences of early-life stress / adversity: Structural, synaptic, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms","authors":"Tallie Z. Baram ,&nbsp;Matthew T. Birnie","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Adverse early life experiences are strongly associated with reduced cognitive function throughout life. The link is strong in many human studies, but these do not enable assigning causality, and the limited access to the live human brain can impede establishing the mechanisms by which early-life adversity (ELA) may induce cognitive problems. In experimental models, artificially imposed chronic ELA/stress results in deficits in hippocampus dependent memory as well as increased vulnerability to the deleterious effects of adult stress on memory. This causal relation of ELA and life-long memory impairments provides a framework to probe the mechanisms by which ELA may lead to human cognitive problems. Here we focus on the consequences of a one-week exposure to adversity during early postnatal life in the rodent, the spectrum of the ensuing memory deficits, and the mechanisms responsible. We highlight molecular, cellular and circuit mechanisms using convergent trans-disciplinary approaches aiming to enable translation of the discoveries in experimental models to the clinic.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"33 ","pages":"Article 100669"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000651/pdfft?md5=0dae508822ab66e17bb389e4c4ca6c65&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000651-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142164492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distinct populations of lateral preoptic nucleus neurons jointly contribute to depressive-like behaviors through divergent projections in male mice","authors":"Zhiping Cao ,&nbsp;Wing-Ho Yung ,&nbsp;Ya Ke","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The lateral preoptic area (LPO) is a component of the hypothalamus involved in various physiological functions including sleep-wakefulness transition, thermoregulation, and water-salt balance. In this study, we discovered that distinct LPO excitatory neurons project separately to the aversive processing center lateral habenula (LHb) and the reward processing hub ventral tegmental area (VTA). Following chronic restraint stress (CRS), the LHb-projecting and VTA-projecting LPO neurons exhibited increased and decreased neuronal activities, respectively. Optogenetic activation of LHb-projecting LPO excitatory neurons and LPO excitatory neuronal terminals within LHb evoked aversion and avoidance behaviors, while activation of VTA-projecting LPO excitatory neurons and LPO excitatory neuronal terminals within VTA produced preference and exploratory behaviors in mice. Furthermore, either optogenetic inhibition of LHb-projecting LPO excitatory neurons or activation of VTA-projecting LPO excitatory neurons during CRS effectively prevented the development of depressive-like behaviors. Our study unveils, for the first-time, divergent pathways originating from LPO that regulate opposite affective states in mice and implicates that an imbalance of their activities could lead to depressive-like behaviors. These circuitries represent promising therapeutic targets to relieve emotional dysfunctions in neuropsychiatric disorders.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100667"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000638/pdfft?md5=1523f24ce25ac9686ea2b799467f5764&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000638-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141979596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elevated GABAergic neurotransmission prevents chronic intermittent ethanol induced hyperexcitability of intrinsic and extrinsic inputs to the ventral subiculum of female rats","authors":"Eva C. Bach,&nbsp;Jeff L. Weiner","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>With the recent rise in the rate of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in women, the historical gap between men and women living with this condition is narrowing. While there are many commonalities in how men and women are impacted by AUD, an accumulating body of evidence is revealing sex-dependent adaptations that may require distinct therapeutic approaches. Preclinical rodent studies are beginning to shed light on sex differences in the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on synaptic activity in a number of brain regions. Prior studies from our laboratory revealed that, while withdrawal from chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE), a commonly used model of AUD, increased excitability in the ventral hippocampus (vHC) of male rats, this same treatment had the opposite effect in females. A follow-up study not only expanded on the synaptic mechanisms of these findings in male rats, but also established a CIE-dependent increase in the excitatory-inhibitory (E-I) balance of a glutamatergic projection from the basolateral amygdala to vHC (BLA-vHC). This pathway modulates anxiety-like behavior and could help explain the comorbid occurrence of anxiety disorders in individuals suffering from AUD. The present study sought to conduct a similar analysis of CIE effects on both synaptic mechanisms in the vHC and adaptations in the BLA-vHC pathway of female rats. Our findings indicate that CIE increases the strength of inhibitory neurotransmission in the vHC and that this sex-specific adaptation blocks, or at least delays, the increases in intrinsic vHC excitability and BLA-vHC synaptic transmission observed in males. Our findings establish the BLA-vHC pathway and the vHC as important circuitry to consider for future studies directed at identifying sex-dependent therapeutic approaches to AUD.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100665"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000614/pdfft?md5=90039c322dcf18fccf524ceba4252eb5&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000614-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141979597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vicarious heterosexism-based stress induces alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis craving and negative affect among sexual minority young adults: An experimental study","authors":"Ethan H. Mereish ,&nbsp;Robert Miranda Jr.","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100668","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100668","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><p>Sexual minority young adults are at increased risk for hazardous drinking and alcohol use disorder compared to heterosexual adults. Heterosexism-based stressors contribute and often explain inequities in alcohol outcomes. However, the extant research primarily relies on correlational designs, and often neglects the importance of alcohol craving, despite its foundational role in addiction. Leveraging a novel experimental mood induction paradigm, this study examined the effects of exposure to vicarious heterosexism-based stress on alcohol craving and negative affect among sexual minority young adults who drink heavily. We also examined its effects on cannabis and nicotine craving among participants who used cannabis and nicotine, respectively. Lastly, we examined moderating factors that could influence the impact of exposure to heterosexism-based stress on alcohol craving.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Participants were 101 heavy drinking sexual minority young adults, ages 20–35 (<em>M</em> = 26.46 years old; <em>SD</em> = 3.49), recruited from the community (51.5% female sex assigned at birth; 76.3% cisgender; 51.5% plurisexual; and 42.6% racial and ethnic minorities). They completed three mood induction trials counterbalanced over three visits on different days: heterosexism stress, general stress, and neutral. Structured interviews assessed criteria for DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use, and self-report measures assessed lifetime traumatic stressors.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Most participants met criteria for past-year AUD (74.7%). Exposure to heterosexism stress produced more negative affect and substance craving than the neutral mood induction, even while controlling for demographic variables and lifetime exposure to traumatic and heterosexism stressors. Exposure to heterosexism-based stress had large effects on alcohol craving among participants who had greater drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-specific rejection sensitivity, whereas the effects were small for those who had lower drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-specific rejection sensitivity. Demographic, lifetime stress, prior alcohol use, and AUD symptom severity variables were not significant moderators. Greater substance craving induced by heterosexism-based stress in the laboratory was associated with greater recent and current substance use.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>This study findings show that vicarious exposure to heterosexism elicits negative mood and alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine craving among sexual minority young adults who engaged in heavy drinking. The effects for alcohol craving were largest among those who endorse high levels of drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-based rejection sensitivity. These findings have implications for oppression-based stress and motivational models of addiction.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100668"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235228952400064X/pdfft?md5=066022a4be318d5142725297000a0b05&pid=1-s2.0-S235228952400064X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141993071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DCC, a potential target for controlling fear memory extinction and hippocampal LTP in male mice receiving single prolonged stress","authors":"Shaojie Yang ,&nbsp;Jiamin Hu ,&nbsp;Yuzhuang Chen ,&nbsp;Zhengrong Zhang ,&nbsp;Jingji Wang ,&nbsp;Guoqi Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe stress-dependent psychiatric disorder characterized by impairment of fear memory extinction; however, biological markers to determine impaired fear memory extinction in PTSD remain unclear. In male mice with PTSD-like behaviors elicited by single prolonged stress (SPS), 19 differentially expressed proteins in the hippocampus were identified compared with controls. Among them, a biological macromolecular protein named deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) was highly upregulated. Specific overexpression of DCC in the hippocampus induced similar impairment of long-term potentiation (LTP) and fear memory extinction as observed in SPS mice. The impairment of fear memory extinction in SPS mice was improved by inhibiting the function of hippocampal DCC using a neutralizing antibody. Mechanistic studies have shown that knocking down or inhibiting μ-calpain in hippocampal neurons increased DCC expression and induced impairment of fear memory extinction. Additionally, SPS-triggered impairment of hippocampal LTP and fear memory extinction could be rescued through activation of the Rac1–Pak1 signaling pathway. Our study provides evidence that calpain-mediated regulation of DCC controls hippocampal LTP and fear memory extinction in SPS mice, which likely through activation of the Rac1–Pak1 signaling pathway.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100666"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000626/pdfft?md5=67164a94de62979e67f1b036acad3243&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000626-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141964481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Endocannabinoid and neuroplasticity-related changes as susceptibility factors in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder","authors":"Laszlo Szente ,&nbsp;Gyula Y. Balla ,&nbsp;Zoltan K. Varga ,&nbsp;Blanka Toth ,&nbsp;Laszlo Biro ,&nbsp;Zoltan Balogh ,&nbsp;Matthew N. Hill ,&nbsp;Mate Toth ,&nbsp;Eva Mikics ,&nbsp;Mano Aliczki","doi":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100662","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100662","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Traumatic experiences result in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 10–25% of exposed individuals. While human clinical studies suggest that susceptibility is potentially linked to endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling, neurobiological PTSD susceptibility factors are poorly understood. Employing a rat model of contextual conditioned fear, we characterized distinct resilient and susceptible subpopulations based on lasting generalized fear, a core symptom of PTSD. In these groups, we assessed i.) eCB levels by mass spectrometry and ii.) expression variations of eCB system- and iii.) neuroplasticity-related genes by real-time quantitative PCR in the circuitry relevant in trauma-induced changes. Furthermore, employing unsupervised and semi-supervised machine learning based statistical analytical models, we assessed iv.) gene expression patterns with the most robust predictive power regarding PTSD susceptibility. According to our findings, in our model, generalized fear responses occurred with sufficient variability to characterize distinct resilient and susceptible subpopulations. Resilient subjects showed elevated prelimbic and lower ventral hippocampal levels of eCB 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) compared to resilient and non-shocked control subjects. Ventral hippocampal 2-AG content positively correlated with the strength of fear generalization. Furthermore, susceptibility was associated with i.) prefrontal, hippocampal and amygdalar neuronal hypoactivity, ii.) marked decrease in the expression of genes of transcription factors modulating neuroplasticity and iii.) an altered expression pattern of eCB-related genes, including enzymes involved in eCB metabolism. Unsupervised and semi-supervised statistical approaches highlighted that hippocampal gene expression patterns possess strong predictive power regarding susceptibility. Taken together, the marked eCB and neuroplasticity changes in susceptible individuals associated with abnormal activity patterns in the fear circuitry possibly contribute to context coding deficits, resulting in generalized fear.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":19125,"journal":{"name":"Neurobiology of Stress","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100662"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289524000584/pdfft?md5=bc664072bbb10d2bc87e98e9e7393b8c&pid=1-s2.0-S2352289524000584-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141867579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}