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Nugroho DAA, Kusrohmaniah S, Pilz E, Krikorian C, Kearns D, Slotnick B, Gomez M, Silberberg A. No evidence tube entrapment distresses rodents in typical empathy tests. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:29. [PMID: 38558203 PMCID: PMC10984888 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01863-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
In the first two experiments an empty tube open at one end was placed in different locations. Male hamsters, tested one at a time, tended to stay close to the tube or in it. During the first minute of the first 4 sessions of Experiment 3, the hamster was unrestrained. If it entered the tube, it was locked within the tube. If it did not enter the tube during the first min, it was placed in it, and the tube was locked. Fifteen min later, the tube was opened, and the hamster was unrestrained for a further 20 min. The tube remained open during Session 5. Hamsters spent more time near the tube than predicted by chance and continued to enter the tube although tube-occupancy duration did not differ from chance levels. In Experiment 4, male rats were tested in two groups: rats in one group had been previously trapped in a tube and rats in the other group allowed to freely explore the test space. For the first two min of each of four 20-min sessions, trapped-group subjects were permitted to move about the chamber unless they entered the tube. In that case, they were locked in for the remainder of the session. If, after two min, they did not enter the tube, they were locked in it for the remaining 18 min. Free rats were unrestricted in all sessions. In Session 5, when both groups were permitted to move freely in the chamber, trapped and free rats spent more time in and near the tube than predicted by chance. These data show tube restraint does not seem to distress either hamsters or rats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sri Kusrohmaniah
- Fakultas Psikologi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Emma Pilz
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA
| | - Clare Krikorian
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA
| | - David Kearns
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA
| | - Burton Slotnick
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA
| | - Maria Gomez
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA
| | - Alan Silberberg
- Department of Psychology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
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2
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Haller J. Aggression, Aggression-Related Psychopathologies and Their Models. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:936105. [PMID: 35860723 PMCID: PMC9289268 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.936105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural mechanisms of aggression and violence are often studied in the laboratory by means of animal models. A multitude of such models were developed over the last decades, which, however, were rarely if ever compared systematically from a psychopathological perspective. By overviewing the main models, I show here that the classical ones exploited the natural tendency of animals to defend their territory, to fight for social rank, to defend themselves from imminent dangers and to defend their pups. All these forms of aggression are functional and adaptive; consequently, not necessarily appropriate for modeling non-natural states, e.g., aggression-related psychopathologies. A number of more psychopathology-oriented models were also developed over the last two decades, which were based on the etiological factors of aggression-related mental disorders. When animals were exposed to such factors, their aggressiveness suffered durable changes, which were deviant in the meaning that they broke the evolutionarily conserved rules that minimize the dangers associated with aggression. Changes in aggression were associated with a series of dysfunctions that affected other domains of functioning, like with aggression-related disorders where aggression is just one of the symptoms. The comparative overview of such models suggests that while the approach still suffers from a series of deficits, they hold the important potential of extending our knowledge on aggression control over the pathological domain of this behavior.
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Grieb ZA, Voisin DA, Terranova JI, Norvelle A, Michopoulos V, Huhman KL, Albers HE. Acute administration of fluoxetine increases social avoidance and risk assessment behaviors in a sex- and social stress-dependent manner in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 214:173353. [PMID: 35150728 PMCID: PMC8915384 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Most studies investigating the effects of acute administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) on responses to social stress have been conducted with males. This is despite the fact that SSRIs remain the primary pharmacotherapy for social stress-related disorders for both sexes and that the prevalence of these disorders is twofold higher in women than in men. To determine whether acute treatment with the SSRI, fluoxetine, alters behavioral responses to social defeat stress in a sex- or social stress-dependent manner, male and female Syrian hamsters were subjected to one of three social defeat conditions: no defeat (placed into an empty resident aggressor (RA) cage), a single defeat by one RA for 15 min, or three consecutive defeats using different RAs for 5 min each. The day following social defeat, subjects were infused with either vehicle or fluoxetine (20 mg/kg, I.P.) 2 h prior to a 5 min social avoidance test. Overall, we found that fluoxetine increased social vigilance regardless of sex or defeat condition. We also found that fluoxetine affected social avoidance in a sex by stress intensity interaction, such that fluoxetine increased avoidance in no defeat males and in males defeated once but significantly increased avoidance in females only after three defeats. These data suggest that treatment with an SSRI could initially exacerbate the effects of social stress in both sexes. These data also emphasize the importance of including sex as a biological variable when investigating the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A. Grieb
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA,To whom correspondence should be addressed, , Telephone: 1-404-413-6337
| | - Dené A. Voisin
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Joseph I. Terranova
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Alisa Norvelle
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Yerkes National Primate Center, Atlanta, GA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
| | - Kim L. Huhman
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
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4
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Moran KM, González-Martínez LF, Delville Y. Lifelong enhancement of body mass from adolescent stress in male hamsters. Horm Behav 2021; 133:105004. [PMID: 34062278 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
In hamsters, exposure to stress in adulthood causes increased body weight. We addressed how social stress during puberty would impact food intake and body weight. Stressed hamsters started gaining significantly more weight than controls after only two days of stress exposure. Over a two-week period, stressed subjects gained 10% more weight and consumed more food than controls. At the end of the stress period, stressed hamsters collected nearly twice as many palatable sugar pellets from an arena than controls. Stressed subjects presented 15-20% more body fat in mesenteric, inguinal, and retroperitoneal fat pads. In order to assess the duration of these effects, we analyzed data from previous studies keeping hamsters for over two months past the stress period in puberty. Our analysis shows that stressed hamsters stopped gaining more weight after the stress period, but their body weights remained elevated for over two months, consistently weighing 10% more than their non-stressed counterparts. We also analyzed conditioning training data collected after the period of stress in late puberty and early adulthood (P56 to P70) that was part of the original studies. Training consisted of lever pressing for palatable food rewards. At these times, previously stressed hamsters retrieved similar numbers of food pellets from the conditioning chambers, suggesting no difference in appetite after the stress period. These data showing a long-lasting effect of stress on body weight may be relevant to studies on the ontogeny of lifelong obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M Moran
- Psychology Department, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | - Yvon Delville
- Psychology Department, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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5
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Rosenhauer AM, McCann KE, Norvelle A, Huhman KL. An acute social defeat stressor in early puberty increases susceptibility to social defeat in adulthood. Horm Behav 2017; 93:31-38. [PMID: 28390864 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Syrian hamsters readily display territorial aggression. If they lose even a single agonistic encounter, however, hamsters show striking reductions in aggressive behavior and increases in submissive behavior, a distinct behavioral change that we have previously termed conditioned defeat. This acute social defeat stressor is primarily psychological and is effective in both males and females. Therefore, we maintain that this procedure presents an ideal model for studying behavioral and physiological responses to social stress. Here, we demonstrate that social avoidance following social defeat is a particularly useful dependent measure because of its sensitivity and stability between sexes and across the estrous cycle. In addition, we demonstrate that peripubertal hamsters exposed to a single, 15min social defeat exhibit significantly more social avoidance 24h later when compared with no-defeat controls. Later, defeated and non-defeated hamsters display similar agonistic behavior in adulthood indicating that the peripubertal defeat does not alter adult territorial aggression. After experiencing an additional social defeat in adulthood, however, the hamsters that experienced the pubertal defeat respond to the adult defeat with increased social avoidance when compared with hamsters that were defeated only in adulthood and with no-defeat controls. These data are the first to show that a single social defeat in puberty increases susceptibility to later social defeat in both males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Rosenhauer
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 161 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Katharine E McCann
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 161 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Alisa Norvelle
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 161 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Kim L Huhman
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 161 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
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6
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Yu WC, Liu CY, Lai WS. Repeated, Intermittent Social Defeat across the Entire Juvenile Period Resulted in Behavioral, Physiological, Hormonal, Immunological, and Neurochemical Alterations in Young Adult Male Golden Hamsters. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:110. [PMID: 27375450 PMCID: PMC4901039 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The developing brain is vulnerable to social defeat during the juvenile period. As complements of human studies, animal models of social defeat provide a straightforward approach to investigating the functional and neurobiological consequences of social defeats. Taking advantage of agonist behavior and social defeat in male golden hamster, a set of 6 experiments was conducted to investigate the consequences at multiple levels in young adulthood resulting from repeated, intermittent social defeats or “social threats” across the entire juvenile period. Male hamsters at postnatal day 28 (P28) were randomly assigned to either the social defeat, “social threat”, or arena control group, and they correspondingly received a series of nine social interaction trials (i.e., either social defeat, “social threat”, or arena control conditions) from P33 to P66. At the behavioral level (Experiment 1), we found that repeated social defeats (but not “social threats”) significantly impacted locomotor activity in the familiar context and social interaction in the familiar/unfamiliar social contexts. At the physiological and hormonal levels (Experiments 2 and 3), repeated social defeat significantly enhanced the cortisol and norepinephrine concentrations in blood. Enlargement of the spleen was also found in the social defeat and “social threat” groups. At the immunological level (Experiment 4), the social defeat group showed lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hypothalamus and hippocampus but higher concentration of IL-6 in the striatum compared to the other two groups. At the neurochemical level (Experiment 5), the socially defeated hamsters mainly displayed reductions of dopamine, dopamine metabolites, and 5-HT levels in the striatum and decreased level of 5-HT in the hippocampus. In Experiment 6, an increase in the spine density of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons was specifically observed in the “social threat” group. Collectively, our findings indicate that repeated, intermittent social defeats throughout entire adolescence in hamsters impact their adult responses at multiple levels. Our results also suggest that the “social threat” group may serve as an appropriate control. This study further suggest that the alterations of behavioral responses and neurobiological functions in the body and brain might provide potential markers to measure the negative consequences of chronic social defeats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Chun Yu
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Yi Liu
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Sung Lai
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
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7
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Bastida CC, Puga F, Gonzalez-Lima F, Jennings KJ, Wommack JC, Delville Y. Chronic social stress in puberty alters appetitive male sexual behavior and neural metabolic activity. Horm Behav 2014; 66:220-7. [PMID: 24852486 PMCID: PMC4127097 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 05/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Repeated social subjugation in early puberty lowers testosterone levels. We used hamsters to investigate the effects of social subjugation on male sexual behavior and metabolic activity within neural systems controlling social and motivational behaviors. Subjugated animals were exposed daily to aggressive adult males in early puberty for postnatal days 28 to 42, while control animals were placed in empty clean cages. On postnatal day 45, they were tested for male sexual behavior in the presence of receptive female. Alternatively, they were tested for mate choice after placement at the base of a Y-maze containing a sexually receptive female in one tip of the maze and an ovariectomized one on the other. Social subjugation did not affect the capacity to mate with receptive females. Although control animals were fast to approach females and preferred ovariectomized individuals, subjugated animals stayed away from them and showed no preference. Cytochrome oxidase activity was reduced within the preoptic area and ventral tegmental area in subjugated hamsters. In addition, the correlation of metabolic activity of these areas with the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior parietal cortex changed significantly from positive in controls to negative in subjugated animals. These data show that at mid-puberty, while male hamsters are capable of mating, their appetitive sexual behavior is not fully mature and this aspect of male sexual behavior is responsive to social subjugation. Furthermore, metabolic activity and coordination of activity in brain areas related to sexual behavior and motivation were altered by social subjugation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christel C Bastida
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - Frank Puga
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Francisco Gonzalez-Lima
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Kimberly J Jennings
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Joel C Wommack
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Yvon Delville
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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8
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Shannonhouse JL, Fong LA, Clossen BL, Hairgrove RE, York DC, Walker BB, Hercules GW, Mertesdorf LM, Patel M, Morgan C. Female-biased anorexia and anxiety in the Syrian hamster. Physiol Behav 2014; 133:141-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2014] [Revised: 05/07/2014] [Accepted: 05/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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9
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Bader LR, Carboni JD, Burleson CA, Cooper MA. 5-HT1A receptor activation reduces fear-related behavior following social defeat in Syrian hamsters. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2014; 122:182-90. [PMID: 24726709 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2014.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/30/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Social defeat leads to selective avoidance of familiar opponents as well as general avoidance of novel, non-threatening intruders. Avoidance of familiar opponents represents a fear-related memory whereas generalized social avoidance indicates anxiety-like behavior. We have previously shown that serotonin signaling alters responses to social defeat in Syrian hamsters, although it is unclear whether serotonin modulates defeat-induced fear, anxiety, or both. In this study we focus on 5-HT1A receptors, in part, because their activation had been linked to the acquisition of conditioned fear. We hypothesized that pharmacological activation of 5-HT1A receptors prior to social defeat would reduce avoidance of familiar opponents and impair Arc expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), but not alter anxiety-like behavior. We administered 8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, prior to 3, 5-minute social defeats and 24h later exposed hamsters to a social interaction test to measure the conditioned defeat response immediately followed by either a Y-maze test or an open field test. In a separate experiment, we administered 8-OH-DPAT prior to 3, 5-minute social defeats and later removed the brains for Arc immunohistochemistry. Social defeat increased the number of Arc immunopositive cells in the central amygdala (CeA), prelimbic cortex (PL), and BLA, and 8-OH-DPAT treatment reduced Arc immunoreactivity in the PL. These results suggest that 5-HT1A receptor activation impairs the fear memory associated with social defeat, but does not alter defeat-induced anxiety. Overall, 5-HT1A receptor activation may impair Arc expression in select brain regions such as the PL and thereby disrupt the development of a fear memory essential for the conditioned defeat response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren R Bader
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
| | - Joseph D Carboni
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Cody A Burleson
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Matthew A Cooper
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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10
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Lai WS, Yu WC, Liu CY, Kuo MT, Huang CH. A new method for studying social eavesdropping using male golden hamsters. Physiol Behav 2014; 128:202-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2013] [Revised: 12/03/2013] [Accepted: 01/26/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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11
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Arendt DH, Smith JP, Bastida CC, Prasad MS, Oliver KD, Eyster KM, Summers TR, Delville Y, Summers CH. Contrasting hippocampal and amygdalar expression of genes related to neural plasticity during escape from social aggression. Physiol Behav 2012; 107:670-9. [PMID: 22450262 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2011] [Revised: 03/01/2012] [Accepted: 03/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Social subjugation has widespread consequences affecting behavior and underlying neural systems. We hypothesized that individual differences in stress responsiveness were associated with differential expression of neurotrophin associated genes within the hippocampus and amygdala. To do this we examined the brains of hamsters placed in resident/intruder interactions, modified by the opportunity to escape from aggression. In the amygdala, aggressive social interaction stimulated increased BDNF receptor TrK(B) mRNA levels regardless of the ability to escape the aggressor. In contrast, the availability of escape limited the elevation of GluR(1) AMPA subunit mRNA. In the hippocampal CA(1), the glucocorticoid stress hormone, cortisol, was negatively correlated with BDNF and TrK(B) gene expression, but showed a positive correlation with BDNF expression in the DG. Latency to escape the aggressor was also negatively correlated with CA(1) BDNF expression. In contrast, the relationship between amygdalar TrK(B) and GluR(1) was positive with respect to escape latency. These results suggest that an interplay of stress and neurotrophic systems influences learned escape behavior. Animals which escape faster seem to have a more robust neurotrophic profile in the hippocampus, with the opposite of this pattern in the amygdala. We propose that changes in the equilibrium of hippocampal and amygdalar learning result in differing behavioral stress coping choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- David H Arendt
- Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA
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12
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Carrillo M, Ricci LA, Melloni RH. Glutamate-vasopressin interactions and the neurobiology of anabolic steroid-induced offensive aggression. Neuroscience 2011; 185:85-96. [PMID: 21459130 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.03.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2010] [Revised: 02/16/2011] [Accepted: 03/24/2011] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In the latero-anterior hypothalamus (LAH) increased glutamate and vasopressin (AVP) activity facilitate anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS)-induced offensive aggression. In addition, adolescent AAS treatment increases the strength of glutamate-mediated connections between the LAH and the brain nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST). The current set of studies used male Syrian hamsters exposed to AAS during adolescence to examine whether increased glutamate-mediated stimulation of the BNST is dependent on LAH-AVP signaling and whether this neural pathway modulates adolescent AAS-induced offensive aggression. In the first set of AAS-treated animals offensive aggression was measured following blockade of glutamate activity within the BNST using NBQX. Then, in a second group of AAS-treated animals aggression levels were examined following simultaneous blockade of LAH-AVP activity using Manning compound and stimulation of BNST glutamate using AMPA. Lastly, the number of AVP fibers in apposition to glutamate cells was examined in AAS and control animals, using double-label immunofluorescence. The results showed that administration of NBQX into the BNST dose-dependently reduced aggressive behavior in AAS-treated animals. Further, the current results replicated previous findings showing that blockade of LAH-AVP significantly reduces aggressive behavior in AAS-treated animals. In these animals stimulation of BNST-AMPA receptors had a linear effect on aggression, where the smallest dose exacerbated the inhibitory effect of the V1a antagonist, the medium dose had no effect and the highest dose recuperated aggression to control levels. Finally when compared with control animals, AAS treatment produced a significant increase in the number of AVP fibers in apposition to LAH-glutamate cells. Overall, these results identify the BNST as a key brain region involved in aggression control and provide strong evidence suggesting that AVPergic-mediated stimulation of BNST-glutamate is a possible mechanism that facilitates aggression expression in adolescent AAS-treated animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Carrillo
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, 125 Nightingale Hall, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02155, USA
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13
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Characterization of behavioural responses in different test contexts after a single social defeat in male golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Behav Processes 2011; 86:94-101. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2010.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2010] [Revised: 09/17/2010] [Accepted: 10/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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14
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Frahm KA, Lumia AR, Fernandez E, Strong R, Roberts JL, McGinnis MY. Effects of anabolic androgenic steroids and social subjugation on behavior and neurochemistry in male rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2010; 97:416-22. [PMID: 20932994 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2010] [Revised: 09/17/2010] [Accepted: 09/20/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Early abuse and anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) both increase aggression. We assessed the behavioral and neurochemical consequences of AAS, alone or in combination with social subjugation (SS), an animal model of child abuse. On P26, gonadally intact male rats began SS consisting of daily pairings with an adult male for 2 weeks followed by daily injections of the AAS, testosterone on P40. As adults, males were tested for sexual and aggressive behaviors towards females in various hormonal conditions and inter-male aggression in a neutral setting using home or opponent bedding. Neurotransmitter levels were assessed using HPLC. Results showed that AAS males displayed significantly more mounts toward sexually receptive, vaginally obstructed females (OBS) and displayed significantly more threats towards ovariectomized females. SS males mounted OBS females significantly less and were not aggressive toward females. The role of olfactory cues in a neutral setting did not affect aggression regardless of treatment. AAS significantly increased brainstem DOPAC and NE. SS decreased 5HIAA, DA, DOPAC, and NE in brainstem. 5HIAA was significantly increased in the prefrontal cortex of all experimental groups. We conclude that AAS and SS differentially affect behavior towards females as well as neurotransmitter levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystle A Frahm
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA
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