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Pifarré P, Simó M, Gispert JD, Plaza P, Fernández A, Pujol J. Diazepam and Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation Show Similar Attenuating Short-Term Effects on Stress-Related Brain Glucose Consumption. Eur Psychiatry 2020; 30:187-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2014.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2013] [Revised: 03/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractA non-pharmacological method to reduce anxiety is “progressive relaxation” (PR). The aim of the method is to reduce mental stress and associated mental processes by means of progressive suppression of muscle tension. The study was addressed to evaluate changes in brain glucose metabolism induced by PR in patients under a stressing state generated by a diagnostic medical intervention. The effect of PR was compared to a dose of sublingual diazepam, with the prediction that both interventions would be associated with a reduction in brain metabolism. Eighty-four oncological patients were assessed with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. Maps of brain glucose distribution from 28 patients receiving PR were compared with maps from 28 patients receiving sublingual diazepam and with 28 patients with no treatment intervention. Compared to reference control subjects, the PR and diazepam groups showed a statistically significant, bilateral and generalized cortical hypometabolism. Regions showing the most prominent changes were the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. No significant differences were identified in the direct comparison between relaxation technique and sublingual diazepam. Our findings suggest that relaxation induced by a physical/psychological procedure can be as effective as a reference anxiolytic in reducing brain activity during a stressful state.
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Cantacorps L, González-Pardo H, Arias JL, Valverde O, Conejo NM. Altered brain functional connectivity and behaviour in a mouse model of maternal alcohol binge-drinking. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018. [PMID: 29526773 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal and perinatal alcohol exposure caused by maternal alcohol intake during gestation and lactation periods can have long-lasting detrimental effects on the brain development and behaviour of offspring. Children diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) display a wide range of cognitive, emotional and motor deficits, together with characteristic morphological abnormalities. Maternal alcohol binge drinking is particularly harmful for foetal and early postnatal brain development, as it involves exposure to high levels of alcohol over short periods of time. However, little is known about the long-term effects of maternal alcohol binge drinking on brain function and behaviour. To address this issue, we used pregnant C57BL/6 female mice with time-limited access to a 20% v/v alcohol solution as a procedure to model alcohol binge drinking during gestation and lactational periods. Male offspring were behaviourally tested during adolescence (30 days) and adulthood (60 days), and baseline neural metabolic capacity of brain regions sensitive to alcohol effects were also evaluated in adult animals from both groups. Our results show that prenatal and postnatal alcohol exposure caused age-dependent changes in spontaneous locomotor activity, increased anxiety-like behaviour and attenuated alcohol-induced conditioned place preference in adults. Also, significant changes in neural metabolic capacity using cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) quantitative histochemistry were found in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, the mammillary bodies, the ventral tegmental area, the lateral habenula and the central lobules of the cerebellum in adult mice with prenatal and postnatal alcohol exposure. In addition, the analysis of interregional CCO activity correlations in alcohol-exposed adult mice showed disrupted functional brain connectivity involving the limbic, brainstem, and cerebellar regions. Finally, increased neurogenesis was found in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of alcohol-exposed offspring, suggesting neuroadaptive effects due to early alcohol exposure. Our results demonstrate that maternal binge-like alcohol drinking causes long-lasting effects on motor and emotional-related behaviours associated with impaired neuronal metabolic capacity and altered functional brain connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lídia Cantacorps
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Héctor González-Pardo
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, Oviedo, Spain; Instituto de Neurociencias del Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Jorge L Arias
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, Oviedo, Spain; Instituto de Neurociencias del Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Olga Valverde
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Neuroscience Research Program, IMIM-Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Nélida M Conejo
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, Oviedo, Spain; Instituto de Neurociencias del Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), Oviedo, Spain
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Concordance and incongruence in preclinical anxiety models: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 68:504-529. [PMID: 27328783 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Rodent defense behavior assays have been widely used as preclinical models of anxiety to study possibly therapeutic anxiety-reducing interventions. However, some proposed anxiety-modulating factors - genes, drugs and stressors - have had discordant effects across different studies. To reconcile the effect sizes of purported anxiety factors, we conducted systematic review and meta-analyses of the literature on ten anxiety-linked interventions, as examined in the elevated plus maze, open field and light-dark box assays. Diazepam, 5-HT1A receptor gene knockout and overexpression, SERT gene knockout and overexpression, pain, restraint, social isolation, corticotropin-releasing hormone and Crhr1 were selected for review. Eight interventions had statistically significant effects on rodent anxiety, while Htr1a overexpression and Crh knockout did not. Evidence for publication bias was found in the diazepam, Htt knockout, and social isolation literatures. The Htr1a and Crhr1 results indicate a disconnect between preclinical science and clinical research. Furthermore, the meta-analytic data confirmed that genetic SERT anxiety effects were paradoxical in the context of the clinical use of SERT inhibitors to reduce anxiety.
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Zanin KA, Patti CL, Sanday L, Fernandes-Santos L, Oliveira LC, Poyares D, Tufik S, Frussa-Filho R. Effects of zolpidem on sedation, anxiety, and memory in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2013; 226:459-74. [PMID: 22729271 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2756-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2011] [Accepted: 05/21/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Zolpidem (Zolp), a hypnotic drug prescribed to treat insomnia, may have negative effects on memory, but reports are inconsistent. OBJECTIVES We examined the effects of acute doses of Zolp (2, 5, or 10 mg/kg, i.p.) on memory formation (learning, consolidation, and retrieval) using the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task. METHODS Mice were acutely treated with Zolp 30 min before training or testing. In addition, the effects of Zolp and midazolam (Mid; a classic benzodiazepine) on consolidation at different time points were examined. The possible role of state dependency was investigated using combined pre-training and pre-test treatments. RESULTS Zolp produced a dose-dependent sedative effect, without modifying anxiety-like behavior. The pre-training administration of 5 or 10 mg/kg resulted in retention deficits. When administered immediately after training or before testing, memory was preserved. Zolp post-training administration (2 or 3 h) impaired subsequent memory. There was no participation of state dependency phenomenon in the amnestic effects of Zolp. Similar to Zolp, Mid impaired memory consolidation when administered 1 h after training. CONCLUSIONS Amnestic effects occurred when Zolp was administered either before or 2-3 h after training. These memory deficits are not related to state dependency. Moreover, Zolp did not impair memory retrieval. Notably, the memory-impairing effects of Zolp are similar to those of Mid, with the exception of the time point at which the drug can modify consolidation. Finally, the memory effects were unrelated to sedation or anxiolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina A Zanin
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, R. Napoleão de Barros, 925, 04024002 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Licata SC, Nickerson LD, Lowen SB, Trksak GH, Maclean RR, Lukas SE. The hypnotic zolpidem increases the synchrony of BOLD signal fluctuations in widespread brain networks during a resting paradigm. Neuroimage 2013; 70:211-22. [PMID: 23296183 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.12.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2012] [Revised: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 12/22/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Networks of brain regions having synchronized fluctuations of the blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) time-series at rest, or "resting state networks" (RSNs), are emerging as a basis for understanding intrinsic brain activity. RSNs are topographically consistent with activity-related networks subserving sensory, motor, and cognitive processes, and studying their spontaneous fluctuations following acute drug challenge may provide a way to understand better the neuroanatomical substrates of drug action. The present within-subject double-blind study used BOLD fMRI at 3T to investigate the functional networks influenced by the non-benzodiazepine hypnotic zolpidem (Ambien). Zolpidem is a positive modulator of γ-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptors, and engenders sedative effects that may be explained in part by how it modulates intrinsic brain activity. Healthy participants (n=12) underwent fMRI scanning 45 min after acute oral administration of zolpidem (0, 5, 10, or 20mg), and changes in BOLD signal were measured while participants gazed at a static fixation point (i.e., at rest). Data were analyzed using group independent component analysis (ICA) with dual regression and results indicated that compared to placebo, the highest dose of zolpidem increased functional connectivity within a number of sensory, motor, and limbic networks. These results are consistent with previous studies showing an increase in functional connectivity at rest following administration of the positive GABA(A) receptor modulators midazolam and alcohol, and suggest that investigating how zolpidem modulates intrinsic brain activity may have implications for understanding the etiology of its powerful sedative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie C Licata
- Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
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The effects of diazepam on the behavioral structure of the rat's response to pain in the hot-plate test: anxiolysis vs. pain modulation. Neuropharmacology 2012; 63:310-21. [PMID: 22521500 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2011] [Revised: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 03/31/2012] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate, by means of quantitative and multivariate analyses, the effects of diazepam on the behavioral structure of the rat's response to pain in the hot-plate test as well as whether such changes are associated with drug-induced effects on anxiety and/or nociception. To this purpose, ten groups of male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with saline, diazepam (0.25, 0.5 and 2 mg/kg), FG-7142 (1, 4 and 8 mg/kg) or morphine (3, 6 and 12 mg/kg). The mean number and mean latency to first appearance were calculated for each behavioral component. In addition, multivariate cluster and adjusted residual analyses based on the elaboration of transition matrices were performed. Three main behavioral categories were identified: exploratory (walking, sniffing), primary noxious-evoked (hind paw licking, front paw licking, shaking/stamping) and escape (climbing, jumping). Although no significant modifications in the latencies of the primary noxious-evoked components were induced by treatment with diazepam or FG-7142, significant effects were provoked by morphine treatment. Multivariate analyses showed that diazepam-induced anxiolysis redirected the rat's behavior toward a more purposeful and effective escape strategy. In contrast, the high level of anxiety induced by FG-7142 caused the behavioral structure to become disorganized and not purposefully oriented. Changes in the organization of behavioral components were observed in morphine-treated animals and mainly consisted of modifications in the primary noxious-evoked and escape components. The findings suggest that the effects of diazepam on the structure of the rat's response to pain in the hot-plate test are more likely attributable to anxiolysis than pain modulation.
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T-pattern analysis of diazepam-induced modifications on the temporal organization of rat behavioral response to anxiety in hole board. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 215:177-89. [PMID: 21181125 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2123-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE By means of t-pattern analysis, it has been observed that the different events, characterizing rat behavior in hole board (HB), present close interrelationships which occur sequentially and with significant constraints on the interval lengths separating them. OBJECTIVES The aim of present research was to study, by means of descriptive and multivariate t-pattern analyses, the effects of the reference anxiolytic drug diazepam (DZP) on temporal structure of a rat's anxiety-related behavior in HB. METHODS Fifty-six male Wistar rats were tested for 10 min in HB. Video files, collected for each animal, were coded by means of a software coder, and event log files, generated for each subject, were analyzed by means of a specific software for temporal pattern analysis (t-pattern analysis). RESULTS Significant diazepam-induced modifications were observed for durations of walking, climbing, edge-sniff, and face grooming. Dose-dependent decreases of t-patterns' total amount, of their mean occurrences and of their mean length for each group were detected. Also, t-patterns' mean occurrences, in terms of different composition, were reduced. Percent distributions showed a significant increase of t-patterns including walking for all administered groups, and significant reductions of t-patterns including climbing, immobile sniffing, and edge-sniff. Front-paw licking and face grooming were reduced at the higher DZP dose. CONCLUSIONS Present study demonstrates, for the first time, that the temporal structure of Wistar rats' behavioral response to anxiety in HB changes following pharmacological manipulation of anxiety condition. Moreover, t-pattern analysis is suggested to represent a useful tool to evaluate and compare different classes of anti-anxiety molecules.
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Murphy HM, Ihekoronze C, Wideman CH. Zolpidem-induced changes in activity, metabolism, and anxiety in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2010; 98:81-6. [PMID: 21182854 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2010] [Revised: 12/05/2010] [Accepted: 12/08/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptor modulators constitute the majority of clinically relevant sedative-hypnotics. Zolpidem (Ambien) is a nonbenzodiazepine GABA-A receptor modulator that binds with high affinity to GABA-A receptors expressing alpha-1 subunits. The present study examined the effects of a new approach to the oral administration of zolpidem on locomotor activity, body weight, food intake, relative food intake, feed efficiency, anxiety, and visceral adiposity in rats. Effects of withdrawal associated with cessation of the drug were also recorded. A daily chronically administered oral 10 mg/kg dose of zolpidem caused a decrease in locomotor activity, an increase in food intake and relative food intake, and a more positive feed efficiency during the drug-administration period. Anxiety and visceral adiposity also increased in animals receiving the drug. During withdrawal of zolpidem, there was a decrease in body weight, food intake, relative food intake, and anxiety, as well as a negative feed efficiency. These results suggest that zolpidem can modulate locomotor activity, metabolism, and anxiety-related behavior. A highly positive feed efficiency and increased visceral adiposity associated with zolpidem intake were unique findings of this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen M Murphy
- Neuroscience Program, John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH 44118, USA.
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Casarrubea M, Sorbera F, Santangelo A, Crescimanno G. Microstructure of rat behavioral response to anxiety in hole-board. Neurosci Lett 2010; 481:82-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.06.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2010] [Revised: 06/15/2010] [Accepted: 06/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Saha B, Mukherjee A, Santra CR, Chattopadhyay A, Ghosh AN, Choudhuri U, Karmakar P. Alprazolam Intercalates into DNA. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2009; 26:421-9. [DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2009.10507257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Treit D, Engin E, McEown K. Animal models of anxiety and anxiolytic drug action. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2009; 2:121-60. [PMID: 21309109 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2009_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Animal models of anxiety attempt to represent some aspect of the etiology, symptomatology, or treatment of human anxiety disorders, in order to facilitate their scientific study. Within this context, animal models of anxiolytic drug action can be viewed as treatment models relevant to the pharmacological control of human anxiety. A major purpose of these models is to identify novel anxiolytic compounds and to study the mechanisms whereby these compounds produce their anxiolytic effects. After a critical analysis of "face," "construct," and "predictive" validity, the biological context in which animal models of anxiety are to be evaluated is specified. We then review the models in terms of their general pharmacological profiles, with particular attention to their sensitivity to 5-HTIA agonists and antidepressant compounds. Although there are important exceptions, most of these models are sensitive to one or perhaps two classes of anxiolytic compounds, limiting their pharmacological generality somewhat, but allowing in depth analysis of individual mechanisms of anxiolytic drug action (e.g., GABAA agonism). We end with a discussion of possible sources of variability between models in response to 5-HTIA agonists and antidepressant drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dallas Treit
- Department of Psychology, Division of Neuroscience, University of Alberta, P-449 Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E9.
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Nishino T, Takeuchi T, Takechi K, Kamei C. Evaluation of anxiolytic-like effects of some short-acting benzodiazepine hypnotics in mice. J Pharmacol Sci 2008; 107:349-54. [PMID: 18603828 DOI: 10.1254/jphs.08107fp] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiolytic-like effects of some short-acting benzodiazepine hypnotics were examined with experimental paradigms of anxiety using an elevated plus-maze in male ICR mice. Diazepam was used as a positive control. The drug at a dose of 1 mg/kg significantly increased the percentage of time spent in the open arms and percentage of the number of open arm entries in the elevated plus-maze. Triazolam, brotizolam, rilmazafone, and lormetazepam also showed an anxiolytic-like effect as indicated by the significant increase in the percentage of time spent in the open arms and percentage of the number of open arm entries. Effects of short-acting benzodiazepine hypnotics used in the study were more potent than those of diazepam. In addition, the doses affecting the elevated plus-maze by benzodiazepine hypnotics were much smaller than those that showed muscle-relaxant activity measured by the rotarod test, indicating that anxiolytic-like effects of benzodiazepine hypnotics had high specificity and selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Nishino
- Department of Medicinal Pharmacology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
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González-Pardo H, Conejo NM, Arias JL, Monleón S, Vinader-Caerols C, Parra A. Changes in brain oxidative metabolism induced by inhibitory avoidance learning and acute administration of amitriptyline. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2008; 89:456-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2008.01.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2007] [Revised: 01/14/2008] [Accepted: 01/31/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Vinkers CH, van Bogaert MJV, Klanker M, Korte SM, Oosting R, Hanania T, Hopkins SC, Olivier B, Groenink L. Translational aspects of pharmacological research into anxiety disorders: the stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) paradigm. Eur J Pharmacol 2008; 585:407-25. [PMID: 18420191 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2008.02.097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2007] [Revised: 02/01/2008] [Accepted: 02/13/2008] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In anxiety research, the search for models with sufficient clinical predictive validity to support the translation of animal studies on anxiolytic drugs to clinical research is often challenging. This review describes the stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) paradigm, a model that studies the activation of the autonomic nervous system in response to stress by measuring body temperature. The reproducible and robust SIH response, combined with ease of testing, make the SIH paradigm very suitable for drug screening. We will review the current knowledge on the neurobiology of the SIH response, discuss the role of GABA(A) and serotonin (5-HT) pharmacology, as well as how the SIH response relates to infectious fever. Furthermore, we will present novel data on the SIH response variance across different mice and their sensitivity to anxiolytic drugs. The SIH response is an autonomic stress response that can be successfully studied at the level of its physiology, pharmacology, neurobiology and genetics and possesses excellent animal-to-human translational properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiaan H Vinkers
- Department of Psychopharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS) and Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht University, Sorbonnelaan 16, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Conejo NM, González-Pardo H, López M, Cantora R, Arias JL. Induction of c-Fos expression in the mammillary bodies, anterior thalamus and dorsal hippocampus after fear conditioning. Brain Res Bull 2007; 74:172-7. [PMID: 17683804 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2007.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2006] [Revised: 04/27/2007] [Accepted: 06/12/2007] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to provide further evidence on the role of particular subdivisions of the mammillary bodies, anterior thalamus and dorsal hippocampus to contextual and auditory fear conditioning. We used c-Fos expression as a marker of neuronal activation to compare rats that received tone-footshock pairings in a distinctive context (conditioned group) to rats being exposed to both the context and the auditory CS without receiving footshocks (unconditioned group), and naïve rats that were only handled. Fos immunoreactivity was significantly increased only in the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus and the lateral mammillary nucleus of the conditioned group. However, the dorsal hippocampus showed the highest density of c-Fos positive nuclei in the naïve group as compared to the other groups. Together, our data support previous studies indicating a particular involvement of the mammillary bodies and anterior thalamus in fear conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nélida M Conejo
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, s/n, E-33003 Oviedo, Spain.
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