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Cotella EM, Nawreen N, Moloney RD, Martelle SE, Oshima KM, Lemen P, NiBlack JN, Julakanti RR, Fitzgerald M, Baccei ML, Herman JP. Adolescent Stress Confers Resilience to Traumatic Stress Later in Life: Role of the Prefrontal Cortex. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science 2022; 3:274-282. [PMID: 37124346 PMCID: PMC10140393 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Adolescent brains are sensitive to stressors. However, under certain circumstances, developmental stress can promote an adaptive phenotype, allowing individuals to cope better with adverse situations in adulthood, thereby contributing to resilience. Methods Sprague Dawley rats (50 males, 48 females) were subjected to adolescent chronic variable stress (adol CVS) for 2 weeks at postnatal day 45. At postnatal day 85, a group was subjected to single prolonged stress (SPS). After a week, animals were evaluated in an auditory-cued fear conditioning paradigm, and neuronal recruitment during reinstatement was assessed by Fos expression. Patch clamp electrophysiology (17-35 cells/group) was performed in male rats to examine physiological changes associated with resilience. Results Adol CVS blocked fear potentiation evoked by SPS. We observed that SPS impaired extinction (males) and enhanced reinstatement (both sexes) of the conditioned freezing response. Prior adol CVS prevented both effects. SPS effects were associated with a reduction of infralimbic (IL) cortex neuronal recruitment after reinstatement in males and increased engagement of the central amygdala in females, both also prevented by adol CVS, suggesting different neurocircuits involved in generating resilience between sexes. We explored the mechanism behind reduced IL recruitment in males by studying the intrinsic excitability of IL pyramidal neurons. SPS reduced excitability of IL neurons, and prior adol CVS prevented this effect. Conclusions Our data indicate that adolescent stress can impart resilience to the effects of traumatic stress on neuroplasticity and behavior. Our data provide a mechanistic link behind developmental stress-induced behavioral resilience and prefrontal (IL) cortical excitability in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelin M. Cotella
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Nawshaba Nawreen
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Rachel D. Moloney
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Susan E. Martelle
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Kristen M. Oshima
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Paige Lemen
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Jordan N. NiBlack
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Reetu R. Julakanti
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Maureen Fitzgerald
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Mark L. Baccei
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Research Center, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - James P. Herman
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Address correspondence to James P. Herman, Ph.D.
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