| ACUTE RESTRAINT STRESS ALTERS SUBSEQUENT AUDITORY FEAR CONDITIONING IN THE RAT. | |
| D.E.A.Bush*; L.R.Johnson; J.Choi; J.E.LeDoux | |
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| The neural basis of Pavlovian fear conditioning is well
understood and depends upon neural processes within the amygdala.
Stress is known to play a role in the modulation of fear-related behavior,
including Pavlovian fear conditioning. Chronic restraint stress has
been shown to enhance fear conditioning to discrete and contextual
stimuli; however, the time course and extent of restraint that is
essential for this modulation of fear learning remains unclear. Thus,
we tested the extent to which a single exposure to 1 hr of restraint
would alter subsequent auditory fear conditioning in rats. Male rats (n=28) were habituated for 1 hr to conditioning and testing chambers, and locomotor activity was measured using an automated system. Following habituation rats were randomly assigned to either stress or control groups, with the restriction that mean activity scores for each group be matched. Rats in the stress group were restrained in wire mesh pouches for 1 hr, and controls were handled briefly in a separate room. Fear conditioning, which involved a single tone- (5 kHz, 30 s) footshock (0.6 mA, 1 s) pairing, was administered to both groups 2 hr following the termination of restraint. Tone-elicited freezing was measured in a separate context on the following day. Results showed that 1 hr restraint produced a deficit in subsequent fear conditioning relative to handling alone. Thus, unlike the effects of chronic restraint stress, acute restraint stress produced a deficit in auditory fear conditioning. Support Contributed By: R37 MH38774, P50 MH58911 |
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| Citation: D.E.A. Bush, L.R. Johnson, J. Choi, J.E. LeDoux. ACUTE RESTRAINT STRESS ALTERS SUBSEQUENT AUDITORY FEAR CONDITIONING IN THE RAT. Program No. 623.6. 2003 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, 2003. Online. |
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