Age-dependent effects of a chronic ultramild stress procedure on open-field behaviour in B6D2F1 female mice

Few studies have been devoted to the interaction between age and stress. However, in view of the age-related changes in various components of the stress responses, the effects of stress may not be constant with age. In this study, we used a dimensional approach to compare open-field behaviour of B6D2F1 female mice, aged 5-6, 11-12, 17-18 and 23-24 months, exposed to a chronic ultramild stress (CUMS) procedure, solely based on nonnociceptive socioenvironmental stressors. Three behavioural dimensions emerged from the principal-component analysis; these were labelled as motor reactivity, exploratory activity, and emotional reactivity. Despite a major effect of age on the three dimensions, we could not conclude that CUMS had any influence as a function the age of the subjects. At all ages, CUMS increased motor activity and had no clear-cut effect on emotional reactivity and exploratory activity. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of the nature of the stressors on behavioural responses to novelty.