Related Experiment Videos
Social isolation stress impairs passive avoidance learning in senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM)
Yoichi Chida1, Nobuyuki Sudo, Junko Mori
1Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, 812-8582 Fukuoka, Japan.
Brain Research
|December 8, 2005
Summary
Psychosocial stress, specifically social isolation, impairs conditioning memory in dementia models. This occurs via elevated corticosterone and reduced neural activation in the central amygdaloidal nucleus (CeA).
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Psychosocial stress negatively impacts learning and memory in dementia.
- The exact neurobiological mechanisms linking stress and dementia-related memory deficits are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of social isolation stress on learning and memory in a dementia model.
- To examine the role of corticosterone and central amygdaloidal nucleus (CeA) activation.
Main Methods:
- Senescence-accelerated mice prone 10 (SAMP10) were exposed to chronic social isolation stress.
- Behavioral tests (passive avoidance, Y-maze) assessed memory functions.
- Endocrinological and immunohistochemical analyses measured corticosterone levels and c-Fos expression in the CeA.
Main Results:
- Chronic social isolation stress significantly impaired conditioning memory but not spatial memory.
- Stress elevated serum corticosterone levels.
- Isolation stress inhibited c-Fos expression in the CeA during passive avoidance learning.
Conclusions:
- Chronic social isolation stress exacerbates conditioning memory deficits in SAMP10 mice.
- The impairment is likely mediated by glucocorticoids, leading to decreased neural activation in the CeA.