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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Restraint to Induce Stress in Mice and Rats
Published on: December 6, 2024
Behavioral control of the stressor modulates stress-induced changes in neurogenesis and fibroblast growth factor-2
Sondra T Bland1, Megan J Schmid, Benjamin N Greenwood
1Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80309-0345, USA. sondra.bland@colorado.edu
Abstract:
The controllability of stressors modulates many of the consequences of stressor exposure. Here, we used immunohistochemistry to examine neural progenitor cell proliferation and survival and basic fibroblast growth factor-2 in the hippocampus of male rats after controllable or uncontrollable tailshock. A series of identical tailshocks were delivered to yoked pairs of rats. One rat could terminate shocks to both rats of the pair. Reductions in neural progenitor cells were observed at 1-2 days and at 28 days in rats exposed to uncontrollable shock. Controllable shock produced an increase in fibroblast growth factor-2 in the dentate gyrus and CA1 2 h after stress and in the dentate gyrus 24 h after stress. Thus, stressor controllability modulates stress-induced decreases in neurogenesis and increases in fibroblast growth factor-2.
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