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Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Published on: October 13, 2018
Predicting impaired extinction of traumatic memory and elevated startle.
Rebecca Nalloor1, Kristopher Bunting, Almira Vazdarjanova
1Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute and Department of Neurology, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia, United States of America.
Plos One
|May 26, 2011
Summary
Individual predispositions to anxiety disorders like PTSD can be identified before trauma. A mild stressor reveals these traits, aiding the study of anxiety disorder origins and interventions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Emotionally traumatic experiences can lead to anxiety disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
- Individual susceptibility to PTSD varies, suggesting pre-disposing factors.
- Existing animal models for PTSD are often retrospective, limiting etiological studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a prospective animal model for identifying pre-trauma predispositions to PTSD-like phenotypes.
- To investigate factors that predict the development of anxiety disorders following trauma.
Main Methods:
- Utilized rats to establish a prospective model for PTSD-like phenotypes.
- Exposed rats to a mild stressor to reveal individual predispositions before emotional trauma.
- Compared classification criteria, focusing on acoustic startle responses and behavior in anxiogenic environments.
Main Results:
- Identified individual predispositions to impaired extinction and elevated acoustic startle responses after mild stress.
- A combination of acoustic startle and anxiogenic behavior reliably predicted PTSD-like phenotypes.
- Mild stressors revealed predispositions without inducing the full phenotype.
Conclusions:
- Individual predispositions to anxiety disorder phenotypes can be identified prospectively.
- This model facilitates the study of anxiety disorder etiology and pathophysiology.
- The model offers a platform for testing interventions to prevent pathological behaviors.
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