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Stress enhances return-based behaviors in Wistar rats during spatial navigation without altering spatial performance:
Jamshid Faraji1, Seyyed Yaghoob Jafari, Nabiollah Soltanpour
1Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada; Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Gorgan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Repeated restraint stress did not impair spatial learning in rats using wet- or dry-land tasks. However, stress enhanced memory-dependent returns in the dry-land ziggurat task, suggesting task-specific effects on spatial memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Stress Research
Background:
- Stress is often linked to impaired spatial learning and memory.
- However, studies show conflicting results, possibly due to task differences.
- Investigating stress effects requires diverse spatial tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how repeated restraint stress impacts spatial performance in Wistar rats.
- To compare stress effects in wet-land (Morris water task) and dry-land (ziggurat task) environments.
- To understand task-dependent alterations in stress-related spatial memory.
Main Methods:
- Adult male Wistar rats underwent 21 days of daily 3-hour restraint stress.
- Spatial learning and memory were assessed using the Morris water task and ziggurat task before and after stress.
- Physiological stress markers (weight, corticosterone) were monitored.
Main Results:
- Stressed rats showed reduced weight gain and elevated corticosterone levels.
- No impairment in spatial learning or memory was observed in either task.
- Stress significantly enhanced memory-dependent returns in the ziggurat task, but not on learning days.
Conclusions:
- Repeated restraint stress does not universally impair spatial cognition in rats.
- Stress-induced enhancements in memory-related behaviors were observed in a dry-land task.
- These findings highlight the task-dependent nature of stress effects on spatial memory.
