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A study of limbic brain derived neurotrophic factor gene expression in male Sprague-Dawley rats trained on a learned
Alexandra Storace1, Stephen Daniels1, Yan Zhou2
1Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been linked to the etiology and pathology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Here, the relationship between learned helplessness (LH), a cognitive/motivational state relevant to MDD, and BDNF mRNA in various limbic regions, was investigated.
Methods:
In Sprague-Dawley male rats, LH was induced by escape training, using a triadic design of stressor controllability involving exposure to no shocks (NS), escapable shocks (ES) or yoked inescapable shocks (IES). LH was subsequently assessed in an active avoidance task, and levels of BDNF mRNA in limbic brain regions were compared across the triad following testing.
Results:
Although the IES group displayed greater LH, BDNF mRNA levels were lower in the hippocampus and higher in the nucleus accumbens of both IES and ES groups. In contrast, BDNF mRNA in the basolateral amygdala was elevated only in rats exposed to IES.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that the inability to control an aversive stimulus can lead to a LH behavioural phenotype that is associated with region-specific alterations of BDNF gene expression in limbic nuclei.
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