Comparing Various Types of Chronic Psychological Stress on Cognitive Functions and Behaviors in Rats

Overview

Journal Basic Clin Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2024 Oct 15

PMID 39403357

Authors

Hamed Adavi

Rasoul Kowsar

Maryam Radahmadi

Hojjatalah Alaei

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological stress impairs cognitive performance and affects mood states. This study compares the effect of four types of psychological stress (crowding, relocation, isolation, and restraint) on locomotor activity, learning, and memory, as well as anxiety-like behaviors performed by the open field, elevated plus maze, and passive avoidance tests.

Methods: Wistar rats were randomly assigned to different groups of crowding, relocation, isolation, and restraint stress, and control. The stress induction was administered for 21 consecutive days (6 h/day). To evaluate various types of behaviors, the open field, elevated plus maze, and passive avoidance tests were employed.

Results: According to the PA test results, the latency to enter the darkroom decreased significantly in all stress groups, especially in the crowding and isolation stress groups. However, it had an inverse relationship with serum corticosterone (CORT) levels. The total dark stay time increased significantly in the restraint and crowding stress groups, and also particularly, in the isolation stress group. In the isolation stress group, the number of darkroom entries decreased significantly. All stress groups spent a significantly shorter time in the open arms of the EPM apparatus. Finally, the total distance traveled, in the open field test was significantly lower in all stress groups, particularly in the isolation stress group.

Conclusion: Crowding and social isolation were the two stress types that had the most adverse effect on cognitive performance, as they induced stress-driven anxiety-like behaviors, probably due to increased CORT secretion. A high or low population of social density may create a condition, in which the nervous system could not efficiently manage stress, particularly at chronic levels.

References

Sandi C, Pinelo-Nava M . Stress and memory: behavioral effects and neurobiological mechanisms. Neural Plast. 2007; 2007:78970. PMC: 1950232. DOI: 10.1155/2007/78970. View

Fuchs E, Flugge G . Chronic social stress: effects on limbic brain structures. Physiol Behav. 2003; 79(3):417-27. DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00161-6. View

Hodgson N, Freedman V, Granger D, Erno A . Biobehavioral correlates of relocation in the frail elderly: salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004; 52(11):1856-62. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52505.x. View

Heinrichs S, Li D, Iyengar S . Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or CRF binding-protein ligand inhibitor administration suppresses food intake in mice and elevates body temperature in rats. Brain Res. 2001; 900(2):177-85. DOI: 10.1016/s0006-8993(01)02286-7. View

Serafim K, Gianlorenco A, Daher F, Mattioli R . H1-histamine receptors in the amygdala are involved in emotional memory but do not mediate anxiety-related behaviors in mice submitted to EPM testing. Brain Res Bull. 2012; 89(1-2):1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2012.06.009. View

Khani F, Radahmadi M, Alaei H . The Protective Effects of Crocin on Input-Output Functions and Long-term Potentiation of Hippocampal CA1 Area in Rats Exposed to Chronic Social Isolated Stress. Basic Clin Neurosci. 2022; 13(2):165-174. PMC: 9682321. DOI: 10.32598/bcn.2022.2346.2. View

Radahmadi M, Alaei H, Sharifi M, Hosseini N . The Effect of Synchronized Forced Running with Chronic Stress on Short, Mid and Long- term Memory in Rats. Asian J Sports Med. 2013; 4(1):54-62. PMC: 3685161. DOI: 10.5812/asjsm.34532. View

Ranjbar H, Radahmadi M, Alaei H, Reisi P, Karimi S . The effect of basolateral amygdala nucleus lesion on memory under acute,mid and chronic stress in male rats. Turk J Med Sci. 2017; 46(6):1915-1925. DOI: 10.3906/sag-1507-7. View

Adachi N, Sakhri F, Ikemoto H, Ohashi Y, Kato M, Inoue T . Kamikihito rescued depressive-like behaviors and hippocampus neurogenesis in chronic restraint stress rats. J Tradit Complement Med. 2022; 12(2):172-179. PMC: 9072803. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2021.08.001. View

10.

Lin E, Sun M, Choi E, Magee D, Stets C, During M . Social overcrowding as a chronic stress model that increases adiposity in mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014; 51:318-30. PMC: 4273577. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.007. View

11.

Radahmadi M, Alaei H, Sharifi M, Hosseini N . Effects of different timing of stress on corticosterone, BDNF and memory in male rats. Physiol Behav. 2014; 139:459-67. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.12.004. View

12.

Reiss D, Wolter-Sutter A, Krezel W, Ouagazzal A . Effects of social crowding on emotionality and expression of hippocampal nociceptin/orphanin FQ system transcripts in mice. Behav Brain Res. 2007; 184(2):167-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.07.010. View

13.

Medendorp W, Petersen E, Pal A, Wagner L, Myers A, Hochgeschwender U . Altered Behavior in Mice Socially Isolated During Adolescence Corresponds With Immature Dendritic Spine Morphology and Impaired Plasticity in the Prefrontal Cortex. Front Behav Neurosci. 2018; 12:87. PMC: 5954042. DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00087. View

14.

Jeong Y, Park C, Yoo J, Shin K, Ahn S, Kim H . Chronic stress accelerates learning and memory impairments and increases amyloid deposition in APPV717I-CT100 transgenic mice, an Alzheimer's disease model. FASEB J. 2006; 20(6):729-31. DOI: 10.1096/fj.05-4265fje. View

15.

Joels M, Pu Z, Wiegert O, Oitzl M, Krugers H . Learning under stress: how does it work?. Trends Cogn Sci. 2006; 10(4):152-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.02.002. View

16.

Makinodan M, Rosen K, Ito S, Corfas G . A critical period for social experience-dependent oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination. Science. 2012; 337(6100):1357-60. PMC: 4165613. DOI: 10.1126/science.1220845. View

17.

Dastgerdi H, Radahmadi M, Reisi P . Comparative study of the protective effects of crocin and exercise on long-term potentiation of CA1 in rats under chronic unpredictable stress. Life Sci. 2020; 256:118018. DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118018. View

18.

Crestani C . Emotional Stress and Cardiovascular Complications in Animal Models: A Review of the Influence of Stress Type. Front Physiol. 2016; 7:251. PMC: 4919347. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00251. View

19.

Qin M, Xia Z, Huang T, Smith C . Effects of chronic immobilization stress on anxiety-like behavior and basolateral amygdala morphology in Fmr1 knockout mice. Neuroscience. 2011; 194:282-90. PMC: 3183352. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.06.047. View

20.

Agrell J, Erlinge S, Nelson J, Nilsson C, Persson I . Delayed density-dependence in a small-rodent population. Proc Biol Sci. 1995; 262(1363):65-70. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1995.0177. View