assessment-stress-effects-on-cognitive-flexibility-using-an-operant

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm

Stress affects cognitive function. Whether stress enhances or impairs cognitive function depends on several factors, including the 1) type, intensity, and ...

Bryn Mawr College

We recently found that non-stressed female rats have higher basal prepro-orexin expression and activation of orexinergic neurons compared to non-stressed males, which lead to impaired habituation to repeated restraint stress at the behavioral, neural, and endocrine level. Here, we extended our study of sex differences in the orexin system by examining spine densities and dendritic morphology in putative orexin neurons in adult male and female rats that were exposed to 5 consecutive days of 30-min restraint. Analysis of spine distribution and density indicated that putative orexinergic neurons in control non-stressed females had significantly more dendritic spines than those in control males, and the majority of these were mushroom spines. This morphological finding may suggest more excitatory input onto orexin neurons in female rats. As orexin neurons are known to promote the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response, this morphological change in orexin neurons could underlie the impaired habituation to repeated stress in female rats. Dendritic complexity did not differ between non-stressed males and females, however repeated restraint stress decreased total dendritic length, nodes, and branching primarily in males. Thus, reduced dendritic complexity of putative orexinergic neurons is observed in males but not in females after 5days of repeated restraint stress. This morphological change might be reflective of decreased orexin system function, which may allow males to habituate more fully to repeated restraint than females. These results extend our understanding of the role of orexin neurons in regulating habituation and demonstrate changes in putative orexin cell morphology and spines that may underlie sex differences in habituation.

Sex- and Stress-Dependent Effects on Dendritic Morphology and Spine Densities in Putative Orexin Neurons.

Exposure to severe stress has immediate and prolonged neuropsychiatric consequences and increases the risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Importantly, PTSD develops in only a subset of individuals after exposure to a traumatic event, with the understanding of this selective vulnerability being very limited. Individuals who go on to develop PTSD after a traumatic experience typically demonstrate sleep disturbances including persistent insomnia and recurrent trauma-related nightmares. We previously established a repeated social defeat paradigm in which rats segregate into either passively or actively coping subpopulations, and we found that this distinction correlates with measures of vulnerability or resilience to stress. In this study, we examined differences between these two behavioral phenotypes in sleep changes resulting from repeated social defeat stress. Our data indicate that, compared to control and actively coping rats, passively coping rats have less slow-wave sleep (SWS) for at least 2 weeks after the end of a series of exposures to social defeat. Furthermore, resilient rats show less exaggerated motor activation at awakenings from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and less fragmentation of REM sleep compared to control and passively coping rats. Together, these data associate a passive coping strategy in response to repeated social defeat stress with persisting sleep disturbances. Conversely, an active coping strategy may be associated with resilience to sleep disturbances. These findings may have both prognostic and therapeutic applications to stress-associated neuropsychiatric disorders, including PTSD.

Laura A. Grafe

Department of Psychology

Bryn Mawr College

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm

Laura A. Grafe

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Psychology

Bryn Mawr College

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm

Department of Psychology