scholarly journals Maternal behavior and the neonatal HPA axis in the Wistar Audiogenic Rat (WAR) strain: early life implications for a genetic animal model in epilepsy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lívea Dornela Godoy ◽  
Norberto Garcia-Cairasco
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Maternal Behavior ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Multistage Process ◽  
Corticosterone Concentration ◽  
Genetic Animal Model ◽  
Pup Retrieval ◽  
Maternal Defense ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity

AbstractEpileptogenesis is a multistage process and seizure susceptibility can be influenced by stress early in life. Wistar Audiogenic Rat (WAR) strain is an interesting model to study the association between stress and epilepsy, since it is naturally susceptible to seizures and present changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. All these features are related to the pathogenic mechanisms usually associated to psychiatric comorbidities present in epilepsy. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the neonate HPA axis function and maternal care under control and stress conditions in the WAR strain. Maternal behavior and neonate HPA axis were evaluated in Wistar and WAR strains under rest and after the presence of stressors. We observed that WAR pups present higher plasmatic corticosterone concentration as compared to Wistar pups. Although WAR dams do not show significant altered maternal behavior at rest, there is a higher latency to recover the litter in the pup retrieval test, while some did not recover all the litter. WAR dams presented similar behaviors to Wistar dams to a female intruder and maternal care with the pups in the maternal defense test. Taken together, these findings indicate that the WAR strain could show HPA axis disruption early in life and dams present altered maternal behavior under stressful events. Those alterations make the WAR strain an interesting model to evaluate vulnerability to epilepsy and its associated neuropsychiatric comorbidities.

scholarly journals Chronic Deep Brain Stimulation of the Hypothalamic Nucleus in Wistar Rats Alters Circulatory Levels of Corticosterone and Proinflammatory Cytokines

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Calleja-Castillo ◽  
Dora Luz De La Cruz-Aguilera ◽  
Joaquín Manjarrez ◽  
Marco Antonio Velasco-Velázquez ◽  
Gabriel Morales-Espinoza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Brain Stimulation ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Therapeutic Option ◽  
Hypothalamic Nucleus ◽  
Corticosterone Concentration ◽  
Cervical Vagotomy ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity ◽  
Deep Brain

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutic option for several diseases, but its effects on HPA axis activity and systemic inflammation are unknown. This study aimed to detect circulatory variations of corticosterone and cytokines levels in Wistar rats, after 21 days of DBS-at the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMHvl), unilateral cervical vagotomy (UCVgX), or UCVgX plus DBS. We included the respective control (C) and sham (S) groups (n=6rats per group). DBS treated rats had higher levels of TNF-α(120%;P<0.01) and IFN-γ(305%;P<0.001) but lower corticosterone concentration (48%;P<0.001) than C and S. UCVgX animals showed increased corticosterone levels (154%;P<0.001) versus C and S. UCVgX plus DBS increased IL-1β(402%;P<0.001), IL-6 (160%;P<0.001), and corsticosterone (178%;P<0.001versus 48%;P<0.001) compared with the C and S groups. Chronic DBS at VMHvl induced a systemic inflammatory response accompanied by a decrease of HPA axis function. UCVgX rats experienced HPA axis hyperactivity as result of vagus nerve injury; however, DBS was unable to block the HPA axis hyperactivity induced by unilateral cervical vagotomy. Further studies are necessary to explore these findings and their clinical implication.

Prenatal stress increases HPA axis activity and impairs maternal care in lactating female offspring: Implications for postpartum mood disorder

2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Bosch ◽  
Werner Müsch ◽  
Remco Bredewold ◽  
David A. Slattery ◽  
Inga D. Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Mood Disorder ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Prenatal Stress ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity

scholarly journals Oxytocin Neurons Enable Social Transmission of Maternal Behavior

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Carcea ◽  
Naomi López Caraballo ◽  
Bianca J. Marlin ◽  
Rumi Ooyama ◽  
Justin S. Riceberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Maternal Behavior ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Cortical Plasticity ◽  
Social Transmission ◽  
Infant Vocalizations ◽  
Biological Parents ◽  
Pup Retrieval ◽  
Molecular Signal

AbstractMaternal care is profoundly important for mammalian survival, and non-biological parents can express it after experience with infants. One critical molecular signal for maternal behavior is oxytocin, a hormone centrally released by hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Oxytocin enables plasticity within the auditory cortex, a necessary step for responding to infant vocalizations. To determine how this change occurs during natural experience, we continuously monitored homecage behavior of female virgin mice co-housed for days with an experienced mother and litter, synchronized with recordings from virgin PVN cells, including from oxytocin neurons. Mothers engaged virgins in maternal care by ensuring their nest presence, and demonstrated maternal behavior in self-generated pup retrieval episodes. These social interactions activated virgin PVN and gated behaviorally-relevant cortical plasticity for pup vocalizations. Thus rodents can acquire maternal behavior by social transmission, and our results describe a mechanism for adapting brains of adult caregivers to infant needs via endogenous oxytocin.One Sentence SummaryMother mice help co-housed virgins become maternal by enacting specific behaviors that activate virgin oxytocin neurons.

The Influence of HPA-Axis Activity on Aggression

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robina Khan ◽  
Katja Bertsch ◽  
Ewald Naumann ◽  
Menno R. Kruk ◽  
Patrick Britz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity

Effects of alprazolam on cholecystokinin-tetrapeptide (CCK-4) induced panic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Eser ◽  
P Zwanzger ◽  
S Aicher ◽  
C Schüle ◽  
TC Baghai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity

Stress, Cortisol and Suicide Risk

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daryl Brian O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
Global Health Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity ◽  
The Impact

Suicide is a global health issue accounting for at least 800,000 deaths per annum. Numerous models have been proposed that differ in their emphasis on the role of psychological, social, psychiatric and neurobiological factors in explaining suicide risk. Central to many models is a stress-diathesis component which states that suicidal behavior is the result of an interaction between acutely stressful events and a susceptibility to suicidal behavior (a diathesis). This article presents an overview of studies that demonstrate that stress and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, as measured by cortisol levels, are important additional risk factors for suicide. Evidence for other putative stress-related suicide risk factors including childhood trauma, impaired executive function, impulsivity and disrupted sleep are considered together with the impact of family history of suicide, perinatal and epigenetic influences on suicide risk.

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