A single exposure to social isolation in domestic piglets activates behavioural arousal, neuroendocrine stress hormones, and stress-related gene expression in the brain
Stressful early life events can have short- and long-term effects on neuroendocrine and behavioural mechanisms of adaptation. Here, we investigated the effects of a single social isolation (4 h) of domestic piglets on both behavioural alterations in open-field tests and modifications in the expression of genes regulating glucocorticoid response in stress-related brain regions at 7, 21 […]
Post-weaning social isolation attenuates c-Fos expression in GABAergic interneurons in the basolateral amygdala of adult female rats
Previous studies have found that adolescent social isolation of rats can lead to an increased anxiety state during adulthood, while chronic anxiety states are associated with dysregulated local GABAergic inhibition within the basolateral amygdala (BL). Therefore, we investigated the effects of post-weaning social isolation of female rats, in combination with a challenge with the anxiogenic […]
An unexpected increase in restraint duration alters the expression of stress response habituation
While habituation develops to a repeated psychological stressor, manipulating certain parameters of the stress challenge experience may lead to dishabituation of the stress response. In this experiment, we investigated whether the behavioral, endocrine, and neural responses (c-fos mRNA immediate early gene expression) to a psychological stressor (restraint) differ when the duration of the stressor given […]
Subcaste differences in neural activation suggest a prosocial role for oxytocin in eusocial naked mole-rats
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) influences prosocial behavior(s), aggression, and stress responsiveness, and these diverse effects are regulated in a species- and context-specific manner. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a unique species with which to study context-dependent effects of OT, exhibiting a strict social hierarchy with behavioral specialization within the subordinate caste: soldiers are aggressive […]