Prenatal immune activation in rats and adult exposure to inescapable shocks reveal sex-dependent effects on fear conditioning that might be relevant for schizophrenia
Prenatal infection is considered a relevant factor for neurodevelopmental alterations and psychiatric diseases. Administration of bacterial and viral components during pregnancy in rodents results in maternal immune activation (MIA), leading to schizophrenia-like neurochemical and behavioral changes...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT) |
| Repositorio: | r-I3PT. Repositorio Institucional Producción Científica del Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:i3pt.fundanetsuite.com:p5277 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://i3pt.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/5277 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85205707472&doi=10.1016%2fj.psychres.2024.116219&partnerID=40&md5=1d4e183454a0ef30eab38b4ae1a267cc |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | PolyI:C Maternal immune activation ACTH Corticosterone Footshock Contextual fear Fear generalization |
| Sumario: | Prenatal infection is considered a relevant factor for neurodevelopmental alterations and psychiatric diseases. Administration of bacterial and viral components during pregnancy in rodents results in maternal immune activation (MIA), leading to schizophrenia-like neurochemical and behavioral changes. Despite some evidence for abnormal fear conditioning in schizophrenia, only a few animal studies have focused on this issue. Therefore, we addressed the impact of the administration of the viral mimetic polyI:C to pregnant Long-Evans rats on the adult offspring response to inescapable shocks (IS) and contextual fear conditioning. In males, polyI:C induced a greater endocrine (plasma ACTH) response to IS and both polyI:C and IS enhanced fear conditioning and generalization to a completely different novel environment (hole-board), with no additive effects, probably due to a ceiling effect. In contrast, a modest impact of polyI:C and a lower impact of IS on contextual fear conditioning and generalization was observed in females. Thus, the present results demonstrate that polyI:C dramatically affected fear response to IS in adult males and support the hypothesis that males are more sensitive than females to this treatment. This model might allow to explore neurobiological mechanisms underlying abnormal responsiveness to fear conditioning and stressors in schizophrenia. |
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