Acute inescapable stress exposure induces long-term sleep disturbances and avoidance behavior: A mouse model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Only susceptible rats exposed to a model of PTSD exhibit reactivity to trauma-related cues and other symptoms: An effect abolished by a single amphetamine injection

“…These findings indicate that environmental cues, such as an odor or a tone present during the trauma, can be associated with the traumatic event. The present results indicate that one of the more reliable PTSD symptom described in human, avoidance, rarely explored in animal models of PTSD, can be demonstrated after a traumatic event in rats [31,32]. The present results reproduce previous findings in humans reporting that trauma-related smells and sounds can serve as strong emotional reminders and thus may potentially serve to promote re-experiencing [33,34].…”

“…When rats were selected on the amplitude of their SPS-induced alterations, only six rats were shown differ from the controls, as well as from the remaining SPS rats, in terms of anxiety, arousal, and reactivity to the trauma-related cues. In addition, our results indicate that susceptible rats exhibited some generalization between trauma-associated stimuli and new stimuli, an effect not evidenced in resilient rats and already reported in human patients (see also [31,32]). On the basis of these results it can be proposed that only some of the SPS-exposed rats developed symptoms, as in humans [35].…”

Treatment-resistant depression: are animal models of depression fit for purpose?

“…For example, this procedure has not been reported to engender anhedonia; it does, however, cause some longlasting physiological changes (e.g. Philbert et al 2011). As with the CMS model, LH is reversed by a wide range of antidepressant drugs, with relatively few false positives or false negatives.…”

Genetic variability in fear learning and awakenings to re-exposure of a novel conditioning stimulus during sleep

“…The CS re-exposed FVB mice (65 ± 8 %, n = 3) showed a moderate trend in increased awakenings from REM sleep relative to the air re-exposed mice (34 ± 2 %, n = 3; P = 0.08), which suggest that FVB mice exhibit yet a third distinct phenotype relative to the BALBc and C57BL6 mice. Thus, we conclude that in the 'anxious' BALBc mouse phenotype fear conditioning lowered the NREM sleep arousal threshold to subsequent re-exposure of the CS, which may lead to further impairments in sleep [27]. Our study did not assess what neural pathways or transmitters might account for the altered arousal threshold in the BALBc/J strain re-exposed to the CS but there are several possibilities.…”