Expression of c-fos and BDNF mRNA in subregions of the prefrontal cortex of male and female rats after acute uncontrollable stress

Bland, Sondra T.; Schmid, Megan J.; Der-Avakian, Andre; Watkins, Linda R.; Spencer, Robert L.; Maier, Steven F.

doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2005.05.065

Cited by 96 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Noticeably, prolonged restraint stress (30-100 min) reportedly leads to stronger Fos increase in males in several brain regions compared to females (Bland et al, 2005;Figueiredo et al, 2002;Zavala et al, 2011). Therefore, it is likely that other peptide hormones or neurotransmitter systems -which respond specifically to the swim stress challenge -are involved in the strong and rapid regulation of Fos, Per1 and Sgk1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hippocampal gene expression induced by cold swim stress depends on sex and handling

Bohacek

Manuella

Roszkowski

et al. 2015

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Summary: Stress-related disorders such as PTSD and depression are more prevalent in women than men. One reason for such discordance may be that brain regions involved in stress responses are more sensitive to stress in females. Here, we compared the effects of acute stress on gene transcription in the hippocampus of female and male mice, and also examined the involvement of two key stress-related hormones, corticosterone and corticotropin releasing hormone (Crh). Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), we measured gene expression of Fos, Per1 and Sgk1 45 min after exposure to brief cold swim stress. Stress induced a stronger increase in Fos and Per1 expression in females than males. The handling control procedure increased Fos in both sexes, but occluded the effects of stress in males. Further, handling increased Per1 only in males. Sgk1 was insensitive to handling, and increased in response to stress similarly in males and females. The transcriptional changes observed after swim stress were not mimicked by corticosterone injections, and the stress-induced increase in Fos, Per1 and Sgk1 could neither be prevented by pharmacologically blocking glucocorticoid receptor (GR) nor by blocking Crh receptor 1 (Crhr1) before stress exposure. Finally, we demonstrate that the effects are stressor-specific, as the expression of target genes could not be increased by brief restraint stress in either sex. In summary, we find strong effects of acute swim stress on hippocampal gene expression, complex interactions between handling and sex, and a remarkably unique response pattern for each gene. Overall, females respond to a cold swim challenge with stronger hippocampal gene transcription than males, independent of two classic mediators of the stress response, corticosterone and Crh. These findings may have important implications for understanding the higher vulnerability of women to certain stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases. In summary, we find strong effects of acute swim stress on hippocampal gene expression, complex interactions between handling and sex, and a remarkably unique response pattern for each gene. Overall, females respond to a cold swim challenge with stronger hippocampal gene transcription than males, independent of two classic mediators of the stress response, corticosterone and Crh. These findings may have important implications for understanding the higher vulnerability of women to certain stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hippocampal gene expression induced by cold swim stress depends on sex and handling

Bohacek

Manuella

Roszkowski

et al. 2015

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…At the same time, acute stress in general produces stimulating effects on cellular signaling and neurophysiologic models and is followed by enhanced passive avoidance learning, although these effects may depend on the type, intensity, and duration of stressful models. Acute stress induces also increased BDNF levels in the cortex and hippocampus of rodents (Kaneto 1997, Calderon et al 1999, Das et al 2000, Black 2002, Bland et al 2005, Schneiderman et al 2005, Ahmed et al 2006, Pavlova & Vanetsian 2006, Dungan et al 2009, Mazurek et al 2010, Shackman et al 2011, Tomiyama et al 2012, Uysal et al 2012). …”

Section: Enduring Improved Efficiency Of the Cns And The Visual Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced brain performance in mice following postnatal stress

Loizzo

Spampinato

Campana

et al. 2012

Journal of Endocrinology

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The double postnatal stress model (brief maternal separation plus sham injection daily applied from birth to weaning) induces metabolic alterations similar to type 2 diabetes in young-adult male mice. We verify whether 1) the stress also induces brain metabolic-functional alterations connected to diabetes and 2) different alterations are modulated selectively by two stress-damaged endogenous systems (opioid-and/or ACTH-corticosteroid-linked). Here, diabetes-like metabolic plus neurophysiologicneurometabolic parameters are studied in adult mice following postnatal stress and drug treatment. Surprisingly, together with 'classic' diabetes-like alterations, the stress model induces in young-adult mice significantly enhanced brain neurometabolic-neurophysiologic performances, consisting of decreased latency to flash-visual evoked potentials (Kw8%); increased level (Cw40%) and reduced latency (Kw30%) of NAD(P)H autofluorescence postsynaptic signals following electric stimuli; enhanced passive avoidance learning (Cw135% latency); and enhanced brain-derived neurotrophic factor level (Cw70%). Postnatal treatment with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone prevents some alterations, moreover the treatment with antisense (AS; AS vs proopiomelanocortin mRNA) draws all parameters to control levels, thus showing that some alterations are bound to endogenous opioid-system hyper-functioning, while others depend on ACTHcorticosterone system hyper-functioning. Our stress model induces diabetes-like metabolic alterations coupled to enhanced brain neurometabolic-neurophysiologic performances. Taken all together, these findings are compatible with an 'enduring acute-stress' reaction, which puts mice in favorable survival situations vs controls. However, prolonged hormonal-metabolic imbalances are expected to also produce diabetes-like complications at later ages in stressed mice.

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“…The PFC is also associated with sex differences in its response to stress. [237,238] and might develop at different rates in males and females [239]. The PFC is thought to be involved in decision making.…”

Section: Susceptibility To Neurological Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review

Zaidi¹

2010

Open Anat J

183

127

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Why do men and women think differently? Why do they behave differently in stressed situations? Why do women act more emotionally as compared to men? Why do men and women excel at different types of tasks? Why do boys like to play with cars and trucks and superman? These are the common questions which arise commonly in minds.The human brain is a highly complex organ. Studies of perception, cognition, memory and neural functions have found apparent gender differences. These differences may be attributed to various genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors and do not reflect any overall superiority advantage to either sex. Both sexes are equal in intelligence, but tend to operate differently. Men and women appear to use different parts of the brain to encode memories, sense emotions, recognize faces, solve certain problems and make decisions. Indeed, when men and women of similar intelligence and aptitude perform equally well, their brains appear to go about it differently, as if nature had separate blueprints. Sex differences in the brain may play a role in learning processes, language development, and progression of neurologicallybased diseases. Sex differences need to be considered in studying brain structure and function and may raise the possibility of sex-specific treatments for neurological diseases. In this article it is reviewed that how does the brain of a male look and function differently from a female's brain, and what accounts for these differences?Keywords: Human brain, gender differences, brain aging, neurological disorders, learning. ANATOMICAL DIFFERENCESSeveral postmortem and structural neuroimaging studies in humans have shown the following morphological differences that are likely to reflect an interaction between developmental influences, experience, and hormone actions on the mature brain. Size & WeightThe adult human brain weighs on average about 3lb (1.5 kg) [1] with a size of around 1130 cm 3 in women and 1260 cm 3 in men although there is substantial individual variation [2]. Male brains are about 10% larger than female brains and weigh 11-12% more than that of a woman. Men's heads are also about 2% bigger than women's. This is due to the larger physical stature of men. Male's larger muscle mass and larger body size requires more neurons to control them. The brain weight is related to the body weight partly because it increases with increasing height [3]. This difference is also present at birth. A boy's brain is between 12-20% larger than that of a girl. The head circumference of boys is also larger (2%) than that of girls. However, when the size of the brain is compared to body weight at this age, there is almost no difference between boys and girls. So, a girl baby and a boy baby who weigh the same will have similar brain sizes. Brain VolumeSexual dimorphisms of adult brain volumes were more evident in the cortex, with women having larger volumes, relative to cerebrum size, particularly in frontal and medial *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Anato...

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Expression of c-fos and BDNF mRNA in subregions of the prefrontal cortex of male and female rats after acute uncontrollable stress

Cited by 96 publications

References 47 publications

Hippocampal gene expression induced by cold swim stress depends on sex and handling

Hippocampal gene expression induced by cold swim stress depends on sex and handling

Enhanced brain performance in mice following postnatal stress

Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review

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