Sex differences in addiction-relevant behavioral outcomes in rodents following early life stress

Rincón-Cortés, Millie

doi:10.1016/j.addicn.2023.100067

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Loss of interest in rewarding activities (i.e., anhedonia) is a core symptom of many psychiatric disorders, including mood and psychotic disorders (Barch et al., 2016; Lambert et al., 2018; Nusslock & Alloy, 2017). Similar motivational deficits have been recapitulated in rodent models useful for the study of depression and schizophrenia, including rodent models of early life stress (ELS) (Birnie et al., 2022; Duque‐Quintero et al., 2022; Rincon‐Cortes, 2023; Scheggi et al., 2018; Slaney et al., 2018; Young & Markou, 2015). Although sex differences in reward‐related responses have been reported in adult animals following ELS (Birnie et al., 2022; Rincon‐Cortes, 2023; Williams et al., 2022), less is known regarding the normative development of reward‐related responses in both sexes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Similar motivational deficits have been recapitulated in rodent models useful for the study of depression and schizophrenia, including rodent models of early life stress (ELS) (Birnie et al, 2022; Sasha Oak and Christine Nguyen contributed equally to the published work. Duque-Quintero et al, 2022;Rincon-Cortes, 2023;Scheggi et al, 2018;Slaney et al, 2018;Young & Markou, 2015). Although sex differences in reward-related responses have been reported in adult animals following ELS (Birnie et al, 2022;Rincon-Cortes, 2023;Williams et al, 2022), less is known regarding the normative development of rewardrelated responses in both sexes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Duque-Quintero et al, 2022;Rincon-Cortes, 2023;Scheggi et al, 2018;Slaney et al, 2018;Young & Markou, 2015). Although sex differences in reward-related responses have been reported in adult animals following ELS (Birnie et al, 2022;Rincon-Cortes, 2023;Williams et al, 2022), less is known regarding the normative development of rewardrelated responses in both sexes. Comparing reward-related behavioral responses between developing male and female rats may be useful for understanding how these processes may be affected across early development and in rodent models relevant to psychiatric disorders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, sex differences have also been reported for social play behaviors, in which males often show increased play fighting (Pellis & Pellis, 1990; Pellis et al., 1997). Notably, sex differences in response to consummatory and social rewards have also been observed in rodent models of ELS such as maternal separation (MS) or limited bedding and nesting (LBN), which typically reduce sucrose preference/consumption in adult male rats and exert stressor‐specific effects on palatable food (i.e., MS‐induced increase in consumption in adult males and females, LBN‐induced decrease in males, increase in females) and social play (i.e., MS‐induced decrease in females, LBN‐induced decrease in males) (Birnie et al., 2022; Rincon‐Cortes, 2023). Yet, less is known about potential sex differences in response to natural rewards during early development and in normative conditions, as most studies have been conducted in adult male animals after an experimental manipulation (e.g., adversity exposure, genetic mutation, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioral responses to natural rewards in developing male and female rats

Oak,

Nguyen,

Rodney‐Hernández

et al. 2023

Developmental Psychobiology

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Reward deficits are a hallmark feature of multiple psychiatric disorders and often recapitulated in rodent models useful for the study of psychiatric disorders, including those employing early life stress. Moreover, rodent studies have shown sex differences during adulthood in response to natural and drug rewards under normative conditions and in stress‐based rodent models. Yet, little is known about the development of reward‐related responses under normative conditions, including how these may differ in rats of both sexes during early development. Comparing reward‐related behavioral responses between developing male and female rats may be useful for understanding how these processes may be affected in rodent models relevant to psychiatric disorders. To this end, we tested behavioral responses to natural rewards in male and female rats using sucrose consumption, sweet palatable food intake and social play tests at two timepoints (peripuberty, adolescence). Our results suggest comparable responses to consummatory and social rewards in male and female rats during peripuberty and adolescence as no sex differences were found for sucrose preference, chocolate candy intake or a subset of play behaviors (dorsal contacts, pins). These findings suggest that sex differences in response to these natural rewards emerge and may be more robust during adulthood.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Behavioral responses to natural rewards in developing male and female rats

Oak,

Nguyen,

Rodney‐Hernández

et al. 2023

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…However, the assays used in this experiment to test for anxiety have also been used as measures of risk-seeking (Walf & Frye, 2013; Palm et al, 2014). ELA is known to increase risk-seeking and impulsivity (Rincón-Cortés, 2023). It is therefore possible that MS induced increased risk-seeking in adolescent females that would not be seen if testing occurred in adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of early life adversity and adolescent basolateral amygdala activity on corticolimbic connectivity and anxiety behaviors

Cody,

Artur de la Villarmois,

Miguelez Fernandez

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Early postnatal life is a dynamic period of brain development that involves a coordinated symphony of circuit maturation. As many regions within the brain continue to develop and mature postnatally, external stimuli impact this development and regulate the degree of connectivity to other brain areas. Since subcortical limbic regions undergo substantial synapse formation and pruning during early development while higher-order areas such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) mature during adolescence, early postnatal life and adolescence are two sensitive periods when limbic and prefrontal regions form functional connections in response to external stimuli and neuronal activity. Thus, activity within limbic regions over the course of development can affect the strength and quantity of efferent connections to cortical areas. Prior work has shown hyper-innervation of glutamatergic basolateral amygdala (BLA) projections to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the adolescent time period following rearing in an adverse early life environment, but how these ELA-induced connectivity changes alter the startle circuitry required to execute a startle response and whether the BLA-PFC pathway is responsible for previously reported blunted startle response remains unknown. We directly tested whether BLA activity during a discrete adolescent period altered later anxiety behaviors, and if behavioral changes were driven by altered PFC innervation. To test these questions, we exposed rat pups to an ELA model of maternal separation on postnatal days (P) 2-21. Rats then underwent an injection of an inhibitory DREADD in the BLA in order to silence the excitatory projections during the adolescent time period of P33-39. Finally, rats were tested in an acoustic startle paradigm in late adolescence to assess the effects of reduced BLA-PFC connectivity on the ELA-induced blunted startle response. Density, intensity, and volume of axonal boutons in the BLA projecting PFC neurons were then assessed to elucidate how BLA inhibition during adolescence affects innervation later in life. These results explore how altered early life environments may affect the development of anxiety-related circuitry and anxiety responses later in life, and how rescue of this maladaptive response may be sex and developmentally specific.

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