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Middle-range exploratory activity in adult rats suggests higher resilience to chronic social defeat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2015

Denis Matrov ,
Kadri Kõiv ,
Margus Kanarik ,
Krista Peet ,
Karita Raudkivi  and
Jaanus Harro
Denis Matrov
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Kadri Kõiv
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Margus Kanarik
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Krista Peet
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Karita Raudkivi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Jaanus Harro*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
*
Dr. Jaanus Harro, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A Chemicum, 50411 Tartu, Estonia. Tel: +372 7376657; Fax: +372 7375900; E-mail: jaanus.harro@ut.ee
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Abstract

Objective

Stressful life events play an important role in the aetiology of human mood disorders and are frequently modelled by chronic social defeat (SD) in rodents. Exploratory phenotype in rats is a stable trait that is likely related to inter-individual differences in reactivity to stress. The aim of the study was to confirm that low levels of exploratory activity (LE) are, in rodents, a risk factor for passive stress coping, and to clarify the role of medium (ME) and high (HE) exploratory disposition in the sensitivity to SD.

Methods

We examined the effect of SD on male Wistar rats with LE, ME, and HE activity levels as measured in the exploration box. After SD, the rats were evaluated in social preference, elevated zero maze, and open-field tests. Brain tissue levels of monoamines were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results

Rats submitted to SD exhibited lower weight gain, higher sucrose consumption, showed larger stress-induced hyperthermia, lower levels of homovanillic acid in the frontal cortex, and higher levels of noradrenaline in the amygdala and hippocampus. Open-field, elevated zero maze, and social preference tests revealed the interaction between stress and phenotype, as only LE-rats were further inhibited by SD. ME-rats exhibited the least reactivity to stress in terms of changes in body weight, stress-induced hyperthermia, and sucrose intake.

Conclusion

Both low and high novelty-related activity, especially the former, are associated with elevated sensitivity to social stress. This study shows that both tails of a behavioural dimension can produce stress-related vulnerability.

Keywords

depressionexploratory behaviourinter-individual differencessocial defeatvulnerability
Type
Original Articles
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , June 2016 , pp. 125 - 140
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Copyright
© Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2015 

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