Effects of stress on nonassociative learning processes in male and female rats

被引:16
作者
Beck, KD [1 ]
Brennan, FX [1 ]
Servatius, RJ [1 ]
机构
[1] Vet Affairs New Jersey Hlth Care Syst, Neurobehav Res Lab 127A, E Orange, NJ 07018 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1007/BF02688825
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
In this study we assessed habituation and sensitization of the acoustic startle response (ASR) to discern whether intense, inescapable stress affects nonassociative learning differently in male and female rats. Rats were inescapably stressed 2 hours per day over 3 consecutive days. ASR magnitudes were measured at several times post-stress (1, 4, 8, and 15 days after cessation). Females generally showed greater ASR magnitudes (compared to males), but both sexes exhibited short and long-term habituation across the testing days. ASR magnitudes were only affected by stress in male subjects. The effect in males was an increase in short-term sensitization of the ASR on post-stress day-4. The results suggest that stressed males and females react differently to ASR testing, in that stress males appear to develop an exaggerated ASR response over repeated test sessions due to short-term sensitization. The source of the short-term sensitization is discussed with regards to possible stress-induced enhanced contextual learning during ASR testing on post-stress day-1.
引用
收藏
页码:128 / 139
页数:12
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