Individual variability in behavior and functional networks predicts vulnerability using an animal model of PTSD
- Published:
- 2019.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Additional Creators:
- Bravo-Rivera, Hector, Dopfel, David, Ma, Yuncong, Perez, Pablo D., Quirk, Gregory J., Verbitsky, Alexander, and Zhang, Nanyin
Access Online
- www.nature.com , Open Access
- Restrictions on Access:
- Open Access Unrestricted online access
- Summary:
- "Only a minority of individuals experiencing trauma subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, whether differences in vulnerability to PTSD result from a predisposition or trauma exposure remains unclear. A major challenge in differentiating these possibilities is that clinical studies focus on individuals already exposed to trauma without pre-trauma conditions. Here, using the predator scent model of PTSD in rats and a longitudinal design, we measure pre-trauma brain-wide neural circuit functional connectivity, behavioral and corticosterone responses to trauma exposure, and post-trauma anxiety. Freezing during predator scent exposure correlates with functional connectivity in a set of neural circuits, indicating pre-existing circuit function can predispose animals to differential fearful responses to threats. Counterintuitively, rats with lower freezing show more avoidance of the predator scent, a prolonged corticosterone response, and higher anxiety long after exposure. This study provides a framework of pre-existing circuit function that determines threat responses, which might directly relate to PTSD-like behaviors."
- Collection:
- Penn State Faculty and Staff Researcher Metadata Database Collection.
- Note:
- Academic Journal Article
- Part Of:
- Nature communications
10:1, pp. -
2041-1723
View MARC record | catkey: 31199741