Effects of Predator-Induced Stress and Age on Working Memory in Rats

Williams, Jon L.; Baker, Shelley L.; Gress, Jennifer E.; Givens, Bennet

doi:10.1007/bf03395277

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Although scant, there are some previous studies in male rats showing that chronic stress does not alter spatial working memory, but the present data greatly extend these findings. Yet, it should be underscored that while our current findings are in agreement with some previous studies showing that chronic stress had no effect on working memory (Luine et al, 1994(Luine et al, , 1996Williams et al, 1998) or may be causing impaired memory retrieval while leaving working memory intact (Srikumar et al, 2006(Srikumar et al, , 2007, they are inconsistent with previous findings reported by Mizoguchi et al (2000) and Manikandan et al (2006) showing that chronic stress impaired spatial working memory or both reference and working memory. This could be due to methodological differences, such as the type and duration of stress and the memory test used.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 95%

Effect of Cold Stress on Neurobehavioral and Physiological Parameters in Rats

et al. 2021

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Objective: Cold stress is an important current issue and implementing control strategies to limit its sometimes harmful effects is crucial. Cold is a common stressor that can occur in our work and our occupational or leisure time activities every day. There are substantial studies on the effects of chronic stress on memory and behavior, although, the cognitive changes and anxiety disorders that can occur after exposure to chronic intermittent cold stress are not completely characterized. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with an aim to investigate the effects of chronic intermittent cold stress on body weight, food intake and working memory, and to elucidate cold stress related anxiety disorders using cognitive and behavioral test batteries.Methods: We generated a cold stress model by exposing rats to chronic intermittent cold stress for 5 consecutive days and in order to test for the potential presence of sex differences, a comparable number of male and female rats were tested in the current study. Then, we measured the body weights, food intake and the adrenal glands weight. Working memory and recognition memory were assessed using the Y maze and the Novel Object Recognition (NOR) tasks. While, sex differences in the effects of chronic stress on behavior were evaluated by the elevated plus maze (EPM), open field maze (OF), and Marble burying (MB) tests.Results: We found that 2 h exposure to cold (4°C) resulted in an increase in the relative weight of the adrenal glands in male rats. Given the same chronic stress 5 days of cold exposure (2 h per day), increased weight gain in male rats, while females showed decreased food intake and no change in body weight. Both sexes successfully performed the Y maze and object recognition (OR) tasks, indicating intact spatial working memory performance and object recognition abilities in both male and female rats. In addition, we have shown that stress caused an increase in the level of anxiety in male rats. In contrast, the behavior of the female rats was not affected by cold exposure.Conclusion: Overall, the current results provide preliminary evidence that chronic intermittent cold stress model may not be an efficient stressor to female rats. Females exhibit resilience to cold exposure that causes an increase in the level of anxiety in male rats, which demonstrates that they are affected differently by stress and the gender is an important consideration in experimental design.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 95%

Effect of Cold Stress on Neurobehavioral and Physiological Parameters in Rats

et al. 2021

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“…Moreover, a single session of exposure to inescapable shock was found to interfere with many types of associative learning tasks, such as shuttlebox escape learning (e.g., Maier, 1984), appetitive instrumental learning (e.g., Roseliini, 1978), and position escape learning in a Y maze (Jackson et aI., 1980). More recently, Williams et al (1998) reported that an acute ethological stressor of exposing rats, in a protective cage, to a cat significantly disrupted their asymptotic-level performance on a spatial delayedalternation task used to assess working memory.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experiment 3 incorporated some of the methodology used by Williams et al (1998) to determine if exposure to TMT might effectively interfere with spatial working memory (i.e., SWM) on a delayedalternation task using water as a reinforcer. Another objective of this research was to examine if low versus high amounts of TMT, relative to equivalent amounts of the novel odor of citronella (CIT), would have differential effects on the subsequent delayed-alteration performance.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increases in both the frequency and duration of amphetamine-induced response stereotypy were found for cat-exposed subjects and those only tested with cat litter. Finally, Williams, Baker, Gress, and Givens (1998) examined the effects of cat exposure on the postacquisition performance of rats trained on a 20-s delayed alternation task in an elevated T maze. Stressed, in contrast to nonstressed, rats showed a disruption in their performance, thus implying an impairment in spatial working memory.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effects of a Synthetic Predator Odor (TMT) on Freezing, Analgesia, Stereotypy, and Spatial Memory

et al. 2005

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Exposing rats to the predator odor of trimethylthiazoline (TMT), obtained from the red fox, was compared to exposure to the novel control odor of citronella. In E)(periment 1, TMT produced defensive freezing and an analgesic reaction that was reversed by an opiate antagonist. In Experiment 2, TMT augmented response stereotypy induced by an amphetamine injection. In Experiment 3, TMT interfered with working memory during 30-s, but not O-s, delay trials of a spatial-alternation task. However, a larger amount of TMT disrupted performance during delay and no-delay trials. In Experiment 4, TMT impaired the recall of the location of a hidden platform in a Morris water maze, and a preexposure injection of a benzodiazepine agonist prevented this deficit. These findings and their implications are discussed in terms of research involving similar paradigms with other stressors.Exposure to laboratory stressors influences a wide range of behavioral and neurophysiological processes in rats. Historically, much of the classic research on stress in rodents has examined how aversive stimulation, such as painful electric shock, affects unlearned defensive responses, stressinduced analgesia, drug reactivity, learned responses, and more complex cognitive behaviors. Because many of the behavioral testing procedures designed to assess the influence of foot shock am similar to those used in the present research on the effects of exposing rats to a predator stimulus, a brief review of some of the specific findings of' these earlier studies is important for making possible interstressor comparisons.Electric shock has been found to be an ideal laboratory stressor because its intensity and duration can be easily and precisely controlled . Many studies have shown that exposure to foot shock results in flight or

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Fear‐like biochemical and behavioral responses in rats to the predator odor, TMT, are dependent on the exposure environment

Morrow

Elsworth

Roth

2002

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Several laboratories have reported that exposure to predator odor can result in stress-like effects in rodents. While some laboratories have reported fear-like alterations in behavior, other laboratories, including our own, have failed to consistently observe fearful behaviors in rats exposed to the predator odor TMT. One potential contributing factor to this discrepancy is the handling of the rat and its test environment. In the current report, we examine biochemical, endocrinological, and behavioral effects of TMT in two distinct open fields: one small, familiar, and dimly lit, while the other was large, novel, and brightly lit. Only exposure to TMT in the large, novel open field resulted in fearful behavior; however, no increase in dopamine turnover was noted compared to no odor and control odor rats. As expected, the different open fields resulted in some biochemical and behavioral differences, including more horizontal locomotion and less grooming, higher serum corticosterone, and increased dopamine turnover in the ventral prefrontal cortex in the large open field. Finally, compared to the same open field controls, TMT exposure elevated rat serum corticosterone levels in both open fields and dopamine turnover in the dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of rats only in the small, familiar open field. These results indicate that the TMT-induced biochemical activation of may occur without detectable fearful behaviors and may indicate a mechanism that prepares the animal for the expression of a fearful response if additional provocative stimuli are present.

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Effects of Predator-Induced Stress and Age on Working Memory in Rats

Cited by 6 publications

References 61 publications

Effect of Cold Stress on Neurobehavioral and Physiological Parameters in Rats

Effect of Cold Stress on Neurobehavioral and Physiological Parameters in Rats

Effects of a Synthetic Predator Odor (TMT) on Freezing, Analgesia, Stereotypy, and Spatial Memory

Fear‐like biochemical and behavioral responses in rats to the predator odor, TMT, are dependent on the exposure environment

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