title: Beta-adrenergic receptor changes in learned helplessness may depend on stress and test parameters.
abstract: Behavioral deficits following inescapable stress (learned helplessness) may serve as an animal model of depression. Previous studies using foot-shock stress to induce learned helplessness and a bar-press test for the stress-induced behavioral deficit have found increased beta-adrenergic receptor density in the hippocampus of learned helpless rats. We replicated these experiments using a tail-shock stress and the shuttle-box test. In our experiments, rats that developed learned helplessness after inescapable stress did not demonstrate any significant differences in beta-adrenergic receptor density or affinity in the frontal cortex, cerebellum, or hippocampus compared to the nonhelpless rats, nor to the tested control rats. These results suggest that beta-adrenergic receptor changes in learned helplessness may depend on the specific stress and test procedures used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Brannan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism; D004597:Electroshock; D006380:Helplessness, Learned; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D020120:Iodocyanopindolol; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D010869:Pindolol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D020120:Iodocyanopindolol; D010869:Pindolol