Correlations between behaviours in the elevated plus-maze and sensitivity to unpredictable subchronic mild stress: evidence from inbred strains of mice.
This study aimed at investigating the relationship between anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviour in mice. Therefore, we assessed the behaviour of mice from eight different strains (FVB/NA, BALB/c, C57BL/6, DBA/2, 129/Sv, C3H/He, CBA and BA) confronted first to anxiety models (the elevated plus-maze and the free exploratory test) and then to tests of depressive-like behaviours (forced swim test and unpredictable subchronic mild stress). In the forced swim test, mice from the DBA/2, the BA and the C3H/He strains displayed higher immobility than mice from the 129/Sv, the BALB/c, the C57BL/6 and the CBA strains. In the subchronic mild stress, mice from the C57BL/6 and the CBA strains displayed low sensitivity when compared with mice from all the others strains. A stepwise multiple regression analysis suggests that behaviour in the elevated plus-maze is associated with the time of immobility in the forced swim test (20%) and with the susceptibility to the unpredictable subchronic stress procedure (31%). The behaviour in the free exploratory paradigm is slightly associated with behaviours in the two tests of depression. These results suggest that anxiety may be a factor contributing, among others, to the susceptibility to depressive-like behaviours.
Ducottet
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EA3248 Psychobiologie des Emotions, UFR des Sciences et Techniques, Parc de Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France. cecile.ducottet@etu.uni-tours.fr
Belzung
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D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004326:Drinking; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005239:Fear; D006120:Grooming; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009042:Motivation; D009043:Motor Activity; D010863:Piloerection; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D013649:Taste