title: The expression of c-Fos and colocalisation of c-Fos and glucocorticoid receptors in brain structures of low and high anxiety rats subjected to extinction trials and re-learning of a conditioned fear response.
abstract: We designed an animal model to examine the mechanisms of differences in individual responses to aversive stimuli. We used the rat freezing response in the context fear test as a discriminating variable: low responders (LR) were defined as rats with a duration of freezing response one standard error or more below the mean value, and high responders (HR) were defined as rats with a duration of freezing response one standard error or more above the mean value. We sought to determine the colocalisation of c-Fos and glucocorticoid receptors-immunoreactivity (GR-ir) in HR and LR rats subjected to conditioned fear training, two extinction sessions and re-learning of a conditioned fear. We found that HR animals showed a marked decrease in conditioned fear in the course of two extinction sessions (16 days) in comparison with the control and LR groups. The LR group exhibited higher activity in the cortical M2 and prelimbic areas (c-Fos) and had an increased number of cells co-expressing c-Fos and GR-ir in the M2 and medial orbital cortex after re-learning a contextual fear. HR rats showed increased expression of c-Fos, GR-ir and c-Fos/GR-ir colocalised neurons in the basolateral amygdala and enhanced c-Fos and GR-ir in the dentate gyrus (DG) in comparison with LR animals. Our data indicate that recovery of a context-related behaviour upon re-learning of contextual fear is accompanied in HR animals by a selective increase in c-Fos expression and GRs-ir in the DG area of the hippocampus.
authors: Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego Street, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland. mlehner@ipin.edu.pl
authors: Małgorzata
authors: M
authors: Lehner
authors: Aleksandra
authors: A
authors: Wisłowska-Stanek
authors: Ewa
authors: E
authors: Taracha
authors: Piotr
authors: P
authors: Maciejak
authors: Janusz
authors: J
authors: Szyndler
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Skórzewska
authors: Danuta
authors: D
authors: Turzyńska
authors: Alicja
authors: A
authors: Sobolewska
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: Hamed
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Bidziński
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: Płaźnik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D046352:Freezing Reaction, Cataleptic / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000378:metabolism*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid