title: Beneficial effects of chronic oxytocin administration and social co-housing in a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is in part due to a deficit in memory consolidation and extinction. Oxytocin (OXT) has anxiolytic effects and promotes prosocial behaviors in both rodents and humans, and evidence suggests that it plays a role in memory consolidation. We studied the effects of administered OXT and social co-housing in a rodent model of PTSD. Acute OXT yielded a short-term increase in the recall of the traumatic memory if administered immediately after trauma. Low doses of OXT delivered chronically had a cumulating anxiolytic effect that became apparent after 4 days and persisted. Repeated injections of OXT after short re-exposures to the trauma apparatus yielded a long-term reduction in anxiety. Co-housing with naive nonshocked animals decreased the memory of the traumatic context compared with single-housed animals. In the long term, these animals showed less thigmotaxis and increased interest in novel objects, and a low OXT plasma level. Co-housed PTSD animals showed an increase in risk-taking behavior. These results suggest beneficial effects of OXT if administered chronically through increases in memory consolidation after re-exposure to a safe trauma context. We also show differences between the benefits of social co-housing with naive rats and co-housing with other shocked animals on trauma-induced long-term anxiety.
authors.affiliation: aComputational and Experimental Neuroscience Laboratory Departments of bPsychology cPharmacology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Janezic
authors.forename: Swetha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uppalapati
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagl
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Contreras
authors.forename: Edward D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fellous
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D000069077:Memory Consolidation / Q000187:drug effects; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012919:Social Behavior; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010121:Oxytocin