The lateral habenula interacts with the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis response upon stressful cognitive demand in rats.

The lateral habenula interacts with the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis response upon stressful cognitive demand in rats. Behav Brain Res. 2017 Dec 14;: Authors: Mathis V, Cosquer B, Barbelivien A, Herbeaux K, Bothorel B, Sage-Ciocca D, Poirel VJ, Mathis C, Lecourtier L Abstract The lateral habenula (LHb) is involved in emotional and cognitive behaviors. Recently, we have shown in rats that blockade of excitatory inputs to the LHb not only induced deficits of memory retrieval in the water maze, but also altered swim strategies (i.e., induced excessive thigmotaxis). The latter observation, although consistent with the occurrence of memory deficits, could also possibly be the consequence of an excessive level of stress, further suggesting a role for the LHb in the stress response in our behavioral paradigm. To test this hypothesis we performed in rats intra-LHb infusion of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 267 ng/side in 0.3 μL), or vehicle, and assessed the responsiveness of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis to environmental stressful or non-stressful situations. We have measured plasma corticosterone (CORT) concentrations at different time points before and following intra-LHb infusion of CNQX - or of the same volume of vehicle - in three conditions: during the probe test of a water maze experiment; in an anxiety test, the elevated plus maze; and in a home cage condition. Whereas there were no differences in ...
Source: Behavioural Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research