Anxiolytic and panicolytic-like effects of environmental enrichment seem to be modulated by serotonin neurons located in the dorsal subnucleus of the dorsal raphe.

Anxiolytic and panicolytic-like effects of environmental enrichment seem to be modulated by serotonin neurons located in the dorsal subnucleus of the dorsal raphe. Brain Res Bull. 2019 Jun 17;: Authors: Lopes DA, Souza TMO, de Andrade JS, Silva MFS, Antunes HKM, Le Sueur Maluf L, Céspedes IC, Viana MB Abstract In a previous study, we showed that exposure of rats to a one-week environmental enrichment (EE) protocol decreases elevated T-maze (ETM) avoidance responses, an anxiolytic-like effect, without altering escape reactions, in clinical terms related to panic disorder. These anxiolytic-like effects were followed by decreased delta FosB-immunoreactivity (delta FosB-ir) in the cingulate cortex, dorsolateral and intermediate lateral septum, hippocampus (cornus of Ammon), anterior and dorsomedial hypothalamus, medial and basolateral amygdala and ventral region of the dorsal raphe nucleus. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate behavioral and neurophysiological alterations induced by EE exposure. For that, in a first experiment we verified if increasing the time of exposure to the same EE protocol used in our previous study (from one to two weeks) altered male Wistar rats' ETM escape responses. All animals were tested in an open field, immediately after the ETM, for locomotor activity assessment. Since anxiety and panic-related reactions have been associated to the functioning of specific subnuclei of the dorsal ra...
Source: Brain Research Bulletin - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Bull Source Type: research