Vicarious social defeat stress: Bridging the gap between physical and emotional stress.

Background: Animal models capable of differentiating the neurobiological intricacies between physical and emotional stress are scarce. Current models rely primarily on physical stressors (e.g.

Altered gene expression and spine density in nucleus accumbens of adolescent and adult male mice exposed to emotional and physical stress.

Stressful early life experiences are implicated in lifelong health. However, little is known about the consequences of emotional stress (ES) or physical stress (PS) on neurobiology. Therefore, the following set of experiments was designed to assess changes in transcription and translation of key proteins within the nucleus accumbens (NAc).

Effects of psychotropic drugs on second messenger signaling and preference for nicotine in juvenile male mice.

Rationale: A common treatment strategy for pediatric attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is combined methylphenidate (MPH) and fluoxetine (FLX). This has raised concerns because MPH + FLX treatment may have pharmacodynamic properties similar to cocaine, potentially increasing drug abuse liability.

Objectives: To examine the short- and long-term consequences of repeated vehicle, MPH, FLX, MPH + FLX, and cocaine treatment on gene expression in juvenile (postnatal days [PD] 20-34) and adult (PD 70-84) male mice.

Fluoxetine exposure during adolescence alters responses to aversive stimuli in adulthood.

The mechanisms underlying the enduring neurobiological consequences of antidepressant exposure during adolescence are poorly understood. Here, we assessed the long-term effects of exposure to fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, during adolescence on behavioral reactivity to emotion-eliciting stimuli. We administered FLX (10 mg/kg, bi-daily, for 15 d) to male adolescent [postnatal day 35 (P35) to P49] C57BL/6 mice.

Repeated ketamine exposure induces an enduring resilient phenotype in adolescent and adult rats.

Background: Major depressive disorder afflicts up to 10% of adolescents. However, nearly 50% of those afflicted are considered nonresponsive to available treatments. Ketamine, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist has shown potential as a rapid-acting and long-lasting treatment for major depressive disorder in adults.

Neurobiological sequelae of witnessing stressful events in adult mice.

Background: It is well known that exposure to severe stress increases the risk for developing mood disorders. However, most chronic stress models in rodents involve at least some form of physically experiencing traumatic events.

Methods: This study assessed the effects of a novel social stress paradigm that is insulated from the effects of physical stress.

Juvenile administration of concomitant methylphenidate and fluoxetine alters behavioral reactivity to reward- and mood-related stimuli and disrupts ventral tegmental area gene expression in adulthood.

There is a rise in the concurrent use of methylphenidate (MPH) and fluoxetine (FLX) in pediatric populations. However, the long-term neurobiological consequences of combined MPH and FLX treatment (MPH + FLX) during juvenile periods are unknown. We administered saline (VEH), MPH, FLX, or MPH + FLX to juvenile Sprague Dawley male rats from postnatal day 20 to 34, and assessed their reactivity to reward- and mood-related stimuli 24 h or 2 months after drug exposure.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase-2 within the ventral tegmental area regulates responses to stress.

Neurotrophic factors and their signaling pathways have been implicated in the neurobiological adaptations in response to stress and the regulation of mood-related behaviors. A candidate signaling molecule implicated in mediating these cellular responses is the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), although its functional role in mood regulation remains to be fully elucidated. Here we show that acute (1 d) or chronic (4 weeks) exposure to unpredictable stress increases phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and of two downstream targets (ribosomal S6 kinase and mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase 1) within the ventral tegmental area (VTA), an important substrate for motivated behavior and mood regulation.

Nicotine exposure during adolescence induces a depression-like state in adulthood.

There is a strong link between tobacco consumption and mood disorders. It has been suggested that afflicted individuals smoke to manage mood, however, there is evidence indicating that tobacco consumption can induce negative mood. This study was designed to investigate whether nicotine exposure during adolescence influences emotionality/behavioral functioning later in life.