Inhibition of prefrontal cortex parvalbumin interneurons mitigates behavioral and physiological sequelae of chronic stress in male mice.

Chronic stress leads to hypofunction of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), mechanisms of which remain to be determined. Enhanced activation of GABAergic of parvalbumin (PV) expressing interneurons (INs) is thought to play a role in stress-induced prefrontal inhibition. In this study, we tested whether chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC PV INs after chronic stress can rescue chronic stress-related behavioral and physiological phenotypes.

Molecular neurobiology of loss: a role for basolateral amygdala extracellular matrix.

Psychological loss is a common experience that erodes well-being and negatively impacts quality of life. The molecular underpinnings of loss are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the mechanisms of loss using an environmental enrichment removal (ER) paradigm in male rats.

Altered Fear Behavior in Aeroallergen House Dust Mite Exposed C57Bl/6 Mice: A Model of Th2-skewed Airway Inflammation.

There is a growing interest for studying the impact of chronic inflammation, particularly lung inflammation, on the brain and behavior. This includes asthma, a chronic inflammatory condition, that has been associated with psychiatric conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although asthma is driven by elevated production of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13), which drive asthma symptomology, recent work demonstrates that concomitant Th1 or Th17 cytokine production can worsen asthma severity.

Hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors modulate status epilepticus severity.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a life-threatening medical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality. SE is associated with a robust and sustained increase in serum glucocorticoids, reaching concentrations sufficient to activate the dense population of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) expressed among hippocampal excitatory neurons. Glucocorticoid exposure can increase hippocampal neuron excitability; however, whether activation of hippocampal GRs during SE exacerbates seizure severity remains unknown.

Adolescent Stress Confers Resilience to Traumatic Stress Later in Life: Role of the Prefrontal Cortex.

Background: Adolescent brains are sensitive to stressors. However, under certain circumstances, developmental stress can promote an adaptive phenotype, allowing individuals to cope better with adverse situations in adulthood, thereby contributing to resilience.

Methods: Sprague Dawley rats (50 males, 48 females) were subjected to adolescent chronic variable stress (adol CVS) for 2 weeks at postnatal day 45.