Acute sleep deprivation enhances avoidance learning and spatial memory and induces delayed alterations in neurochemical expression of GR, TH, DRD1, pCREB and Ki67 in rats.

The current study investigated the effects of acute versus repeated periods of sleep deprivation on avoidance learning and spatial memory and on the expression of discrete biochemical brain signals involved in stress regulation, motivation and brain plasticity. Male Long-Evans rats were sleep deprived using the platform-over-water method for a single 4 h period (ASD) or for daily 4h RSD period on five consecutive days (CSD). The Y maze passive avoidance task (YM-PAT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) were used to determine learning and memory 1h following the last SD period.

Effects of gestational stress: 2. Evaluation of male and female adult offspring.

Physical restraint applied during gestation is a commonly employed animal model of human pregnancy stress. The consequences of such a paradigm have been extensively investigated in adult male rats using a variety of physiological and behavioral measures. The behavioral repertoire of female offspring, however, has been largely ignored.

Effects of gestational stress: 1. Evaluation of maternal and juvenile offspring behavior.

In both humans and animals, stress experienced during gestation is associated with physiological changes and disruptions in emotional function and cognitive ability in offspring; however, much less is known about the effects of such stress in mothers. In animal models, physical restraint is commonly employed to induce stress during gestation and results in elevated postpartum maternal anxiety and changes in maternal care. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the consequences of restraint stress applied on gestation days 10 through 19 in mother rats and their juvenile offspring.