Exposure to an obesogenic diet during adolescence leads to abnormal maturation of neural and behavioral substrates underpinning fear and anxiety.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obesity are highly prevalent in adolescents. Emerging findings from our laboratory and others are consistent with the novel hypothesis that obese individuals may be predisposed to developing PTSD. Given that aberrant fear responses are pivotal in the pathogenesis of PTSD, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of an obesogenic Western-like high-fat diet (WD) on neural substrates associated with fear.

Western High-Fat Diet Consumption during Adolescence Increases Susceptibility to Traumatic Stress while Selectively Disrupting Hippocampal and Ventricular Volumes.

Psychological trauma and obesity co-occur frequently and have been identified as major risk factors for psychiatric disorders. Surprisingly, preclinical studies examining how obesity disrupts the ability of the brain to cope with psychological trauma are lacking. The objective of this study was to determine whether an obesogenic Western-like high-fat diet (WD) predisposes rats to post-traumatic stress responsivity.

Molecular, anatomical, physiological, and behavioral studies of rats treated with buprenorphine after spinal cord injury.

Acute pain is a common symptom experienced after spinal cord injury (SCI). The presence of this pain calls for treatment with analgesics, such as buprenorphine. However, there are concerns that the drug may exert other effects besides alleviation of pain.