c-Fos mapping of brain regions activated by multi-modal and electric foot shock stress

Publication date: February 2018Source: Neurobiology of Stress, Volume 8Author(s): Xiaoxiao Lin, Christy A. Itoga, Sharif Taha, Ming H. Li, Ryan Chen, Kirolos Sami, Fulvia Berton, Walter Francesconi, Xiangmin XuAbstractReal-world stressors are complex and multimodal, involving physical, psychological, and social dimensions. However, the brain networks that mediate stress responses to these stimuli need to be further studied. We used c-Fos mapping in mice to characterize brain circuits activated by exposure to a single episode of multimodal stress (MMS), and compared these to circuits activated by electric foot shocks (EFS). We focused on characterizing c-Fos activity in stress-relevant brain regions including the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). We also assessed stress-induced activation of CRH-positive neurons in each of these structures. MMS and EFS activated an overlapping network of brain regions with a similar time course. c-Fos expression within the PVN and the BNST peaked 30–60 min after exposure to both MMS and EFS, and returned to baseline levels within 24 h. Quantification of c-Fos expression within BNST subregions revealed that while c-Fos expression peaked in all subregions 30–60 min after MMS and EFS exposure, the neuronal density of c-Fos expression was significantly higher in the dorsomedial and ventral BNST relative to the dorsolateral BNST. Our preliminary assessment indicated that ...

Source: Neurobiology of Stress - July 5, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research