Deep brain stimulation in a rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder modifies forebrain neuronal activity and serum corticosterone

• Main Authors: Mina Mokhtari hashtjini, Gila Pirzad Jahromi, Seyed Shahabeddin sadr, Gholam Hossein Meftahi, Boshra Hatef, Danial Javidnazar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2018-04-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
• Subjects: Amygdala; Anxiety behavior; Corticosterone; c-Fos; Deep brain stimulation; Freezing behavior; Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Online Access: http://ijbms.mums.ac.ir/article_10327_1d5f13133009df8cae6532276555923e.pdf

Objective(s): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of the most devastating kinds of anxiety disorders, is the consequence of a traumatic event followed by intense fear. In rats with contextual fear conditioning (CFC), a model of PTSD caused by CFC (electrical foot shock chamber), deep brain stimulation (DBS) alleviates CFC abnormalities.Materials and Methods: Forty Male Wistar rats (220–250 g) were divided into 5 groups (n=8) and underwent stereotactic surgery to implant electrodes in the right basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLn). After 7 days, some animals received a foot shock, followed by another 7-day treatment schedule (DBS treatment). Next, freezing behavior was measured as a predicted response in the absence of the foot shock (re-exposure time). Blood serum corticosterone levels and amygdala c-Fos protein expression were assessed using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot, respectively. Furthermore, freezing behaviors by re-exposure time test and general anxiety by elevated plus-maze (EPM) were evaluated. Results: PTSD decreased serum corticosterone levels and increased both amygdala c-Fos expression and freezing behaviors. Therefore, DBS treatment significantly (P