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Social fear affects limbic system neuronal activity and gene expression
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284274
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly prevalent and comorbid anxiety disorder with rather unclear underlying mechanisms. Here, we aimed to characterize neurobiological changes occurring in mice expressing symptoms of social fear and to identify possible therapeutic targets for SAD. Social fear was induced via social fear conditioning (SFC), a validated animal model of SAD. We assessed the expression levels of the immediate early genes (IEGs) cFos, Fosl2 and Arc as markers of neuronal activity and the expression levels of several genes ofSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly prevalent and comorbid anxiety disorder with rather unclear underlying mechanisms. Here, we aimed to characterize neurobiological changes occurring in mice expressing symptoms of social fear and to identify possible therapeutic targets for SAD. Social fear was induced via social fear conditioning (SFC), a validated animal model of SAD. We assessed the expression levels of the immediate early genes (IEGs) cFos, Fosl2 and Arc as markers of neuronal activity and the expression levels of several genes of the GABAergic, serotoninergic, oxytocinergic, vasopressinergic and neuropeptide Y (NPY)-ergic systems in brain regions involved in social behavior or fear-related behavior in SFC+ and SFC− mice 2 h after exposure to a conspecific. SFC+ mice showed a decreased number and density of cFos-positive cells and decreased expression levels of IEGs in the dorsal hippocampus. SFC+ mice also showed alterations in the expression of NPY and serotonin system-related genes in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, basolateral amygdala, septum and dorsal raphe nucleus, but not in the dorsal hippocampus. Our results describe neuronal alterations occurring during the expression of social fear and identify the NPY and serotonergic systems as possible targets in the treatment of SAD.…
Author: | Catharina S. Hamann, Julian Bankmann, Hanna Mora Maza, Johannes Kornhuber, Iulia Zoicas, Angelika Schmitt-Böhrer |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284274 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Medizinische Fakultät / Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
ISSN: | 1422-0067 |
Year of Completion: | 2022 |
Volume: | 23 |
Issue: | 15 |
Article Number: | 8228 |
Source: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2022) 23:15, 8228. doi:10.3390/ijms23158228 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23158228 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Tag: | Htr1a; Htr2a; Htr2c; Npy; Npyr1; Npyr2; fear expression; gene expression; social anxiety; social avoidance |
Release Date: | 2023/04/20 |
Date of first Publication: | 2022/07/26 |
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2022 | |
Licence (German): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |