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Erschienen in: Brain Structure and Function 7/2021

30.06.2021 | Original Article

Repeated cocaine exposure prior to fear conditioning induces persistency of PTSD-like symptoms and enhancement of hippocampal and amygdala cell density in male rats

verfasst von: Asmae Lguensat, Christian Montanari, Cassandre Vielle, Mohamed Bennis, Saadia Ba-M’hamed, Christelle Baunez, René Garcia

Erschienen in: Brain Structure and Function | Ausgabe 7/2021

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Abstract

Pre- and post-trauma drug use can interfere with recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the biological underpinnings of this interference are poorly understood. Here we examined the effect of pre-fear conditioning cocaine self-administration on PTSD-like symptoms in male rats, and defined impairment of fear extinction as difficulty to recover from PTSD. We also examined cell density changes in brain regions suspected of being involved in resistance to PTSD recovery. Before footshock stress testing, rats were trained to self-administer cocaine during 20 consecutive days, after which they were exposed to footshocks, while other rats continued to self-administer cocaine until the end of the experiment. Upon assessment of three PTSD-like symptoms (fear during situational reminders, anxiety-like behavior, and impairment of recognition memory) and fear extinction learning and memory, changes in cell density were measured in the medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Results show that pre-footshock cocaine exposure did not affect fear during situational reminders. Fear conditioning did not lead to an increase in cocaine consumption. However, in footshock stressed rats, cocaine induced a reduction of anxiety-like behavior, an aggravation of recognition memory decline, and an impairment of extinction memory. These behavioral alterations were associated with increased cell density in the hippocampal CA1, CA2, and CA3 regions and basolateral amygdala, but not in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that enhancement of cell density in the hippocampus and amygdala may be changes associated with drug use, interfering with PTSD recovery.
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Metadaten
Titel
Repeated cocaine exposure prior to fear conditioning induces persistency of PTSD-like symptoms and enhancement of hippocampal and amygdala cell density in male rats
verfasst von
Asmae Lguensat
Christian Montanari
Cassandre Vielle
Mohamed Bennis
Saadia Ba-M’hamed
Christelle Baunez
René Garcia
Publikationsdatum
30.06.2021
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Erschienen in
Brain Structure and Function / Ausgabe 7/2021
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Elektronische ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02320-w

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