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Depression and anxiety behaviors are influenced by sex and estrous cycle stage
Author(s) -
Alvarado John Kenneth,
Rivera Johanna Stephanie,
Jimenez Esther Angelica,
Ramos-Ortolaza Dinah Lee,
Torres-Reveron Annelyn
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.1095.6
Subject(s) - estrous cycle , anxiety , open field , behavioural despair test , medicine , estrogen , endocrinology , depression (economics) , hormone , psychology , physiology , mood , stressor , elevated plus maze , antidepressant , clinical psychology , psychiatry , macroeconomics , economics
It is well‐documented that as compared to men, women experience higher levels of mood disorder and depression during the reproductive years. However, it has not been fully elucidated how variations in gonadal hormones are linked to depression and anxiety disorders. During eight weeks, adult females and males Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to a mild stressor consisting of housing isolation (HI) and were compared to paired‐housed controls. Vaginal smears were taken to determine the estrus cycle stage. At the end of the eight‐week period all animals were tested on the open field (OF) followed by the forced swim test (FST) for measuring anxiety and depression‐like behaviors. Myeloperoxidase activity in the colon of female rat showed a significant increase in HI females as compared to the paired housed females, suggesting underlying inflammatory processes produced by stress. However, the stressor (HI) only produced mild effects on the animal's behaviors. There were significant effects of sex and estrous cycle on OF and FST. During the OF the males presented reduced locomotor activity as compared to females. Females in proestrus showed less depressive behaviors as compared to males, confirming previously reported antidepressant effects of estrogen. These experiments demonstrate a significant role of gonadal hormones on the expression of depression‐like behaviors. NSU‐CFRDG 335513 & R25GM096955‐01.