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The central role of corticotrophin‐releasing factor (CRF‐41) in psychological stress in rats.
Author(s) -
Morimoto A,
Nakamori T,
Morimoto K,
Tan N,
Murakami N
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.1993.sp019468
Subject(s) - hyperthermia , endocrinology , medicine , heart rate , blood pressure , antagonist , tachycardia , alpha (finance) , psychological stress , receptor , chemistry , surgery , clinical psychology , construct validity , patient satisfaction
1. We investigated the central role of corticotrophin‐releasing factor (CRF‐41) in psychological stress‐induced responses, including cardiovascular, thermoregulatory and locomotive activity in free‐moving rats. 2. Psychological stress was induced by cage‐switch stress. After rats were placed in the novel environment, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and locomotive activity significantly increased. The intracerebroventricular (I.C.V.) injection of alpha‐helical CRF(9‐41), a CRF‐41 receptor antagonist, significantly attenuated the stress‐induced hypertension, tachycardia, hyperthermia and increase in locomotive activity. However, in unstressed rats, the I.C.V. injection of alpha‐helical CRF(9‐41) had no effect on physiological parameters measured in this study. 3. In unstressed rats, the I.C.V. injection of CRF‐41 (1 microgram and 10 micrograms) increased blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and locomotive activity in a dose‐dependent manner. The changes in these responses were quite similar to those observed during cage‐switch stress. 4. The results suggest that central CRF‐41 plays an important role in psychological stress‐induced hypertension, hyperthermia, tachycardia and increase in locomotive activity. However, it is likely that central CRF‐41 does not contribute to normal cardiovascular and body temperature regulation when rats are free from stress.