Long-term behavioural alterations in female rats after a single intense footshock followed by situational reminders.

摘要

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects a vulnerable sub-population of individuals exposed to a traumatic event. This psychopathology induces long-lasting hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hypoactivity, hyperarousal and avoidance of trauma-like situation. PTSD also manifests a high co-morbidity with anxiety disorders. The aim of the present study was to characterise long-term biobehavioural alterations in female rats in an animal model of PTSD consisting in an intense footshock (2mA, 10s) followed by three weekly situational reminders. This procedure induced several long-term alterations: increased anxiety behaviour, reduced time spent in an 'aversive-like' context, altered social behaviour and blunted corticosterone response to stress. These results demonstrate that exposure to an intense footshock associated with repeated situational reminders elicited long-term disturbances which lasted more than 1 month after the footshock administration. Our findings suggest that this paradigm could provide a useful animal model of PTSD.