Abstract
This work presents a computational neural-network model explaining the brain processes underlying stress coping in rats exposed to long lasting inescapable stress conditions, focussing on the three neuromodulators dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NE) and serotonin (5-HT). The importance of the model relies on the fact that stress coping experiments are considered a good animal model of the mechanisms underlying human depression. Pascucci et al. (2007) used microdialysis to investigate the correlation existing between the presence of NE and DA in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the quantity of mesoaccumbens DA during a restraint test lasting 240 min. The comparison of the microdialysis results related to sham rats and rats with either NE or DA depletion in mPFC showed the role played by such neuromodulators on DA release in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the active/passive modality of stress coping.
Highlights
This work presents a computational neural-network model explaining the brain processes underlying stress coping in rats exposed to long lasting inescapable stress conditions, focussing on the three neuromodulators dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NE) and serotonin (5-HT)
The stressing stimulus initially activates a first group of neural systems devoted to active stress-coping and learning
The amygdala (Amg) activates the subsystems nucleus accumbens (NAcc)-shell/infralimbiccortex (NAccS-IL) and NAcc-core/prelimibic-cortex (NAccC-PL). The latter subsystem is responsible for triggering actions that may terminate the stressing stimulus, whereas the former is responsible for the selected inhibition of those 'neural channels' of actions which are executed but fail to stop the stressing stimulus
Summary
This work presents a computational neural-network model explaining the brain processes underlying stress coping in rats exposed to long lasting inescapable stress conditions, focussing on the three neuromodulators dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NE) and serotonin (5-HT). The stressing stimulus initially activates a first group of neural systems devoted to active stress-coping and learning.
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