Behavioral alterations are independent of previous generalized anxiety in experimental sepsis

Abstract

BackgroundMany sepsis survivor patients develop psychological problems and cognitive impairment. We hypothesize that previous stress exacerbate the cognitive impairment and anxiety in sepsis survivors. To test our hyphothesis, experimental animals that were selectively bred for high and low contextual fear conditioning were subjected to sepsis to evaluate long-term behavior changes. MethodsAdult male Albino Wistar rats selectively bred for high (Carioca high-conditioned freezing - CHF) levels or low (Carioca low-conditioned freezing - CLF) levels of emotionality were subject to sepsis by the cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) or sham operated (no-CLP) as a control group. Elevated plus-maze and inhibitory avoidance tasks were performed 10 days after CLP and non-CLP surgeries. ResultsThe sepsis survivor rats (wild-type, CHF, and CLF groups) and sham (CHF and CLF groups) presented anxious-like behavior evaluated by elevated plus-maze task. However, only sepsis groups presented aversive memory impairment evaluated by inhibitory avoidance task at 10 days after CLP surgery. The CLF or CHF did not interefere in the long-term impairment triggered by sepsis. ConclusionOur data suggest that previous stress did not interfere in the long-term cognitive impairment and anxious-like behavior observed in septic survivor rats.