MINUSES AND UNEXPECTED ADVANTAGES OF THE OLD WISTAR RATS’ BODY REACTION AT MODELING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Abstract

Old Wistar rats exhibit the same general signs of a PTSD-like condition as young animals, when modeling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At the same time, a number of behavioral features, psycho-emotional manifestations and myocardial state were revealed in old rats. For the first time, it was found a sharp rise in the level of circulating testosterone, which contributes to a more rapid decision on the direction of movement in the labyrinth space under stress in old rats, in contrast to young ones. The index of the ratio of testosterone to corticosterone levels can serve as a guideline for dividing the rat population into low- and high-anxiety individuals when modeling PTSD. The data on dysfunctional accumulation of mitochondria in the myocardium of intact and stressed old rats are priority. The information obtained may be useful in the development of drugs for the devastating consequences of PTSD, as well as senile changes in the myocardium.