Abstract
Predation causes robust long-term stress-related effects on prey individuals even if they do not get consumed by the predator. Here I review the role of basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons in the mediation of non-consumptive effects of predation. This brain region is critical for the generation and maintenance of fear response across many phylogenetic groups. The exposure to cues of predator presence activates neurons within the BLA. Hormones secreted during stressful episodes cause long-lasting structural changes in BLA neurons, causing facilitation of endocrine response during subsequent exposure to stressful episodes like later predator exposure. Some studies also suggest that BLA is involved in creating anticipatory defensive behavior in response to the expectation of change in the environment.
Highlights
Predation causes robust long-term stress-related effects on prey individuals even if they do not get consumed by the predator
Fear to predators in rat pups emerges around postnatal day 10, a period that is similar to the emergence of stress hormone secretion and amygdala development (Moriceau et al, 2004)
Sub-threshold doses of urocortin, an agonist for corticotrophin-releasing hormone, placed within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) causes a long-lasting increase in anxiety and lowered neuronal inhibition in adult rats (Rainnie et al, 2004). These observations suggest that BLA and glucocorticoids can plausibly alter the magnitude of defensive responses elicited by animals as a function of predator density seen by the parents during critical developmental windows
Summary
Predation causes robust long-term stress-related effects on prey individuals even if they do not get consumed by the predator. Prey animals in this narrative develop a fear of cues of predator presence, like urine or body odors. Fear causes chronic effects like lower investment in reproductive hormones, greater activation of the stress axis and lower growth rates. Infection with Toxoplasma gondii reduces fear to cat urine in rats and in parallel causes dendritic retraction within BLA neurons (Mitra et al, 2013).
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