Abstract
Variations in anxiety-related behavior are associated with individual allostatic set-points in chronically stressed rats. Actively offensive rats with the externalizing indicators of sniffling and climbing the stimulus and material tearing during 10 days of predator scent stress had reduced plasma corticosterone, increased striatal glutamate metabolites, and increased adrenal 11-dehydrocorticosterone content compared to passively defensive rats with the internalizing indicators of freezing and grooming, as well as to controls without any behavioral changes. These findings suggest that rats that display active offensive activity in response to stress develop anxiety associated with decreased allostatic set-points and increased resistance to stress.
Highlights
In the fight for survival, stress-related psychobiological responses are activated together with calming mechanisms [1,2]
Some authors have referred to these adaptive processes as “active (ACS) or passive (PCS) coping styles” [1], while others have described them as active offensive (AOR) or passive defensive responses (PDR)
allostatic flight/fight response (AFR) phenotypic behavioral pattern was established in 45% of the animals, and allostatic freezing/passive response (APR) in the remaining 55%
Summary
In the fight for survival, stress-related psychobiological responses are activated together with calming mechanisms [1,2]. Using a description related to the allostasis paradigm, one may refer, correspondingly, to the allostatic flight/fight/active (AFR) or allostatic freezing/passive (APR) responses [3]. The AFR involves offensive and proactive investigatory reactions toward environmental threats or stressors, a more aggressive phenotype, and a less pronounced neural and physiological response to stress than the APR. While some researchers have focused on the biological basis of these styles, including hormonal changes, neural remodeling, and gene methylation processes [4,5,6], others have pointed out the importance of individual differences in these responses [7,8,9]. The exact underlying mechanisms of these different psychobiological processes, including genetic and epigenetic changes, are unclear [10,11,12,13,14,15]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
