 |
| Research article summary (published 30 Jul 1993): |
Differential development of the stress response in congenital learned helplessness.
Full Abstract
Early in the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the rat undergoes a stress hyporesponsive period of blunted responses to several stressors including cold exposure (CE) and maternal deprivation (MD). We examined the development of the axis by monitoring adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) plasma levels in an animal model of depression and/or anxiety characterized by learned helpless (LH) behavior and a dysfunctional HPA axis in adult life. On postnatal day 7 there was no significant difference in basal plasma ACTH levels between congenital (cLH) and controls, but cLH animals showed a blunted response to CE (P < 0.001). By postnatal day 14 there was a dramatic increase in ACTH response to CE (P < 0.005). On postnatal day 21 baseline ACTH and response to CE were again significantly suppressed in cLH rats. Stress responsiveness to MD was present in all groups and was insignificantly different for all ages of development between groups. These findings suggest that rats with congenital learned helplessness undergo a differential response in the development of the HPA axis in that the axis was hypersensitive at postnatal day 14 and became hyporesponsive beyond day 14, and this may, in part, account for the dysfunctional stress response observed during adulthood.
Author information
Author/s: King, J A (JA); Campbell, D (D); Edwards, E (E);
Affiliation: LRS Diagnostics, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article
Journal: International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience (Int J Dev Neurosci), published in ENGLAND. (Language: eng)
Reference: 1993-Aug; vol 11 (issue 4) : pp 435-42
Dates: Created 1993/12/03; Completed 1993/12/03; Revised 2008/11/21;
PMID: 8237462, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
Related articles
These are the highest related articles currently in the database:
- Early stress and genetic influences on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in adulthood.
29 Sep 1999 - A neurodevelopmental model for anorexia nervosa. 30 May 2003
- Hypertension and insulin resistant models have divergent propensities to learned helpless behavior in rodents. 30 May 2000
- Involvement of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in antidepressant activity of corticotropin-releasing factor subtype 1 receptor antagonists in the rat learned helplessness test. 29 Jun 2001
- Onset and severity of inflammation in rats exposed to the learned helplessness paradigm.
29 Jun 2000 - Amplified behavioral and endocrine responses to forced swim stress in the Wistar-Kyoto rat. 30 Mar 2002
- Stressor controllability and the pituitary-adrenal system. 29 Sep 1986
- Learned helplessness: an experimental model of the DST in rats. 13 Feb 1988
- Agonistic behavior during stress prevents the development of learned helplessness in rats. 27 Feb 1998
Related Article Map
9/29/1986
5/30/2003
Higher Relevance Score (18)
Lower Relevance Score (9)
Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. 
- Title only. More help.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.