Topic: anxiety-related behavior

Vasoactive-intestinal-polypeptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide that is localized together with its receptors (VPAC1 and VPAC2) in brain areas of the stress and anxiety circuit, such as central amygdala (CeA). However, the exact role of the CeA-VIP system in stress and anxiety function is not fully known. By using a pharmacological and chemogenetic approach we investigated the role of VIP in the CeA on anxiety and stress responses of mice. First, we administered specific VIP/VPAC receptor agonists/antagonists bilaterally into the CeA to evaluate effects on anxiety- and stress-related behaviors as we

The zona incerta (ZI) is a subthalamic region in the brain, which comprises loosely packed albeit mixed population of several neurons. However, an in-depth understanding of anatomical connections of neurons emerging from and /or projecting to the ZI, and the functional implications, remains elusive. The ZI has recently gathered considerable interest because of its role in primal survival-associated instincts, like appetitive drive, hunting, food intake and fear generalization. We therefore aimed to identify and characterize the neuronal subpopulations, which may be involved in emotional and me

Sexual dimorphism of the developing brain raises the question that early seizures could have distinct effects in immature males and females. This study focuses on the short- and long-term effects of repeated neonatal flurothyl-induced seizures on behavioral responses in male and female rats. A total of 33 Wistar albino rats were used: 17 males (8 controls, 9 treated) and 16 females (7 controls, 9 treated). Animals were repeatedly tested at juvenile and adult ages. At postnatal day 6, the pups were separated from mothers for ~10 minutes (treated: 5 min flurothyl exposure until generalized tonic