Estrogen receptor ß activation within dorsal raphe nucleus reverses anxiety-like behavior induced by food restriction in female rats.

Severe food restriction (FR), as observed in disorders like anorexia nervosa, has been associated to the reduction of estrogen levels, which in turn could lead to anxiety development. Estrogen receptors, mainly ERß type, are commonly found in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) neurons, an important nucleus related to anxiety modulation and the primary source of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain. Taking together, these findings suggest an involvement of estrogen in anxiety modulation during food restriction, possibly mediated by ERß activation in serotonergic DRN neurons. Thus, the present study investigated the relationship between food restriction and anxiety-like behavior, and the involvement of DRN and ERß on the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors in animals subjected to FR. For that, female Fischer rats were grouped in control group, with free access to food, or a FR group, which received 40% of control intake during 14 days. Animals were randomly treated with 17ß-estradiol (E2), DPN (ERß selective agonist), or their respective vehicles, PBS and DMSO. Behavioral tests were performed on Elevated T-Maze (ETM) and Open Field (OF). Our results suggest that FR probably reduced the estrogen levels, since the remained in the non-ovulatory cycle phases, and their uterine weight was lower when compared to control group. The FR rats showed increased inhibitory avoidance latency in theETM indicating that FR is associated with the development of an anxiety-like state. The injections of both E2 and DPN into DRN of FR animals had an anxiolytic effect. Those data suggest thatanxiety-like behavior induced by FR could be mediated by a reduction of ERß activation in the DRN neurons, probably due to decreased estrogen levels.

Tobacco-Free Cigarette Smoke Exposure Induces Anxiety and Panic-Related Behaviours in Male Wistar Rats.

Smokers, who generally present with lung damage, are more anxious than non-smokers and have an associated augmented risk of panic. Considering that lung damage signals specific neural pathways that are related to affective responses, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of pulmonary injury on anxiety and panic-like behaviours in animals exposed to cigarette smoke with and without tobacco. Male Wistar rats were divided into the following groups: a control group (CG); a regular cigarette group (RC); and a tobacco-free cigarette (TFC) group. Animals were exposed to twelve cigarettes per day for eight consecutive days. The animals were then exposed to an elevated T-maze and an open field. The RC and TFC groups presented increases in inflammatory cell inflow, antioxidant enzyme activity, and TBARS levels, and a decrease in the GSH/GSSG ratio was observed in the TFC group. Exposure to RC smoke reduced anxiety and panic-related behaviours. On the other hand, TFC induced anxiety and panic-related behaviours. Thus, our results contradict the concept that nicotine is solely accountable for shifted behavioural patterns caused by smoking, in that exposure to TFC smoke causes anxiety and panic-related behaviours.

High fat diet induced-obesity facilitates anxiety-like behaviors due to GABAergic impairment within the dorsomedial hypothalamus in rats.

Overweight and obesity are conditions associated with an overall range of clinical health consequences, and they could be involved with the development of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD). A crucial brain nuclei involved on the physiological functions and behavioral responses, especially fear, anxiety and panic, is the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH). However, the mechanisms underlying the process whereby the DMH is involved in behavioral changes in obese rats still remains unclear. The current study further investigates the relation between obesity and generalized anxiety, by investigating the GABAA sensitivity to pharmacological manipulation within the DMH in obese rats during anxiety conditions. Male Wistar rats were divided in two experimental groups: the first was fed a control diet (CD; 11% w/w) and second was fed a high fat diet (HFD; 45% w/w). Animals were randomly treated with muscimol, a GABAA agonist and bicuculline methiodide (BMI), a GABAA antagonist. Inhibitory avoidance and escape behaviors were investigated using the Elevated T-Maze (ETM) apparatus. Our results revealed that the obesity facilitated inhibitory avoidance acquisition, suggesting a positive relation between obesity and the development of an anxiety-like state. The injection of muscimol (an anxiolytic drug), within the DMH, increased the inhibitory avoidance latency in obese animals (featuring an anxiogenic state). Besides, muscimol prolonged the escape latency and controlling the possible panic-like behavior in these animals. Injection of BMI into the DMH was ineffective to produce an anxiety-like effect in obese animals opposing the results observed in lean animals. These findings support the hypotheses that obese animals are susceptible to develop anxiety-like behaviors, probably through changes in the GABAergic neurotransmission within the DMH.

New insights on amygdala: Basomedial amygdala regulates the physiological response to social novelty.

The amygdala has been associated with a variety of functions linked to physiological, behavioral and endocrine responses during emotional situations. This brain region is comprised of multiple sub-nuclei. These sub-nuclei belong to the same structure, but may be involved in different functions, thereby making the study of each sub-nuclei important. Yet, the involvement of the basomedial amygdala (BMA) in the regulation of emotional states has yet to be defined. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the regulatory role of the BMA on the responses evoked during a social novelty model and whether the regulatory role depended on an interaction with the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH). Our results showed that the chemical inhibition of the BMA by the microinjection of muscimol (γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) agonist) promoted increases in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR), whereas the chemical inhibition of regions near the BMA did not induce such cardiovascular changes. In contrast, the BMA chemical activation by the bilateral microinjection of bicuculline methiodide (BMI; GABAA antagonist), blocked the increases in MAP and HR observed when an intruder rat was suddenly introduced into the cage of a resident rat, and confined to the small cage for 15min. Additionally, the increase in HR and MAP induced by BMA inhibition were eliminated by DMH chemical inhibition. Thus, our data reveal that the BMA is under continuous GABAergic influence, and that its hyperactivation can reduce the physiological response induced by a social novelty condition, possibly by inhibiting DMH neurons.