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Increases in dendritic spine density in BLA without metabolic changes in a rodent model of PTSD

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Abstract

Imaging studies have shown abnormal amygdala function in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, alterations in synaptic plasticity have been associated with psychiatric disorders and previous reports have indicated alterations in the amygdala morphology, especially in basolateral (BLA) neurons, are associated with stress-related disorders. Since, some individuals exposed to a traumatic event develop PTSD, the goals of this study were to evaluate the early effects of PTSD on amygdala glucose metabolism and analyze the possible BLA dendritic spine plasticity in animals with different levels of behavioral response. We employed the inescapable footshock protocol as an experimental model of PTSD and the animals were classified according to the duration of their freezing behavior into distinct groups: “extreme behavioral response” (EBR) and “minimal behavioral response”. We evaluated the amygdala glucose metabolism at baseline (before the stress protocol) and immediately after the situational reminder using the microPET and the radiopharmaceutical 18F-FDG. The BLA dendritic spines were analyzed according to their number, density, shape and morphometric parameters. Our results show the EBR animals exhibited longer freezing behavior and increased proximal dendritic spines density in the BLA neurons. Neither the amygdaloid glucose metabolism, the types of dendritic spines nor their morphometric parameters showed statistically significant differences. The extreme behavior response induced by this PTSD protocol produces an early increase in BLA spine density, which is unassociated with either additional changes in the shape of spines or metabolic changes in the whole amygdala of Wistar rats.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS). JCC, AARF and LLX are CNPq investigators.

Funding

This study was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001), Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CNPq) (Grant Number 306644/2016-9) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) (Grant Number 04/1037.1).

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Authors

Contributions

LTN, LLX, AARF and RGM designed the study, interpreted the data and elaborated the manuscript. LTN, PFRN, LVP, BBM, GZL and RBS conducted the experimental procedures. LTN, MZ, MMBPO, LVP and PFRN collected and interpreted the data. LTN, GTV, SG and JCC conducted the microPET-FDG scans and analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Léder Leal Xavier.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All experiments involving animals were approved by the University’s ethical committee (CEUA 8481/PUCRS).

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Neves, L.T., Neves, P.F.R., Paz, L.V. et al. Increases in dendritic spine density in BLA without metabolic changes in a rodent model of PTSD. Brain Struct Funct 224, 2857–2870 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-019-01943-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-019-01943-4

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