Stress impairs optimal behavior in a water foraging choice task in rats
- 1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1525, USA;
- 2Program in Neurobiology & Behavior, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1525, USA
Abstract
Stress is a biologically significant social–environmental factor that plays a pervasive role in influencing human and animal behaviors. While stress effects on various types of memory are well characterized, its effects on other cognitive functions are relatively unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of acute, uncontrollable stress on subsequent decision-making performance in rats, using a computer vision-based water foraging choice task. Experiencing stress significantly impaired the animals' ability to progressively bias (but not maintain) their responses toward the larger reward when transitioning from equal to unequal reward quantities. Temporary inactivation of the amygdala during stress, however, blocked impairing effects on decision making.
Footnotes
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↵3 Corresponding author.
E-mail jeansokk{at}u.washington.edu; fax (206) 685-3157.
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[Supplemental material is available online at http://www.learnmem.org.]
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Article is online at http://www.learnmem.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/lm.1605510.
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- Received August 24, 2009.
- Accepted November 5, 2009.
- Copyright © 2010 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
