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The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Sachs, BD; Rodriguiz, RM; Siesser, WB; Kenan, A; Royer, EL; Jacobsen, JPR; Wetsel, WC; Caron, MG
Published in: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol
October 2013

Aberrant serotonin (5-HT) signalling and exposure to early life stress have both been suggested to play a role in anxiety- and impulsivity-related behaviours. However, whether congenital 5-HT deficiency × early life stress interactions influence the development of anxiety- or impulsivity-like behaviour has not been established. Here, we examined the effects of early life maternal separation (MS) stress on anxiety-like behaviour and behavioural disinhibition, a type of impulsivity-like behaviour, in wild-type (WT) and tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2) knock-in (Tph2KI) mice, which exhibit ~60-80% reductions in the levels of brain 5-HT due to a R439H mutation in Tph2. We also investigated the effects of 5-HT deficiency and early life stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis, plasma corticosterone levels and several signal transduction pathways in the amygdala. We demonstrate that MS slightly increases anxiety-like behaviour in WT mice and induces behavioural disinhibition in Tph2KI animals. We also demonstrate that MS leads to a slight decrease in cell proliferation within the hippocampus and potentiates corticosterone responses to acute stress, but these effects are not affected by brain 5-HT deficiency. However, we show that 5-HT deficiency leads to significant alterations in SGK-1 and GSK3β signalling and NMDA receptor expression in the amygdala in response to MS. Together, these findings support a potential role for 5-HT-dependent signalling in the amygdala in regulating the long-term effects of early life stress on anxiety-like behaviour and behavioural disinhibition.

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Published In

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol

DOI

EISSN

1469-5111

Publication Date

October 2013

Volume

16

Issue

9

Start / End Page

2081 / 2094

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tryptophan Hydroxylase
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Signal Transduction
  • Serotonin
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
  • Psychiatry
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Neurogenesis
  • Motor Activity
  • Mice, Transgenic
 

Citation

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Sachs, B. D., Rodriguiz, R. M., Siesser, W. B., Kenan, A., Royer, E. L., Jacobsen, J. P. R., … Caron, M. G. (2013). The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, 16(9), 2081–2094. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145713000321
Sachs, Benjamin D., Ramona M. Rodriguiz, William B. Siesser, Alexander Kenan, Elizabeth L. Royer, Jacob P. R. Jacobsen, William C. Wetsel, and Marc G. Caron. “The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress.Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 16, no. 9 (October 2013): 2081–94. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145713000321.
Sachs BD, Rodriguiz RM, Siesser WB, Kenan A, Royer EL, Jacobsen JPR, et al. The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013 Oct;16(9):2081–94.
Sachs, Benjamin D., et al. “The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress.Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, vol. 16, no. 9, Oct. 2013, pp. 2081–94. Pubmed, doi:10.1017/S1461145713000321.
Sachs BD, Rodriguiz RM, Siesser WB, Kenan A, Royer EL, Jacobsen JPR, Wetsel WC, Caron MG. The effects of brain serotonin deficiency on behavioural disinhibition and anxiety-like behaviour following mild early life stress. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013 Oct;16(9):2081–2094.
Journal cover image

Published In

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol

DOI

EISSN

1469-5111

Publication Date

October 2013

Volume

16

Issue

9

Start / End Page

2081 / 2094

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tryptophan Hydroxylase
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Signal Transduction
  • Serotonin
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
  • Psychiatry
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Neurogenesis
  • Motor Activity
  • Mice, Transgenic