摘要
Studies on social isolation have provided evidence for an enhanced anxiety-like phenotype, depressive-like symptoms and higher levels of 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs); whereas sexual experience could induce significant changes in affective states, decrease anxiety-and depressive-like responses. However, the behavioral and emotional alterations in male rats exposed to isolation after sexual experience remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study examined anxiety-and depressive-like parameters, as well as USV emissions in male rats isolated for 1, 2, or 7 d following 1-week sexual (male-female paired housing) or social (male-male paired housing) interaction. Isolation for 1 d resulted in increased depressive-like symptoms, and 2-d isolation induced elevated anxiety-like behavior in sexually inexperienced rats, while rats with sexual experience exhibited comparable levels of emotionality at each isolation time. Moreover, isolated rats without sexual experience emitted less 22-and 50-kHz USVs, but sexually experienced rats exhibited similar affective states compared with control ones. These results suggested that prior sexual experience could have a modulatory effect on experimental rat emotional responses to isolation.
Studies on social isolation have provided evidence for an enhanced anxiety-like phenotype, depressive-like symptoms and higher levels of 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs); whereas sexual experience could induce significant changes in affective states, decrease anxiety- and depressive-like responses. However, the behavioral and emotional alterations in male rats exposed to isola- tion after sexual experience remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study examined anxiety- and depressive-like parameters, as well as USV emissions in male rats isolated for 1, 2, or 7 d following 1-week sexual (male-female paired housing) or social (male-male paired housing) interaction. Isolation for 1 d resulted in increased depressive-like symptoms, and 2-d isolation induced elevated anxiety-like behavior in sexually inexperienced rats, while rats with sexual experience exhibited comparable levels of emotionality at each isolation time. Moreover, isolated rats without sexual experience emitted less 22- and 50-kHz USVs, but sexually experienced rats exhibited similar affective states compared with control ones. These results suggested that prior sexual experience could have a modulatory effect on experimental rat emotional responses to isolation.
作者
WEN Fei1,2 & XU Lin1,3 1 Laboratory of Learning and Memory and Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms, Kunming Institute of Zoology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
2 Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3 Mental Health Institute, the 2nd Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, China
基金
supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB941302)
Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for "Significant New Drugs Creation" (2009ZX09501-030)
关键词
雄性大鼠
情感状态
焦虑
抑郁
行为
情绪变化
相互作用
调节作用
social isolation, sexual experience, anxiety-like, depressive-like, ultrasonic vocalization (USV)