A terrifying sound stress inhibits hippocampal neurogenesis in the adult male mice. Issue 1 (18th November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Zhaoxin; Zhao, Zixuan; Nan, Zhuhui; Duan, Jingwen; Zhang, Siyuan; Zhang, Zhichao; Huang, Chen
• Is Part Of: International journal of developmental neuroscience. Volume 82:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 63
• Page End: 71
• Publication Date: 2021-11-18
• Subjects: mouse hippocampus -- neurogenesis -- psychological stress -- terrifying sound stimulation; Developmental neurobiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurologie du développement -- Périodiques; Developmental neurobiology; Periodicals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10160
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0736-5748

Abstract

Abstract: Stress impairs hippocampal neurogenesis. The traditional animal model of stress contains a mixture of physical and psychological stress factors. This leads to difficulty in the evaluation of the effect of pure psychological stress on neurogenesis. In this study, we investigated the effect of pure psychological stress on hippocampal neurogenesis. The pure psychological stress model and the mixed stress model were carried out by terrifying sound and restraint, respectively. The open field test showed that restraint treatment improved the general locomotor activity levels, while terrifying sound treatment had opposite effects. Compared with a normal condition, both terrifying sound stimulation and restraint treatment significantly decreased the number of BrdU and Ki‐67 and reduced the positive rate of SOX2/GFAP in the hippocampus. These phenomena indicated that pure psychological stress could decrease the number of neural stem cells and inhibit cell proliferation in the hippocampus of a mouse. Furthermore, compared with the restraint treatment, the neurotransmitters including norepinephrine (NE), 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT), and gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) had not been affected drastically by terrifying sound stimulation. Our results suggest that the terrifying sound stimulation can be considered as a novel and effective pure psychological stress animal model for the further research on the hippocampus. Abstract : Psychological stress can result in mental problems and impose increasing hazards on human health. However, the traditional rodent stress model contains a mix of physical and psychological stress factors and thus difficult to evaluate the effect of pure psychological stress. In this study, we used terrified sound to carry out the mice model of pure psychological stress and investigate the effect of pure psychological stress. We reported that terrifying sound stimulation tended to inhibit the general locomotor, suppressed hippocampal neurogenesis, and further inhibited GABA release. These phenomena suggested that terrified sound could be considered as a pure psychological stress model, and this model is simple, straightforward, and effective. And our research may provide a basis for further studies on the effects of psychological stress on the hippocampus.