Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States affecting nearly 1 out of 4 Americans and is a major cause of mortality. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the fifth most common psychiatric disorder diagnosis in the United States. Women are 2-3 times more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety disorders. Individuals with PTSD are more likely to have suffered from adverse childhood experiences, pointing to childhood trauma as an important vulnerability factor. There is a strong relationship between early life stress (ELS) and long-term effects on one’s cognition, emotion, and behavior. Severe ELS has been shown to enhance fear learning in adulthood and also induce anxiety depending on the type and duration of a stressor. A comparison of the effects of acute ELS (aELS) versus chronic ELS (cELS) on both stress enhancement of fear learning (SEFL) and anxiety in adulthood measured using the open field test will be investigated. Rats will be exposed to aELS or cELS and will then receive fear conditioning or no fear conditioning treatment in adulthood. Ultimately, it is of interest to determine if a second hit of stress (adult fear conditioning) is required for SEFL and anxiety responses in aELS and/or cELS. We hypothesize that a second hit of stress is required to show enhancement of fear learning in both aELS and cELS, but a second exposure to a stressor is required to show increased anxiety behavior only in aELS animals. cELS alone will be sufficient to increase anxiety later in life. As SEFL models PTSD and anxiety-like behavior models AD, this study has translational value to humans, elucidating mechanisms for heightened vulnerability to these disorders, aiding in prevention and treatment. Overall, this project will encourage critical thinking essential to our future careers.
Author(s): Hailey Moore, Psychology Major
Sophie Elleman, Chemistry and Neuroscience Major
Advisor(s): Jennifer Quinn, Department of Psychology
Brianna Minshall, Department of Psychology
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