Conditioned flight response in female rats to naturalistic threat is estrous-cycle dependent.

ABSTRACT: Despite the prevalent expression of freezing behavior following Pavlovian fear conditioning, a growing body of literature suggests potential sex differences in defensive responses. Our study investigated how female defensive behaviors are expressed in different threat situations and modulated by the estrous cycle. We aimed to compare freezing and flight-like responses during the acquisition and retrieval of fear conditioning using two distinct unconditioned stimuli (US) in two different spatial configurations: (1) electrical footshock (FUS) in a small, conventional enclosure with a grid floor, and (2) a predator-like robot (PUS) in a spacious, open arena. Fear conditioning with FUS showed no substantial differences between male and female rats of two different estrous cycles (proestrus and

SUBMITTER: Pyeon GH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10684534 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature