Impacts of social isolation stress in safety learning and the structure of defensive behavior during a spatial-based learning task involving thermal threat.

ABSTRACT: Safety learning during threat and adversity is critical for behavioral adaptation, resiliency, and survival. Using a novel mouse paradigm involving thermal threat, we recently demonstrated that safety learning is highly susceptible to social isolation stress. Yet, our previous study primarily considered male mice and did not thoroughly scrutinize the relative impacts of stress on potentially distinct defensive mechanisms implemented by males and females during the thermal safety task. The present study assessed these issues while considering a variety of defensive behaviors related to safety-seeking, escape, coping, protection, ambivalence, and risk-taking. After a two-week social isolation stress period, mice were required to explore a box arena that had thermal threat and safety zones (5

SUBMITTER: Villalon SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11666493 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature