Stress History Modulates Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Neurons to Establish Resilience.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cumulative stress is a major risk factor for developing major depressive disorder (MDD), but not everyone experiencing chronic stress develops MDD. In those who do not, it is unclear at what point or by what mechanism a trajectory of stable resiliency emerges.

Methods

Utilizing a 10-day repeated social defeat stress (RSDS) model for MDD, we observed that a critical period between 7 and 10 daily defeats marks the phenotypical divergence of resilient from susceptible male mice. Cell-type selective electrophysiology, chemogenetics, optogenetics, and RNA quantification were used to investigate the nature of stress effects on neuroadaptation in the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov) required to determine resilience.

Results

In respo

SUBMITTER: Haynes SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12857324 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature