Reduction of fear-potentiated startle by benzodiazepines in C57BL/6J mice.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Anxiety disorders affect 18% of the United States adult population annually. Recent surges in the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from combat-exposed veterans have prompted an urgent need to understand the pathophysiology underlying this debilitating condition.

Objectives

Anxiety and fear responses are partly modulated by gamma aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition; benzodiazepines potentiate GABAergic inhibition and are effective anxiolytics. Many genetically modified mouse lines are generated and/or maintained on the C57BL/6J background, a strain where manipulation of anxiety-like behavior using benzodiazepines is difficult. Fear-potentiated startle (FPS), a test of conditioned fear, is a useful preclinical too

SUBMITTER: Smith KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3056161 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature