Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and its family of peptides are critical coordinators of homeostasis whose actions are mediated through their receptors, CRF receptor 1 (CRFR1) and CRFR2, found throughout the CNS and periphery. The phenotypes of mice deficient in either CRFR1 or CRFR2 demonstrate the critical role these receptors play. CRFR1-mutant mice have an impaired stress response and d...

Both invertebrates and vertebrates make immediate simple reactions to noxious stimuli; a tail flip escape is typical example in crayfish. More complex sustained emotional responses, such as anxiety or fear, can be demonstrated many but until recently have not been seen crustaceans. Several recent studies found anxiety-like behavior (ALB) crayfish response electric shock social bullying, this su...

Stress may cause special behavioral and biochemical changes. Kindling is presumed to be the underlying mechanism for such changes. Lamotrigin, an anti-kindling agent which blocks glutamate release through inhibiting sodium channels may reverse these behavioral changes. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of lamotrigin in management of behavioral and biochemical changes caused by st...

Objective(s) There is well documented evidence for the increase in widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of physical and psychiatric symptoms and disorders within the populations. In the present study, we investigated the influence of Vitex agnus-castus (vitex) on anxiety-like behaviors of rats. Materials and Methods Elevated plus maze which is one of the ...

Social stress is associated with altered immunity and higher incidence of anxiety-related disorders. Repeated social defeat (RSD) is a murine stressor that primes peripheral myeloid cells, activates microglia, and induces anxiety-like behavior. Here we show that RSD-induced anxiety-like behavior corresponded with an exposure-dependent increase in circulating monocytes (CD11b(+)/SSC(lo)/Ly6C(hi)...

Recently, the medial habenula-interpeduncular (MHb-IPN) axis has been hypothesized to modulate anxiety although neuronal populations and molecular mechanisms regulating affective behaviors in this circuit are unknown. Here we show that MHb cholinergic neuron activity directly regulates anxiety-like behavior. Optogenetic silencing of MHb cholinergic IPN inputs reduced anxiety-like behavior in mi...

The locus coeruleus noradrenergic (LC-NE) system is one of the first systems engaged following a stressful event. While numerous groups have demonstrated that LC-NE neurons are activated by many different stressors, the underlying neural circuitry and the role of this activity in generating stress-induced anxiety has not been elucidated. Using a combination of in vivo chemogenetics, optogenetic...

In abstinent alcoholics, stress induces negative affect-a response linked to craving and relapse. In rats, repeated stresses at weekly intervals before 5-day ethanol diet sensitize withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behavior ("anxiety") that is blocked by a corticotrophin-releasing factor 1 (CRF-1)-receptor antagonist. Current experiments were performed to identify brain sites that support CRF inv...