Parameters of hormetic stress and resilience to trauma in rats

Abstract Hormesis is the process by which small stresses build resilience to large stresses. We pre-exposed rats to various parameters of mild-to-moderate stress prior to traumatic stress in the present experiments to assess the potential benefits of hormetic training on resilience to traumatic, unc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2015-01, Vol.18 (1), p.88-95
Main Authors: Plumb, Traci N., Cullen, Patrick K., Minor, Thomas R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Conditioning (Psychology)
Disease Models, Animal
Electroshock - psychology
Escape Reaction
Fear
Helplessness, Learned
Hormesis
Male
Motor Activity
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Reaction Time
Resilience, Psychological
Restraint, Physical - psychology
Stress, Psychological - etiology
Stress, Psychological - prevention & control
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Time Factors
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Summary:Abstract Hormesis is the process by which small stresses build resilience to large stresses. We pre-exposed rats to various parameters of mild-to-moderate stress prior to traumatic stress in the present experiments to assess the potential benefits of hormetic training on resilience to traumatic, uncontrollable stress. Rats underwent varying stress pre-training parameters prior to exposure to uncontrollable traumatic stress in the learned helplessness procedure. The ability to prevent the exaggerated fear responding and escape deficits that normally follow experience with traumatic stress were used as a measure of the benefits of hormetic training. Four experiments examined the effects of number of training sessions, stressor severity and pattern of rest between pre-training stress sessions. Repeated exposure to mild restraint stress or moderate shock stress eliminated both the enhanced fear conditioning and shuttle-escape deficits that result from exposure to traumatic, inescapable shock. The pattern of rest did not contribute to resilience when the pre-exposure stressor was mild, but was vital when the pre-exposure stressor was moderate, with an alternation of stress and rest being the most effective procedure. The data also suggest that the level of resilience may increase with the number of pre-exposure sessions.
ISSN:1025-3890
1607-8888
DOI:10.3109/10253890.2014.974154