Anxiolytic Effects of Chronic Intraperitoneal Administration of GABA in Mice
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Anxiety, GABA, PTSD
Abstract
Previous research in humans and non-human animals clearly demonstrates that GABA plays a role in anxiety and anxiety-like behaviors. With rodent models, GABA agonists produce anxiolytic effects under multiple paradigms but the effects of directly administering GABA remain unclear. The current study investigated the effects of chronic peripheral GABA administration on behavior using a common measure of anxiety-like behavior in rodents, the elevated zero maze. Eight-week old male and female Swiss Webster mice were quad-housed and exposed to either cat urine or plain litter as part of a secondary hypothesis regarding the development of a murine model of PTSD. Starting 20 minutes after predator scent exposure, each mouse was given an intraparitonael injection of either GABA (10 mg/kg) or saline once a day for seven days. On the eighth day, each mouse was placed on an elevated zero-maze for recorded observation without an injection. Unfortunately, analysis of initial latency to new arm entrance (sec), exploratory behavior in the open arms (i.e., dipping behavior), and duration in the open arms (sec) found only small sex differences, and did not reveal any effect of GABA or predator scent exposure on anxiety-like behavior. The current findings suggest that the sexes behave differently under stress, as male and female mice displayed differences in their behavioral profiles across the testing sessions. These findings suggest that future studies may be more successful in developing a murine model of PTSD and, subsequently, assessing peripheral GABA administration as a possible treatment by examining male and female mice separately.
Recommended Citation
Celori, Anthony; Kilburn, Zachariah; Freeze, Samantha; Garritott, Joseph; and Wulf, Lyndsay, "Anxiolytic Effects of Chronic Intraperitoneal Administration of GABA in Mice" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 151.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/posters/151
Poster Number
51
Additional Mentoring Department
Psychology
Anxiolytic Effects of Chronic Intraperitoneal Administration of GABA in Mice
SURC Ballroom C/D
Previous research in humans and non-human animals clearly demonstrates that GABA plays a role in anxiety and anxiety-like behaviors. With rodent models, GABA agonists produce anxiolytic effects under multiple paradigms but the effects of directly administering GABA remain unclear. The current study investigated the effects of chronic peripheral GABA administration on behavior using a common measure of anxiety-like behavior in rodents, the elevated zero maze. Eight-week old male and female Swiss Webster mice were quad-housed and exposed to either cat urine or plain litter as part of a secondary hypothesis regarding the development of a murine model of PTSD. Starting 20 minutes after predator scent exposure, each mouse was given an intraparitonael injection of either GABA (10 mg/kg) or saline once a day for seven days. On the eighth day, each mouse was placed on an elevated zero-maze for recorded observation without an injection. Unfortunately, analysis of initial latency to new arm entrance (sec), exploratory behavior in the open arms (i.e., dipping behavior), and duration in the open arms (sec) found only small sex differences, and did not reveal any effect of GABA or predator scent exposure on anxiety-like behavior. The current findings suggest that the sexes behave differently under stress, as male and female mice displayed differences in their behavioral profiles across the testing sessions. These findings suggest that future studies may be more successful in developing a murine model of PTSD and, subsequently, assessing peripheral GABA administration as a possible treatment by examining male and female mice separately.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Gabriel, Kara