Sex differences in prelimbic cortex calcium dynamics during stress and fear learning
Marin-Blasco, Ignacio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Vanzo, Giorgia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Rusco-Portabella, Joaquin (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Perez-Molina, Lucas (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Romero, Leire R. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Florido Torres, Antonio Luis (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Andero Galí, Raül (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències

Date:	2024
Abstract:	In recent years, research has progressively increased the importance of considering sex differences in stress and fear memory studies. Many studies have traditionally focused on male subjects, potentially overlooking critical differences with females. Emerging evidence suggests that males and females can exhibit distinct behavioral and neurophysiological responses to stress and fear conditioning. These differences may be attributable to variations in hormone levels, brain structure, and neural circuitry, particularly in regions such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In the present study, we explored sex differences in prelimbic cortex (PL) calcium activity in animals submitted to immobilization stress (IMO), fear conditioning (FC), and fear extinction (FE). While no significant sex differences were found in behavioral responses, we did observe differences in several PL calcium activity parameters. To determine whether these results were related to behaviors beyond stress and fear memory, we conducted correlation studies between the movement of the animals and PL activity during IMO and freezing behavior during FC and FE. Our findings revealed a clear correlation between PL calcium activity with movement during stress exposure and freezing behavior, with no sex differences observed in these correlations. These results suggest a significant role for the PL in movement and locomotion, in addition to its involvement in fear-related processes. The inclusion of both female and male subjects is crucial for studies like this to fully understand the role of the PFC and other brain areas in stress and fear responses. Recognizing sex differences enhances our comprehension of brain function and can lead to more personalized and effective approaches in the study and treatment of stress and fear-related conditions.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III AC19/00077 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-112705RB-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación EUR2023-143469
Note:	Altres ajuts: La Caixa (HR22-00737); Red Española de Investigación en Estrés (RED2022-134191-T)
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Sex differences ; PFC ; Stress ; Fear learning ; Calcium imaging ; Miniscopes ; Movement
Published in:	Biology of Sex Differences, Vol. 15, Núm. 1 (October 2024) , ISSN 2042-6410
Related work:	Vanzo, Giorgia; Marin-Blasco, Ignacio; Rusco-Portabella, Joaquin; Perez-Molina, Lucas; Romero-Rodríguez, Leire; Florido Antonio; Andero, PhD, Raül, 2024, "Replication data for: "Sex Differences in Prelimbic Cortex Calcium Dynamics During Stress and Fear Learning", CORA.Repositori de Dades de Recerca, V2 https://doi.org/10.34810/data1810

DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00653-9
PMID: 39415234

14 p, 3.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Neurociències (INc)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles