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Learned Helplessness in Rodents

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Psychiatric Vulnerability, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 190))

Abstract

Learned helplessness (LH) is a well-known phenomenon described in animals upon their exposure to uncontrollable and unpredictable aversive stimuli, usually inescapable shocks. It is often characterized by impairment in learning to escape or avoid controllable aversive stimuli in a subsequent behavioral test. In addition to that, previously stressed animals present a range of other behavioral and physiological changes, including cognitive deficits, decreased reward sensitivity (anhedonia), hypolocomotion, sleep and appetite changes, among others. Disturbances in different neurotransmitter systems in cortical and limbic brain regions as well as impaired neuroplasticity have been associated with the development of LH following exposure to an uncontrollable stressor. Since exposure to uncontrollable stress is a risk factor for developing psychiatric disorders and feelings of helplessness are part of the symptomatology in patients suffering from depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the LH paradigm has been used in animals to study the pathophysiology of such conditions and new treatment options. This chapter summarizes the most relevant discussions about the effects induced by inescapable shock that can be associated with LH development and depression neurobiology. Moreover, we present herein a protocol that can be used to test the effect of different pharmacological interventions and how this can be relevant to studying depression neurobiology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Kennia Moura Silveira & Sâmia Joca

  2. Department of Clinical Medicine, Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Kennia Moura Silveira

  3. Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus, Denmark

    Sâmia Joca

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  1. Kennia Moura Silveira
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  2. Sâmia Joca
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Correspondence to Sâmia Joca .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Neuropsychopharmacology, Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Jaanus Harro

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Silveira, K.M., Joca, S. (2023). Learned Helplessness in Rodents. In: Harro, J. (eds) Psychiatric Vulnerability, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders. Neuromethods, vol 190. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2748-8_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2748-8_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2747-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2748-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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