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Effects of cued and contextual fear on sleep in DBA/2J mice

Effekte von auslöser- und kontextbedingter Angst bei DBA/2J-Mäusen

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Abstract

Fear conditioning alters sleep, with the most consistent effect being significant reductions in rapid eye movement sleep (REM). DBA/2 (D2) mice show behavioral signs of anxiety, respond greater to shock training, and potentially behave differently in cued and contextual fear, raising the question of how fear conditioning would affect their sleep. D2 mice were implanted to record sleep via telemetry. After baseline sleep recording, groups of D2 mice were trained in cued (15 tone–shock pairings) and contextual (15 non-cued shocks) fear on 4 consecutive days. Cue and context control mice were given identical training but were never presented with shock. Sleep was recorded after shock training and after presentation of cue or context alone. Shock training produced selective suppression of REM. On the day after shock training was completed, light period sleep was significantly altered in mice in the cued fear group, but not in the contextual fear group. Subsequent presentation of fearful cues and re-exposure to the fearful contexts also produced significant reductions in REM. The effects of fear conditioning on sleep in D2 mice and other mouse strains and the differential effects of cued and contextual fear on sleep are discussed.

Zusammenfassung

Konditionierung von Angst verändert den Schlaf. Dabei ist der am deutlichsten konsistente Effekt eine signifikante Reduktion des REM(„rapid eye movement“)-Schlafs. DBA/2(D2)-Mäuse zeigen Auswirkungen Anspannung, stärkere Reaktionen auf Schocktraining und potenziell verändertes Verhalten nach Konditionierung von auslöser- und kontextbedingter Angst. Daraus ergibt sich die Frage, wie die Konditionierung von Angst den Schlaf beeinflusst. D2-Mäusen wurden Elektroden für die telemetrische Polysomnographie implantiert. Nach einer Basisableitung wurden Gruppen von D2-Mäusen an 4 konsekutiven Tagen auslöser- (15 Schock-Ton-Reize) und kontextbedingten (15 Schockreize ohne Ton) Angst induzierenden Situationen ausgesetzt. Die Mäuse in den Kontrollgruppen wurden genauso behandelt, sie erhielten nur keine Schockreize. In den danach abgeleiteten Polysomnographien zeigte sich nach Schockexposition eine selektive REM-Unterdrückung. Am Tag nach Beendigung des Schocktrainings war die Leichtschlafphase bei den Mäusen mit auslöserbedingter Angst signifikant verändert, bei den Mäusen mit kontextbedingter Angst dagegen nicht. Eine spätere erneute Präsentation der angstbesetzten Auslöser und eine Reexposition mit dem angstbesetztem Kontext führten ebenfalls zu einer deutlichen Abnahme der REM-Phasen. Diskutiert werden die Auswirkungen der Konditionierung von Angst auf den Schlaf von Mäusen (D2 und andere Stämme) sowie die differenziellen Effekte von auslöser- und kontextbedingter Angst auf den Schlaf.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH research grants MH64827 and MH61716. We would like to thank Stuart M. Orchard for his technical assistance on this study.

Conflict of interests

The corresponding author states that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sleep Medicine Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    L. Yang & X. Tang

  2. Sleep Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 23501, Norfolk, VA, USA

    L.D. Sanford

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  1. L. Yang
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  2. X. Tang
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  3. L.D. Sanford
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Correspondence to L.D. Sanford.

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Yang, L., Tang, X. & Sanford, L. Effects of cued and contextual fear on sleep in DBA/2J mice. Somnologie 17, 80–89 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-013-0610-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-013-0610-4

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