Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Kathleen Morrison
Committee Co-Chair
Michael Perone
Committee Member
Nicholas Turiano
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is an area of associated with cognitive flexibility, decision making, and value processing. The most common neuropsychiatric disorders globally, including generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders, have been associated with dysfunction in the PFC. One of the environmental factors that may lead to increased risk for developing these disorders is exposure to stressful or traumatic situations during key developmental periods, such as adolescence. Human studies found that individuals who were faced with early adverse events but had some form of social interaction or support during that time, had a lower risk for developing neuropsychiatric disorders later in adulthood. This finding was replicated in rodent studies, where evidence suggests that social interaction (SI) during stressful periods may lead to ameliorative effects on PFC-related behavior. Understanding how SI during stress in adolescence can promote behavioral resilience is an understudied area of research. We hypothesized that mice receiving SI would be protected from the impact of pubertal stress on PFC-related behavior in a sex dependent manner. To test this, mice underwent chronic variable stress (CVS) for a total of two weeks starting at post-natal day 21, with one group receiving SI in-between daily stressors. Then, mice were placed into either the adulthood or adolescence age cohort where they performed a battery of PFC-related behavioral tests during those respective periods. In conclusion, we extended our knowledge on how chronic pubertal stress affects PFC-related cognition and behavior throughout two distinct developmental periods. Specifically, that there are sex-dependent effects following chronic pubertal stress which may be related to the age of the individual, as we found age related differences in anxiety-like behavior in adulthood but no sex related differences during adolescence.
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Bryan, "The Effect of Pubertal Stress on Prefrontal Cortex Related Behavior in Adult and Adolescent Mice" (2023). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12270.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12270
Embargo Reason
Publication Pending