Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
J Neurosci. 2013 Jan 23;33(4):1441-50. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2420-12.2013.
Stress, which involves a heightened arousal and excitability, triggers important adaptive responses to maintain homeostasis and prepare a response. In the current studies, we administered a psychological stressor of 2 h acute restraint on rats, and found that 24 h after the cessation of the restraint session, there was a significant decrease in ventral tegmental area dopaminergic (DA) neuron population activity and a significant attenuation in amphetamine-induced locomotor activity. Systemic or intra-basolateral nuclei of the amygdala administration of the β-noradrenergic receptor antagonist, propranolol, reversed the decrease, suggesting that the delayed attenuation of DA neuron firing following a stressor depends on a noradrenaline-mediated mechanism. This alteration in DA activity may adaptively prepare the individual to avoid the stressor, or in the extreme, may be a factor that contributes to pathological changes in behavior or physiological responses.
应激涉及到高度的唤醒和兴奋性，会引发重要的适应性反应，以维持体内平衡并准备应对。在当前的研究中，我们对大鼠进行了 2 小时的急性束缚应激处理，发现束缚结束 24 小时后，腹侧被盖区多巴胺（DA）神经元群体活动显著减少，而安非他命诱导的运动活动显著减弱。全身或杏仁核基底外侧核给予β-去甲肾上腺素受体拮抗剂普萘洛尔可逆转这种减少，表明应激后 DA 神经元放电的延迟减弱依赖于去甲肾上腺素介导的机制。这种 DA 活性的改变可能会使个体适应性地避免应激源，或者在极端情况下，可能是导致行为或生理反应病理性变化的一个因素。
