Mayeaux Darryl J, Tandle Sarah M, Cilano Sean M, Fitzharris Matthew J
Department of Psychology, St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY, USA.
J Exp Neurosci. 2016 Jan 25;9(Suppl 1):19-26. doi: 10.4137/JEN.S32735. eCollection 2015.
In animal models of depression, depression is defined as performance on a learning task. That task is typically escaping a mild electric shock in a shuttle cage by moving from one side of the cage to the other. Ovarian hormones influence learning in other kinds of tasks, and these hormones are associated with depressive symptoms in humans. The role of these hormones in shuttle-cage escape learning, however, is less clear. This study manipulated estradiol and progesterone in ovariectomized female rats to examine their performance in shuttle-cage escape learning without intentionally inducing a depressive-like state. Progesterone, not estradiol, within four hours of testing affected latencies to escape. The improvement produced by progesterone was in the decision to act, not in the speed of learning or speed of escaping. This parallels depression in humans in that depressed people are slower in volition, in their decisions to take action.
在抑郁症的动物模型中，抑郁被定义为在一项学习任务中的表现。该任务通常是在穿梭箱中通过从箱子的一侧移动到另一侧来躲避轻微电击。卵巢激素会影响其他类型任务中的学习，并且这些激素与人类的抑郁症状有关。然而，这些激素在穿梭箱逃避学习中的作用尚不清楚。本研究对去卵巢雌性大鼠体内的雌二醇和孕酮进行调控，以检查它们在穿梭箱逃避学习中的表现，且未故意诱导出类似抑郁的状态。在测试的四小时内，影响逃避潜伏期的是孕酮，而非雌二醇。孕酮带来的改善在于行动的决心，而非学习速度或逃避速度。这与人类的抑郁症相似，即抑郁症患者在意志方面、采取行动的决定方面较为迟缓。
