Ornelas Laura C, Keele N B
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2018 Jul 31;12:219. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00219. eCollection 2018.
Females are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males. Also, symptoms of PTSD frequently precede alcohol abuse in females. Stressful, threat-related stimuli are evaluated by the amygdala, which is critical for establishing the emotional salience of environmental stimuli. Ethanol and stress have been shown to modify amygdala excitability, but effects of acute ethanol on neurons of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in both males and females exposed to stress is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine stress-induced changes in membrane properties of BLA neurons and to determine how ethanol modulates these changes in male and female rats. Whole-cell recordings were obtained from BLA neurons of both male and female rats exposed to single-prolonged stress (SPS). Neuronal excitability, quantified as the number of action potentials, was determined in current clamp mode by applying a series of depolarizing current steps. Hyperpolarization-activated current () was elicited in voltage clamp. Excitability and amplitude were determined before and during the superfusion of ethanol (EtOH; 30 mM) in BLA neurons from SPS-treated male and female rats. SPS alone did not alter the firing properties of BLA neurons from either males or females. However, following SPS, BLA neurons from males and females respond differently to ethanol. Superfusion of EtOH (30 mM) inhibited spike firing in BLA neurons from rats exposed to SPS, and EtOH-induced inhibition was greater in females than in males exposed to stress. Also, EtOH (30 mM) selectively decreased amplitude in BLA neurons from SPS-treated male rats from 171 ± 46 pA in (pre-EtOH) control to 53 ± 51 pA in the presence of EtOH (30 mM). EtOH did not reduce in BLA neurons from SPS-treated females. Together, these suggest important sex differences in the physiological responses to EtOH in stress disorders such as PTSD, that have high comorbidity with alcohol use disorders.
女性比男性更容易患上创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。此外，PTSD的症状在女性中常常先于酒精滥用出现。杏仁核对压力大的、与威胁相关的刺激进行评估，这对于确定环境刺激的情感显著性至关重要。乙醇和压力已被证明会改变杏仁核的兴奋性，但急性乙醇对遭受压力的雄性和雌性大鼠基底外侧杏仁核（BLA）神经元的影响尚不清楚。本研究的目的是确定压力诱导的BLA神经元膜特性变化，并确定乙醇如何调节雄性和雌性大鼠的这些变化。从遭受单次长时间应激（SPS）的雄性和雌性大鼠的BLA神经元中进行全细胞记录。在电流钳模式下，通过施加一系列去极化电流步骤来确定神经元兴奋性，以动作电位的数量进行量化。在电压钳中引发超极化激活电流（）。在来自SPS处理的雄性和雌性大鼠的BLA神经元中，在乙醇（EtOH；30 mM）灌流之前和期间确定兴奋性和振幅。单独的SPS不会改变雄性或雌性大鼠BLA神经元的放电特性。然而，在SPS之后，雄性和雌性大鼠的BLA神经元对乙醇的反应不同。EtOH（30 mM）灌流抑制了遭受SPS的大鼠BLA神经元的放电，并且EtOH诱导的抑制在雌性中比在遭受压力的雄性中更大。此外，EtOH（30 mM）选择性地将SPS处理的雄性大鼠BLA神经元中的振幅从（乙醇前）对照中的171±46 pA降低到存在EtOH（30 mM）时的53±51 pA。EtOH不会降低SPS处理的雌性大鼠BLA神经元中的。总之，这些结果表明在诸如PTSD等与酒精使用障碍高度共病的应激障碍中，对乙醇的生理反应存在重要的性别差异。
