Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa.
Transl Psychiatry. 2021 May 5;11(1):270. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01389-5.
Maladaptive fear memory processing after a traumatic event is a major contributor to the development of the comorbidities related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An intervention to normalize this process could be a first-line treatment to prevent PTSD development. However, little progress has been made in identifying interventions that can prevent trauma survivors from developing PTSD. A treatment that could help trauma survivors cope with traumatic memories and decrease the prevalence of PTSD is thus in high demand. This study was designed to investigate the potential beneficial effects of early photobiomodulation (PBM) interventions to prevent PTSD-like comorbidities in animals. PTSD-like comorbidities in rats were induced by an underwater trauma (UWT) procedure, followed by multiple swimming sessions on later days for memory recall. Immediately after UWT and swimming, rats were restrained with or without PBM treatment (808 nm, 25 mW/cm, 3 J/day). PTSD-like commodities, such as anxiety-like behavior, depression-like behavior, and cognitive dysfunction, were reproduced in UWT-rats. These comorbidities, however, could be prevented by early PBM interventions. By measuring the expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) as neuronal activity markers, we found that PBM treatment differentially regulated Arc and c-fos expression in the hippocampus and amygdala, two PTSD-related brain regions. Additionally, PBM boosted ATP production and regulated protein expression in the hippocampus following stress. Our results demonstrate that PBM can modulate brain activity in response to traumatic and stressful events and that early PBM intervention can prevent the occurrence of PTSD-like comorbidities in rats.
创伤后不良恐惧记忆处理是创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）相关共病发展的主要原因。正常化这一过程的干预措施可能是预防 PTSD 发展的一线治疗方法。然而，在确定可预防创伤幸存者发展为 PTSD 的干预措施方面进展甚微。因此，人们迫切需要一种能够帮助创伤幸存者应对创伤记忆并降低 PTSD 患病率的治疗方法。本研究旨在探讨早期光生物调节（PBM）干预预防动物 PTSD 样共病的潜在有益作用。通过水下创伤（UWT）程序诱导大鼠 PTSD 样共病，随后在以后的几天进行多次游泳以回忆记忆。在 UWT 和游泳后立即对大鼠进行束缚，或进行 PBM 治疗（808nm，25mW/cm，3J/天）。UWT 大鼠出现焦虑样行为、抑郁样行为和认知功能障碍等共病。然而，早期 PBM 干预可以预防这些共病。通过测量作为神经元活动标志物的即刻早期基因（IEGs）的表达，我们发现 PBM 治疗在 PTSD 相关的两个大脑区域——海马体和杏仁核中，对 Arc 和 c-fos 的表达有差异调节作用。此外，PBM 能在应激后增加海马体中的 ATP 产生并调节蛋白表达。我们的结果表明，PBM 可以调节大脑活动以应对创伤和应激事件，早期 PBM 干预可以预防大鼠出现 PTSD 样共病。
