Balatskyi Vitalii, Strilbytska Olha, Abrat Oleksandra, Tkachyk Anastasiia, Lylyk Maria, Lushchak Volodymyr, Bayliak Maria
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, 57 Shevchenko Str., Ivano-Frankivsk, 76018, Ukraine.
BMC Res Notes. 2025 Mar 25;18(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s13104-025-07189-0.
The pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not fully understood, prompting research using animal models. One of the approaches to induce PTSD-like traits in rodents involves exposure to unavoidable, unpredictable electric foot shocks. This study explored the effects of repeated electric foot shocks on behavior, hematology, and metabolic parameters in male C57BL/6J mice. The mice were subjected to 15 electrical stimuli (each 0.8 mA for 10 s, 10 s interval between sessions) in an electric foot shock apparatus featuring metal floor bars and two insulating bars for two consecutive days.
Stressed mice showed enhanced memory retention of fear, as evidenced by an increased number of freezing events in the aversive context test. In the elevated plus maze test, stressed mice spent significantly less time in the open arms, indicating anxious behavior. However, no significant behavioral differences were observed between the stressed and control groups in the open field test. Stressed mice had a larger hypothalamic mass, elevated liver lipid peroxide levels, and a higher red blood cell count, with no changes in total leukocyte count. Thus, escapable foot shock induces fear response, anxiety-like behavior and minor metabolic changes in mice.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的病理生理学尚未完全明确，这促使人们利用动物模型进行研究。在啮齿动物中诱导类似PTSD特征的方法之一是使其暴露于不可避免、不可预测的足部电击。本研究探讨了重复足部电击对雄性C57BL/6J小鼠行为、血液学和代谢参数的影响。将小鼠置于配有金属地板条和两根绝缘条的足部电击装置中，连续两天接受15次电刺激（每次0.8毫安，持续10秒，刺激间隔10秒）。
应激小鼠在厌恶情境测试中僵住次数增加，表明其恐惧记忆保持增强。在高架十字迷宫测试中，应激小鼠在开放臂中停留的时间显著减少，表明存在焦虑行为。然而，在旷场试验中，应激组和对照组之间未观察到明显的行为差异。应激小鼠的下丘脑质量更大，肝脏脂质过氧化物水平升高，红细胞计数更高，白细胞总数无变化。因此，可逃避的足部电击会诱发小鼠的恐惧反应、类似焦虑的行为和轻微的代谢变化。
