Resilience to anxiety and anhedonia after predator scent stress is accompanied by increased nucleus accumbens mGlu5 in female rats

Despite the higher prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women, the majority of preclinical neuroscience research has been conducted utilizing male subjects. We have found that male rats exposed to the predator scent 2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thiazoline (TMT) show heterogenous development of long-term anxiety-like behavior and conditioned fear to the TMT environment. Stress-Resilient males exhibit increased mGlu5 mRNA expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and prefrontal cortex. Here we sought to determine whether the same behavioral and genetic responses would be observed in female rats exposed to TMT. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to TMT for ten minutes, while Controls were exposed to an unscented environment. Anxiety and anhedonia were assessed 7-14 days later with elevated plus maze (EPM), acoustic startle response (ASR), light/dark box, and sucrose preference test. TMT-exposed females spent less time in the EPM open arms and exhibited greater startle amplitude, and reduced sucrose intake compared to Controls. Median split analyses conducted on EPM and sucrose intake yielded phenotypes that displayed behavior in the light/dark box consistent with EPM and sucrose testing. Unlike male Susceptible rats, female Susceptible rats showed no freezing when re-exposed to the TMT context, nor did Resilient female rats present elevated BLA mGlu5 mRNA levels. Instead, Susceptible females had greater BLA mGlu5 than Resilient or Control rats. This work indicates that, as in humans, rats exhibit sex-dependent responses to stress. This translational animal model may provide insight into how females are uniquely affected by PTSD.