Brain Monoamine Dysfunction in Response to Predator Scent Stress Accompanies Stress-Susceptibility in Female Rats

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in women; however, preclinical research on PTSD has predominantly been conducted male animals. Using a predator scent (PSS) rodent model of PTSD, we sought to determine if stress-susceptible female rats show altered monoamine concentrations brain regions associated with PTSD: the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and dorsal (dHIPP) ventral (vHIPP) hippocampus. Female Sprague–Dawley were exposed single, 10-min PSS exposure tested for persistent anhedonia, fear, anxiety-like behavior over four weeks. Rats phenotyped as stress-Susceptible based sucrose consumption preference task time spent open arms elevated plus maze. Brain tissue was collected, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, their metabolites quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Stress-susceptibility increased dopamine serotonin turnover mPFC. Susceptibility also NAc norepinephrine vHIPP. Our findings suggest that stress-susceptibility after single long-term effects function rats. These data interventions decrease turnover, such MAOIs, may be effective treatment women.