animal model of ptsd: behavioral changes following underwater trauma, situational reminders and diazepam treatment

objectives: the main purpose of this experimental research was to create an animal model of ptsd based on the main features of the disorder: trauma exposure, situational reminders (sr), behavioral anxiety and remedy in response to anxiolytic medications. method: 6 inbred female sprague-dawley rats were obtained and evaluated in the elevated plus-maze test in 3 stages: 1- baseline 2- underwater trauma and sr 3- sr and diazepam (0/5 mg/kg) treatment. measures of open arm ratio time and ratio entry were extracted from five days 5 minute video recordings for every stage and analyzed using repeated measures statistical analysis (glm). results: results showed significant differences between the baseline and stage 2 and between stage 2 and 3. no significant difference was found between baseline and stage 3. these results indicated that a single underwater stress, together with daily sr exposure, successfully induced ptsd symptoms in rats. subsequently, anxiolytic drug injection decreased the behavioral symptoms as well. conclusion: overall, our findings suggested underwater trauma, situational reminders and low dose diazepam injection in rats as a valid paradigm for ptsd modeling.