SSRP Abstract

Board 2: Determining the Effects of Adolescent Stress on Psychiatric-Related Behaviors of Adult Mice

Student Scientist: Abby Biddle ’23
Research Mentor: Chelsea Vadnie (OWU Department of Psychology; OWU Neuroscience Program)

Mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, often begin when people are in their mid 20s. Adolescence is the period right before the onset of these disorders, however, there is little research done on how events during this time affect mental health in comparison to adult or postnatal studies. Our study uses stress in juvenile mice to see if this time period is critical in causing depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood.

Anxiety and mood disorders are highly prevalent and commonly diagnosed in late adolescence through early adulthood. Stress is a major risk factor in the development of these mental health disorders, but little is known about the effects of stress during adolescence. In this study, we investigated how stress during the period of early adolescence, postnatal days 25-27, affects early adulthood behavior and biological measures in C57BL/6J mice. The mice were separated into stressed and unstressed groups. The stressed mice experienced forced swim, restraint, and elevated platform stressors, while the unstressed group was left untouched during the stressor period. Both groups were then left undisturbed until postnatal day 60 when they were tested to see if stress during adolescence would cause an increase in anxiety and depressive-like behaviors in adulthood. The open field and the elevated plus maze were used to test anxiety-like behavior. We used the tail suspension test and the sucrose preference test to assess depressive-like behavior, and the y-maze to test spatial working memory. Blood and brain tissue were collected approximately 72 hours after the end of the testing period to study the effects of adolescent stress on adult corticosterone levels and gene expression in the brain. The results of behavioral testing will be presented at the Fall 2022 Student Symposium.