Stressors of varying properties induce differences in the modulation of behavior and biology

honors thesisCollege of ScienceBiologyMoriel ZelikowskyStress induces enduring behavioral and biological consequences. Despite its pervasiveness, the biological and neural processes underlying its effects remain largely unknown. The existing literature generally examines the repercussions of stress from the aspect of a single stressor; however, stressors are not uniform. Rather, stressors may intrinsically differ in their properties such as intensity, duration, and quality. Since animals regularly encounter various types and levels of stress throughout their lifetime, this study compares the differentiation of behavior and biology across inherently different stressors, specifically social isolation (SI) and foot shock (FS). FS dispenses a series of intense acute stressors, whereas SI presents an incessant stressor lacking reprieve. While the current literature recognizes SI and FS for producing variations in behavior such as anxiety, sensitivity, and aggression, research comparing these overlapping behavioral consequences is lacking; particularly from the aspect of the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dBNST), a brain region essential for stress, anxiety, and fear response. As such, this research examines the role of the dBNST in mediating behavioral and biological effects across the stressors SI and FS. Varying behaviors were produced when male C57BL/6N mice were treated with SI or FS, suggesting that repercussions from these stressors are nuanced and not interchangeable. SI mice significantly practiced more avoidant behaviors and dissociable attack behaviors such as approaching male BALB/c intruders from the front and directing bites toward the head area during resident intruder (RI) assays. Although not statistically significant, FS mice exhibited elevated avoidance and aggression. Moreover, behaviors instigated from SI and FS appear to derive from differing brain regions. Chemogenetic inactivation of the dBNST influenced subsequent aggressive and avoidant behavior in FS mice, but not SI mice