Social Buffering of Acute Early Life Stress Sex‐Dependently Ameliorates Fear Incubation in Adulthood

Bibliographic Data

ID9685986
AuthorsAmanda N Reichert (0000-0003-4568-4226, Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior Miami University Oxford Ohio USA), Collin A Riddle (0000-0002-7612-9834, Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior Miami University Oxford Ohio USA), Jennifer J Quinn (0000-0002-8736-4901, Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior Miami University Oxford Ohio USA, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume67
Issue5
Pagese70082-e70082
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychobiology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1630 • E-ISSN: 1098-2302
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/dev.70082
PMID40923222
OpenAlexW4414081756
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited77

Social buffering may reduce the persistent impacts of acute early life stress (aELS) and, thus, has important implications for anxiety‐ and trauma‐related disorders. First, we assessed whether aELS would induce maladaptive fear incubation in adult mice, a PTSD‐like phenotype. Overall, animals showed incubation of fear memory in adulthood, independent of aELS condition. Next, we investigated whether social interaction with the dam and/or the littermates following the aELS session would eliminate adult fear incubation. Males demonstrated social buffering only if the dam was present, and females demonstrated social buffering only if the littermates were present. Finally, we assessed whether social buffering following aELS exposure reduces consolidation of the associative fear learning that occurs during the aELS session. Animals received aELS followed by isolation or social interaction (dam + littermates). Over the next four consecutive days, they received 30‐min exposures to the context (test/extinction). There were no differences between isolation and social interaction on contextual fear memory expression or its extinction. Taken together, these results indicate that social buffering reduces the impact of nonassociative processes during aELS on subsequent adult fear memory in a sex‐dependent manner and further supports social buffering as an important intervention following early trauma experiences

Context (archaeology) · Incubation · Intervention (counseling) · Social environment · Social isolation · Social memory · Social relation · Social stress · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Stress Responses and Cortisol · Tryptophan and brain disorders

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