H. Anisman et al., Psychogenic, neurogenic, and systemic stressor effects on plasma corticosterone and behavior: Mouse strain-dependent outcomes, BEHAV NEURO, 115(2), 2001, pp. 443-454
The effects of several stressors were assessed in inbred strains of mice, B
ALB/cByJ and C57BL/6ByJ, thought to be differentially reactive to stressors
. Behavioral reactivity was greater in BALB/cByJ mice with respect to open-
field emergence, step-down responding, response to a predator (rat) or to f
ox urine odor. Neurogenic insults (e.g., footshock, forced swim, restraint)
and a systemic stressor (intraperitoneal interleukin-1 beta treatment) lik
ewise provoked a greater rise of plasma corticosterone in the BALB/cByJ mic
e. Psychogenic stressors (e.g., novel open-field exposure. acoustic startle
stimuli) also enhanced plasma corticosterone to a greater extent in BALB/c
ByJ mice, but such an outcome was not apparent following predator-related c
ues. It appears that whereas stressor reactivity and adrenal glucocorticoid
release may be exaggerated in BALB/cByJ mice, such effects may be dependen
t on the specific characteristic of the stressor situation.