Banca de DEFESA: DEBORA HASHIGUCHI

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DEBORA HASHIGUCHI
DATE: 27/09/2024
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: INSTITUTO DO CEREBRO - AUDITÓRIO
TITLE:

Dysregulation of Stress Responses in Juvenile VPA Rats: Insights into Autonomic and Behavioral Reactivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder

KEY WORDS:

VPA rat, stress, autonomic system, behavior.

PAGES: 102
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Fisiologia
SUMMARY:

An effective response to environmental changes is essential for human survival, and
child development plays a crucial role in shaping appropriate adult behaviors through
the integration of sensory information, internal states (such as hunger and pain), past
experiences, and future anticipations. Stress disorders, marked by excessive worry and
fear, are commonly observed among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Rats prenatally exposed to VPA are used as a model for ASD. To investigate possible
changes in ASD stress systems, this study evaluated the autonomic and behavioral
responses to tactile, nociceptive, and social stimuli in juvenile VPA-treated rats. Our
results demonstrate a complex dysregulation of stress responses in VPA-treated rats.
Chapter 1 revealed that VPA-treated rats display autonomic system dysregulation,
increased susceptibility, and impaired habituation to mild tactile stress, similar to
patterns in children with ASD, suggesting the model's usefulness for studying
autonomic reactivity and stress susceptibility in humans. Chapter 2 found that VPA-
treated rats exhibit similar but delayed behavioral responses to painful stimuli
compared to control rats, indicating greater resilience of VPA-treated rats to this type
of stress. In contrast, Chapter 3 show that VPA-treated rats displayed faster and more
sustained freezing behavior under social stress, with a habituation deficit, aligning with
social challenges in ASD. These results highlight VPA-treated rats' increased overall
susceptibility to innocuous stress-inducing stimuli and significant habituation deficits,
but slower responses to nociceptive stimuli, illustrating the complexity of stress
responses. Our study validate the utility of the VPA rat model for understanding and
leading to the development of treatments for ASD-related stress reactivity.

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ORFA YINETH GALVIS ALONSO
Externo à Instituição - BEATRIZ DE OLIVEIRA MONTEIRO - UNIFESP
Interna - 6346130 - MARIA BERNARDETE CORDEIRO DE SOUSA
Externa ao Programa - 1733434 - RENATA FIGUEIREDO ANOMAL - nullPresidente - 1698305 - RODRIGO NEVES ROMCY PEREIRA