Aug 2026· Frontiers in neuroendocrinology (Print)· Vol 83, pp.
101282
· 0 citations· 136 references
Medicine
Abstract
Rodent fear conditioning paradigms are widely used to model core features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with freezing behaviour serving as the dominant readout. However, the extent to which freezing captures biologically and clinically relevant variability, particularly with respect to sex differences, remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies employing fear conditioning and extinction in wild-type rodents to assess sex differences in freezing behaviour. These were not found across studies. However, freezing levels were significantly correlated with shock intensity only in male rodents. We conclude that freezing may represent a constrained and potentially low-resolution behavioural output, which may fail to detect meaningful variation in fear processing. Given that PTSD exhibits pronounced sex differences in humans, the translational validity of commonly used behavioural endpoints may be questionable. Including both sexes and refining behavioural readouts in animal models are critical for improving the translational pipeline of stress research.
Freezing during Pavlovian fear conditioning is the most commonly used indicator of learned fear in rodents. Although freezing and its neural underpinnings have been widely studied, the field has largely ignored other potential indicators of learned fear. Darting, an escape-like conditioned fear response, occurs more fr...
J. Mitchell, Samantha Tuberman, Rylin Lubash et al.· Oxford Open Neuroscience· 0 citations
Although all three strains can acquire and retain spatial memory under identical conditions, they differ in behavioral strategy and hippocampal plasticity, suggesting that strain background should be carefully considered when designing and interpreting rodent studies of learning and memory.
Ilknur Dursun, Ertuğrul Kiliç, Birsen Elibol· Annals of Medical Research· 0 citations
Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of stress susceptibility is key to advancing our insight into stress-related psychopathology like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because traumatic events are unpredictable, capturing brain activity during or right after trauma is extremely difficult in humans, crea...
B. Dirven, M. Negwer, Andriana Botan et al.· Translational Psychiatry· 0 citations
Abstract Background Classic PTSD symptoms have been linked to maladaptive fear memory processing, involving fear generalization and impaired extinction learning. In contrast, cognitive and mood symptoms remain understudied, and their link to fear-related mechanisms is unclear. Aims & Objectives Here, we investigate the...
L. P. Iglesias, M. C. van den Oever, G. Wegener et al.· International Journal of Neu...· 0 citations
Anxiety-related traits (ARTs) have been linked to altered fear learning, but previous studies have typically examined different experimental phases and response systems, limiting the comparability of findings and the accumulation of consistent evidence. Here, we comprehensively examined associations between ARTs and fe...
M. R. Ehlers, Hannah Stiffel, A. Kastrinogiannis et al.· bioRxiv· 0 citations
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