PMID- 28620285 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE LR - 20240326 IS - 1662-5153 (Print) IS - 1662-5153 (Electronic) IS - 1662-5153 (Linking) VI - 11 DP - 2017 TI - The Evidence for Altered BDNF Expression in the Brain of Rats Reared or Housed in Social Isolation: A Systematic Review. PG - 101 LID - 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00101 [doi] LID - 101 AB - There is evidence that development and maintenance of neural connections are disrupted in major mental disorders, which indicates that neurotrophic factors could play a critical role in their pathogenesis. Stress is a well-established risk factor for psychopathology and recent research suggests that disrupted signaling via brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may be involved in mediating the negative effects of stress on the brain. Social isolation of rats elicits chronic stress and is widely used as an animal model of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. We carried out a systematic search of published studies to review current evidence for an altered expression of BDNF in the brain of rats reared or housed in social isolation. Across all age groups (post-weaning, adolescent, adult), majority of the identified studies (16/21) reported a decreased expression of BDNF in the hippocampus. There are far less published data on BDNF expression in other brain regions. Data are also scarce to assess the behavioral changes as a function of BDNF expression, but the downregulation of BDNF seems to be associated with increased anxiety-like symptoms. The reviewed data generally support the putative involvement of BDNF in the pathogenesis of stress-related mental illness. However, the mechanisms linking chronic social isolation, BDNF expression and the elicited behavioral alterations are currently unknown. FAU - Murinova, Jana AU - Murinova J AD - Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia. FAU - Hlavacova, Natasa AU - Hlavacova N AD - Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Biomedical Research Center, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia. FAU - Chmelova, Magdalena AU - Chmelova M AD - Laboratory of Pharmacological Neuroendocrinology, Biomedical Research Center, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia. FAU - Riecansky, Igor AU - Riecansky I AD - Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of SciencesBratislava, Slovakia. AD - Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaVienna, Austria. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review DEP - 20170531 PL - Switzerland TA - Front Behav Neurosci JT - Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience JID - 101477952 PMC - PMC5449742 OTO - NOTNLM OT - animal models OT - chronic stress OT - depression OT - isolation rearing OT - mental disorders OT - neural plasticity OT - neurotrophic factors OT - schizophrenia EDAT- 2017/06/18 06:00 MHDA- 2017/06/18 06:01 PMCR- 2017/01/01 CRDT- 2017/06/17 06:00 PHST- 2017/02/27 00:00 [received] PHST- 2017/05/12 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2017/06/17 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2017/06/18 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2017/06/18 06:01 [medline] PHST- 2017/01/01 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00101 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Front Behav Neurosci. 2017 May 31;11:101. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00101. eCollection 2017.