Progesterone Regulates Corticosterone Elevation and Alterations in Spatial Memory and Exploratory Behavior Induced by Stress in Wistar Rats

    June 2010 in “ Universitas Psychologica ”
    Yolanda Díaz-Burke, C E Valencia-Alfonso, Claudia Elena González-Sandoval, Miguel Huerta, Xóchitl Trujillo, Lourdes Diaz, Joaquı́n Garcı́a‐Estrada, Sonia Luquín
    Studysummary This study found that progesterone implantation in castrated male rats mitigated stress-induced increases in corticosterone levels and protected against spatial memory impairment and increased exploratory behavior.
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    The study investigated the role of progesterone (PROG) in regulating stress-induced changes in corticosterone (CORT) levels, spatial memory, and exploratory behavior in adult male Wistar rats. The rats were castrated and implanted with either PROG or a vehicle, then subjected to chronic stress through crowding or ultrasonic noise for 10 days. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to measure PROG and CORT levels in urine. The results showed that PROG implants inhibited the stress-induced increase in CORT, prevented spatial memory impairment in the Morris water maze, and eliminated the increase in exploratory activity in the hole-board test. These findings suggested that PROG had a protective effect against the elevation of corticosterone and behavioral deficits caused by stress, potentially through its anxiolytic mechanisms.
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