The Effectiveness of the Single Object Burying Test in Assessing Hypervigilance-like Behavior in the Single Prolonged Stress Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Male Sprague Dawley Rats

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is recognized nowadays as a major public health issue. It arises as a long-term reaction to severe stressors considered to be life-threatening. It’s characterized by intrusive symptoms, avoidance, and hypervigilance. Although its prevalence is rather high, the mechanisms behind this serious condition are little understood, and its treatment is currently challenging. To get insights into this disorder, a variety of PTSD models were developed in the last 15 years as well as several tests have been proposed to assess the PTSD-like behaviors in these animal models. The single object burying test (OBT) was used to examine the hypervigilant behavior in electric shock animal model of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, no prior studies have utilized the OBT to assess hypervigilance in the traditional single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of PTSD. Our study aims to compare the behavioral response of the SPS-exposed and SPS-unexposed rats in the OBT. Methods This study employed the single prolonged stress (SPS) model to induce PTSD in male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 12 rats, divided as control group = 6 rats, and SPS group = 6 rats) to investigate whether the single object burying test can detect the hypervigilance like behavior in the SPS rats as compared to control group. Parameters used are the percentage of time spent manipulating the object and the percentage of time spent burying the object. Results SPS rats demonstrated decrease in the percentage of time spent manipulating the object and increase in the percentage of time spent burying the object as compared to control group in the OBT. These responses are interpreted as hypervigilance like behavior. Conclusion The OBT can be considered a successful test in assessing hypervigilance of the rats exposed to the SPS animal model of PTSD