The physiological stress response is responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis in the
presence of real or perceived challenges. In this function, the brain activates adaptive …

Major depressive disorder is a common, complex, and potentially life-threatening mental
disorder that imposes a severe social and economic burden worldwide. Over the years …

A major impediment to novel drug development has been the paucity of animal models that
accurately reflect symptoms of affective disorders. In animal models, prolonged social stress …

With the steadily increasing number of publications in the field of stress research it has
become evident that the conventional usage of the stress concept bears considerable …

The neurobiology of stress and the neurobiology of social behavior are deeply intertwined.
The social environment interacts with stress on almost every front: social interactions can be …

Numerous studies have employed repeated social defeat stress (RSDS) to study the
neurobiological mechanisms of depression in rodents. An important limitation of RSDS …

Individual variation in behavior and physiology is a widespread and ecologically functional
phenomenon in nature in virtually all vertebrate species. Due to domestication of laboratory …

Negative social experiences during adolescence are central features for several stress-
related mental illnesses. Social play fighting behavior in rats peaks during early …

To better understand the molecular mechanisms of depression and antidepressant action,
we administered chronic social defeat stress followed by chronic imipramine (a tricyclic …

Depression is one of the most disabling medical conditions in the world today, yet its
etiologies remain unclear and current treatments are not wholly effective. Animal models are …