Toward Antifragility: Social Defeat Stress Enhances Learning and Memory in Young Mice Via Hippocampal Synaptosome Associated Protein 25
Liu Yang, Li-Jun Shi, Shi-Yu Shen, Jing-Yan Yang, Su-Su Lv, Zhe-Chen Wang, Qian Huang, Wen-Dong Xu, Jin Yu, Yu-Qiu Zhang
Psychological Science · 2023 · Volume 34 · Issue 5
DOI: 10.1177/09567976231160098
Abstract
Social adversity not only causes severe psychological diseases but also may improve people’s ability to learn and grow. However, the beneficial effects of social adversity are often ignored. In this study, we investigated whether and how social adversity affects learning and memory in a mouse social defeat stress (SDS) model. A total of 652 mice were placed in experimental groups of six to 23 mice each. SDS enhanced spatial, novelty, and fear memory with increased synaptosome associated protein 25 ( SNAP-25 ) level and dendritic spine density in hippocampal neurons among young but not middle-aged mice. Chemogenetic inhibition of hippocampal CaMK2A + neurons blocked SDS-induced enhancement of learning or memory. Knockdown of SNAP-25 or blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit GluN2B in the hippocampus prevented SDS-induced learning memory enhancement in an emotion-independent manner. These findings suggest that social adversity promotes learning and memory ability in youths and provide a neurobiological foundation for biopsychological antifragility.
Keywords
social defeat stress (SDS), learning and memory, hippocampus, chemogenetic manipulation, SNAP-25, GluN2B, antifragility, young mice, middle-aged mice
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