Stress and cytokine effects on learning: what does sex have to do with it?
Many studies have alluded to sexually dimorphic changes in behavior following stress. Although many have suggested that these changes are a function of stress-induced changes in learning and memory, there are questions regarding whether performance in those learning and memory tasks are influenced by stress-induced changes in drive more than in actual learning and memory processes. We used the classically conditioned eyeblink response (CCER) to determine whether slowed learning following stress in females can be explained by changes in unconditional response (UR) amplitude, a sign of a stress-induced shift in sensory reactivity. In addition, we had a second treatment group injected with the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta to serve as an interoceptive stress condition, a physiological stressor with minimal stimulation to the animal. Replicating the work by Shors and colleagues, we found that stressed female rats had slower acquisition of the conditioned response (CR), but we also fou
