Toward Antifragility: Social Defeat Stress Enhances Learning and Memory in Young Mice Via Hippocampal Synaptosome Associated Protein 25
研究发现社会挫败应激能增强幼年小鼠的空间、新奇和恐惧记忆，并提高海马中SNAP-25水平和树突棘密度，为理解社会逆境如何促进认知能力提供了神经生物学基础。
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.