Figure 5
Unique effects of repeated stress on dendritic length of BLA neurons in females. BLA neurons were Golgi-stained and reconstructed. (A) Examples of reconstructed LAT neurons after control (left) or stress (right). (B) Examples of reconstructed BA neurons after control (left) or stress (right). (C) Repeated stress decreased the dendritic length of LAT neurons in females, but had no significant effect in males. (D) Repeated stress significantly decreased dendritic length, particularly at intermediate distances from the soma, as indicated by Sholl analysis. (E) Dendritic length of LAT neurons was similar between diestrus and proestrus in control and stress groups (left). Repeated stress did not significantly impact the sensitivity of LAT neurons to estrous (right). (F) Repeated stress did not significantly impact the overall dendritic length of BA neurons in females, but increased it in males. (G) The distribution of the dendritic length across the dendritic tree was similar in control and stress groups, as indicated by Sholl analysis. (H) Dendritic length was shorter during proestrus compared to diestrus in control rats. But after repeated stress, dendritic length was shorter during diestrus, and the cyclicity index of BA neurons was flipped (right). All data mean ± s.e.m. *p < 0.05 Holm-Sidak’s multiple comparisons test after 2-way ANOVA.
