This work was supported by the National Institute of Health grants NS28912, MH73136, and P50 MH096889. We thank Barbara Cartwright for editorial help. “
“The social worlds of animals are filled with many different types of interactions, and social experience interacts with organismal stress on many levels. Social stressors have proven to be potent across a wide range of species, and their study in rodents has led to greater understanding of the role of stressor type, timing, and other factors impacting physiology and behavior. While negative social interactions can be acutely damaging, social interaction can alsomoderate stressful experiences, buffering potentially

adverse impacts and contributing to resilience. In this review we explore

the many interactions Galunisertib of stress and social behavior in research on rodents. We consider three main classes of effects: the social environment as a stressor; the effects of stress on subsequent social behavior; and social buffering of stressful experience (Fig. 1). We explore mechanisms that mediate links between stress and social behavior, and consider sex differences in these mechanisms and behavioral outcomes. Finally, we discuss data from a Selleck PD0325901 wide variety of rodent species wherever possible, in order to explore the universality and specificity of findings in single species. Responses to stress span a spectrum from detrimental immediate and long-term effects to resilience and protection against future stressors. The effects of stress exposure and consequent trajectory depend on the nature of the stressor, the severity, duration (acute vs. chronic), sex/gender, genetics, timing of exposure (early life, adolescence, adulthood or aging) as well as the perception of the stressor by the individual–for example, stressor controllability dramatically affects

resilience versus vulnerability as an outcome (Maier and Watkins, 2005, Amat et al., 2010 and Lucas et al., 2014). Recently it Bay 11-7085 was shown that even the gender of researchers can affect rodent stress levels and influence results of behavioral tests (Sorge et al., 2014). Stress can be assessed by both behavioral and physiological indicators. One of the most commonly measured immediate physiological responses to stress is activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. During stressful events, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF, also called CRH) is released from the hypothalamus, and is the primary trigger of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion from the anterior pituitary. ACTH then triggers systemic release of glucocorticoids (CORT) from the adrenal gland (Bale and Vale, 2004). We describe outcomes related to HPA-axis responsivity, as well as several additional neurochemical players including BDNF, serotonin, and multiple neuropeptides in the text below.