Molecular Neurobiology of Loss Part 1

Psychological loss is a common experience that erodes well-being and negatively impacts quality of life. The molecular underpinnings of loss are poorly understood, making it challenging to develop treatment strategies. Here, we investigate the mechanisms of loss using an enrichment removal (ER) paradigm in rats. RNA-seq was used to investigate the molecular landscape of the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a region previously implicated in loss, in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats following ER. Rats were subjected to standard housing (SH) for 6 weeks, environmental enrichment (EE) for 6 weeks, or enrichment removal (ER), consisting of 4 weeks of EE followed by 2 weeks of removal into impoverished conditions (n=6/group). Rats were then perfused and micropunches were collected from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) for bulk RNA-seq.