Evaluating the Suitability of the Rat Footshock Model for Studying Gut-Brain Interactions and IBS-Related Gene Expression in PTSD Research

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that has been associated with changes in gut microbiota and intestinal function. However, the molecular mechanisms driving these changes are not fully understood, and there is a need for an appropriate animal model to study the gut-brain axis in PTSD. The rat PTSD model, induced by footshock stress, is commonly used to simulate PTSD-like behaviors and physiological responses. This study aims to assess whether this model accurately reflects the alterations in gut gene expression and microbiota composition that are observed in PTSD. Overall design: The total DNA was extracted from colon and faecal samples of rats. The 16S hypervariable region V3-V4 was amplified using the primers 341F and 805R. The amplicon sequencing was performed using the Illumina MiSeq platform.