Biology subjects

Saltz, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Saltz, V..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Sex-Specific Stress Outcomes Following Acute and Chronic Social Defeat Stress

Stressful experiences are a major risk factor for the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in vulnerable individuals. Identifying features that can distinguish stress-susceptible from resilient individuals remains a central goal in stress neurobiology. Due to the routine exclusion of female subjects from stress research or the use of male-defined criteria in behavioral characterization of subjects post-stress, female stress responses and vulnerability profiles remain poorly understood. This work aimed to gain a better understanding of sex-specific stress responses to social defeat stress. Here, we used a novel paired male-female social defeat paradigm and tracked subjects longitudinally in a ''two-hit'' design to evaluate responses to both acute social defeat stress (ASDS) and chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), and to determine how prior stress exposure influences subsequent vulnerability. We found that both ASDS and CSDS induces changes in social avoidance/approach behavior in males but not females, as measured by a classic social interaction ratio. Prior ASDS exposure enhanced susceptibility to subsequent CSDS most clearly in males, with females displaying specific changes in corner zone occupancy. Furthermore, we observed divergent anxiety profiles between males and females in a post-stress behavioral battery. Finally, females exhibited specific stress-related locomotor responses following ASDS. Together, these findings suggest that females may adopt distinct behavioral strategies following social defeat stress.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

A Signaling Hub in the Mosquito Rectum Coordinates Reproductive Investment After Blood Feeding

After a blood meal, female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes suppress host-seeking while converting ingested nutrients into yolk protein for egg development. Neuropeptide Y-like Receptor 7 (NPYLR7) is required for this behavioral switch, but its physiological role and sites of action were unknown. We identify a specialized, non-neuronal population of npylr7-expressing cells in the rectal pads of the mosquito hindgut. While this tissue is associated with fluid and ion balance, npylr7 mutants maintain fluid regulation but show impaired oocyte provisioning. These cells display neuroendocrine features, including calcium responses to the NPYLR7 ligand RYamide and amino acids, as well as expression of neurotransmitter synthesis and vesicle release machinery. Vesicle recruitment occurs in these cells post-blood meal in wild-type, but not npylr7 mutants. Our findings reveal an unexpected role for NPYLR7 in a rectal cell population senses nutritional cues and communicates with the nervous system to regulate reproductive physiology, paralleling gut-brain circuits in mammals.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

A Novel Localized Tracing Technique to Explore Intra-Amygdala Functional and Structural Connectivity Patterns as Mediators of Individual Variability in Stress Response

Neuropsychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression can be induced by stress, but not all individuals exposed to stress develop psychopathology. Therefore, probing the neural substrates that underlie trait vulnerability to stress may open the door for preventive approaches that use biological markers to identify at-risk populations. Here, we developed a novel tracing technique to probe local connectivity patterns as predictors of individual variability in stress responses. Specifically, we combined a retrograde transsynaptic rabies tracing system with cFos colocalization immediately after an acute stressor to elucidate local structural and stress-activated (functional) differences in connectivity within the amygdala complex in female and male mice along a spectrum of social approach/avoidance following acute social defeat stress. While we find no structural or functional connections within the amygdala complex as predictors of individual variability in our behavioral readout, our methods provide a novel approach to investigating cellular and behavioral individual variability in stress responses. Furthermore, we identify overall stress-activation as a predictor of social approach/avoidance in two subregions, medial amygdala and piriform-amygdala area, which may serve as potential biological markers of trait vulnerability, with possible clinical applicability. Significance StatementExposure to stress is ubiquitous, but the outcomes of stress exposure vary greatly between individuals. Our work introduces a novel tracing technique to probe for structural and functional connectivity patterns across a broad spectrum of behavioral responses to social stress. Utilizing pre-clinical classification in conjunction with representative behavioral classification introduces to the field a mechanism to identify potential clinical targets for preventative screening for neuropsychiatric disorders as well as further individualized treatment. Notably, our work identifies two intra-amygdalar neural correlates of social stress, opening the door for future investigation of the role these regions play in mediating social stress.

neuroscience↗