School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations
Effects of Essential Oil on Fear Memory and the Immune Response; A Potential Alternative Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD)
Poster Number
7
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
3-2016
Abstract
Stress and anxiety-related mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are on the rise. Stress is known to modify the immune system and the balance of the autonomic nervous system. Despite the growing literature on immune system changes associated with direct stressors, the relationship between fear memory and the immune system has not been well characterized. Moreover, there are only two FDA-approved medications for PTSD. Orange essential plant oil (OEPO) has been previously found to have CNS depressant-like effects in mice. Therefore we examined the effects of OEPO on fear memory and immune cell activation in a mouse model of PTSD (Pavlovian Fear Conditioning). The treatment group (n=8) was administered 25% OEPO via olfactory exposure prior to and after fear conditioning. Mice exposed to 25% OEPO showed no difference in percent freezing during fear acquisition compared to controls. However, when tested for extinction retention 48 hours later the treatment group experienced a 17.21 ± 1.58 % (p < 0.01) significant decrease in freezing behavior versus control (3.67 ± 2.13%), suggesting that OEPO affects extinction of fear memory in mice. This appears to be independent of a shift in immune cell activation as treatment and control mice showed similar levels of splenocyte derived naïve / effector lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells. Both groups however showed increased levels of naïve T cells CD62hiCD44lo 56.9(± 0.83)% relative to non-fear conditioned mice 46.3 (± 3.16)% (p < 0.01). These data suggest that OEPO enhances extinction of fear memory while its affects on the immune system remain unclear.
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Open Access
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Effects of Essential Oil on Fear Memory and the Immune Response; A Potential Alternative Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD)
Stress and anxiety-related mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are on the rise. Stress is known to modify the immune system and the balance of the autonomic nervous system. Despite the growing literature on immune system changes associated with direct stressors, the relationship between fear memory and the immune system has not been well characterized. Moreover, there are only two FDA-approved medications for PTSD. Orange essential plant oil (OEPO) has been previously found to have CNS depressant-like effects in mice. Therefore we examined the effects of OEPO on fear memory and immune cell activation in a mouse model of PTSD (Pavlovian Fear Conditioning). The treatment group (n=8) was administered 25% OEPO via olfactory exposure prior to and after fear conditioning. Mice exposed to 25% OEPO showed no difference in percent freezing during fear acquisition compared to controls. However, when tested for extinction retention 48 hours later the treatment group experienced a 17.21 ± 1.58 % (p < 0.01) significant decrease in freezing behavior versus control (3.67 ± 2.13%), suggesting that OEPO affects extinction of fear memory in mice. This appears to be independent of a shift in immune cell activation as treatment and control mice showed similar levels of splenocyte derived naïve / effector lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells. Both groups however showed increased levels of naïve T cells CD62hiCD44lo 56.9(± 0.83)% relative to non-fear conditioned mice 46.3 (± 3.16)% (p < 0.01). These data suggest that OEPO enhances extinction of fear memory while its affects on the immune system remain unclear.
Comments
Presented at: GW Research Days 2016