# Assessing the role of Parvalbumin Interneurons in Adolescent Stress Induced Resilience

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · 2022 · $17,395

## Abstract

Project Summary
Adolescence is a critical period of brain development in humans as well as in other mammalian species. The
match-mismatch hypothesis of brain development postulates that early life adversity can promote an adaptive
phenotype later in life, allowing individuals to cope with certain adverse situations in adulthood. Preliminary
results from our lab show that chronic stress during adolescence makes animals resilient to the deleterious
impact of traumatic stress (single prolonged stress) (SPS) in adulthood. SPS is a stress paradigm used to
model post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in rodents, as it impairs extinction of conditioned fear.
In humans, PTSD is linked to reduced activation of area 25, homologous to the infralimbic (IL) prefrontal cortex
in the rodent (PFC). Rodent studies indicate that extinction of fear memory requires plasticity in the IL and its
downstream connections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA). It has been shown that parvalbumin interneurons
(PV INs) in the IL play a role in mediating fear responses. Activation of PV INs in the IL mPFC inhibits
pyramidal cell output in the IL-BLA circuit, enhancing fear reinstatement. PV INs undergo remarkable
maturation during adolescence and are affected by stress during this time period, making them potential
targets for modulating IL-BLA circuit function following adolescent stress. The objective of this proposal is to
test the hypothesis that adolescent stress promotes stress resilience by modifying PV IN activity in the IL-BLA
circuit. Specific Aim 1 which will use an optogenetic and electrophysiological approach to elucidate the effects
of adolescent stress on synaptic inhibition within the IL-PFC. Specific Aim 2 which will use a chemogenetic
approach to identify the IL-PFC interneurons that promote stress resilience following adolescent stress. We
expect that adolescent stress will block the SPS-induced enhancement of PV IN mediated GABAergic
signaling in the IL-BLA circuit, and demonstrate that PV INs are necessary and sufficient for promoting stress
resilience. Overall, the findings of these studies will contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms through
which stress during development can control reactivity to stressors in adulthood, and are anticipated to define
a central role for IL PV INs in stress resilience.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10405014
- **Project number:** 5F31MH123041-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
- **Principal Investigator:** Nawshaba Nawreen
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $17,395
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10405014

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10405014, Assessing the role of Parvalbumin Interneurons in Adolescent Stress Induced Resilience (5F31MH123041-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10405014. Licensed CC0.

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