Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version for publication. Corresponding author Javier E. Stern M. Chronic heart failure HF is a serious disorder that afflicts more than 26 million patients worldwide.
HF is comorbid with depression, anxiety and memory deficits that have serious implications for quality of life and self-care in patients who have HF. Moreover, limited information is available regarding the effects of HF on genetic markers of synaptic plasticity in brain areas critical for memory and mood regulation.
We induced HF in male rats and tested mood and anxiety sucrose preference and elevated plus maze and memory spontaneous alternation and inhibitory avoidance and measured the simultaneous expression of 84 synaptic plasticity-associated genes in dorsal DH and ventral hippocampus VH , basolateral BLA and central amygdala CeA and prefrontal cortex PFC.
We also included the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus PVN , which is implicated in neurohumoral activation in HF. Our results show that rats with severely reduced ejection fraction recapitulate behavioral symptoms seen in patients with chronic HF including, increased anxiety and impaired memory in both tasks.
Collectively, these findings identify candidate brain areas and molecular mechanisms underlying HF-induced disturbances in mood and memory. Keywords: amygdala, hippocampus, paraventricular nucleus, synaptic plasticity, behavior. Chronic heart failure HF is a serious cardiovascular disorder that afflicts more than 26 million patients worldwide [ 1 ].
