View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Lincoln Institutional Repository Received: 5 June 2018 | Revised: 5 September 2018 | Accepted: 6 September 2018 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12644 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Sex‐dependent changes in neuroactive steroid concentrations in the rat brain following acute swim stress Ying Sze1,2 | Andrew C. Gill2,3 | Paula J. Brunton1,2 1Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Sex differences in hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis activity are well estab‐ Edinburgh, UK lished in rodents. In addition to glucocorticoids, stress also stimulates the secretion 2 The Roslin Institute, University of of progesterone and deoxycorticosterone (DOC) from the adrenal gland. Neuroactive Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK steroid metabolites of these precursors can modulate HPA axis function; however, it 3School of Chemistry, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK is not known whether levels of these steroids differ between male and females fol‐ lowing stress. In the present study, we aimed to establish whether neuroactive ster‐ Correspondence Paula J. Brunton, Centre for Discovery oid concentrations in the brain display sex‐ and/or region‐specific differences under Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, basal conditions and following exposure to acute stress. Brains were collected from Edinburgh, UK. Email:
[email protected] male and female rats killed under nonstress conditions or following exposure to forced swimming. Liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used to quantify Funding information Biotechnology and Biological Sciences eight steroids: corticosterone, DOC, dihydrodeoxycorticosterone (DHDOC), pregne‐ Research Council, Grant/Award Number: nolone, progesterone, dihydroprogesterone (DHP), allopregnanolone and testoster‐ BB/J004332/1 one in plasma, and in five brain regions (frontal cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala and brainstem).