Psychosocial stress of overpopulation (crowding): Negative consequences for the human body and rodents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1270-2021-2-1-33-40Keywords:
psychosocial stress, overpopulation, society, crowding, rodents, nervous system, behavior, brain monoamines, immunityAbstract
The paper provides an overview of literature and our own data on the negative consequences of psychosocial stress induced by overpopulation for humans. It also explores the effect of crowding on rodents (rats and mice) in a vivarium as an experimental model of overpopulation. Experimental studies on rodents (the existing and our own research) focus on the influence of crowding on the general state of the body, the development of stress reactions, the content of monoamines and their metabolites in the brain, the state of the immune system, e. g., cytokine profile and interferon status. It was concluded that long-term crowding in rodents (mainly rats) in a vivarium is a huge stress factor. It has a negative impact on the general state of the body, leads to anxiety / depressive disorders, interferes with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, creates an imbalance of monoamines and their metabolites in a number of brain structures, and compromises the immunity. In our own experiments, we used the model of crowding to test the effect of stress induced by a confined space: after a month in standard vivarium conditions (four to six individuals in a cage), a group of male rats was placed in crowded conditions (from fifteen to seventeen individuals in a cage) for 2 weeks. It is assumed that the model may be used for preclinical assessment of anxiolytic, antidepressant, immunomodulatory and other properties of various biologically active substances and drugs used in fighting the negative consequences of long-term psychosocial stress.
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