{"id":608693,"date":"2026-09-07T15:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/608693\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T15:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:02:14","slug":"chronic-noise-exposure-induces-anxiety-like-behavior-and-enhances-the-excitability-of-dorsal-raphe-serotonergic-neurons-in-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/608693\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Noise Exposure Induces Anxiety-Like Behavior and Enhances the Excitability of Dorsal Raphe Serotonergic Neurons in Mice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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1 School of Life Sciences and Medical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China.<\/p>\n

2 Key Laboratory of Human Microenvironment and Precision Medicine of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui University, Hefei, China.<\/p>\n

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Quan Yuan\u00a0et al.<\/p>\n

Eur J Neurosci.<\/p>\n

2026 Sep.<\/p>\n

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Affiliations<\/p>\n

1 School of Life Sciences and Medical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China.<\/p>\n

2 Key Laboratory of Human Microenvironment and Precision Medicine of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui University, Hefei, China.<\/p>\n

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Abstract<\/p>\n

This study demonstrates that chronic noise exposure induces anxiety-like behaviors in mice, as consistently observed across three classical behavioral paradigms. Electrophysiological recordings showed that chronic noise exposure is associated with increased intrinsic excitability of serotonergic (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), characterized by a depolarized resting membrane potential, increased spontaneous firing frequency, reduced rheobase, and elevated input resistance. In addition, chronic noise exposure was associated with enhanced excitatory synaptic input onto DRN 5-HTergic neurons, as reflected by an increase in the frequency, but not the amplitude, of both spontaneous and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. In contrast, neither intrinsic excitability nor excitatory synaptic transmission of local DRN GABAergic neurons was significantly altered. Furthermore, pharmacological blockade of AMPA and NMDA receptors indicated that the increased excitability of DRN 5-HTergic neurons cannot be fully explained by enhanced excitatory synaptic input alone, suggesting a potential contribution of intrinsic membrane mechanisms. Together, these findings provide correlational evidence that chronic noise exposure is associated with functional alterations in DRN 5-HTergic neurons and may represent a potential neural correlate of noise-related anxiety-like behavior.\n <\/p>\n

Keywords:<\/p>\n

anxiety; chronic noise exposure; dorsal raphe nucleus; electrophysiology; serotonin.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u00a9 2026 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.\n <\/p>\n

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Conflict of interest statement<\/p>\n

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

Figures<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 1 <\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the OFT.\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 1 <\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the OFT. (a) Timeline for noise exposure and behavioral tests\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 1<\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the OFT. (a) Timeline for noise exposure and behavioral tests (top) and schematic for noise exposure in a soundproof chamber (bottom). (b) Schematic showing the performance of the control mice and chronic noise exposed mice in OFT. (c) The representative path tracks for moving trajectory in OFT. (d\u2013f) Quantification of the total distance traveled (d), distance traveled in the center zone (e), and time spent in the center zone (f) during the OFT (n\u2009=\u20097 control mice, 6 chronic noise exposed mice). All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001, two\u2010way ANOVA.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 2 <\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the EPM\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 2 <\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the EPM and LDB. (a) Schematic showing the performance of\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 2<\/p>\n

Behavioral performance in the EPM and LDB. (a) Schematic showing the performance of the control mice and chronic noise exposed mice in EPM. (b) The representative path tracks for moving trajectory in EPM. (c,d) Summarized data for the total travel distance and time in open arms of the EPM (n\u2009=\u20096 control mice, 7 chronic noise exposed mice). (e) Schematic showing the performance of the control mice and chronic noise exposed mice in LDB. (f) The representative path tracks for moving trajectory in LDB. (g) Summarized data for the time in light room of LDB (n\u2009=\u20099 control mice, 10 chronic noise exposed mice). The data are expressed as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. *p\u2009<\u20090.05; **p\u2009<\u20090.01; ***p\u2009<\u20090.001, two\u2010way ANOVA.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 3 <\/p>\n

Identification of 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 3 <\/p>\n

Identification of 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic neurons in the DRN of mouse. (a,b) Representative\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 3<\/p>\n

Identification of 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic neurons in the DRN of mouse. (a,b) Representative fluorescence and differential interference contrast (DIC) images of genetically labeled 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic neurons. (c) Representative action potentials evoked by depolarizing current injections. (d) Comparison of action potential waveforms between 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic neurons. (e) Quantification of evoked firing frequency in 5\u2010HTergic and GABAergic neurons. Two\u2010way ANOVA, p\u2009<\u20090.001. (f\u2013i) Quantification of action potential kinetic properties, including peak amplitude (f), half\u2010width (g), rise slope (h), and decay slope (i). Mann\u2013Whitney U test: (f) p\u2009=\u20090.0096; (g) p\u2009<\u20090.0001; (h) p\u2009=\u20090.7283; (i) p\u2009=\u20090.0019. 5\u2010HTergic neurons: n\u2009=\u200913 cells from 3 mice; GABAergic neurons: n\u2009=\u200912 cells from 3 mice. The current steps ranged from \u221240\u2009pA to +80\u2009pA in 10\u2010pA increments, with each step lasting 600\u2009ms. All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 4 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 4 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on the neuronal excitability of 5\u2010HTergic neurons in\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 4<\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on the neuronal excitability of 5\u2010HTergic neurons in the DRN. (a) Quantification of resting membrane potential (RMP) in control (n\u2009=\u200912 cells from 5 mice, black) and chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u200913 cells from 5 mice, red) groups. Mann\u2013Whitney U test, p\u2009=\u20090.0080. (b) Representative traces of spontaneous firing recorded from 5\u2010HTergic neurons in control and chronic noise exposed mice (left) and quantification of the proportion of spontaneously active neurons in each group (right). (c) Quantification of spontaneous firing frequency in control (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 3 mice) and chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 3 mice) groups. Mann\u2013Whitney U test, p\u2009=\u20090.0244. (d) Representative traces of action potential firing evoked by somatic current injection in control and chronic noise exposed groups. (e) Quantification of firing frequency as a function of injected current amplitude in control (n\u2009=\u200912 cells from 5 mice) and chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u200913 cells from 5 mice) groups. Two\u2010way ANOVA, p\u2009=\u20090.0032. All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., not significant; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 5 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 5 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on membrane properties and action potential kinetics of\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 5<\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on membrane properties and action potential kinetics of DRN 5\u2010HTergic neurons. (a) Quantification of input resistance (Rin) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.0096. (b) Quantification of rheobase in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.0222. (c) Representative phase\u2010plane plots of action potentials in control and chronic noise exposed groups. (d\u2013h) Quantification of action potential properties, including voltage threshold (d), peak amplitude (e), half\u2010width (f), rise slope (g), and decay slope (h). (d) p\u2009=\u20090.3268; (e) p\u2009=\u20090.6114; (f) p\u2009=\u20090.3760; (g) p\u2009=\u20090.1683; (h) p\u2009=\u20090.3760. Control: n\u2009=\u200911 cells from 5 mice; chronic noise exposed: n\u2009=\u200912 cells from 5 mice. All data are presented as the mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001. Mann\u2013Whitney U test.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 6 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure enhances sEPSCs\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 6 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure enhances sEPSCs and mEPSCs of 5\u2010HTergic neurons in the DRN.\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 6<\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure enhances sEPSCs and mEPSCs of 5\u2010HTergic neurons in the DRN. (a) Representative traces of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) recorded from control (black) and chronic noise exposed (red) groups. (b) Cumulative distribution of inter\u2010event intervals of sEPSCs and quantification of sEPSC frequency (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.0016. (c) Cumulative distribution of sEPSC amplitudes and quantification of sEPSC amplitude (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.8238. (d) Representative traces of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) recorded from control (black) and chronic noise exposed (red) groups. (e) Cumulative distribution of inter\u2010event intervals of mEPSCs and quantification of mEPSC frequency (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.0079. (f) Cumulative distribution of mEPSC amplitudes and quantification of mEPSC amplitude (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.1996. sEPSCs: control (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 5 mice), chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u200911 cells from 5 mice); mEPSCs: control (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 5 mice), chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u20098 cells from 5 mice). All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001. Mann\u2013Whitney U test.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 7 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 7 <\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on intrinsic properties of 5\u2010HTergic neurons. (a) Representative\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 7<\/p>\n

Effects of chronic noise exposure on intrinsic properties of 5\u2010HTergic neurons. (a) Representative traces of spontaneous action potential firing in DRN 5\u2010HT neurons from control and chronic noise exposed mice (left) during glutamatergic synaptic blockade (CNQX\u2009+\u2009DL\u2010AP5) and quantification of the proportion of spontaneously active neurons in each group (right). (b) Quantification of spontaneous firing frequency in control and chronic noise exposed groups. Control: n\u2009=\u200911 cells from 5 mice; chronic noise exposed: n\u2009=\u200912 cells from 5 mice. Mann\u2013Whitney U test, p\u2009=\u20090.0022. (c) Representative firing responses of 5\u2010HT neurons to step current injections of increasing amplitudes in control and chronic noise exposed mice. (d) Quantification of firing frequency as a function of injected current amplitude in control (n\u2009=\u200917 cells from 5 mice) and chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u200917 cells from 5 mice) groups. Two\u2010way ANOVA, p\u2009=\u20090.0020. All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 8 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 8 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not alter the intrinsic excitability of GABAergic neurons in\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 8<\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not alter the intrinsic excitability of GABAergic neurons in the DRN. (a) Quantification of resting membrane potential (RMP) in control (gray) and chronic noise exposed (green) groups. p\u2009=\u20090.8820. (b) Quantification of spontaneous firing frequency in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.2895. (c) Input\u2013output relationship showing firing frequency as a function of injected current amplitude. Two\u2010way ANOVA, p\u2009=\u20090.9051. (d) Quantification of input resistance (Rin) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.6027. (e) Quantification of rheobase in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.5940. (f) Representative phase\u2010plane plots of action potentials in control and chronic noise exposed groups. (g\u2013k) Quantification of action potential properties, including voltage threshold (g), peak amplitude (h), half\u2010width (i), rise slope (j), and decay slope (k). (g) p\u2009=\u20090.8820; (h) p\u2009>\u20090.9999; (i) p\u2009=\u20090.6556; (j) p\u2009=\u20090.9408; (k) p\u2009=\u20090.3702. For (a, c\u2013k): control, n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 5 mice; chronic noise exposed, n\u2009=\u200911 cells from 5 mice. For (b): control, n\u2009=\u20098 cells from 5 mice; chronic noise exposed, n\u2009=\u20097 cells from 4 mice. Statistical significance was assessed using the Mann\u2013Whitney U test, except for (c), which was analyzed using two\u2010way ANOVA. All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. n.s., no significant difference; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001.<\/p>\n


\n \"FIGURE
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

FIGURE 9 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 9 <\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not alter excitatory synaptic transmission onto GABAergic neurons in\u2026 <\/p>\n

FIGURE 9<\/p>\n

Chronic noise exposure does not alter excitatory synaptic transmission onto GABAergic neurons in the DRN. (a) Representative traces of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) recorded from control (grey) and chronic noise exposed (green) groups. (b) Cumulative distribution of inter\u2010event intervals of sEPSCs and quantification of sEPSC frequency (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.9626. (c) Cumulative distribution of sEPSC amplitudes and quantification of sEPSC amplitude (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.6730. (d) Representative traces of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) recorded from control (gray) and chronic noise exposed (green) groups. (e) Cumulative distribution of inter\u2010event intervals of mEPSCs and quantification of mEPSC frequency (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.6730. \u00a0(f) Cumulative distribution of mEPSC amplitudes and quantification of mEPSC amplitude (inset) in control and chronic noise exposed groups. p\u2009=\u20090.4234. sEPSCs: control (n\u2009=\u20098 cells from 5 mice), chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 5 mice); mEPSCs: control (n\u2009=\u20099 cells from 5 mice), chronic noise exposed (n\u2009=\u20098 cells from 5 mice). All data are presented as mean\u2009\u00b1\u2009SEM. Statistical significance was assessed using the Mann\u2013Whitney U test. n.s., not significant; *p\u2009<\u20090.05, **p\u2009<\u20090.01, ***p\u2009<\u20090.001.<\/p>\n

All figures (9)<\/p>\n

References<\/p>\n

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Beitz, A. J. 1990. \u201cRelationship of Glutamate and Aspartate to the Periaqueductal Gray\u2010Raphe Magnus Projection: Analysis Using Immunocytochemistry and Microdialysis.\u201d Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry 38, no. 12: 1755\u20131765. 10.1177\/38.12.1701457.<\/p>\n

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Caciari, T. , Rosati M. V., Casale T., et al. 2013. \u201cNoise\u2010Induced Hearing Loss in Workers Exposed to Urban Stressors.\u201d Science of the Total Environment 463\u2010464: 302\u2013308. 10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2013.06.009.<\/p>\n

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Calizo, L. H. , Akanwa A., Ma X., et al. 2011. \u201cRaphe Serotonin Neurons Are Not Homogenous: Electrophysiological, Morphological and Neurochemical Evidence.\u201d Neuropharmacology 61, no. 3: 524\u2013543. 10.1016\/j.neuropharm.2011.04.008.<\/p>\n

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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t<\/p>\n

MeSH terms<\/p>\n

Anxiety* \/ physiopathology<\/p>\n

Dorsal Raphe Nucleus* \/ physiology<\/p>\n

Dorsal Raphe Nucleus* \/ physiopathology<\/p>\n

Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials \/ physiology<\/p>\n

GABAergic Neurons \/ physiology<\/p>\n

Serotonergic Neurons* \/ physiology<\/p>\n

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