Meeting Abstract

P2.161  Sunday, Jan. 5 15:30  Food Deprivation and Stressor Exposure Alter Tectal CRF Concentrations in African Clawed Frogs Xenopus laevis PRATER, C/M*; CARR, J/A; GARCIA, C; HARRIS, B; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Texas Tech University, Lubbock christine.prater@ttu.edu

The 41 amino acid peptide CRF alters visually guided prey capture in anuran amphibians. A physiological role for CRF in regulating visually guided behavior is suggested by the presence of CRF neurons and CRF R1 receptors in the anuran optic tectum (Carr et al., 2013). Whether tectal CRF neurons respond to changes in energy balance or stress is unknown. We examined the effects of food deprivation and stressor exposure on tectal CRF content in the male and female African clawed frog. For the food deprivation studies, frogs received no food or normal food (n = 8 per group) rations for 8 d. For stress studies, frogs were untreated or exposed to ether vapors (1 min) or shaking stress (4 h). CRF content of the telencephalon (Tel), optic tectum (OT), hypothalamus/ thalamus (H/T), and the brainstem (BS) was measured using a homologous radioimmunoassay. The rank order for CRF concentrations in each brain area was H/T > OT > Tel > BS. Food deprivation significantly decreased CRF content of the OT but did not alter CRF content of the Tel or H/T when compared to controls. Interestingly, CRF content of the BS increased in response to food deprivation. Exposure to a shaking stressor increased CRF in the H/T but did not alter CRF in the OT. In contrast, exposure to the systemic stressor (ether) elevated CRF in the OT relative to untreated controls. These data suggest that tectal CRF neurons may play a physiological role in modulating visually guided behavior during stress and in response to changes in energy balance.