Elevated corticosterone in the amygdala leads to persistant increases in anxiety-like behavior and pain sensitivity

Corticosterone (CORT) localized to the amygdala induces anxiety-like behavior coupled with increased behavioral responses to visceral and somatic stimuli. In the current study, we investigated the long-term consequences of briefly exposing the amygdala to elevated levels of CORT with the hypothesis that modulation of the amygdala with CORT results in persistent increases in anxiety-like behavior and viscerosomatic sensitivity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.