EFFECTS OF BLOCKING CORTICOSTERONE SYNTHESIS ON CONDITIONED FREEZING IN MALE AND FEMALE RATS

Metyrapone, a blocker of endogenous adrenal corticosteroid production, has been shown to affect the conditioned freezing response in male rats. However, the impact of metyrapone on conditioned fear in female rats, whose brain operates within a context of cyclic synthesis of sexual hormones, remains unclear. In a previous study with male and female rodents, we observed poorer contextual fear extinction performance in females, suggesting a potential association between sex differences and conditioned fear.