Unpredictable stress regimens may also be relevant for understanding the lasting impact on the individual. To address this issue, we tested the long-term impact of a CVS regimen on neuroendocrine as well as behavioral outcomes. Our data indicate that CVS induces a late-emerging and long-lasting HPA axis hyporesponsivity to novel stressors (Ostrander et al., 2006), as well as impaired extinction of fear conditioning and enhanced freezing responses to reminder cues (McGuire et al., 2010). These findings indicate that chronic unpredictable stress exposure may impair resilience to future stressful experiences.
