Male Sprague Dawley rats (N = 48; initial weight 200-250g) were purchased from Charles River Laboratories (Montreal, QC, Canada). Rats were housed in the York University Vivarium in a 12-hour light-dark cycle. After 7 days acclimation, animals were assigned randomly to receive corticosterone or wax (control) pellets. Furthermore, animals were given either regular water or water containing prazosin hydrochloride (50 mg/L; P7791, Sigma Aldrich Canada) ad libitum. The four experimental groups were as follows: control-water, control-prazosin, CORT-water or CORT-prazosin. All animals were fed a standard rodent chow diet (14% protein, 54% carbohydrate, 32% fat; 3.0 calories/g) ad libitum. CORT (100mg) or wax pellets were made and on Day 0, four pellets were implanted subcutaneously in the mid-scapular region of each rat, under isoflurane anesthesia, as described previously [27 (link)]. Post pellet implantation, animals were provided with a subcutaneous injection of buprenorphine (0.02mg/kg) for analgesia. Subsequently, rodents recovered in individual cages and were given ampicillin (20 mg/kg) in their drinking water. On day 2, rats were continued with regular water or commenced with prazosin-treated water for 7 or 14 days. These groups will be referred to as 1W and 2W control or CORT- water or -prazosin.
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