Abstract: To explore the effects of stress on the hippocampal protein and phosphorylation levels of neurogranin, and the possible role of neurogranin involving in the brain mechanisms underlying stress-induced behavioral changes, in this present study, the forced cold-water swimming was used as a stressor, and 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed four groups: swimming group, apparatus controls and two cage control groups in the present study. Behavioral changes in rats after stress were observed by open-field test, and neurogranin level of hippocampus was determined by Western blotting. The results showed that neurogranin level of hippocampus in swimming rats was significantly lower than that in apparatus controls or cage controls although changes in phosphorylation of neurogranin on hippocampus was not detected. Moreover, activity of swimming group also was significantly increased. Almost all the behaviors observed were negatively correlated with the level of neurogranin of hippocampus. These results suggested that neurogranin may play a role in stress-induced anxious behaviors, and could be a sensitive predictor of anxiogenic effect of stress.

Key words: stress, behavior, neurogranin, hippocampus