The Role of Spexin in Social Stress

Social stress arises from one’s inability to cope with their social environment. Understanding how social stress affects our brains is essential, as long-term exposure will lead to various physiological and mental illnesses. This thesis investigates the impact of social stress on Spexin neuron and its regulatory system in male Nile tilapia. Tilapia is a suitable model to study social interaction due to its clear, distinct social hierarchy. We found that the gene expression of Spexin was altered during social defeat stress. The current study demonstrated that Spexin plays a role in the mechanism underlying social defeat stress.