Study Finds That Low Salt Intake Makes Rats More Anxious

A study that aimed to better understand the determinants of human salt intake found that low dietary sodium intake made rats more anxious. Researchers at the University of Haifa, Israel, focused on the effects of low dietary sodium on acute unpredictable stress factors, on chronic mild stress (CMS), and in depression and anxiety behavior. Results showed that while reduced sodium intake intensifies anxiety in the "elevated maze and open field," it does not make worse modeled depression in rats that have chronic and acute stress.