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Stoppel H, Harvey BH, Wolmarans DW. Adult Offspring of Deer Mouse Breeding Pairs Selected for Normal and Compulsive-Like Large Nesting Expression Invariably Show the Same Behavior Without Prior In-Breeding. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22533. [PMID: 39106336 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a neuropsychiatric condition with notable genetic involvement. Against this background, laboratory-housed deer mice of both sexes varyingly present with excessive and persistent large nesting behavior (LNB), which has been validated for its resemblance of clinical compulsivity. Although LNB differs from normal nesting behavior (NNB) on both a biological and cognitive level, it is unknown to what extent the expression of LNB and NNB is related to familial background. Here, we randomly selected 14 NNB- and 14 LNB-expressing mice (equally distributed between sexes) to constitute 7 breeding pairs of each phenotype. Pairs were allowed to breed two successive generations of offspring, which were raised until adulthood (12 weeks) and assessed for nesting expression. Remarkably, our findings show that offspring from LNB-expressing pairs build significantly larger nests compared to offspring from NNB-expressing pairs and the nesting expression of the offspring of each breeding pair, irrespective of parental phenotype or litter, is family specific. Collectively, the results of this investigation indicate that LNB can be explored for its potential to shed light on heritable neurocognitive mechanisms that may underlie the expression of specific persistent behavioral phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heike Stoppel
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- School of Medicine, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University and Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Marx H, Krahe TE, Wolmarans DW. Large nesting expression in deer mice remains stable under conditions of visual deprivation despite heightened limbic involvement: Perspectives on compulsive-like behavior. J Neurosci Res 2024; 102:e25320. [PMID: 38509778 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Visual stimuli and limbic activation varyingly influence obsessive-compulsive symptom expression and so impact treatment outcomes. Some symptom phenotypes, for example, covert repugnant thoughts, are likely less sensitive to sensory stimuli compared to symptoms with an extrinsic focus, that is, symptoms related to contamination, safety, and "just-right-perceptions." Toward an improved understanding of the neurocognitive underpinnings of obsessive-compulsive psychobiology, work in naturalistic animal model systems is useful. Here, we explored the impact of visual feedback and limbic processes on 24 normal (NNB) and large (LNB) nesting deer mice, respectively (as far as possible, equally distributed between sexes). Briefly, after behavioral classification into either the NNB or LNB cohorts, mice of each cohort were separated into two groups each and assessed for nesting expression under either standard light conditions or conditions of complete visual deprivation (VD). Nesting outcomes were assessed in terms of size and neatness. After nesting assessment completion, mice were euthanized, and samples of frontal-cortical and hippocampal tissues were collected to determine serotonin and noradrenaline concentrations. Our results show that LNB, as opposed to NNB, represents an inflexible and excessive behavioral phenotype that is not dependent on visually guided action-outcome processing, and that it associates with increased frontal-cortical and hippocampal noradrenaline concentrations, irrespective of lighting condition. Collectively, the current results are informing of the neurocognitive underpinnings of nesting behavior. It also provides a valuable foundation for continued investigations into the noradrenergic mechanisms that may influence the development and promulgation of excessive, rigid, and inflexible behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Marx
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Thomas E Krahe
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Stoppel H, Harvey BH, Wolmarans DW. Higher offspring mortality in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) that spontaneously present with large nest building behaviour. Behav Processes 2024; 216:105004. [PMID: 38360379 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Nesting is a normal, evolutionary conserved rodent behavioural phenotype that is expressed for purposes of breeding, safety, and thermal regulation. Further, nesting is commonly assessed as marker of overall rodent health and wellbeing, with poorer nesting performance generally proposed to resemble a worse state of health. Deer mice can be bidirectionally separated with 30 % of mice presenting with excessively large nesting behaviour (LNB). All laboratory-housed deer mice are exposed to identical environmental conditions. Thus, the functional purpose of LNB remains unknown. Considering the evolutionary functions of nesting, we hypothesized that LNB will be related to an inflated drive to breed and nurse offspring. After breeding two generations of offspring from six 'normal' nesting (NNB) and seven LNB expressing pairs, our data showed that while as fertile as NNB expressing pairs, offspring survival of LNB mice were notably worse (67.9 % vs. 98.3 %). In conclusion, variance in nesting behaviour should be considered when animal health and wellbeing is considered, since it may point to underlying biobehavioural perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heike Stoppel
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa; IMPACT: The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University and Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
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van Rensburg DJ, Lindeque Z, Harvey BH, Steyn SF. Ndufs4 KO mice: A model to study comorbid mood disorders associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2024; 234:173689. [PMID: 38070656 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2023.173689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/01/2024]
Abstract
The Ndufs4 knockout (KO) mouse is a validated and robust preclinical model of mitochondrial diseases (specifically Leigh syndrome), that displays a narrow window of relative phenotypical normality, despite its inherent mitochondrial complex I dysfunction and severe phenotype. Preclinical observations related to psychiatric comorbidities that arise in patients with mitochondrial diseases and indeed in Leigh syndrome are, however, yet to be investigated in this model. Strengthening this narrative is the fact that major depression and bipolar disorder are known to present with deficits in mitochondrial function. We therefore screened the behavioural profile of male and female Ndufs4 KO mice (relative to heterozygous; HET and wildtype; WT mice) between postnatal days 28 and 35 for locomotor, depressive- and anxiety-like alterations and linked it with selected brain biomarkers, viz. serotonin, kynurenine, and redox status in brain areas relevant to psychiatric pathologies (i.e., prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum). The Ndufs4 KO mice initially displayed depressive-like behaviour in the tail suspension test on PND31 but not on PND35 in the forced swim test. In the mirror box test, increased risk resilience was observed. Serotonin levels of KO mice, compared to HET controls, were increased on PND36, together with increased tryptophan to serotonin and kynurenine turnover. Kynurenine to kynurenic acid turnover was however decreased, while reduced versus oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG) was increased. When considering the comorbid psychiatric traits of patients with mitochondrial disorders, this work elaborates on the neuropsychiatric profile of the Ndufs KO mouse. Secondly, despite locomotor differences, Ndufs4 KO mice present with a behavioural profile not unlike rodent models of bipolar disorder, namely variable mood states and risk-taking behaviour. The model may elucidate the bio-energetic mechanisms underlying mood disorders, especially in the presence of mitochondrial disease. Studies are however required to further validate the model's translational relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniël J van Rensburg
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Zander Lindeque
- Human Metabolomics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Stephan F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
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Hurter B, Gourley SL, Wolmarans DW. Associations between nesting, stereotypy, and working memory in deer mice: response to levetiracetam. Pharmacol Rep 2023; 75:647-656. [PMID: 37055664 PMCID: PMC10227124 DOI: 10.1007/s43440-023-00484-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) exhibit various phenotypes of persistent behaviors. It remains unknown if and how said phenotypes associate with early-life and adult cognitive perturbations, and whether potentially cognitive enhancing drugs might modify such associations. Here, we explored the longitudinal relationship between early-life behavioral flexibility and the expression of persistent behavior in adulthood. We also investigated how said phenotypes might associate with working memory in adulthood, and how this association might respond to chronic exposure to the putative cognitive enhancer, levetiracetam (LEV). METHODS 76 juvenile deer mice were assessed for habit-proneness in the Barnes maze (BM) and divided into two exposure groups (n = 37-39 per group), i.e., control and LEV (75 mg/kg/day). After 56 days of uninterrupted exposure, mice were screened for nesting and stereotypical behavior, and then assessed for working memory in the T-maze. RESULTS Juvenile deer mice overwhelmingly utilize habit-like response strategies, regardless of LNB and HS behavior in adulthood. Further, LNB and HS are unrelated in terms of their expression, while LEV reduces the expression of LNB, but bolsters CR (but not VA). Last, an increased level of control over high stereotypical expression may facilitate improved working memory performance. CONCLUSION LNB, VA and CR, are divergent in terms of their neurocognitive underpinnings. Chronic LEV administration throughout the entire rearing period may be of benefit to some phenotypes, e.g., LNB, but not others (CR). We also show that an increased level of control over the expression of stereotypy may facilitate improved working memory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Hurter
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa
| | - Shannon L Gourley
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, USA
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
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Saaiman D, Brand L, de Brouwe G, Janse van Rensburg H, Terre'Blanche G, Legoabe L, Krahe T, Wolmarans D. Striatal adenosine A 2A receptor involvement in normal and large nest building deer mice: perspectives on compulsivity and anxiety. Behav Brain Res 2023; 449:114492. [PMID: 37172739 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurring obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviors that are often associated with anxiety and perturbations in cortico-striatal signaling. Given the suboptimal response of OCD to current serotonergic interventions, there is a need to better understand the psychobiological mechanisms that may underlie the disorder. In this regard, investigations into adenosinergic processes might be fruitful. Indeed, adenosine modulates both anxiety- and motor behavioral output. Thus, we aimed to explore the potential associations between compulsive-like large nest building (LNB) behavior in deer mice, anxiety and adenosinergic processes. From an initial pool of 120 adult deer mice, 34 normal nest building (NNB)- and 32 LNB-expressing mice of both sexes were selected and exposed to either a normal water (wCTRL) or vehicle control (vCTRL), lorazepam (LOR) or istradefylline (ISTRA) for 7- (LOR) or 28 days after which nesting assessment was repeated and animals screened for anxiety-like behavior in an anxiogenic open field. Mice were then euthanized, the striatal tissue removed on ice and the adenosine A2A receptor expression quantified. Our findings indicate that NNB and LNB behavior are not distinctly associated with measures of generalized anxiety and that ISTRA-induced changes in nesting expression are dissociated from changes in anxiety scores. Further, data from this investigation show that nesting in deer mice is directly related to striatal adenosine signaling, and that LNB is founded upon a lower degree of adenosinergic A2A stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Saaiman
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - L Brand
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - G de Brouwe
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - H Janse van Rensburg
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - G Terre'Blanche
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - L Legoabe
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - T Krahe
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - D Wolmarans
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
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Burke JT, Mograbi DC, Wolmarans DW. Behavioral restriction, lorazepam, and escitalopram uniquely influence the expression of naturalistic stereotypy in deer mice: perspectives on anxiety- and compulsive-like behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1071157. [PMID: 36600991 PMCID: PMC9806336 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1071157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Stereotypical expression in laboratory-housed rodents can be explained by different motivational, coping, and motor dysfunction theories. Here, we aimed to explore the neurocognitive underpinnings of high stereotypical (HS) expression in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii), previously proposed as a model system of compulsive-like behavioral persistence. Specifically, we aimed to establish whether HS behavior is related to an underlying escape-related trigger. Methods: One-hundred and sixteen deer mice were classified as either non-stereotypical (NS) or HS. Mice of each cohort were further subdivided and exposed to either sub-acute (3-day) or chronic (25-day) behavioral restriction (R), and high-dose escitalopram (ESC), lorazepam (LOR), alone and in combination with R (ESC+R and LOR+R, respectively). Mice were reassessed for stereotypical behavior at both time points. Results: Our results indicate that HS behavior is likely not temporally and functionally related to an anxiogenic trigger, i.e., R, but rather that HS is associated with parallel changes in anxiogenic feedback processing. We also show that chronic R alone significantly decreased the time spent in expressing HS behavior in animals of the HS, but not NS phenotype. Discussion: This points to the possibility that HS-expressing mice represent a subgroup of P. maniculatus bairdii in which unique interactions between neurobiology and processes of gradual behavioral organization, may contribute to the expression of the typical behaviors observed in this cohort. Collectively, our findings highlight the value of the deer mouse model system to investigate the potential neurocognitive mechanisms that may underlie the development of persistent phenotypes that can likely not be explained entirely by current theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann T. Burke
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Daniel C. Mograbi
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - De Wet Wolmarans
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa,*Correspondence: De Wet Wolmarans
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