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Guimarães DM, Valério-Gomes B, Vianna-Barbosa RJ, Oliveira W, Neves GÂ, Tovar-Moll F, Lent R. Social isolation leads to mild social recognition impairment and losses in brain cellularity. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:2051-2066. [PMID: 37690044 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02705-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Chronic social stress is a significant risk factor for several neuropsychiatric disorders, mainly major depressive disorder (MDD). In this way, patients with clinical depression may display many symptoms, including disrupted social behavior and anxiety. However, like many other psychiatric diseases, MDD has a very complex etiology and pathophysiology. Because social isolation is one of the multiple depression-inducing factors in humans, this study aims to understand better the link between social stress and MDD using an animal model based on social isolation after weaning, which is known to produce social stress in mice. We focused on cellular composition and white matter integrity to establish possible links with the abnormal social behavior that rodents isolated after weaning displayed in the three-chamber social approach and recognition tests. We used the isotropic fractionator method to assess brain cellularity, which allows us to robustly estimate the number of oligodendrocytes and neurons in dissected brain regions. In addition, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was employed to analyze white matter microstructure. Results have shown that post-weaning social isolation impairs social recognition and reduces the number of neurons and oligodendrocytes in important brain regions involved in social behavior, such as the anterior neocortex and the olfactory bulb. Despite the limitations of animal models of psychological traits, evidence suggests that behavioral impairments observed in patients might have similar biological underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Menezes Guimarães
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
| | - Bruna Valério-Gomes
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Washington Oliveira
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gilda Ângela Neves
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Roberto Lent
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- D'Or Institute of Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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2
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Pheromones that correlate with reproductive success in competitive conditions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21970. [PMID: 34754031 PMCID: PMC8578420 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01507-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The major urinary proteins (MUPs) of house mice (Mus musculus) bind and stabilize the release of pheromones and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from urinary scent marks, which mediate chemical communication. Social status influences MUP and VOC excretion, and the urinary scent of dominant males is attractive to females. Urinary pheromones influence the sexual behavior and physiology of conspecifics, and yet it is not known whether they also affect reproductive success. We monitored the excretion of urinary protein and VOCs of wild-derived house mice living in large seminatural enclosures to compare the sexes and to test how these compounds correlate with reproductive success. Among males, urinary protein concentration and VOC expression correlated with reproductive success and social status. Territorial dominance also correlated with reproductive success in both sexes; but among females, no urinary compounds were found to correlate with social status or reproductive success. We found several differences in the urinary protein and volatile pheromones of mice in standard cages versus seminatural enclosures, which raises caveats for conventional laboratory studies. These findings provide novel evidence for chemical signals that correlate with male reproductive success of house mice living in competitive conditions.
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3
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Roper RJ, Goodlett CR, Martínez de Lagrán M, Dierssen M. Behavioral Phenotyping for Down Syndrome in Mice. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 10:e79. [PMID: 32780566 DOI: 10.1002/cpmo.79] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability, characterized by alterations in different behavioral symptom domains: neurodevelopment, motor behavior, and cognition. As mouse models have the potential to generate data regarding the neurological basis for the specific behavioral profile of DS, and may indicate pharmacological treatments with the potential to affect their behavioral phenotype, it is important to be able to assess disease-relevant behavioral traits in animal models in order to provide biological plausibility to the potential findings. The field is at a juncture that requires assessments that may effectively translate the findings acquired in mouse models to humans with DS. In this article, behavioral tests are described that are relevant to the domains affected in DS. A neurodevelopmental behavioral screen, the balance beam test, and the Multivariate Concentric Square Field test to assess multiple behavioral phenotypes and locomotion are described, discussing the ways to merge these findings to more fully understand cognitive strengths and weaknesses in this population. New directions for approaches to cognitive assessment in mice and humans are discussed. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Preweaning neurodevelopmental battery Basic Protocol 2: Balance beam Basic Protocol 3: Multivariate concentric square field test (MCSF).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - María Martínez de Lagrán
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mara Dierssen
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,Biomedical Research Networking Center on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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4
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Improving the practicality of using non-aversive handling methods to reduce background stress and anxiety in laboratory mice. Sci Rep 2019; 9:20305. [PMID: 31889107 PMCID: PMC6937263 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56860-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Handling can stimulate stress and anxiety in laboratory animals that negatively impacts welfare and introduces a confounding factor in many areas of research. Picking up mice by the tail is a major source of handling stress that results in strong aversion to the handler, while mice familiarised with being picked up in a tunnel or cupped on the open hand show low stress and anxiety, and actively seek interaction with their handlers. Here we investigate the duration and frequency of handling required for effective familiarisation with these non-aversive handling methods, and test whether this is sufficient to prevent aversion and anxiety when animals then experience immobilisation and a mild procedure (subcutaneous injection). Very brief handling (2 s) was sufficient to familiarise mice with tunnel handling, even when experienced only during cage cleaning. Brief but more frequent handling was needed for familiarisation with cup handling, while pick up by tail induced strong aversion even when handling was brief and infrequent. Experience of repeated immobilisation and subcutaneous injection did not reverse the positive effects of tunnel handling. Our findings demonstrate that replacing tail with tunnel handling during routine cage cleaning and procedures provides a major refinement with little if any cost for familiarisation.
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5
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Sengupta S, Tang SY, Devine JC, Anderson ST, Nayak S, Zhang SL, Valenzuela A, Fisher DG, Grant GR, López CB, FitzGerald GA. Circadian control of lung inflammation in influenza infection. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4107. [PMID: 31511530 PMCID: PMC6739310 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11400-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza is a leading cause of respiratory mortality and morbidity. While inflammation is essential for fighting infection, a balance of anti-viral defense and host tolerance is necessary for recovery. Circadian rhythms have been shown to modulate inflammation. However, the importance of diurnal variability in the timing of influenza infection is not well understood. Here we demonstrate that endogenous rhythms affect survival in influenza infection. Circadian control of influenza infection is mediated by enhanced inflammation as proven by increased cellularity in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), pulmonary transcriptomic profile and histology and is not attributable to viral burden. Better survival is associated with a time dependent preponderance of NK and NKT cells and lower proportion of inflammatory monocytes in the lung. Further, using a series of genetic mouse mutants, we elucidate cellular mechanisms underlying circadian gating of influenza infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaon Sengupta
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Soon Y Tang
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Systems Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Jill C Devine
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Seán T Anderson
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Systems Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Soumyashant Nayak
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Shirley L Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Alex Valenzuela
- University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Devin G Fisher
- University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Gregory R Grant
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Carolina B López
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Garret A FitzGerald
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Systems Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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6
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Di Segni M, Andolina D, Ventura R. Long-term effects of early environment on the brain: Lesson from rodent models. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2018; 77:81-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Revised: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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7
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Herbeck YE, Amelkina OA, Konoshenko MY, Shikhevich SG, Gulevich RG, Kozhemyakina RV, Plyusnina IZ, Oskina IN. Effects of neonatal handling on behavior and the stress response in rats selected for their reaction towards humans. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1134/s2079059717010051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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8
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McCormick GL, Robbins TR, Cavigelli SA, Langkilde T. Ancestry trumps experience: Transgenerational but not early life stress affects the adult physiological stress response. Horm Behav 2017; 87:115-121. [PMID: 27864050 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Revised: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to stressors can affect an organism's physiology and behavior as well as that of its descendants (e.g. through maternal effects, epigenetics, and/or selection). We examined the relative influence of early life vs. transgenerational stress exposure on adult stress physiology in a species that has populations with and without ancestral exposure to an invasive predator. We raised offspring of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) from sites historically invaded (high stress) or uninvaded (low stress) by predatory fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and determined how this different transgenerational exposure to stress interacted with the effects of early life stress exposure to influence the physiological stress response in adulthood. Offspring from these high- and low-stress populations were exposed weekly to either sub-lethal attack by fire ants (an ecologically relevant stressor), topical treatment with a physiologically-appropriate dose of the stress-relevant hormone, corticosterone (CORT), or a control treatment from 2 to 43weeks of age. Several months after treatments ended, we quantified plasma CORT concentrations at baseline and following restraint, exposure to fire ants, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) injection. Exposure to fire ants or CORT during early life did not affect lizard stress physiology in adulthood. However, offspring of lizards from populations that had experienced multiple generations of fire ant-invasion exhibited more robust adult CORT responses to restraint and ACTH-injection compared to offspring from uninvaded populations. Together, these results indicate that transgenerational stress history may be at least as important, if not more important, than early life stress in affecting adult physiological stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gail L McCormick
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; The Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Travis R Robbins
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Sonia A Cavigelli
- The Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; The Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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9
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Bouwknecht JA. Behavioral studies on anxiety and depression in a drug discovery environment: keys to a successful future. Eur J Pharmacol 2014; 753:158-76. [PMID: 25460021 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2014.09.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2014] [Revised: 08/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The review describes a personal journey through 25 years of animal research with a focus on the contribution of rodent models for anxiety and depression to the development of new medicines in a drug discovery environment. Several classic acute models for mood disorders are briefly described as well as chronic stress and disease-induction models. The paper highlights a variety of factors that influence the quality and consistency of behavioral data in a laboratory setting. The importance of meta-analysis techniques for study validation (tolerance interval) and assay sensitivity (Monte Carlo modeling) are demonstrated by examples that use historic data. It is essential for successful discovery of new potential drugs to maintain a high level of control in animal research and to bridge knowledge across in silico modeling, and in vitro and in vivo assays. Today, drug discovery is a highly dynamic environment in search of new types of treatments and new animal models which should be guided by enhanced two-way translation between bench and bed. Although productivity has been disappointing in the search of new and better medicines in psychiatry over the past decades, there has been and will always be an important role for in vivo models in-between preclinical discovery and clinical development. The right balance between good science and proper judgment versus a decent level of innovation, assay development and two-way translation will open the doors to a very bright future.
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10
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Andreev-Andrievskiy A, Popova A, Boyle R, Alberts J, Shenkman B, Vinogradova O, Dolgov O, Anokhin K, Tsvirkun D, Soldatov P, Nemirovskaya T, Ilyin E, Sychev V. Mice in Bion-M 1 space mission: training and selection. PLoS One 2014; 9:e104830. [PMID: 25133741 PMCID: PMC4136787 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0104830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2014] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
After a 16-year hiatus, Russia has resumed its program of biomedical research in space, with the successful 30-day flight of the Bion-M 1 biosatellite (April 19-May 19, 2013). The principal species for biomedical research in this project was the mouse. This paper presents an overview of the scientific goals, the experimental design and the mouse training/selection program. The aim of mice experiments in the Bion-M 1 project was to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms, underlying the adaptation of key physiological systems to long-term exposure in microgravity. The studies with mice combined in vivo measurements, both in flight and post-flight (including continuous blood pressure measurement), with extensive in vitro studies carried out shortly after return of the mice and in the end of recovery study. Male C57/BL6 mice group housed in space habitats were flown aboard the Bion-M 1 biosatellite, or remained on ground in the control experiment that replicated environmental and housing conditions in the spacecraft. Vivarium control groups were used to account for housing effects and possible seasonal differences. Mice training included the co-adaptation in housing groups and mice adaptation to paste food diet. The measures taken to co-adapt aggressive male mice in housing groups and the peculiarities of "space" paste food are described. The training program for mice designated for in vivo studies was broader and included behavioral/functional test battery and continuous behavioral measurements in the home-cage. The results of the preliminary tests were used for the selection of homogenous groups. After the flight, mice were in good condition for biomedical studies and displayed signs of pronounced disadaptation to Earth's gravity. The outcomes of the training program for the mice welfare are discussed. We conclude that our training program was effective and that male mice can be successfully employed in space biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Andreev-Andrievskiy
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Moscow State University, Biology Faculty, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anfisa Popova
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Moscow State University, Biology Faculty, Moscow, Russia
| | - Richard Boyle
- Bio-Visualization, Imaging and Simulation Technology Center (BioVIS), NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey Alberts
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Boris Shenkman
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga Vinogradova
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Oleg Dolgov
- Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Konstantin Anokhin
- Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Kurchatov NBIC-center, National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, Moscow, Russia
| | - Darya Tsvirkun
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Pavel Soldatov
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Eugeniy Ilyin
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir Sychev
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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11
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Schreiber S, Lin R, Haim L, Baratz-Goldstien R, Rubovitch V, Vaisman N, Pick CG. Enriched environment improves the cognitive effects from traumatic brain injury in mice. Behav Brain Res 2014; 271:59-64. [PMID: 24906196 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 05/24/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To date, there is yet no established effective treatment (medication or cognitive intervention) for post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with chronic sequelae. Enriched environment (EE) has been recognized of importance in brain regulation, behaviour and physiology. Rodents reared in, or pre-exposed to EE, recovered better from brain insults. Using the concussive head trauma model of minimal TBI in mice, we evaluated the effect of transition to EE following a weight-drop (30g or 50g) induced mTBI on behavioural and cognitive parameters in mice in the Novel Object Recognition task, the Y- and the Elevated Plus mazes. In all assays, both mTBI groups (30g, 50g) housed in normal conditions were equally and significantly impaired 6 weeks post injury in comparison with the no-mTBI (p<0.001 and p<0.03, respectively) and the mTBI+EE groups (p<0.001 for the 30g, and p<0.017 for the 50g). No differences were found between the control and the EE mice. Two separate finding emerge: (1) the significantly positive effects of the placement in EE following mTBI, on the rehabilitative process of the tested behaviours in the affected mice; (2) the lack of difference between the groups of mice affected by 30g or by 50g. Further studies are needed in order to characterize the exact pathways involved in the positive effects of the EE on mice recovery from mTBI. Possible clinical implications indicate the importance of adapting correlates of EE to humans, i.e., prolonged and intensive physical activity - possibly combined with juggling training and intensive cognitive stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Schreiber
- Department of Psychiatry, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel; Tel-Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
| | - R Lin
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - L Haim
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - R Baratz-Goldstien
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - V Rubovitch
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - N Vaisman
- The Unit of Clinical Nutrition, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - C G Pick
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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12
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Effects of an early experience of reward through maternal contact or its denial on the dopaminergic system of the rat brain. Neuroscience 2014; 269:11-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Revised: 03/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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13
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Andreev-Andrievskiy AA, Popova AS, Borovik AS, Dolgov ON, Tsvirkun DV, Custaud M, Vinogradova OL. Stress-associated cardiovascular reaction masks heart rate dependence on physical load in mice. Physiol Behav 2014; 132:1-9. [PMID: 24802359 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 03/31/2014] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
When tested on the treadmill mice do not display a graded increase of heart rate (HR), but rather a sharp shift of cardiovascular indices to high levels at the onset of locomotion. We hypothesized that under test conditions cardiovascular reaction to physical load in mice is masked with stress-associated HR increase. To test this hypothesis we monitored mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate in C57BL/6 mice after exposure to stressful stimuli, during spontaneous locomotion in the open-field test, treadmill running or running in a wheel installed in the home cage. Mice were treated with β1-adrenoblocker atenolol (2mg/kg ip, A), cholinolytic ipratropium bromide (2mg/kg ip, I), combination of blockers (A+I), anxiolytic diazepam (5mg/kg ip, D) or saline (control trials, SAL). MAP and HR in mice increased sharply after handling, despite 3weeks of habituation to the procedure. Under stressful conditions of open field test cardiovascular parameters in mice were elevated and did not depend on movement speed. HR values did not differ in I and SAL groups and were reduced with A or A+I. HR was lower at rest in D pretreated mice. In the treadmill test HR increase over speeds of 6, 12 and 18m/min was roughly 1/7-1/10 of HR increase observed after placing the mice on the treadmill. HR could not be increased with cholinolytic (I), but was reduced after sympatholytic (A) or A+I treatment. Anxiolytic (D) reduced heart rate at lower speeds of movement and its overall effect was to unmask the dependency of HR on running speed. During voluntary running in non-stressful conditions of the home cage HR in mice linearly increased with increasing running speeds. We conclude that in test situations cardiovascular reactions in mice are governed predominantly by stress-associated sympathetic activation, rendering efforts to evaluate HR and MAP reactions to workload unreliable.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Andreev-Andrievskiy
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 123007, 76A Khoroshevskoe Shosse, Russia; Lomonosov Moscow State University, Biology Faculty, Moscow 119234, 1/12 Leninskie Gory, Russia.
| | - A S Popova
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 123007, 76A Khoroshevskoe Shosse, Russia; Lomonosov Moscow State University, Biology Faculty, Moscow 119234, 1/12 Leninskie Gory, Russia
| | - A S Borovik
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 123007, 76A Khoroshevskoe Shosse, Russia
| | - O N Dolgov
- Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 125009, 11/4 Mokhovaya St, Russia
| | - D V Tsvirkun
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 123007, 76A Khoroshevskoe Shosse, Russia
| | - M Custaud
- University of Angers, Rue Haute de Reculée, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France
| | - O L Vinogradova
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 123007, 76A Khoroshevskoe Shosse, Russia
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14
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Lickliter R. The origins of variation: evolutionary insights from developmental science. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2013; 44:193-223. [PMID: 23834006 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-397947-6.00007-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from contemporary epigenetic research indicates that it is not biologically meaningful to discuss genes without reference to the molecular, cellular, organismal, and environmental context within which they are activated and expressed. Genetic and nongenetic factors, including those beyond the organism, constitute a dynamic relational developmental system. This insight highlights the importance of bringing together genetics, development, and ecology into one explanatory framework for a more complete understanding of the emergence and maintenance of phenotypic stability and variability. In this Chapter, I review some examples of this integrative effort and explore its implications for developmental and evolutionary science, with a particular emphasis on the origins of phenotypic novelty. I argue that developmental science is critical to this integrative effort, in that evolutionary explanation cannot be complete without developmental explanation. This is the case because the process of development generates the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Lickliter
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
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15
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Identification of neuronal loci involved with displays of affective aggression in NC900 mice. Brain Struct Funct 2012; 218:1033-49. [PMID: 22847115 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-012-0445-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2012] [Accepted: 07/16/2012] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Aggression is a complex behavior that is essential for survival. Of the various forms of aggression, impulsive violent displays without prior planning or deliberation are referred to as affective aggression. Affective aggression is thought to be caused by aberrant perceptions of, and consequent responses to, threat. Understanding the neuronal networks that regulate affective aggression is pivotal to development of novel approaches to treat chronic affective aggression. Here, we provide a detailed anatomical map of neuronal activity in the forebrain of two inbred lines of mice that were selected for low (NC100) and high (NC900) affective aggression. Attack behavior was induced in male NC900 mice by exposure to an unfamiliar male in a novel environment. Forebrain maps of c-Fos+ nuclei, which are surrogates for neuronal activity during behavior, were then generated and analyzed. NC100 males rarely exhibited affective aggression in response to the same stimulus, thus their forebrain c-Fos maps were utilized to identify unique patterns of neuronal activity in NC900s. Quantitative results indicated robust differences in the distribution patterns and densities of c-Fos+ nuclei in distinct thalamic, subthalamic, and amygdaloid nuclei, together with unique patterns of neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens and the frontal cortices. Our findings implicate these areas as foci regulating differential behavioral responses to an unfamiliar male in NC900 mice when expressing affective aggression. Based on the highly conserved patterns of connections and organization of neuronal limbic structures from mice to humans, we speculate that neuronal activities in analogous networks may be disrupted in humans prone to maladaptive affective aggression.
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Benedetti M, Merino R, Kusuda R, Ravanelli M, Cadetti F, dos Santos P, Zanon S, Lucas G. Plasma corticosterone levels in mouse models of pain. Eur J Pain 2011; 16:803-15. [DOI: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2011.00066.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/27/2011] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience and Behaviour; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - R. Merino
- Department of Neuroscience and Behaviour; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - R. Kusuda
- Department of Physiology; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - M.I. Ravanelli
- Department of Physiology; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - F. Cadetti
- Department of Neuroscience and Behaviour; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - P. dos Santos
- Department of Neuroscience and Behaviour; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - S. Zanon
- Department of Physiology; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
| | - G. Lucas
- Department of Physiology; Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine; University of São Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes, 3900; Ribeirão Preto; SP; 14049-900; Brazil
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Pohorecky LA, Sweeny A, Buckendahl P. Differential sensitivity to amphetamine's effect on open field behavior of psychosocially stressed male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 218:281-92. [PMID: 21681418 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2339-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2010] [Accepted: 04/27/2011] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Studies of socially housed rodents have provided significant information regarding the mechanisms of stress and of stress-related disorders. OBJECTIVE Since psychosocial stress is known to alter the functional activity of dopaminergic system, we employed amphetamine (AMP) to evaluate the involvement dopamine in mediating the behavioral consequences of psychosocial stress. METHODS Male rats housed two per cage were designated as dominant (DOM) or subdominant (Sdom) based on initial evaluations of agonistic behaviors and body weight changes. Diad-housed rats and a group of single-housed (SiH) rats were tested in an open field after injections of saline or amphetamine (0.9 or 2.7 mg/kg IP) prior to and again while diad-housing. RESULTS Compared to future DOM rats, saline-injected future Sdom rats entered the open field center less frequently, spent less time in rearing behavior and groomed less. At the pre-diad test AMP treatment elevated locomotor activity of all rats, while stimulation of center entries was more marked in future DOM rats. At the diad test, AMP's locomotor stimulant effect was evident in all experimental groups with DOM rats showing higher effects compared to Sdom and SiH rats. Amphetamine's stimulation of center entries in DOM rats was similar to the pre-diad test, but it was diminished in Sdom rats, while stimulation of rearing behavior was most evident in diad-housed rats. CONCLUSION The dopaminergic system modulates the psychosocial stress-induced differences in explorative and emotional behaviors. Furthermore, behavioral traits like frequency of grooming behavior and of center entries were predictive of future hierarchical status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa A Pohorecky
- Center of Alcohol Studies, Rurgers University, 607 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-1100, USA.
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Benaroya-Milshtein N, Hollander N, Apter A, Yaniv I, Pick CG. Stress conditioning in mice: alterations in immunity and tumor growth. Stress 2011; 14:301-11. [PMID: 21294662 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2010.545845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous systems are known regulators of brain-immune interaction. However, the functional significance of this interaction under stress is not fully understood. We investigated the effect of a stress paradigm by applying electric foot shock followed by three reminders, on behavior, immune parameters, and lymphoma tumor growth. Male C3H mice were divided into two groups: Group 1-exposed to electric foot shock followed by three reminders, and Group 2-untreated (controls). Sets of mice underwent the elevated plus maze, staircase, and hot plate tests. After foot shock, natural killer (NK) cell activity, and lymphocyte proliferation were measured. In addition, sets of mice were either vaccinated twice with B-cell lymphoma 38C-13 immunoglobulin for determination of anti-idiotype (Id) antibodies in sera, or inoculated with tumor cells and monitored for tumor development and survival time. Mice exposed to electric foot shock followed by the three reminders had higher NK cell activity, levels of anti-Id antibodies, and a higher proliferation rate of splenocytes in response to mitogens, than the control mice. The exposed mice also showed attenuated tumor growth. Thus, the stress paradigm inhibited tumor development and lead to some immune changes that were not accompanied by behavioral changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noa Benaroya-Milshtein
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Flanigan TJ, Cook MN. Effects of an early handling-like procedure and individual housing on anxiety-like behavior in adult C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19058. [PMID: 21533042 PMCID: PMC3080884 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2011] [Accepted: 03/23/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Manipulations of rearing conditions have been used to examine the effects of early experience on adult behavior with varying results. Evidence suggests that postnatal days (PND) 15-21 are a time of particular susceptibility to environmental influences on anxiety-like behavior in mice. To examine this, we subjected C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice to an early handling-like procedure. Pups were separated from dams from PND 12-20 for 30 minutes daily or received standard care. On PND 21, pups were weaned and either individually- or group-housed. On PND 60, anxiety-like behavior was examined on the elevated zero-maze. Although individually-housed animals took longer to enter an open quadrant of the maze, they spent more time in the open than group-housed animals. Additionally, we observed a trend of reduced anxiety-like behavior in C57BL/6J, but not DBA/2J mice that underwent the handling-like procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J. Flanigan
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Melloni N. Cook
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Sciolino NR, Bortolato M, Eisenstein SA, Fu J, Oveisi F, Hohmann AG, Piomelli D. Social isolation and chronic handling alter endocannabinoid signaling and behavioral reactivity to context in adult rats. Neuroscience 2010; 168:371-86. [PMID: 20394803 PMCID: PMC2882942 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2009] [Revised: 04/02/2010] [Accepted: 04/06/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Social deprivation in early life disrupts emotionality and attentional processes in humans. Rearing rats in isolation reproduces some of these abnormalities, which are attenuated by daily handling. However, the neurochemical mechanisms underlying these responses remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that post-weaning social isolation alters the endocannabinoid system, a neuromodulatory system that controls emotional responding. We characterized behavioral consequences of social isolation and evaluated whether handling would reverse social isolation-induced alterations in behavioral reactivity to context and the endocannabinoid system. At weaning, pups were single or group housed and concomitantly handled or not handled daily until adulthood. Rats were tested in emotionality- and attentional-sensitive behavioral assays (open field, elevated plus maze, startle and prepulse inhibition). Cannabinoid receptor densities and endocannabinoid levels were quantified in a separate group of rats. Social isolation negatively altered behavioral responding. Socially-isolated rats that were handled showed less deficits in the open field, elevated plus maze, and prepulse inhibition tests. Social isolation produced site-specific alterations (supraoptic nucleus, ventrolateral thalamus, rostral striatum) in cannabinoid receptor densities compared to group rearing. Handling altered the endocannabinoid system in neural circuitry controlling emotional expression. Handling altered endocannabinoid content (prefrontal and piriform cortices, nucleus accumbens) and cannabinoid receptor densities (lateral globus pallidus, cingulate and piriform cortices, hippocampus) in a region-specific manner. Some effects of social isolation on the endocannabinoid system were moderated by handling. Isolates were unresponsive to handling-induced increases in cannabinoid receptor densities (caudal striatum, anterior thalamus), but were sensitive to handling-induced changes in endocannabinoid content (piriform, prefrontal cortices), compared to group-reared rats. Our findings suggest alterations in the endocannabinoid system may contribute to the abnormal isolate phenotype. Handling modifies the endocannabinoid system and behavioral reactivity to context, but surmounts only some effects of social isolation. These data implicate a pivotal role for the endocannabinoid system in stress adaptation and emotionality-related disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natale R. Sciolino
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30622 USA
| | - Marco Bortolato
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Sarah A. Eisenstein
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30622 USA
| | - Jin Fu
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Fariba Oveisi
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Andrea G. Hohmann
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30622 USA
| | - Daniele Piomelli
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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Abstract
AbstractIn the wake of prominent theoreticians in developmental science, whose contributions we review in this article, many developmental psychologists came to endorse a systems approach to understanding how the individual, as it develops, establishes functional relationships to social ecological contexts that from birth to school entry rapidly increase in complexity. The concept of developmental cascade has been introduced in this context to describe lawful processes by which antecedent conditions may be related with varying probabilities to specified outcomes. These are understood as processes by which function at one level or in one domain of behavior affect the organization of competency in later developing domains of general adaptation. Here we propose a developmental sequence by which the developing child acquires regulative capacities that are key to adjustment to a society that demands considerable control of emotional and cognitive functions early in life. We report empirical evidence showing that the acquisition of regulative capacities may be understood as a cascade of shifts in control parameters induced by the progressive integration of biological, transactional, and socioaffective systems over development. We conclude by suggesting how the developmental process may be accessed for effective intervention in populations deemed “at risk” for later problems of psychosocial adjustment.
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22
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Haupt M, Schaefers AT. Effects of postweaning social and physical deprivation on locomotor activity patterns and explorative behavior in female CD-1 mice. Dev Psychobiol 2010; 52:383-93. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.20439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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23
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Gould TD, Dao DT, Kovacsics CE. The Open Field Test. MOOD AND ANXIETY RELATED PHENOTYPES IN MICE 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60761-303-9_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 191] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Dennis RL, Newberry RC, Cheng HW, Estevez I. Appearance Matters: Artificial Marking Alters Aggression and Stress. Poult Sci 2008; 87:1939-46. [PMID: 18809854 DOI: 10.3382/ps.2007-00311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- R L Dennis
- Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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Günther L, Liebscher S, Jähkel M, Oehler J. Effects of chronic citalopram treatment on 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in group- and isolation-housed mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2008; 593:49-61. [PMID: 18657534 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2008.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2008] [Revised: 06/27/2008] [Accepted: 07/09/2008] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are characterized by high clinical effectiveness and good tolerability. A 2-3 week delay in the onset of effects is caused by adaptive mechanisms, probably at the serotonergic (5-HT) receptor level. To analyze this in detail, we measured 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2A) receptor bindings in vitro after 3 weeks of citalopram treatment (20 mg/kg i.p. daily) in group-housed as well as isolation-housed mice, reflecting neurobiological aspects seen in psychiatric patients. Isolation housing increased somatodendritic (+52%) and postsynaptic (+30-95%) 5-HT(1A) as well as postsynaptic 5-HT(2A) receptor binding (+25-34%), which confirms previous findings. Chronic citalopram treatment did not induce alterations in raphe 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor binding, independent of housing conditions. Housing-dependent citalopram effects on postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptor binding were found with increases in group- (+11-42%) but decreases in isolation-housed (-11 to 35%) mice. Forebrain 5-HT(2A) receptor binding decreased between 11 and 38% after chronic citalopram administration, independent of housing conditions. Citalopram's long-term action comprises alterations at the postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(2A) receptor binding levels. Housing conditions interact with citalopram effects, especially on 5-HT(1A) receptor binding, and should be more strongly considered in pharmacological studies. In general, SSRI-induced alterations were more pronounced and affected more brain regions in isolates, supporting the concept of a higher responsiveness in "stressed" animals. Isolation-induced receptor binding changes were partly normalized by chronic citalopram treatment, suggesting the isolation housing model for further analyses of SSRI effects, especially at the behavioral level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Günther
- AG Neurobiologie, Klinik für Psychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum der TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, Dresden, Germany.
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Nature vs. nurture: can enrichment rescue the behavioural phenotype of BDNF heterozygous mice? Behav Brain Res 2008; 192:254-8. [PMID: 18538870 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2008.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2008] [Revised: 04/14/2008] [Accepted: 04/17/2008] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
In earlier experiments we have demonstrated that group-housing in a rather impoverished "standard" environment can be a crucial stress factor in male C57Bl/6 mice. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of combining a probable genetic vulnerability--postulated by the "Neurotrophin Hypothesis of Depression"--with the potentially modulating influence of a stressful environment such as "impoverished" standard housing conditions. For that purpose mice with a partial deletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were group-housed under standard and enriched housing conditions and analysed in a well-established test battery for emotional behaviours. Standard group-housing affected emotional behaviour in male and female BDNF heterozygous mice, causing an increase in anxiety, changes in exploration as well as nociception. Providing the animals' cages with supplementary enrichment, however, led to a rescue of emotional alterations, which emphasises the significance of external factors and their relevance for a valid investigation of genetic aspects in these mutants as well as others, which may be examined in terms of stress-responsiveness or emotionality.
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Lin Y, Westenbroek C, Bakker P, Termeer J, Liu A, Li X, Ter Horst GJ. Effects of Long-Term Stress and Recovery on the Prefrontal Cortex and Dentate Gyrus in Male and Female Rats. Cereb Cortex 2008; 18:2762-74. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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28
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Coutellier L, Friedrich AC, Failing K, Würbel H. Variations in the postnatal maternal environment in mice: Effects on maternal behaviour and behavioural and endocrine responses in the adult offspring. Physiol Behav 2008; 93:395-407. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2007] [Revised: 08/30/2007] [Accepted: 09/19/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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29
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Fazli-Tabaei S, Yahyavi SH, Nouri M, Zartab H, Javid G, Loghavi S, Zarrindast MR. Dopamine receptor mechanism(s) and antinociception and tolerance induced by swim stress in formalin test. Behav Pharmacol 2006; 17:341-7. [PMID: 16914952 DOI: 10.1097/01.fbp.0000224383.63744.69] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, involvement of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the antinociception and tolerance induced by water swim stress in the formalin test has been investigated. Water swim stress at 20 degrees C temperature induced antinociception in both phases of the formalin test. Intraperitoneal administration of the D2 dopamine receptor antagonist, sulpiride (25 and 50 mg/kg) reduced swim stress-induced antinociception in the second phase of the formalin test. A higher dose of the D1 dopamine receptor antagonist, SCH23390 (0.1 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) also reduced swim stress-induced antinociception in both phases of the test. Exposure to 3 min water swimming stress, once daily for 3 days, induced tolerance to swim stress-induced antinociception in the second phase of the formalin test. Administration of sulpiride (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg), during exposure to water swimming stress (once daily for 3 days), decreased tolerance in the second phase, whereas the antagonist (12.5 and 50 mg/kg) increased pain scores in the first phase of the formalin test. Sulpiride (25 mg/kg) treatment however, once daily for 3 days with no water swimming stress, did not alter swim stress-induced antinociception (0.5, 1 and 3 min tests). Similarly, repeated treatment with SCH23390 (0.05 mg/kg) and water swimming stress did not alter tolerance induced by water swimming stress. Repeated administration of the antagonist in the absence of water swimming stress also did not change swim stress-induced antinociception. The results may indicate a possible involvement of both dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the antinociception induced by swim stress and D2 receptor mechanism in the tolerance induced by repeated swim stress.
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Schiller L, Donix M, Jähkel M, Oehler J. Serotonin 1A and 2A receptor densities, neurochemical and behavioural characteristics in two closely related mice strains after long-term isolation. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2006; 30:492-503. [PMID: 16412547 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2005.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/23/2005] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge about individual differences in behavioural traits and their neurostructural and neurochemical correlates should improve therapeutic approaches of corresponding psychopathology. The presented investigations are aimed to reveal interrelationships between central nervous serotonergic [5-HT] receptor densities and neurochemical as well as behavioural traits in two mice strains. Male AB-Halle [ABH] and AB-Gatersleben [ABG] mice differing in aggression were investigated after 6 weeks of isolation housing. 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors were analysed in different brain regions by in vitro autoradiography. HPLC determinations of aminergic transmission in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum as well as in the raphe-region and radioimmunoassay determination of serum corticosterone were done before (basal condition) and after behavioural tests (challenge condition). Receptor autoradiography revealed higher 5-HT1A receptor densities, especially in limbic regions, and lower 5-HT2A receptor densities in the basal ganglia of ABH mice. Furthermore, ABH mice characterized as behaviourally more active in the open field and plus maze as well as more reactive and aggressive during the social interaction test showed lower basal 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid [5-HIAA] concentrations in the hippocampus, cortex and raphe-region as well as a different activation pattern in serotonergic, dopaminergic and noradrenergic brain systems after challenge in comparison to ABG mice. Additionally lower corticosterone concentrations were found in ABH mice. Lower basal serotonergic and striatal dopaminergic, but higher basal cortical dopaminergic metabolism in contrast to enhanced challenge-induced central nervous serotonergic and cortical dopaminergic reactivities are discussed to be crucial for an enhanced reactive behavioural trait, which could secondarily result in aggression-related behaviours, where higher 5-HT1A receptor and lower 5-HT2A receptor densities may be essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Schiller
- AG Neurobiologie, Klinik für Psychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum der TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
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Fitchett AE, Collins SA, Barnard CJ, Cassaday HJ. Subordinate male mice show long-lasting differences in spatial learning that persist when housed alone. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2005; 84:247-51. [PMID: 16169260 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2005.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2005] [Revised: 08/01/2005] [Accepted: 08/03/2005] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In the wild, house mice live in social groups, whereas in the laboratory male mice are often singly housed. Environmental enrichment such as that provided by social housing has been argued to improve the cognitive performance of laboratory animals in experimental tests. The aim of the present study was to test the cost of aggressive social interactions on learning in male CD-1 mice. We found that subordinate mice from more aggressive dyads showed spatial learning impairment, measured as alternation on a T-maze. Learning impairments in subordinates have hitherto been presumed attributable to the animals' exposure to, and relative standing within, the social group. By contrast, the impairment we observed could not have been the result of recent social defeat because it persisted weeks later when the mice were housed alone. Elevated urinary corticosterone predicted later subordination, though paradoxically these abnormally high levels were reduced by pair housing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann E Fitchett
- School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
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Chourbaji S, Zacher C, Sanchis-Segura C, Spanagel R, Gass P. Social and structural housing conditions influence the development of a depressive-like phenotype in the learned helplessness paradigm in male mice. Behav Brain Res 2005; 164:100-6. [PMID: 16046006 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2005] [Revised: 06/02/2005] [Accepted: 06/02/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Structural and social factors are known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of depression. Since animal models of depression are a major tool to gain insights into the mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of this disease it is important not only to exploit but also to be aware of factors that may affect these models. As housing represents a fundamental external factor, which is controversially debated to affect the animals' emotionality, this study aimed to investigate the impact of different social and structural housing conditions on the development of a depressive-like syndrome in the learned helplessness paradigm. Group housing in an impoverished environment led to an increased vulnerability in the learned helplessness paradigm. Groups that were housed enriched, however, were less helpless. Furthermore impoverished conditions did not increase the vulnerability in single housed animals. Regarding emotionality in the animals, basal anxiety was reduced and the exploration was enhanced by group housing and enriched environment. These results suggest that housing conditions significantly influence the outcome of learned helplessness studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Chourbaji
- Department of Behavioural Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), University of Heidelberg, Germany.
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van der Harst JE, Baars AM, Spruijt BM. Announced rewards counteract the impairment of anticipatory behaviour in socially stressed rats. Behav Brain Res 2005; 161:183-9. [PMID: 15922044 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2002] [Revised: 01/31/2005] [Accepted: 02/10/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
It is known that stress can influence the sensitivity to rewarding stimuli. Previous observations revealed that socially stressed rats do not display an appetitive behavioural response in anticipation of a reward. A previous study showed that this insensitivity to rewards (anhedonia) could be restored by chronic administration of an antidepressant. Several lines of evidence exist for the role of dopamine in the mechanism of action of antidepressant treatments concerning their therapeutic effect on anhedonia. Therefore, it was hypothesized that regular activation of the reward system, that involves mesolimbic dopaminergic systems, could counteract the effect of social stress on reward-sensitivity. For this, it was investigated whether a treatment of regular reward announcements could prevent the development of anhedonia. This was confirmed by the result that socially stressed rats that received this treatment were able to display anticipatory behaviour which is characterized by increased activity after presentation of a stimulus that was previously associated with a sucrose reward. Surprisingly, a non-treated socially stressed group, that did not show an anticipatory response for sucrose, did display anticipatory behaviour for another type of reward (enriched cage). It seems that, although one might assume the existence of an anhedonic state based upon the absence of anticipatory activity towards a sucrose reward, this assumption cannot be generalised to other types of reward. It will be discussed whether this might be caused by the highly rewarding properties of the enriched cage which probably has a therapeutical efficacy of its own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanneke E van der Harst
- Department of Animals, Science and Society, Ethology and Animal Welfare Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80 166, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
Currently, behavioral development is thought to result from the interplay among genetic inheritance, congenital characteristics, cultural contexts, and parental practices as they directly impact the individual. Evolutionary ecology points to another contributor, epigenetic inheritance, the transmission to offspring of parental phenotypic responses to environmental challenges-even when the young do not experience the challenges themselves. Genetic inheritance is not altered, gene expression is. Organismic pathways for such transmission exist. Maternal stress during the latter half of a daughter's gestation may affect not only the daughter's but also grand-offspring's physical growth. The author argues that temperamental variation may be influenced in the same way. Implications for theory and research design are presented along with testable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence V Harper
- Department of Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Benaroya-Milshtein N, Hollander N, Apter A, Kukulansky T, Raz N, Wilf A, Yaniv I, Pick CG. Environmental enrichment in mice decreases anxiety, attenuates stress responses and enhances natural killer cell activity. Eur J Neurosci 2004; 20:1341-7. [PMID: 15341605 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03587.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The importance of environment in the regulation of brain, behaviour and physiology has long been recognized in biological, social and medical sciences. Animals maintained under enriched conditions have clearly been shown to have better learning abilities than those maintained under standard conditions. However, the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) on immunity and emotionality have been less documented and remain questionable. Therefore, we investigated the effect of EE on natural killer (NK) cell activity, psychological stress responses and behavioural parameters. Male C3H mice were housed either in enriched or standard conditions for 6 weeks. Behaviour was then examined by the grip-strength test, staircase and elevated plus maze, and corticosterone levels and NK cell activity were measured. Furthermore, animals exposed to the stress paradigm, achieved by electric shock with reminders, were tested for freezing time in each reminder. Corticosterone levels were also measured. The EE mice showed decreased anxiety-like behaviour and higher activity compared to standard mice, as revealed by a greater percentage of time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze, and a higher rate of climbing the staircase. A shorter freezing time in the stress paradigm and no corticosterone level reactivity were measured in EE mice. In addition, NK cell activity in spleens of EE mice was higher than that demonstrated in those of standard mice. Thus, EE has a beneficial effect on anxiety-like behaviour, stress response and NK cell activity. The effect on NK cell activity is promising, due to the role of NK cells in host resistance.
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Gottlieb G, Lickliter R. The Various Roles of Animal Models in Understanding Human Development. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2004. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2004.000269.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Andrade CS, Guimarães FS. Anxiolytic-like effect of group housing on stress-induced behavior in rats. Depress Anxiety 2004; 18:149-52. [PMID: 14625880 DOI: 10.1002/da.10124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Social support is proposed to attenuate behavioral consequences of exposure to uncontrollable stressors. To test this possibility, we compared the effects of two post-stress housing conditions, in pairs or in groups of 10-12 animals per cage, on the behavior of rats tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) 24 hr after stress. We also included positive control groups to compare the effects of a standard anxiolytic, diazepam, with those of vehicle. Confirming previous results, diazepam increased the percentage of entries and time spent in the open arms (vehicle, % open entries: 37.0+/-2.7, % time spent in open arms: 17.6+/-1.9; diazepam, % open entries: 46.7+/-2.7, % time spent in open arms: 39.1+/-3.9). Group housing after restraint significantly prevented the anxiogenic effect of restraint (group housing, % open entries: 32.0+/-5.2, % time spent in open arms: 17.6+/-5.0; pair housing, % open entries: 18.7+/-2.2, % time spent in open arms: 6.5+/-1.0). These results suggest that housing conditions could be an important factor in the development of behavioral consequences of stress exposure.
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Moragrega I, Carrasco MC, Vicens P, Redolat R. Spatial learning in male mice with different levels of aggressiveness: effects of housing conditions and nicotine administration. Behav Brain Res 2004; 147:1-8. [PMID: 14659564 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4328(03)00112-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The main aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the possible modulation of spatial learning ability by housing conditions and level of aggressiveness in mice, also testing whether differences in locomotion and anxiety could influence this relationship. Additionally, we have examined effects of nicotine in the acquisition and retention of a spatial learning task in groups of mice differing in these variables. NMRI male mice were either group-housed or individually housed for 30 days and then classified into mice with short (SAL) and long (LAL) attack latency after a pre-screening agonistic encounter. Locomotor activity and baseline levels of anxiety of these groups were evaluated in the actimeter and elevated plus-maze. Results indicated that SAL and LAL individually housed mice displayed higher locomotion activity than LAL group-housed mice. In the plus-maze test, SAL and LAL individually housed mice showed more total and open arm entries than group-housed LAL mice, confirming the hyperactivity of individually housed mice and suggesting that isolation had no clear anxiolytic or anxiogenic actions. In the water-maze, we compared the performance of individually housed SAL, individually housed LAL mice, and group-housed LAL mice treated with nicotine (0.35 and 0.175 mg/kg) or vehicle. Nicotine did not improve acquisition in group-housed mice and even impaired it in individually housed mice. Retention of platform position was better in vehicle-treated individually housed mice in comparison with vehicle-treated group-housed mice. The present study demonstrates that housing conditions but not level of aggressiveness modify spontaneous locomotor activity and behaviors displayed on the elevated plus-maze test, and can also influence retention of a spatial learning task.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Moragrega
- Area de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universitat de València, Blasco Ibañez, 21, Valencia 46010, Spain
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Moles A, Rizzi R, D'Amato FR. Postnatal stress in mice: Does ?stressing? the mother have the same effect as ?stressing? the pups? Dev Psychobiol 2004; 44:230-7. [PMID: 15103733 DOI: 10.1002/dev.20008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Short- and long-term effects of brief maternal separation, maternal exposure to novel male odor, and standard rearing were compared in NMRI mice. The first condition consisted of 15 min of daily exposure of pups to clean bedding (CB), and the second condition consisted of 15 min of mothers' exposure to the odor of strange males (SM), for 14 days after birth starting from postnatal Day 1. Thus, both conditions entailed the same period of maternal separation. A control mother-offspring group was left undisturbed (nonhandled, N-H). Corticosterone levels of mothers and pups were measured at the end of the last manipulation session. Corticosterone levels were higher in SM mothers, differing from both those of CB and of control dams; CB pups showed the highest corticosterone levels in comparison with the pups belonging to the other groups. Maternal behavior observed as furthest as possible from the daily separation session did not differ among the three groups. The behavioral response to 0.5 mg/kg of apomorphine in 15-day-old pups was enhanced in both CB and SM animals, which suggests an alteration of dopaminergic functioning. Finally, adult CB and SM male mice showed an increase in the percentage of time and entries into the open arms of the plus-maze in comparison to nonhandled males. This study indicates that exposure to ecologically relevant stimuli elicited a stress response in lactating dams. This "social stress" brings about short- and long-term effects in the offspring, even in the absence of any direct manipulation of the pups.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Moles
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and Psychopharmacology, Rome, Italy
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Flagel SB, Vázquez DM, Robinson TE. Manipulations during the second, but not the first, week of life increase susceptibility to cocaine self-administration in female rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 2003; 28:1741-51. [PMID: 12888774 DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We compared the effects of manipulations during week 1 vs week 2 of life on the propensity to self-administer cocaine. Pups received daily subcutaneous saline injections, were handled briefly, or remained undisturbed during their respective treatment periods. Animals handled during the second week of life exhibited increased locomotor response to novelty when tested on postnatal day (PND) 48, compared to all other groups. Rats were implanted with jugular catheters on PND 70 and then given the opportunity to self-administer (0.125 mg/kg/infusion) cocaine for 5 consecutive days (1 h sessions). The dose was then raised to 0.25 mg/kg/infusion for 5 days and to 0.5 mg/kg/infusion for the final 5 days of testing. Only animals manipulated during the second week of life acquired drug-taking behavior. These effects were both stimulus- and gender-specific. Females handled during the second week of life acquired cocaine self-administration (SA) at the lowest dose, and females injected during the second week of life acquired at the intermediate dose. Males injected during the second week of life showed a similar, but more variable, drug-taking pattern. There were no group differences in serum corticosterone response to novelty, although relative to undisturbed animals and those manipulated in the first week of life, female animals manipulated during the second week of life had lower basal expression of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor mRNA in adulthood. We conclude that the second week of life in the rodent is a sensitive period during which manipulations result in a more vulnerable phenotype for the acquisition of cocaine SA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly B Flagel
- Neuroscience Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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Gavaghan CL, Wilson ID, Nicholson JK. Physiological variation in metabolic phenotyping and functional genomic studies: use of orthogonal signal correction and PLS-DA. FEBS Lett 2002; 530:191-6. [PMID: 12387891 DOI: 10.1016/s0014-5793(02)03476-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Metabolic phenotyping, or metabotyping, is increasingly being used as a probe in functional genomics studies. However, such profiling is subject to intrinsic physiological variation found in all animal populations. Using a nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabonomic approach, we show that diurnal variations in metabolism can obscure the interpretation of strain-related metabolic differences in two phenotypically normal mouse strains (C57BL10J and Alpk:ApfCD). To overcome this problem, diurnal-related metabolic variation was removed from these spectral data by application of orthogonal signal correction (OSC), a data filtering method. Interpretation of the removed orthogonal variation indicated that diurnal-related variation had been removed and that the AM samples contained higher levels of creatine, hippurate, trimethylamine, succinate, citrate and 2-oxo-glutarate and lower levels of taurine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, spermine and 3-hydroxy-iso-valerate relative to the PM samples. We propose OSC will have great potential removing confounding variation obscuring subtle changes in metabolism in functional genomic studies and will be of benefit to optimising interpretation of proteomic and genomic datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Gavaghan
- Biological Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences Division, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington, UK.
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