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Stennette KA, Godwin JR. Estrogenic influences on agonistic behavior in teleost fishes. Horm Behav 2024; 161:105519. [PMID: 38452611 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Teleost fishes show an extraordinary diversity of sexual patterns, social structures, and sociosexual behaviors. Sex steroid hormones are key modulators of social behaviors in teleosts as in other vertebrates and act on sex steroid receptor-containing brain nuclei that form the evolutionarily conserved vertebrate social behavior network (SBN). Fishes also display important differences relative to tetrapod vertebrates that make them particularly well-suited to study the physiological mechanisms modulating social behavior. Specifically, fishes exhibit high levels of brain aromatization and have what has been proposed to be a lifelong, steroid hormone dependent plasticity in the neural substrates mediating sociosexual behavior. In this review, we examine how estrogenic signaling modulates sociosexual behaviors in teleosts with a particular focus on agonistic behavior. Estrogens have been shown to mediate agonistic behaviors in a broad range of fishes, from sexually monomorphic gonochoristic species to highly dimorphic sex changers with alternate reproductive phenotypes. These similarities across such diverse taxa contribute to a growing body of evidence that estrogens play a crucial role in the modulation of aggression in vertebrates. As analytical techniques and genomic tools rapidly advance, methods such as LC-MS/MS, snRNAseq, and CRISPR-based mutagenesis show great promise to further elucidate the mechanistic basis of estrogenic effects on social behavior in the diverse teleost lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine A Stennette
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - John R Godwin
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
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2
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Rosenfield DA, Nichi M, Losano JDA, Kawai G, Leite RF, Acosta AJ, Baquero OS, Pizzutto CS. Field-testing a single-dose immunocontraceptive in free-ranging male capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris): Evaluation of effects on reproductive physiology, secondary sexual characteristics, and agonistic behavior. Anim Reprod Sci 2019; 209:106148. [PMID: 31514916 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2019.106148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Controlling wildlife populations to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and the spread of zoonotic diseases is an ever-growing necessity. The objective of this study was to evaluate a single-dose anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine (GonaCon, USDA/NWRC, Fort Collins, CO, USA) as a non-lethal alternative for population control in free-ranging, synanthropic male capybara. In addition to infertility efficacy of this treatment, potential effects on the alpha male's secondary sexual characteristics and agonist behavior need to be assessed because any alterations in these factors could lead to population management failure. The treatment group (n = 3) received 1 mL of the anti-GnRH vaccine, intramuscularly, and the control group (n = 2) a 1 mL sham vaccine. Reproductive behavior and social group dynamics were monitored for 30 days prior to inoculation (June 2017) with continuous observations occurring during the study period. Antifertility effects were assessed by conducting exams of testicular morphology, semen characteristics, and histological analysis (after 270 days via hemi-gonadectomy). Compared to the control group, the testicles of the treated males had severe atrophy (P < 0.05), oligozoospermia and greater numbers of sperm cells in a static developmental phase. Courtship and agonistic alpha male behavior were not altered, and the group's social integrity was maintained. Results indicate there was 100% infertility in capybara males, observed throughout the study period of 18 months, and equally important, the male's alpha characteristics were not affected by the treatment, which is imperative for successful capybara population control efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek A Rosenfield
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil.
| | - Marcilio Nichi
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil
| | - João D A Losano
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil
| | - Giulia Kawai
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil
| | - Roberta F Leite
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil
| | - Alfredo J Acosta
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Oswaldo Santos Baquero
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Schilbach Pizzutto
- Department of Animal Reproduction/Wildlife, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, 05508-270 Brazil
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3
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Abstract
The hypothalamic neuropeptides of the vasopressin-oxytocin family (and their homologs for non-mammalian species) are key modulators of the Social Brain Network, acting via specific receptors reported in all the nuclei of this network. Different conclusive examples have proven the context-dependency actions of hypothalamic nonapeptides on social behavior in several vertebrate taxa. Teleost fishes provide endless possibilities of experimental model systems to explore the underlying mechanisms of nonapeptide actions on social behavior given that they are the most diverse group of vertebrates. Although it has been difficult to identify commonalities of nonapeptide actions across species, indisputable evidence in many teleost species have demonstrated a clear role of vasotocin in the modulation of aggressive and sexual behaviors. Though Neotropical South American fish contribute an important percentage of teleost diversity, most native species remain unexplored as model systems for the study of the neuroendocrine bases of social behavior. In this review, we will revise recent data on the two model systems of Neotropical fish, South American cichlids and weakly electric fish that have contributed to this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Silva
- Unidad Bases Neurales de la Conducta, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Avenida Italia 3318, CP 11600 Montevideo, Uruguay; Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, CP 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Matías Pandolfi
- Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinología y Comportamiento, DBBE e IBBEA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, C1428EHA Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Sohn L, Brodie RJ, Couldwell G, Demmons E, Sturve J. Exposure to a nicotinoid pesticide reduces defensive behaviors in a non-target organism, the rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus. Ecotoxicology 2018; 27:900-907. [PMID: 29802488 PMCID: PMC6133015 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-018-1950-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Imidacloprid is the most widely used of the nicotinoid insecticides, the fastest growing class of pesticides on the global market. Although less toxic to mammals and birds compared to organophosphates, nicotinoids have the potential to impact non-target invertebrates, especially through sublehal effects on behavior, physiology, reproduction, and development. We investigated the impact of sublethal doses of imidacloprid on the defensive responses of rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus exposed to 0, 1, 10, and 100 µg•L-1 of imidacloprid for 10 days (n = 7 crayfish per treatment). Defensive behaviors were examined with the rod test, in which a glass rod was jabbed into the crayfish's container at a 90 degree angle from the bottom and about 0.5 cm directly in front of the crayfish. Crayfish responded to the rod aggressively with claw raising and pinching, neutrally (no response), or by backing or tail-flipping away. The frequency of neutral responses more than doubled after four days in the high (100 µg•L-1) group and after eight days in the low (1 µg•L-1) exposure group. Furthermore, most crayfish in the 100 µg•L-1 treatment were not able to right themselves within 30 s when placed on their backs. Several studies have reported concentrations of imidacloprid contamination in freshwater ecosystems that exceed this study's lowest exposure scenario, 1 µg•L-1. We therefore conclude that imidacloprid contamination reduces the defensive behaviors of crayfish, impairing their ability to survive in habitats where they play important ecological roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Sohn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 01075, USA
| | - Renae J Brodie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 01075, USA.
| | - Genevieve Couldwell
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 01075, USA
| | - Eleanor Demmons
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 01075, USA
| | - Joachim Sturve
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, 40530, Sweden
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Michopoulos V, Diaz MP, Wilson ME. Social change and access to a palatable diet produces differences in reward neurochemistry and appetite in female monkeys. Physiol Behav 2016; 162:102-11. [PMID: 27090229 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Understanding factors that contribute to the etiology of obesity is critical for minimizing the effects of obesity-related adverse physical health outcomes. Emotional eating or the inability to control intake of calorically dense diets (CDD) under conditions of psychosocial stress exposure is a potential risk factor for the development of obesity in people. Decreases in dopamine 2 receptors (D2R) availability have been documented in substance abuse and obesity in humans, as well as animal models of chronic stressor exposure. Social subordination in macaques is a well-established animal model of a chronic psychogenic stressor that results in stress axis dysregulation, attenuated striatal D2R levels, and stress-induced hyperphagia in complex dietary environment. However, it remains unclear how these phenotypes emerge as the stressor becomes chronic during the formation of new social groups. Thus, the goal of the current study was to assess how the imposition of social subordination over a four-month period would affect food intake, socioemotional behavior, and D2R binding potential (D2R-BP) in female rhesus monkeys maintained on a typical laboratory chow diet (LCD) compared with those having a choice between a LCD and a CDD. Results showed that access to a CDD leads to increased total caloric intake and preference for a CDD over a LCD. For the dietary choice condition, females directing less aggression towards group mates during the four-month period, a characteristic of lower social status, consumed progressively more calories over the four-month period than more aggressive females. This relation between agonistic behavior and appetite was not observed for females in LCD-only condition. Finally, decreased D2R-BP in the orbitofrontal cortex was predictive of increased overall caloric intake in all females regardless of dietary environment, suggesting that reduced availability of D2R within the prefrontal cortex is associated with unrestrained eating. Studies are continuing to determine how newly imposed dominance ranks continue to affect reward neurochemistry and appetite over time, and how this is influenced by the dietary environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Division of Developmental & Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
| | - Maylen Perez Diaz
- Division of Developmental & Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
| | - Mark E Wilson
- Division of Developmental & Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
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Chen TH, Wu YT, Ding WH. UV-filter benzophenone-3 inhibits agonistic behavior in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Ecotoxicology 2016; 25:302-309. [PMID: 26589946 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-015-1588-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is a widely used organic UV-filter compound. Despite the frequent occurrence of BP-3 in aquatic environments, little is known about its effect on fish behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the endocrine disrupting effects of BP-3 in male fighting fish (Betta splendens) with a focus on agonistic behavior. Male fighting fish were exposed to 10, 100, and 1000 μg/L BP-3, as well as a solvent control (0.1% ethanol) and a positive control (100 ng/L 17α-ethynylestradiol, EE2), for 28 days. At the beginning and the end of exposure, standard length and body mass of the fish were measured for calculating the condition factor (CF). In addition, spontaneous swimming activity (total distance moved) and agonistic behavior (maximum velocity and duration of opercular display in front of a mirror) were also quantified. At the end of exposure, the fish gonads were sampled for gonadosomatic index (GSI) measurement and histology. After the exposure, CF was significantly decreased in the 1000 μg/L BP-3 groups. Spontaneous swimming activity was not affected. However, maximum velocity was significantly reduced in the EE2 and 1000 μg/L BP-3 treatments; duration of opercular display was significantly decreased in the EE2 and 10 and 1000 μg/L BP-3 treatments. GSI was not significantly different between groups. There was a slight but statistically significant decrease of relative proportion of mature spermatozoa in testicular tissue in the 100 μg/L BP-3 treatment. Collectively, our results demonstrate that BP-3 can disrupt agonistic behavior of male fighting fish, indicating the endocrine disrupting activity of this compound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Te-Hao Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, 2 Houwan Rd., Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan.
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, 2 Houwan Rd., Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan.
| | - Yea-Ting Wu
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, 2 Houwan Rd., Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Wang-Hsien Ding
- Department of Chemistry, National Central University, 300, Jhongda Rd., Jhongli, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Melnyk-Lamont N, Best C, Gesto M, Vijayan MM. The antidepressant venlafaxine disrupts brain monoamine levels and neuroendocrine responses to stress in rainbow trout. Environ Sci Technol 2014; 48:13434-13442. [PMID: 25356744 DOI: 10.1021/es504331n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Venlafaxine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is a widely prescribed antidepressant drug routinely detected in the aquatic environment. However, little is known about its impact on the physiology of nontarget organisms. We tested the hypothesis that venlafaxine perturbs brain monoamine levels and disrupts molecular responses essential for stress coping and feeding activity in fish. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to waterborne venlafaxine (0.2 and 1.0 μg/L) for 7 days. This treatment elevated norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine levels in the brain in a region-specific manner. Venlafaxine also increased the transcript levels of genes involved in stress and appetite regulation, including corticotropin releasing factor, pro-opiomelanocortin B, and glucose transporter type 2 in distinct brain regions of trout. The drug treatment reduced the total feed consumed per day, but did not affect the feeding behavior of the dominant and subordinate fish. However, the subordinate fish from the venlafaxine-exposed group had significantly higher plasma cortisol levels compared to the subordinate fish in the control group. Collectively, our results demonstrate that venlafaxine, at environmentally realistic levels, is a neuroendocrine disruptor, impacting the stress and feeding responses in rainbow trout. We propose the midbrain region as a key target for venlafaxine impact and the mode of action involves abnormal monoamine content in trout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nataliya Melnyk-Lamont
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo , 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada , N2L 3G1
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8
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Pradhan DS, Connor KR, Pritchett EM, Grober MS. Contextual modulation of androgen effects on agonistic interactions. Horm Behav 2014; 65:47-56. [PMID: 24315925 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Revised: 11/23/2013] [Accepted: 11/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Seasonal changes in steroid hormones are known to have a major impact on social behavior, but often are quite sensitive to environmental context. In the bi-directionally sex changing fish, Lythrypnus dalli, stable haremic groups exhibit baseline levels of interaction. Status instability follows immediately after male removal, causing transiently elevated agonistic interactions and increase in brain and systemic levels of a potent fish androgen, 11-ketotestosterone (KT). Coupling KT implants with a socially inhibitory environment for protogynous sex change induces rapid transition to male morphology, but no significant change in social behavior and status, which could result from systemically administered steroids not effectively penetrating into brain or other tissues. Here, we first determined the degree to which exogenously administered steroids affect the steroid load within tissues. Second, we examined whether coupling a social environment permissive to sex change would influence KT effects on agonistic behavior. We implanted cholesterol (Chol, control) or KT in the dominant individual (alpha) undergoing sex change (on d0) and determined the effects on behavior and the degree to which administered steroids altered the steroid load within tissues. During the period of social instability, there were rapid (within 2 h), but transient effects of KT on agonistic behavior in alphas, and secondary effects on betas. On d3 and d5, all KT, but no Chol, treated females had male typical genital papillae. Despite elevated brain and systemic KT 5 days after implant, overall rates of aggressive behavior remained unaffected. These data highlight the importance of social context in mediating complex hormone-behavior relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Pradhan
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - K R Connor
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - E M Pritchett
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - M S Grober
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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9
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Abstract
Using pairings of male crayfish Procambarus clarkii with a 3–7% difference in size, we confirmed that physically larger crayfish were more likely to win encounters (winning probability of over 80%). Despite a physical disadvantage, small winners of the first pairings were more likely to win their subsequent conflicts with larger naive animals (winning probability was about 70%). By contrast, the losers of the first pairings rarely won their subsequent conflicts with smaller naive animals (winning probability of 6%). These winner and loser effects were mimicked by injection of serotonin and octopamine. Serotonin-injected naive small crayfish were more likely to win in pairings with untreated larger naive crayfish (winning probability of over 60%), while octopamine-injected naive large animals were beaten by untreated smaller naive animals (winning probability of 20%). Furthermore, the winner effects of dominant crayfish were cancelled by the injection of mianserin, an antagonist of serotonin receptors and were reinforced by the injection of fluoxetin, serotonin reuptake inhibitor, just after the establishment of social order of the first pairings. Injection of octopamine channel blockers, phentolamine and epinastine, by contrast, cancelled the loser effects. These results strongly suggested that serotonin and octopamine were responsible for winner and loser effects, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Momohara
- Division of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan
| | - Akihiro Kanai
- Division of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan
| | - Toshiki Nagayama
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Hirschenhauser K, Gahr M, Goymann W. Winning and losing in public: audiences direct future success in Japanese quail. Horm Behav 2013; 63:625-33. [PMID: 23454001 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2012] [Revised: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 02/10/2013] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Among vertebrates, winning a fight enhances the probability of future victories and vice versa and the role of post-conflict testosterone in mediating this 'winner effect' is widely accepted. In a series of staged fights of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) we tested both opponents' pre-fight and post-conflict testosterone, behavior and dominance status after returning to their social groups. We found that the presence of a familiar mixed-sex audience during the encounter modulated both the testosterone response and the long-term success after a fighting experience. 'Public losers' but not 'public winners' lacked a post-conflict testosterone response, whereas without an audience both winners and losers increased testosterone metabolite levels. Long-lasting winner and loser effects exclusively occurred when the performance information was perceived by a mixed-sex audience. In further experiments we manipulated the testosterone responsiveness of either the loser or the winner. An artificial post-conflict testosterone surge after having lost a fight effectively reversed the loser effect in Japanese quail. In contrast, the 'winner effect' was not changed by blocking testosterone after the fight. Overall, male Japanese quails' post-conflict testosterone was connected to the audiences and thus, own or the observers' perception of the challenge rather than to winning or losing a fight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Hirschenhauser
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße Haus 6a, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany.
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Wood RI, Armstrong A, Fridkin V, Shah V, Najafi A, Jakowec M. 'Roid rage in rats? Testosterone effects on aggressive motivation, impulsivity and tyrosine hydroxylase. Physiol Behav 2013; 110-111:6-12. [PMID: 23266798 PMCID: PMC3615053 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2012] [Revised: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 12/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In humans and animals, anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) increase aggression, but the underlying behavioral mechanisms are unclear. AAS may increase the motivation to fight. Alternatively, AAS may increase impulsive behavior, consistent with the popular image of 'roid rage. To test this, adolescent male rats were treated chronically with testosterone (7.5mg/kg) or vehicle and tested for aggressive motivation and impulsivity. Rats were trained to respond on a nose-poke on a 10 min fixed-interval schedule for the opportunity to fight in their home cage with an unfamiliar rat. Although testosterone increased aggression (6.3±1.3 fights/5 min vs 2.4±0.8 for controls, p<0.05), there was no difference in operant responding (28.4±1.6 nose-pokes/10 min for testosterone, 32.4±7.0 for vehicle). This suggests that testosterone does not enhance motivation for aggression. To test for impulsivity, rats were trained to respond for food in a delay-discounting procedure. In an operant chamber, one lever delivered one food pellet immediately, the other lever gave 4 pellets after a delay (0, 15, 30 or 45 s). In testosterone- and vehicle-treated rats, body weights and food intake did not differ. However, testosterone-treated rats chose the larger, delayed reward more often (4.5±0.7 times in 10 trials with 45 s delay) than vehicle controls (2.5±0.5 times, p<0.05), consistent with a reduction in impulsive choice. Thus, although chronic high-dose testosterone enhances aggression, this does not include an increase in impulsive behavior or motivation to fight. This is further supported by measurement of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by Western immunoblot analysis in brain regions important for motivation (nucleus accumbens, Acb) and executive function (medial prefrontal cortex, PFC). There were no differences in TH between testosterone- and vehicle-treated rats in Acb or PFC. However, testosterone significantly reduced TH (to 76.9±3.1% of controls, p<0.05) in the caudate-putamen, a brain area important for behavioral inhibition, motor control and habit learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth I Wood
- Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
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Trent NL, Menard JL. Lateral septal infusions of the neuropeptide Y Y2 receptor agonist, NPY(13-36) differentially affect different defensive behaviors in male, Long Evans rats. Physiol Behav 2012; 110-111:20-9. [PMID: 23274501 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2012] [Revised: 09/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The lateral septum has been extensively implicated in regulating anxiety-related defensive behaviors in the rat. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) contributes to anxiety, likely through activity at the NPY Y1 and/or Y2 receptor binding sites. Although the lateral septum contains the highest density of Y2 receptors in brain, the involvement of this receptor in anxiety-related defensive behaviors is not clear. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to characterize lateral septal Y2 receptor contributions to rats' defensive responses to threat and/or potentially threatening environments. We investigated this by infusing the NPY Y2 agonist NPY13-36 into the lateral septum and testing rats across a battery of animal models of anxiety (Experiment 1). To verify the role of Y2 in mediating the observed effects, rats were pre-infused with the potent and highly selective Y2 antagonist BIIE 0246 prior to infusion with NPY13-36 (Experiment 2). Infusions of NPY13-36 into the lateral septum increased rats' open-arm exploration in the elevated plus-maze test (p<0.01) and decreased the proportion of rats' that buried (p<0.05) as well as their latency to initiate burying in the shock-probe burying test (p<0.01). By contrast, NPY13-36 did not affect either anxiety- or appetite-related responses in the novelty-induced suppression of feeding test (all ps>0.3; Experiment 1). Pre-treatment with the Y2 antagonist BIIE 0246 prevented the anxiolytic-like actions of NPY13-36 in the plus-maze but not in the shock-probe test (Experiment 2). Thus, it appears that the anxiolytic-like actions of lateral septal NPY13-36 are mediated by the Y2 receptor in a test-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie L Trent
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, 62 Arch Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
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Reinhart VL, Cromarty SI, Sipala MW, Kass-Simon G. Exposure to the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone modulates agonistic interactions in male Homarus americanus. Horm Behav 2012; 62:605-11. [PMID: 22940528 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2012] [Revised: 07/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/22/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In this study we present evidence that 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) affects agonistic behavior in male American lobsters and that male and female animals differ in their response to the hormone. Thirty-minute staged fights were conducted between large males exposed either to artificial seawater (ASW) or 20E and small, anosmic opponents. The nephropores of both combatants were blocked. Fights were videotaped and quantitatively analyzed for aggressive, defensive and avoidance behaviors using an ethogram in which behaviors are ranked according to aggressiveness. Unlike female lobsters, exposing male lobsters to 20E did not increase their aggressive behavior; however, there was a marginally significant trend toward an increase in defensive behaviors with a lower aggressive content than in their ASW-exposed counterparts. The opponents of 20E-exposed animals performed significantly more aggressive behaviors than their counterparts. In fights with 20E-exposed animals, the overall aggressive intensity of the fight was increased and the animals performed a greater number of avoidance behaviors. Unlike the effects of 20E on females, where exposure to 20E caused an increase in overall agonistic arousal, males only exhibited a change in frequency of their behaviors. These findings suggest that while 20E affects both males and females in agonistic encounters, the nature of the effect is different for the two sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- V L Reinhart
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA
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14
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Reding K, Michopoulos V, Wallen K, Sanchez M, Wilson ME, Toufexis D. Social status modifies estradiol activation of sociosexual behavior in female rhesus monkeys. Horm Behav 2012; 62:612-20. [PMID: 23046624 PMCID: PMC4010104 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2012] [Revised: 08/24/2012] [Accepted: 09/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Estrogen (E2) has activational effects on sexual motivation and mitigating effects on anxiety-like behaviors that can be attenuated with chronic exposure to psychosocial stress. Some studies suggest that this attenuation can be overcome by higher doses of E2, while others show that chronic psychosocial stress may alter the mechanisms of E2 function, thus reducing any positive benefit from higher doses of E2. To determine the interaction between psychosocial stress and E2 dose on behavior, we examined the scope of attenuation across a suite of socioemotional behaviors, including reproduction, affiliation, aggression, submission, and anxiety-like behaviors on 36 ovariectomized female rhesus monkeys. Females were exposed to graded psychosocial stress, established by an intrinsic female dominance hierarchy, where subordinate animals receive high amounts of harassment. Our data show that E2 dose-dependently increased sexual motivation and male-affiliation in dominant (e.g. low-stress) females, while subordinate females showed no positive effects of E2, even at higher doses. In addition, contact aggression was attenuated in dominant females, while non-contact aggression was attenuated in both dominant and middle-ranking females. These results suggest that the stress-induced attenuation of E2's activational effects on sexual behavior and affiliation with males may not be overcome with higher doses of E2. Furthermore, the observed behavioral consequences of psychosocial stress and E2 dose may be dependent on the behaviors of all the females in the social-group, and better resolution on these effects depends on isolating treatment to individuals within the group to minimize alterations in social-group interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Reding
- Division of Developmental & Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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15
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Garcia-Reyero N, Lavelle CM, Escalon BL, Martinović D, Kroll KJ, Sorensen PW, Denslow ND. Behavioral and genomic impacts of a wastewater effluent on the fathead minnow. Aquat Toxicol 2011; 101:38-48. [PMID: 20888052 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2010.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2010] [Revised: 08/24/2010] [Accepted: 08/26/2010] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Rivers containing effluents from water treatment plants are complex soups of compounds, ranging from pharmaceuticals to natural hormones. Male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed for 3 weeks to effluent waters from the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul, MN. Fish were tested for their competitive nest holding behavior. Changes in vitellogenin were measured and these were correlated to changes in gene expression using a 22,000 gene microarray developed specifically for fathead minnows. Significant changes in gene expression were observed in both liver and testis, which correlate to phenotypic changes of vitellogenin induction and reduced competitive behavior. We also compared by real-time PCR the expression changes in key genes related to steroid biosynthesis and metabolism in fish exposed to the effluent as well as in fish exposed to a model estrogen and a model androgen. While the gene expression signature from effluent-exposed fish shared some elements with estrogen and androgen signatures, overall it was different, underscoring the complexity of compounds present in sewage and their different modes of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natàlia Garcia-Reyero
- Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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16
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Kelm CA, Forbes-Lorman RM, Auger CJ, Riters LV. Mu-opioid receptor densities are depleted in regions implicated in agonistic and sexual behavior in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) defending nest sites and courting females. Behav Brain Res 2010; 219:15-22. [PMID: 21147175 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2010] [Revised: 11/16/2010] [Accepted: 12/03/2010] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Social status and resource availability can strongly influence individual behavioral responses to conspecifics. In European starlings, males that acquire nest sites sing in response to females and dominate other males. Males without nest sites sing, but not to females, and they do not interact agonistically with other males. Little is known about the neural regulation of status- or resource-appropriate behavioral responses to conspecifics. Opioid neuropeptides are implicated in birdsong and agonistic behavior, suggesting that opioids may underlie differences in the production of these behaviors in males with and without nest sites. Here, we examined densities of immunolabeled mu-opioid receptors in groups of male starlings. Males that defended nest boxes dominated other males and sang at higher rates when presented with a female than males without nest boxes, independent of testosterone concentrations. Multiple regression analyses showed nest box ownership (not agonistic behavior or singing) predicted the optical density of receptor labeling in the medial bed nucleus of stria terminalis, paraventricular nucleus, ventral tegmental area and the medial preoptic nucleus. Compared to males without nest boxes, males with nest boxes had lower densities of immunolabeled mu-opioid receptors in these regions. Singing additionally predicted the area covered by labeling in the ventral tegmental area. The results suggest that elevated opioid activity in these regions suppresses courtship and agonistic behavioral responses to conspecifics in males without nest boxes. The findings are consistent with a dynamic role for opioid receptors in adjusting social behavior so that it is appropriate given the resources available to an individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia A Kelm
- Department of Zoology, 428 Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Avenue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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17
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Banji D, Banji OJF, Annamalai AR, Shanthmurthy M. Impact of the aqueous extract of Eclipta alba on maternal aggression in rats. Pak J Pharm Sci 2010; 23:138-142. [PMID: 20363689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Parturient females display impulsive behavior represented in the form of aggressive bouts when exposed to conspecifics. Prolonged aggression during the postpartum period could affect maternal care. Eclipta alba is traditionally known to induce neuropsychiatric alterations, however its ability to circumvent maternal aggression has not been elucidated. The present study was aimed to investigate the ability of the aqueous extract of Eclipta alba to suppress maternal aggression. In the single dose study, 100, 200 and 500 mg/kg body weight of the aqueous extract of Eclipta alba was administered to parturient females 30 minutes prior to maternal aggression testing against intruder males. In the multiple dose study, 100, 200 and 500 mg/kg of the extract were administered for 15 and 30 days and maternal aggression was quantified. Administration of the extract for 15 and 30 days in dose schedules of 200 and 500 mg/kg body weight significantly suppressed agonistic encounters by the dams and therefore had beneficial anti-aggressive activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Banji
- Department of Pharmacology, Nalanda College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad Road, Nalgonda-508001, Andhra Pradesh, India.
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18
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Vorobĭova TM, Shliakhova AV, Veselovs'ka OV. [The analysis of aggressive behaviour development in rats with cannabinoid dependence]. Fiziol Zh (1994) 2009; 55:61-70. [PMID: 19441717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The experimental research of the aggressive behaviour formed under the agonistic conflicts using the model of sensory contacts and "partition" test was studied in intact rats and in rats with cannabis dependence. The comparative analysis of ethological indices enables us to draw a conclusion about the mechanisms of cannabis influence on aggressive behaviour formation and manifestation.
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Abstract
Intrasexual competition favours the evolution of conspicuous fighting ability badges. However, in spite of the fact that chemoreception is important in sexual selection of many animals, such as lizards, the role of chemical signals in males' contests is relatively unknown. Here, we show that proportions of cholesterol in femoral gland secretions of male Iberian rock lizards were related to their body size (which confers a competitive advantage in fights). Males discriminated chemically and responded aggressively to cholesterol stimuli presented on swabs. Moreover, we experimentally increased cholesterol in the scent of males, and staged encounters in neutral cages between two unfamiliar and size-matched males. Focal males lost more agonisitic interactions against males manipulated with cholesterol than in control tests. We suggest that differences in scent composition may reliably signal fighting ability in many lizard species, which would help to avoid the costs of fighting.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Martín
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
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20
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Abstract
Alpha-2 adrenoceptors (alpha(2)-ARs) are critically involved in regulating neurotransmitter release from sympathetic nerves and neurons and play an important role in the regulation of awareness, arousal and vigilance. In our recent study, dexmedetomidine, a full alpha(2)-AR agonist, produced antiaggressive effects in the social conflict test in mice at doses that were twice smaller than those producing sedation. The aim of this study was to ascertain antiaggressive effect of a novel drug naphthylmedetomidine, with a more selective alpha(2)-AR activity. Behavioral effects of naphthylmedetomidine (150-1200 microg/kg i.p.) were studied in the activity cage and in the social conflict tests in mice. Naphthylmedetomidine dose dependently decreased aggressive behavior during social conflict in aggressive mice with significant reduction already at the lowest doses tested (150 microg/kg), whereas locomotion and social investigation were significantly decreased only after four times bigger dose of naphthylmedetomidine (600 microg/kg) in aggressive mice. Naphthylmedetomidine had no effect on aggression in nonaggressive mice. Naphthylmedetomidine reduced locomotion in the activity cage significantly only at the highest doses tested (600 and 1200 microg/kg), and this effect was only partially reversed by administration of high doses of an alpha-2 antagonist atipamezole (3 and 10 mg/kg). In nonaggressive mice, the difference between the dose reducing dominant social behavior (social investigation) and locomotion (150 and 300 microg/kg, respectively) was smaller than in aggressive mice. In conclusion, naphthylmedetomidine showed a very strong and selective antiaggressive effect in aggressive mice, which was devoid of locomotion-inhibiting/sedative effect. This study suggests that naphthylmedetomidine may have clinical potential as antiaggressive drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Votava
- Charles University in Prague, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacology Department, Prague, Czech Republic.
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21
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Cook ME, Moore PA. The effects of the herbicide metolachlor on agonistic behavior in the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2008; 55:94-102. [PMID: 18060587 DOI: 10.1007/s00244-007-9088-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2007] [Accepted: 11/05/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that agricultural herbicides interfere with olfactory-mediated behavior, such as responses to alarm signals and the ability to locate food, in aquatic organisms. In crayfish, aggressive interactions are also mediated by chemical signals. These social signals are important in establishing dominance, which in turn has an impact on an individual's ability to find and use mates, food, and habitat space. In this study, we investigated the impact of exposure to sublethal levels of the herbicide metolachlor on the ability of crayfish to respond to olfactory signals used in agonistic behaviors. Crayfish were exposed to three different environmentally relevant concentrations (60 ppb, 70 ppb, and 80 ppb) of metolachlor for 96 hours. Each exposed crayfish was then placed in a fight arena and was allowed to interact with a naïve, untreated crayfish for 15 minutes. We analyzed several characteristics of fighting behavior, including initial aggressiveness, time to fight, intensity levels, duration, number of encounters, and the winner and loser of each fight. Crayfish exposed to 80 ppb metolachlor were less likely to initiate and win encounters against naïve conspecifics than any other treatment group. Analysis of fight dynamics shows that metolachlor does not alter the temporal fighting dynamics within crayfish aggression. We conclude that high sublethal concentrations of metolachlor may be interfering with the ability of crayfish to receive or respond to social signals and thus affect certain agonistic behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle E Cook
- Laboratory for Sensory Ecology, J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
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22
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Gómez MC, Carrasco MC, Redolat R. Differential sensitivity to the effects of nicotine and bupropion in adolescent and adult male OF1 mice during social interaction tests. Aggress Behav 2008; 34:369-79. [PMID: 18366102 DOI: 10.1002/ab.20255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Few studies have compared the action of both nicotine (NIC) and bupropion (BUP), an antidepressant used to treat NIC dependence, on social and aggressive behavior at different ages. This study aims to determine whether these drugs produce differential effects in adolescent (postnatal day: 36-37) and adult (postnatal day: 65-66) mice that have been housed individually for 2 weeks in order to induce aggressive behavior. Mice received BUP (40, 20, or 10 mg/kg), NIC (1, 0.5, and 0.25 mg/kg as base), or vehicle earlier to a social interaction test. BUP (40 mg/kg) decreased social investigation and increased nonsocial exploration in both adolescent and adult mice. The same effects were also observed in adult mice administered with a lower dose of the same drug (20 mg/kg). In adolescents, NIC (1 mg/kg) decreased social investigation, but this effect did not reach statistical significance in adults. In conclusion, a differential sensitivity to the effects of NIC or BUP emerged in some of the behavioral categories when the two age groups were compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Gómez
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultat de Psicología, Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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23
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Olszewski RT, Wegorzewska MM, Monteiro AC, Krolikowski KA, Zhou J, Kozikowski AP, Long K, Mastropaolo J, Deutsch SI, Neale JH. Phencyclidine and dizocilpine induced behaviors reduced by N-acetylaspartylglutamate peptidase inhibition via metabotropic glutamate receptors. Biol Psychiatry 2008; 63:86-91. [PMID: 17597589 PMCID: PMC2185547 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2007] [Revised: 04/13/2007] [Accepted: 04/13/2007] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor open channel blockers phencyclidine (PCP) and dizocilpine (MK-801) elicit schizophrenia-like symptoms in humans and in animal models. Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists reverse the behavioral effects of PCP and MK-801 in animal models. N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), the third most prevalent neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system, is a selective group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist. We previously reported that ZJ43, a potent inhibitor of the enzymes that inactivate synaptically released NAAG, reduced motor and stereotypic effects of PCP in the rat. METHODS To confirm the efficacy of NAAG peptidase inhibition in decreasing motor behaviors induced by PCP and MK-801, ZJ43 was tested in additional schizophrenia models. RESULTS ZJ43 reduced MK-801-induced motor activation in a mouse model that has been used to characterize the efficacy of a wide range of pharmacotherapies for this human disorder. In a second mouse strain, the peptidase inhibitor reduced PCP-induced stereotypic movements. ZJ43 also reduced PCP-induced negative symptoms in a resident-intruder assay. The group II metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonist, LY341495, blocked the effect of NAAG peptidase inhibition in these mouse models of positive and negative PCP- and MK-801-induced behaviors. Additionally, LY341495 alone increased some PCP-induced behaviors suggesting that normal levels of NAAG act to moderate the effect of PCP via a group II mGluR. CONCLUSIONS These data support the proposal that NAAG peptidase inhibition and elevation of synaptic NAAG levels represent a new therapeutic approach to treating the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia that are modeled by open channel NMDA receptor antagonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafal T. Olszewski
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA
| | | | - Ana C. Monteiro
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA
| | | | - Jia Zhou
- Acenta Discovery Inc., Tuscon, AZ, 85747
| | - Alan P. Kozikowski
- Acenta Discovery Inc., Tuscon, AZ, 85747
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 60612
| | - Katrice Long
- Mental Health Service Line, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20422
| | - John Mastropaolo
- Mental Health Service Line, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20422
| | - Stephen I. Deutsch
- Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA
- Mental Health Service Line, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20422
| | - Joseph H. Neale
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, USA
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Cooper MA, Huhman KL. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptors in the dorsal raphe nucleus modulate social behavior in Syrian hamsters. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2007; 194:297-307. [PMID: 17581742 PMCID: PMC2714987 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-007-0849-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2006] [Accepted: 06/01/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE In Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), social defeat produces a prolonged change in subsequent agonistic behavior termed conditioned defeat. This stress-induced change in behavior is marked by increased submissive and defensive behavior toward a novel, nonaggressive opponent and a complete loss of normal territorial aggression. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) has been shown to affect serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and to modulate learned helplessness via a CRF type-2 receptor (CRF-R2) mechanism. OBJECTIVES In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a nonselective CRF receptor antagonist (experiment 1: 250 or 500 ng D: -Phe CRF in 200 nl saline), or a selective CRF-R2 antagonist (experiment 2: 500 ng anti-Svg-30 in 200 nl saline), injected into the DRN would reduce the acquisition of conditioned defeat in male hamsters. We also tested similar hypotheses for the expression of conditioned defeat (experiments 3 and 4). RESULTS Infusion of D: -Phe CRF into the DRN significantly reduced both the acquisition and expression of conditioned defeat compared to vehicle controls, whereas infusion of anti-Svg-30 into the DRN reduced expression but not acquisition. In particular, CRF antagonism in the DRN decreased fleeing from novel opponents but did not reinstate normal territorial aggression after social defeat. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the increased flight associated with conditioned defeat is modulated by CRF-R2 activation within the DRN. Overall, social defeat is an ethologically relevant stressor that appears to activate at least some of the same neural substrates that have been implicated in the control of learned helplessness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Cooper
- Department of Psychology, Austin Peay Building, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0900, USA.
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25
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Abstract
Topiramate, an antiepileptic drug, has been found to be useful for the treatment of aggression in clinical populations. However, no studies have explored the action of this compound on aggressive behavior in laboratory animals. This work examined the effects of topiramate (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, i.p.) on agonistic interactions between male mice, using an ethopharmacological approach. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic "standard opponents" 30 min after drug administration. Ten minutes of diadic interactions were staged between a singly housed and an anosmic mouse in a neutral area. The encounters were videotaped and the accumulated time allocated by subjects to 10 broad behavioral categories was estimated using an ethologically based analysis. Results showed that topiramate (20-80 mg/kg) produced a significant reduction of offensive behaviors (threat and attack), without affecting immobility. Digging behavior (all doses) was also significantly decreased. The antiaggressive effects of topiramate could be related to its ability for modulating positively GABA-A receptors and/or blocking AMPA subtype of glutamate receptors.
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26
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Pedraza C, Dávila G, Martín-López M, Navarro JF. Anti-aggressive effects of GHB in OF.1 strain mice: involvement of dopamine D2 receptors. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2007; 31:337-42. [PMID: 17050057 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2006] [Revised: 08/16/2006] [Accepted: 09/11/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies indicate that gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) influences the endogenous dopamine system. Both GHB and most dopaminergic D(2) receptor antagonists are effective anti-aggressive agents in animal models. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of GHB on agonistic behaviour and to implicate D(2) dopamine receptor on these behaviours. For this purpose, the effects of GHB (80, 120 and 160 mg/kg, IP) and tiapride (60 mg/kg) administered alone or in combination were examined on agonistic behaviour elicited by 'isolation' in male mice. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic "standard opponents" 30 min after drug administration, and the encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethologically based analysis. The administration of 80 and 120 mg/kg of GHB reduced threat without impairing motor activity, but the administration of 160 mg/kg of GHB or the co-administration of GHB+tiapride (a selective D(2) receptor antagonist) significantly reduced threat and attack but concomitantly increased immobility. The co-administration of GHB+tiapride had different effects to those observed by the administration of these drugs separately. It is concluded that the anti-aggressive effect of GHB appears to be mediated, at least in part, by D(2) dopamine receptors. This anti-dopaminergic activity is an indirect effect, probably induced by the activation of GHB receptors of low affinity, and in this way, this compound would reduce levels of dopamine without blockading of D(2) postsynaptic dopamine receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Pedraza
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Campus de Teatinos, University of Málaga 29071 Málaga, Spain.
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27
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Wommack JC, Delville Y. Cortisol controls the pubertal development of agonistic behavior in male golden hamsters via type II corticosteroid receptors. Horm Behav 2007; 51:306-12. [PMID: 17258746 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2006] [Revised: 11/12/2006] [Accepted: 11/13/2006] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In male golden hamsters, agonistic behavior undergoes a pubertal transition from play fighting to adult aggression. Previous studies have shown that this aspect of behavioral development is associated with pubertal increases in glucocorticoids and that daily social stress or injections of a synthetic glucocorticoid accelerate the transition. The goals of this study were to confirm the effects of cortisol on the development of agonistic behavior and to investigate the role of type II corticosteroid receptors in this process. First, animals treated with cortisol during early puberty [from postnatal days 31 (P-31) to P-36] showed an accelerated transition from play fighting to adult aggression. In a second experiment, the behavioral effects of cortisol were blocked by a co-treatment with a type II corticosteroid receptor antagonist. These findings are the first to show a facilitating role for type II corticosteroid receptors in the pubertal development of a social behavior. As such, these findings provide new insights into the neuroendocrine mechanisms controlling behavioral development during puberty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel C Wommack
- Psychology Department and Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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28
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Kemme K, Kaiser S, Sachser N. Prenatal maternal programming determines testosterone response during social challenge. Horm Behav 2007; 51:387-94. [PMID: 17303135 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2006] [Revised: 11/24/2006] [Accepted: 12/13/2006] [Indexed: 10/01/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated in domestic guinea pigs whether the effects of prenatal social stress are pathological consequences of adverse social conditions; or whether mothers adjust their offspring to the environment they experience during pregnancy. As a prenatal stressor social instability was used: we studied male guinea pig offspring whose mothers lived in a stable social environment (SE-sons) or in an unstable social environment (UE-sons) during pregnancy. Eight experimental groups were established, consisting of one SE-son, one UE-son and five females, respectively. All experimental groups remained in a stable group composition for the whole investigation time. We hypothesized that if mothers prenatally adapt their offspring, in a stable social environment SE-sons will be dominant, display agonistic and courtship behavior more frequently, have higher body weights, be less stressed and have higher testosterone concentrations than UE-sons. Our results show no significant differences between SE- and UE-sons concerning behavior, body weight or plasma-cortisol concentrations. Hence no evidence exists that an unstable social environment during pregnancy has pathological consequences for the male offsprings' phenotype. However, SE-sons had significantly higher plasma testosterone concentrations than UE-sons in phases when females were receptive. A higher reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis might enable SE-males to adjust testosterone levels to the present social situation: they are significantly elevated in decisive phases of female receptivity, but remain on a lower level before and after reproductive challenge. Thus, mothers who experienced social stability during pregnancy provide their sons prenatally with a promising reproductive strategy in competitive situations later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Kemme
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestrasse 13, 48149 Münster, Germany.
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Mikics E, Barsy B, Haller J. The effect glucocorticoids on aggressiveness in established colonies of rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2007; 32:160-70. [PMID: 17275197 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2006.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2006] [Revised: 12/12/2006] [Accepted: 12/14/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
It was repeatedly shown that glucocorticoids increase aggressiveness when subjects are socially challenged. However, the interaction between challenge exposure and glucocorticoid effects was not investigated yet. We studied this interaction by assessing the effects of glucocorticoids in established colonies of rats, i.e. in rats that were not exposed to an acute social challenge. Aggressiveness was high immediately after colony formation but decreased sharply within 4 days and remained stable thereafter. Mild dominance relations were observed in 11 colonies (65%). Approximately three weeks after colony formation, rats remained undisturbed or were injected with vehicle or corticosterone. Routine colony life was followed for 1h after treatments. Injections per se induced a mild and transient behavioral activation: resting was reduced, whereas exploration, social and agonistic interactions were increased. The change lasted about 15min. Corticosterone--although plasma corticosterone levels were increased--had no specific effect, as the behavior of vehicle- and corticosterone-treated rats was similar. Social rank had a minor impact on the results. In contrast, the pro-aggressive effects of corticosterone were robust under conditions of social challenge and were maintained after repeated exposure to aggressive encounters. It occurs that an acute increase in glucocorticoids promotes social challenge-induced aggressiveness, but does not increase aggressiveness under routine conditions. We hypothesize that the pro-aggressive effects of glucocorticoids develop in conjunction with challenge-induced neuronal (e.g. monoaminergic) activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Mikics
- Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 67, Budapest 1450, Hungary
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Rodriguez-Alarcón G, Canales JJ, Salvador A. Rewarding effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("Ecstasy") in dominant and subordinate OF-1 mice in the place preference conditioning paradigm. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2007; 31:191-9. [PMID: 17023106 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2006] [Revised: 08/24/2006] [Accepted: 08/25/2006] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We tested the ability of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) to induce conditioned place preference (CPP) in dominant and subordinate OF-1 mice subjected to cohabitation and repeated sessions of agonistic confrontation, as well as in non-confronted mice. We selected doses of MDMA (2, 6, 10 mg/kg) previously reported to induce CPP in mice and we measured expression of c-Fos evoked by the treatments in non-confronted mice. MDMA induced c-Fos protein in several corticolimbic regions involved in drug-induced reward. Mice were exposed to brief sessions of agonistic confrontation on 5 consecutive days. Determinations of circulating hormones and drug conditioning tests were carried out on completion of the encounters. The results of hormone assays indicated that dominant mice had higher serum concentrations of testosterone, but lower levels of corticosterone, than submissive mice. Post-conditioning tests after drug conditioning (4 injections of MDMA or saline on alternate days) showed that MDMA significantly produced CPP at doses of 2 and 6 mg/kg, but not at 10 mg/kg, an inverted U-shaped pattern of conditioning that was invariable in non-confronted, dominant and subordinate mice. These results demonstrate that the endocrine and behavioural correlates linked to social status and social stress in mice are not paralleled by significant changes in the rewarding efficacy of MDMA in the CPP paradigm under the specific conditions tested.
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Landa L, Slais K, Sulcova A. Impact of cannabinoid receptor ligands on behavioural sensitization to antiaggressive methamphetamine effects in the model of mouse agonistic behaviour. Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2006; 27:703-10. [PMID: 17187025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2006] [Accepted: 12/05/2006] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Psychostimulants and cannabinoids can elicit so called behavioural sensitization after repeated administration, a gradually increased behavioural response to a drug. This phenomenon if conditioned by previous pre-treatment with different drug is termed cross-sensitization. The present study was focused on a possible sensitisation to antiaggressive effect of methamphetamine and cross-sensitization to this effect after repeated pre-treatment with cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor ligands with different intrinsic activity (CB1 agonist methanandamide, CB2 agonist JWH 015, and CB1 antagonist AM 251). METHODS Behavioural interactions of singly-housed mice with non-aggressive group-housed partners were video-taped and behavioural elements of agonistic behaviour of isolates were recorded in four categories: sociable, timid, aggressive and locomotor. RESULTS Repeated administration of methamphetamine elicited a significant sensitization to its antiaggressive effects. Methanandamide pre-treatment provoked cross-sensitization to this methamphetamine effect, whereas pre-treatment with JWH 015 did not. Combined pre-treatment with methamphetamine+AM 251 suppressed the sensitization to antiaggressive effects of methamphetamine. CONCLUSIONS Our findings have shown that it is possible to provoke sensitization not only to the stimulatory effects as stated widespread in the literature but also to inhibitory antiaggressive effects of methamphetamine. Furthermore, we confirmed our working hypothesis that it is possible to elicit either cross-sensitization to inhibitory effects of methamphetamine conditioned by repeated pre-treatment with cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist methanandamide, or suppression of methamphetamine sensitizing influence by co-administration of CB1 receptor antagonist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leos Landa
- Masaryk University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Tomesova 12, 662 43 Brno, Czech Republic.
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Navarro JF, Postigo D, Martín M, Burón E. Antiaggressive effects of MPEP, a selective antagonist of mGlu5 receptors, in agonistic interactions between male mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2006; 551:67-70. [PMID: 17026995 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2006.08.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2006] [Revised: 08/26/2006] [Accepted: 08/28/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
mGlu5 receptors are highly concentrated in limbic brain structures involved in motivational and emotional behaviours. This study describes the effects of 2-methyl-6-(phenylethylnyl)pyridine (MPEP; 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mg/kg, ip), a selective antagonist of the mGlu5 receptors, on agonistic behaviour elicited by isolation in male mice. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic opponents in a neutral area 30 min after drug administration. Besides other behaviours, the aggressive (threat and attack) and exploratory behaviours were evaluated during 10 min using an ethologically based analysis. MPEP produced a behavioural profile characterized by a notable decrement of offensive behaviours, accompanied by a significant increase of exploratory behaviours (nonsocial exploration and social investigation). These findings suggest a role for mGlu5 receptors in aggression modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Francisco Navarro
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Campus de Teatinos s/n, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
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Wallace DG, Wallace PS, Field E, Whishaw IQ. Pharmacological manipulations of food protection behavior in rats: Evidence for dopaminergic contributions to time perception during a natural behavior. Brain Res 2006; 1112:213-21. [PMID: 16890923 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2005] [Revised: 07/05/2006] [Accepted: 07/06/2006] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Operant procedures combined with pharmacological manipulations have implicated a role for the dopaminergic system in the perception and production of temporal intervals. Because studies have suggested that animals use temporal information to organize food protection behavior, the current study investigates whether dopaminergic systems are involved in timing during this natural behavior. The experiment examined the influence of a dopaminergic agonist (amphetamine) and an antagonist (haloperidol) on food protection behavior initiated to avoid theft by a conspecific. Amphetamine increased the time spent dodging and decreased the time spent bracing during the consumption of a hazelnut. On the other hand, haloperidol decreased the time spent dodging while showing no systematic changes in bracing. Topographic and kinematic analyses of rat movement conflicted with motivational, motoric, and social accounts of drug-induced changes in food protection behavior organization. These observations provide evidence that rats use temporal information to organize movements in the natural behavior of protecting food from theft by a conspecific, and this organization is influenced by both a dopaminergic agonist and an antagonist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas G Wallace
- Psychology Department, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL 60115-2892, USA.
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Vallarino A, Wingfield JC, Drummond H. Does extra corticosterone elicit increased begging and submissiveness in subordinate booby (Sula nebouxii) chicks? Gen Comp Endocrinol 2006; 147:297-303. [PMID: 16530762 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2006.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2005] [Revised: 12/09/2005] [Accepted: 01/21/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We tested whether in two-chick broods of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) elevated circulating corticosterone in the socially subordinate broodmate facilitates submissive behavior and/or enhances food solicitation. Implanting corticosterone in 17 subordinate chicks (experimental broods) produced changes in the behavior of chicks and parents over the first two days, relative to 17 matched families (control broods) where subordinate chicks were implanted with empty capsules. Experimental broods showed increased activity/wakefulness of the dominant broodmate and, consequently, increased simultaneous activity of both broodmates, but there was scant evidence that subordinates submitted more readily when attacked. Implanted subordinates increased their rate of spontaneous submission over the total observation time, but this increase was mostly explained by the additional time when both broodmates were simultaneously active. There was little sign that extra corticosterone induced more begging, except possibly by eliciting increased activity. Experimental broods increased their rate of feeding, and most if not all of the increase was due to the increased activity and increased feeding rate of dominant broodmates. On the third and fourth days after implantation all effects of implanted corticosterone disappeared, except for the elevated activity and feeding rates of dominant chicks. At the end of four days, subordinates implanted with corticosterone showed no increase in circulating corticosterone and experimental broods showed no gain in mass or body size, relative to controls. Extra corticosterone, above the high level that normally circulates in subordinate chicks, apparently does not enhance submission to aggression or food solicitation, but provokes a cascade of changes in the behavior of broodmates and parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Vallarino
- Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, A.P. 70-275, 04510 D.F., México.
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Venerosi A, Calamandrei G, Ricceri L. A social recognition test for female mice reveals behavioral effects of developmental chlorpyrifos exposure. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2006; 28:466-71. [PMID: 16814983 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2006.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2006] [Revised: 04/27/2006] [Accepted: 05/13/2006] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
CD-1 mice were exposed to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) both prenatally (gestational days 15-18; doses 0, 3 or 6 mg/kg) and postnatally (postnatal days 11-14, doses 0, 1 or 3 mg/kg). When four-month-olds, females underwent a social recognition test in which ultrasound vocalizations (USVs) and social investigation behavior emitted by a resident female in the presence of a female partner were measured during two subsequent 3 min sessions (interval between the two sessions 45 min). Throughout the social recognition test a marked increase in USVs was found in females prenatally treated with the highest CPF dose; USV increase was also paralleled by a selective increase in frequency and not in duration of social investigation. These results confirm that developmental exposure to CPF induces long-lasting alterations in the social behavior repertoire of the mouse, thus extending our previous observations on the effects of postnatal CPF on male agonistic behavior to the female sex. They also suggest that social recognition can be easily and rapidly assessed in the female mouse making it possible to evaluate, primarily by means of USV emission, even subtle alteration of social behavioral patterns dissociated from cognitive components of individual recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldina Venerosi
- Section of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, V.le Regina Elena 299 I-00161 Rome, Italy
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Ribeiro Do Couto B, Aguilar MA, Manzanedo C, Rodríguez-Arias M, Armario A, Miñarro J. Social stress is as effective as physical stress in reinstating morphine-induced place preference in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2006; 185:459-70. [PMID: 16555060 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-006-0345-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2005] [Accepted: 02/04/2006] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Relapse to drug-seeking in abstinent heroin addicts and reinstatement in experimental animals are observed when exposed to drug-associated stimuli or cues, the drug itself, and stressful events. It has been shown that footshock-induced stress increases the rewarding effects of opiates, delays extinction, and induces the reinstatement of drug-seeking. However, the effects of social stress on the reinstatement of opiate-seeking after extinction has not been studied. OBJECTIVES The role of physical (restraint and tail pinch) and social (social defeat) stressors on the reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was evaluated. METHODS Adult male OF1 mice were conditioned with 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg of morphine or saline. Only morphine-conditioned animals acquired CPP. All mice underwent extinction sessions until the CPP was extinguished. Then, the effects of physical or social stress on the reinstatement of CPP were evaluated. Morphine- and saline-conditioned animals were exposed to the respective stressor or control stress condition immediately or 15 min before reinstatement tests. In experiment 1, animals underwent restraint for 15 min. In experiment 2, animals were exposed to tail pinch or placed in a cage without any manipulation for 15 min. In experiment 3, animals performed an agonistic encounter with an isolated or anosmic mouse or were placed in a cage without any social contact or manipulation. RESULTS Restraint, tail pinch, and social defeat in an agonistic encounter with an isolated mouse produce the reinstatement of CPP in morphine-conditioned animals. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that social stress is as effective as physical stress in reinstating morphine-seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Ribeiro Do Couto
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universitat de Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, Valencia 46010, Spain
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Tomaszycki ML, Gouzoules H, Wallen K. Sex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) agonistic screams: life history differences and effects of prenatal androgens. Dev Psychobiol 2006; 47:318-27. [PMID: 16284962 DOI: 10.1002/dev.20102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated sex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) vocal behavior during agonistic contexts, and the effects of prenatal androgens on these differences. A total of 59 subjects (5-8 per treatment group) received exogenous androgen (testosterone enanthate), an anti-androgen (flutamide) or vehicle injections (DMSO) for 30 or 35 days during the second (early) or third (late) trimester of pregnancy. An additional 19 unmanipulated controls were included in the analysis. Screams by juvenile males and females between the ages of 1 and 3 years were compared to the screams of adult female exemplars using a discriminant function analysis. Juvenile females produced more adult-female like screams than did juvenile males. Females exposed to androgen treatment late in gestation produced a more masculine pattern of screams. Flutamide treatment in males either early or late in gestation did not significantly affect scream production. Flutamide treatments in females late in gestation, however, masculinized scream production. Androgen treatments administered late in gestation hyper-masculinized male scream production. No sex differences in the contextual usage of screams emerged. These findings suggest that both life history differences and the early hormone environment contribute to sex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque vocal production.
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Abstract
We tested the effects of exposure to different doses of lead acetate (either 0, 25, 100, or 400 ppm) on the development of aggressive behavior in male golden hamsters. Pups were tested for offensive responses across puberty, as they were maturing from play fighting to adult aggression. Our data show a dose-specific effect of lead exposure on the development of aggression during puberty at doses resulting in blood levels well below 20 microg/dl. Animals exposed to 25 ppm lead acetate were faster and performed more than twice as many attacks on intruders by late puberty. They were also twice as likely to initiate adult instead of play-fighting attacks around mid-puberty. These observations were independent of any effect on growth. Thus, exposure to low doses of lead enhanced aggression and accelerated its maturation. As such, our data support the association between exposure to low doses of lead and aggressive behavior in boys.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Catalina Cervantes
- Department of Psychology and Institute, for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
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Ferkin MH, Li HZ. A battery of olfactory-based screens for phenotyping the social and sexual behaviors of mice. Physiol Behav 2006; 85:489-99. [PMID: 15961129 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2004] [Revised: 04/22/2005] [Accepted: 05/27/2005] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We provide a battery of screens that reflect the social and sexual behavior displayed by both captive and feral mice. Some screens focus on measuring aspects of chemical communication, providing information about whether or not mice will interact and if they do so, predict the nature of the interaction. Other screens measure direct interactions between target mice and same- and opposite-sex conspecifics, providing an indication of the social status and sexual responsiveness, respectively, of target mice. The battery of screens yields a high-throughput bioassay of a mouse's relative social status, competitive ability, social discrimination, and sexuality. These traits are essential elements of the socio-sexual behavior of mice as well as humans. Thus, by identifying phenotypic deviants for complex behaviors we will allow geneticists to map behavioral abnormalities onto specific chromosomes and increase the efficacy of genetically altered mice as models for human behavioral disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H Ferkin
- Department of Biology, Ellington Hall, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
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Abstract
In male golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), attack frequency decreases during puberty. As serotonin inhibits offensive responses in adult hamsters, it is hypothesized that the serotonin system becomes upregulated in the hypothalamus during puberty. This hypothesis was tested through acute treatment with fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, as well as through analysis of serotonin innervation in specific brain areas. In adults, fluoxetine treatment inhibited aggressive behavior. In juveniles, high doses of fluoxetine only reduced offensive responses (i.e., frequency and repetition of attacks), whereas low doses enhanced them. Juveniles also showed a dose-specific maturation of attack targets. In addition, the density of serotonin innervation of the hypothalamus was 20% higher in adult hamsters compared with juveniles. On the basis of these data, it is proposed that the developing serotonergic system shapes the development of offensive behaviors in male golden hamsters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kereshmeh Taravosh-Lahn
- Institute for Neuroscience and Psychology Department, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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Abstract
This review examines two 'ethologically relevant' rodent models, the resident-intruder and social hierarchy paradigms, that are sensitive to chronic antidepressant treatment (including repeated electroconvulsive shock). These models of rodent social and agonistic behaviour demonstrate that acute and chronic treatment with antidepressant drugs (regardless of their acute pharmacological activity) induce diametrically opposite changes in rodent aggressive behaviour. The common ability of chronic antidepressant treatment to increase rodent aggression (which in turn results in increased hierarchical status in closed social groups) most likely reflects the increased assertiveness and associated externalization of emotions (indicative of increased extrapunitive aggression) expressed during recovery from depressive illness. Finally, findings that relate observed behavioural changes to underlying neurochemical changes are briefly reviewed in terms of adaptive mechanisms in the rodent central nervous system induced by antidepressants, and also with respect to suicide ideation and panicogenic responses observed in some patients at the onset of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul John Mitchell
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, UK.
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Santucci D, Sorace A, Francia N, Aloe L, Alleva E. Prolonged prenatal exposure to low-level ozone affects aggressive behaviour as well as NGF and BDNF levels in the central nervous system of CD-1 mice. Behav Brain Res 2005; 166:124-30. [PMID: 16263182 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.07.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2005] [Revised: 07/19/2005] [Accepted: 07/20/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The long-term effects on isolation-induced aggressive behaviour and central NGF and BDNF levels of gestational exposures to ozone (O(3)) were evaluated in adult CD-1 mice. Females were exposed to O(3), at the dose of 0.0, 0.3 or 0.6 ppm from 30 days prior the formation of breeding pairs until gestational day 17. Litters were fostered at birth to untreated dams and, at adulthood, male offspring underwent five successive daily encounters (15 min each) with a standard opponent of the same strain, sex, weight and age. The encounters on day 1, 3 and 5 were videotaped and agonistic and non-agonistic behavioural items finely scored. O(3)-exposed mice showed a significant increase in freezing and defensive postures, a decrease in nose-sniffing behaviour and reduced progressively the aggressive behavioural profile displayed on day 1. Reduced NGF levels in the hippocampus and increased BDNF in the striatum were also found upon O(3) exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Santucci
- Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, I-00161 Rome, Italy.
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Fish EW, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Escalated aggression as a reward: corticosterone and GABA(A) receptor positive modulators in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 182:116-27. [PMID: 16133129 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-005-0064-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2005] [Accepted: 05/06/2005] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Individuals seek out the opportunity to fight, but the mechanisms behind this positively reinforcing effect of aggression have yet to be understood. OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to (1) describe behavioral and corticosterone elevations that occur in aggressive mice conditioned to respond for the opportunity to fight another mouse, (2) determine if corticosterone elevations are necessary for operant responding and escalated aggression, and (3) determine if corticosterone elevations alter the aggression-heightening effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)(A) receptor positive modulators. METHODS AND RESULTS Aggressive male CFW mice were conditioned to respond under the control of a fixed-interval 10-min (FI10) schedule that reinforced their operant behavior by the presentation of an intruder mouse into their home cage. After the FI10, aggressive behavior was ca. 75% higher than the species-typical levels of fighting and plasma corticosterone was more than twice as high after briefly fighting and/or responding on the FI10 schedule. Inhibition of corticosterone synthesis by metyrapone (30-100 mg/kg) reduced both conditioned responding as well as the aggressive behavior after the FI. Although the benzodiazepine midazolam (0.3-3 mg/kg) heightened species-typical aggressive behavior, it did not increase the high level of aggression engendered by the FI schedule. However, midazolam (0.3 mg/kg) and the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (17 mg/kg) both heightened aggression when given after corticosterone synthesis inhibition by metyrapone (56 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that corticosterone elevations are required for responding that is motivated by aggressive behavior and for escalated aggression that follows this responding. Corticosterone elevations also appear to inhibit the aggression heightening effect of GABA(A) receptor positive modulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric W Fish
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
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Ghizoni DM, Pavanati KCA, Arent AM, Machado C, Faria MS, Pinto CMH, Gasparotto OC, Gonçalves S, Dafre AL. Alterations in glutathione levels of brain structures caused by acute restraint stress and by nitric oxide synthase inhibition but not by intraspecific agonistic interaction. Behav Brain Res 2005; 166:71-7. [PMID: 16140401 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2005] [Revised: 07/15/2005] [Accepted: 07/15/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Glutathione is the major non-protein thiol to which many different roles in the central nervous system (CNS) are attributed. To further investigate the glutathione response in the CNS, we tested the effect of three stress models on glutathione levels in the brain. We tested the effect of two models of repeated intraspecific agonistic interaction in mice. No influence was observed over the glutathione levels in the mice cerebral cortex, cerebellum, liver, and blood. Acute restraint stress in rats was found to induce an increase in glutathione levels in the cerebellum after 2 and 4 h of immobilization, an effect not observed in the cerebral cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. To investigate the interference of an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), N(omega)Nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME, 50 mg/kg) was applied i.p. at the beginning of restraint stress. L-NAME alone did not lead to a change in glutathione levels although, in combination with restraint stress, it induced an increase in such levels. This effect was observed in all four structures studied, i.e. cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellum. The values returned to basal levels after 6h of immobilization. In conclusion, the pattern of dominance, after repeated intraspecific agonistic interaction, was ineffective in producing alterations in brain glutathione, whereas acute restraint stress led to an increase in glutathione levels within a window of 2-4 h, and the inhibition of NOS increased glutathione levels in all studied rat brain structures, suggesting a specificity interference of acute restraint stress with the glutathione system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Mathias Ghizoni
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
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Wewers D, Kaiser S, Sachser N. Application of an antiandrogen during pregnancy infantilizes the male offsprings' behaviour. Behav Brain Res 2005; 158:89-95. [PMID: 15680197 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2004] [Revised: 08/16/2004] [Accepted: 08/16/2004] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that an application of an antiandrogen during pregnancy causes an infantilization of the male offsprings' behaviour later in life. The subjects studied were male guinea pigs whose mothers were either treated with an antiandrogen (flutamide and carrier) or a placebo (carrier only) during pregnancy. The mothers lived in groups of five females and one male. Application of the antiandrogen or the placebo took place on days 30, 32, 34, and 36 of pregnancy, the sensitive phase of foetal CNS sexual differentiation in guinea pigs. After weaning three groups of sons, whose mothers had received the antiandrogen (FT-sons) and five groups of sons, whose mothers had received the placebo (PT-sons) were established. Each group consisted of two males. From their 20th through their 100th day of age, the spontaneous behaviour of the males was recorded in their home cages in 5-day intervals. Additionally, blood samples were collected to determine serum cortisol concentrations. FT-sons and PT-sons did not differ in serum cortisol concentrations. However, distinct differences in behaviour occurred: FT-sons rested significantly longer with bodily contact than PT-sons. Additionally, FT-sons displayed more play-behaviour than PT-sons. These results point to a behavioural infantilization in males prenatally treated with antiandrogen. The behavioural differences between FT- and PT-sons are in accordance with previous studies in which a decrease of serum androgen concentrations in pregnant females living in an unstable social environment [Psychoneuroendocrinology 2001;26:503] and an infantilization of their sons' behaviour was described [Psychoneuroendocrinology 2003;28:67]. Thus, our study supports the hypothesis, that the decrease of androgen concentrations during pregnancy, caused by an unstable social environment, is responsible for the infantilization of the male offsprings' behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Wewers
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Muenster, Badestr. 9, 48149 Muenster, Germany.
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Gourley SL, Debold JF, Yin W, Cook J, Miczek KA. Benzodiazepines and heightened aggressive behavior in rats: reduction by GABA(A)/alpha(1) receptor antagonists. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 178:232-40. [PMID: 15316711 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-004-1987-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2004] [Accepted: 07/06/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Positive modulators of the benzodiazepine/GABA(A) receptor complex can heighten aggressive behavior; the GABA(A)/alpha(1) subunit may play a critical role in benzodiazepine-modulated aggressive behavior. OBJECTIVE The carboline derivatives, beta-CCt and 3-PBC, antagonists with preferential action at the GABA(A) receptors with alpha(1) subunits, may antagonize benzodiazepine-heightened aggression, thus implicating the alpha(1) subunit in heightened aggression. METHODS The GABA(A) receptor agonist 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4c]-pyridin-3-ol (THIP) (0.01-3.0 mg/kg), and the benzodiazepine receptor agonists midazolam (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) and triazolam (0.003-3.0 mg/kg) were administered to adult male resident rats to assess the drugs' effects on their aggressive behavior toward an intruder. Then beta-CCt (0.3-10.0 mg/kg) and 3-PBC (0.3-17.0 mg/kg) were each administered in conjunction with midazolam. The salient elements of aggressive and non-aggressive behavior were measured by analyzing video recordings and encoding each behavioral act and posture in terms of its frequency and duration of occurrence. RESULTS Midazolam significantly increased the duration of aggressive behaviors at 1.0 and 1.7 mg/kg, and triazolam increased attack bite frequency at 0.03 mg/kg, both implicating GABA(A) receptors with benzodiazepine binding sites in aggressive behavior. In the present dose range, THIP did not affect any behaviors. The broad-spectrum benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil (1.0 mg/kg), antagonized the aggression-heightening effects of midazolam. beta-CCt (0.3-10.0 mg/kg) and 3-PBC (0.3-17.0 mg/kg) also antagonized the aggression-heightening effects of midazolam (1.0 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS These results implicate both the GABA(A) gamma and alpha(1) subunits in benzodiazepine-heightened aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon L Gourley
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, 530 Boston Ave. (Bacon Hall), Medford, MA 02155, USA
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Veenema AH, Cremers TIFH, Jongsma ME, Steenbergen PJ, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM. Differences in the effects of 5-HT(1A) receptor agonists on forced swimming behavior and brain 5-HT metabolism between low and high aggressive mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 178:151-60. [PMID: 15448978 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-004-2005-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2003] [Accepted: 07/29/2004] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Male wild house-mice genetically selected for long attack latency (LAL) and short attack latency (SAL) differ in structural and functional properties of postsynaptic serotonergic-1A (5-HT(1A)) receptors. These mouse lines also show divergent behavioral responses in the forced swimming test (FST, i.e., higher immobility by LAL versus SAL mice). OBJECTIVES We investigated whether the line difference in 5-HT(1A) receptors is associated with a difference in brain 5-HT metabolism, and whether acute administration of a 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist could differentially affect the behavioral responses of LAL and SAL mice. METHODS 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels were measured in homogenates of several brain regions using high-performance liquid chromatography. The behavioral effect of the full 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, and of the somatodendritic 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor agonist, S-15535, was examined in the FST. The effect of 8-OH-DPAT on forced swimming-induced 5-HT metabolism in brain homogenates was determined. RESULTS In most brain regions, 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels and 5-HT turnover were not significantly different between LAL and SAL mice. 8-OH-DPAT abolished the behavioral line difference in the FST by reducing immobility in LAL mice and reducing climbing in SAL mice. S-15535 induced a similar behavioral effect to 8-OH-DPAT in SAL mice, but did not alter the behavior of LAL mice. Compared with LAL, forced swimming elicited in SAL mice a higher brain 5-HT turnover, which was potently attenuated by 8-OH-DPAT. CONCLUSIONS It is unlikely that the difference in 5-HT(1A) properties between LAL and SAL mice is an adaptive compensatory reaction to changes in 5-HT metabolism. Although unspecific motor effects, at least in SAL mice, cannot be ruled out, it is suggested that the behavioral effects of 8-OH-DPAT and S-15535 may be mediated by predominant activation of postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors in LAL mice and by presynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors in SAL mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexa H Veenema
- Department of Animal Physiology, Center for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Haller J, Tóth M, Halász J. The activation of raphe serotonergic neurons in normal and hypoarousal-driven aggression: a double labeling study in rats. Behav Brain Res 2005; 161:88-94. [PMID: 15904714 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2004] [Revised: 12/23/2004] [Accepted: 01/17/2005] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The serotonergic system is well known for its aggression lowering effects. It has been shown repeatedly, however, that the serotonergic system is activated during fights, and recent data suggested that it is necessary for the expression of aggressive behavior. We investigated the interaction between serotonergic activation and aggressive behavior by assessing the co-localization of the c-Fos signal (marker of neuronal activation) with tryptophan-hydroxylase activity (marker of serotonin secretion) in the raphe. Control rats were compared with rats exposed to visual and olfactory (but not physical) contacts with opponents (psychosocial stimulation) as well as with rats exposed to aggressive encounters. Fights were accompanied by the activation of the raphe; however, the effect was not aggression-specific, as a similar activation was induced by psychosocial contacts. The lack of behavioral specificity in activation suggests that it was related to social arousal rather than to the execution of fights. The activation of serotonergic raphe neurons showed a negative correlation with aggressive behavior, which is in line with the widespread view that serotonin neurotransmission downregulates aggressive behavior. The activation of serotonergic neurons did not show a correlation with measures of hypoarousal-driven abnormal aggression, which indicates that factors other than the raphe control this behavior. The latter finding may explain the low efficacy of serotonergic treatments in conduct and antisocial personality disorders, in which violence correlates with hypoarousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- József Haller
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, P.O. Box 67, 1450 Budapest, Hungary.
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Navarro JF, Ibáñez M, Luna G. Behavioral profile of SB 269970, a selective 5-HT(7) serotonin receptor antagonist, in social encounters between male mice. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 26:515-8. [PMID: 15538540 DOI: 10.1358/mf.2004.26.7.863733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The 5-HT(7) receptor is targeted by several antipsychotics, such as pimozide or clozapine, which have demonstrated antiaggressive properties in laboratory animal models. Likewise, 'in situ' hybridization and autoradiography studies have revealed moderate to high densities of 5-HT(7) receptors in limbic areas and hypothalamus, which have long been involved in the control of aggression. However, to date there is no evidence concerning the role of this receptor in the regulation of aggression. This study was designed to examine the effects of SB 269970 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 mg/kg, i.p.), a selective 5-HT(7) receptor antagonist, on agonistic behavior elicited by isolation in mice. Individually housed mice were exposed to anosmic standard opponents 15 min after drug administration and encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethopharmacologically-based analysis. The results indicated that SB 269970 did not produce any significant behavioral changes, suggesting that 5-HT(7) receptors might not be involved in the modulation of aggression. Further studies with other selective ligands for these receptors are needed to confirm these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- J F Navarro
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.
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Gregus A, Wintink AJ, Davis AC, Kalynchuk LE. Effect of repeated corticosterone injections and restraint stress on anxiety and depression-like behavior in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2005; 156:105-14. [PMID: 15474655 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 318] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2003] [Revised: 04/22/2004] [Accepted: 05/12/2004] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Repeated stress is an important risk factor for the development of depression. However, the mechanism by which stress influences depression is largely unknown, in part due to the fact that few animal models of repeated stress produce robust changes in depression-like behavior. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the effect of repeated corticosterone (CORT) injections and repeated restraint stress on anxiety and depression-like behavior in male rats. Rats received CORT injections (40 mg/kg, s.c.), vehicle injections, restraint stress (6 h/day), or handling once per day for 21 consecutive days prior to the behavioral testing. The rats were then tested for changes in fearful/anxious behavior in the open-field and social interaction tests and for depression-like behavior in the forced swim test. The repeated CORT injections had no significant effect on activity levels or anxiety in the open-field or social interaction tests. However, they did increase depression-like behaviors in the forced swim test. Repeated restraint stress had no significant effect on anxiety or depression-like behavior on any of the behavioral tests. These results suggest that repeated CORT injections warrant further investigation as an animal model to study the role of stress in depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Gregus
- Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4J1
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