Neonatal bilateral whisker trimming in male mice age-dependently alters brain neurotransmitter levels and causes adolescent onsets of social behavior abnormalities.

Abstract

Tactile perception via whiskers is important in rodent behavior. Whisker trimming during the neonatal period affects mouse behaviors related to both whisker-based tactile cognition and social performance. However, the molecular basis of these phenomena is not completely understood. To solve this issue, we investigated developmental changes in transmitters and metabolites in various brain regions of male mice subjected to bilateral whisker trimming during the neonatal period (10 days after birth [BWT10 mice]). We discovered significantly lower levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl glycol (MHPG), the major noradrenaline metabolite, in various brain regions of male BWT10 mice at both early/late adolescent stages (at P4W and P8W). However, reduced levels of dopamine (DA) and their metabolites were more significantly identified at P8W in the nuclear origins of monoamine (midbrain and medulla oblongata) and the limbic system (frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus) than at P4W. Furthermore, the onset of social behavior deficits (P6W) was observed later to the impairment of whisker-based tactile cognitive behaviors (P4W). Taken together, these findings suggest that whisker-mediated tactile cognition may contribute toprogressive abnormalities in social behaviors in BWT10 mice accompanied by impaired development of dopaminergic systems.