Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience最新文献

Environmental Enrichment (EE) has received considerable attention for its potential to enhance cognitive and neurobiological outcomes in animal models. This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive evaluation of the EE research spanning from 1967 to 2024, utilizing data extracted from Scopus and analyzed through R and VOSviewer. The volume of publications, citation patterns, and collaborations were systematically reviewed, highlighting important contributions and emerging trends within the field of animal research. Core concepts of EE research are mapped, revealing key themes such as neuroplasticity, cognitive function, and behavioral outcomes. A significant increase in EE research is demonstrated, particularly after the year 2000, reflecting growing scientific and public interest in EE paradigms. This analysis provides insights into the global contributions and collaborative networks that have shaped EE studies over time. The role of EE in advancing the understanding of neurobiological, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative processes is underscored. Influential contributors, leading countries, and high-impact journals in the field of EE are identified, offering a valuable resource for researchers seeking to understand or extend the current knowledge base. The strategic selection of keywords and rigorous data curation methods ensure that the findings accurately reflect the most impactful aspects of EE research in animals. This study serves as an essential reference for future explorations and applications of EE across disciplines. By providing a clear and structured overview of the field, this paper aims to serve as a foundation for ongoing and future research initiatives, encouraging more robust investigations and applications of EE to enhance cognitive and neurological health globally.

Social stress can increase reactive oxygen species and derail antioxidant function in the brain, which may contribute to the onset and progression of mental health disorders. In hierarchical species, repeated social defeat can raise oxidative stress in the brain. However, how oxidative balance in the brain is regulated across different levels in a social hierarchy is unknown. Here, we study the effect of social status on patterns of oxidative stress across several brain divisions in a highly social cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. In this species, dominant males are territorial, brightly colored, and reproductively active while subordinate males are not. We measured several markers of oxidative stress in macrodissected brain divisions in dominant and subordinate males. We found that dominant individuals had lower oxidative DNA damage (8-OhdG) in the midbrain while also having increased total antioxidant capacity in the midbrain and hypothalamus. However, in dominant males, oxidative DNA damage tended to be higher in the hypothalamus while total glutathione levels were lower in the telencephalon compared to subordinate males. Finally, we found that indicators of reproductive activity (gonadosomatic index and social behavior) were co-regulated with antioxidant function or oxidative damage in the telencephalon. Combined, our results suggest that social status and activation of the reproductive system regulate oxidative balance in the brain in a highly brain division specific manner.

Background: Allopregnanolone (ALLO), a neuroactive steroid hormone derived from progesterone, can modulate mood via the GABA-A receptor. Peripartum mood can be influenced by psychosocial factors, previous mental illness, and hormonal changes. Studies suggest a U-shaped effect of ALLO on mood, with some women being more sensitive to hormonal changes than others. However, research in the peripartum is inconclusive.

Methods: This study explored the link between salivary ALLO and mood during the peripartum. Over 12 weeks, N = 61 women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the State Anxiety subscale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and provided saliva samples. Salivary ALLO was analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, validated for saliva samples. Group-based trajectory modeling was performed to identify trajectories of ALLO courses. Multinomial logistic regression models were employed to identify risk factors associated with these trajectories.

Results: ALLO levels increased during pregnancy and dropped 2 weeks before delivery. Three different trajectory groups of ALLO courses emerged (high decreasing, low moderate, low reduced). Trajectory groups were associated with distinct psychological risk factors, including previous mental illness, adverse childhood experiences, sleep problems, premenstrual symptoms, and resilience. The peripartum ALLO course showed a negative linear association with anxiety symptoms and a U-shaped association with depressive symptoms.

Discussion: The consideration of individual ALLO courses can predict the risk for peripartum mood symptoms, particularly among women with preexisting risk factors. While the majority of women remain healthy during the peripartum transition, analyzing ALLO subgroups helps to provide a better understanding of the relationship between ALLO and peripartum mood.

In real-world vision, objects may appear for a short period, such as in conjunction with visual search. Presumably, this puts a premium on rapid categorization. We designed a visual categorization task cued by briefly presented images to study how visual categorization is processed in an ethologically relevant context. We compared the performance of monkeys with bilateral area TE lesions, and those with bilateral rhinal cortex lesions, to control animals. TE lesions impaired the accuracy but not the speed of visual categorization. In contrast, rhinal cortex lesions did not affect the accuracy but reduced the speed of visual categorization. A generalized drift-diffusion model (GDDM) with collapsing bounds was fitted to the data. The drift rate was equivalent across all groups, but the decision bounds collapsed more slowly in the rhinal group than in the other two groups. This suggests that, although evidence is accumulated at the same rate in all groups, the rhinal lesion results in slower decision-making.

Introduction: Increasing evidence indicates that sex is a factor that impacts the abuse liability and relapse vulnerability of prescription opioids like oxycodone. However, while women are more likely than men to be prescribed and to use these drugs, the impact of sex and ovarian hormones on prescription opioid use and relapse vulnerability remains unclear. Accurately assessing these measures is complicated by the fact that chronic opioid exposure can lower ovarian hormone levels and cause cycle irregularities.

Methods: Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats self-administered oxycodone (0.1 mg/kg/infusion) under extended-access conditions (6 h/day, 10 days) followed by forced abstinence. Separate groups of animals received cue-induced seeking tests in a drug-free state during early (1-2 days) or later periods of abstinence (43-45 days). To track estrous cycle stage, animals were regularly vaginally swabbed throughout the study.

Results: We observed oxycodone-induced estrous cycle dysregulation in the majority (~60%) of the animals during both self-administration and the first month of abstinence. In animals whose cycles were not dysregulated, we found a reduction in oxycodone intake during estrus compared to all other cycle stages (non-estrus). We also found that males but not females showed a time-dependent intensification or incubation of cue-induced oxycodone craving over the first 6 weeks of abstinence. This sex difference was estrous cycle-dependent, driven by a selective reduction in drug seeking during estrus.

Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of tracking drug-induced estrous cyclicity and identify a clear impact of ovarian hormones on oxycodone taking and seeking behavior.

Introduction: Time is a crucial abstract construct, allowing us to perceive the duration of events. Working memory (WM) plays an important role in manipulating and storing the different features of environmental stimuli, including temporal features. Different brain structures, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, are involved in time processing.

Methods: Here we investigated the functional aspects of time processing by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess changes in DLPFC activity. A modified version of the "Times Squares Sequences" (TSS) task was used, in which participants are required to match sequences of squares that have fixed or variable durations.

Results: Findings showed that the DLPFC activates when information necessary for later comparison needs to be maintained online, as is common in visuo-spatial WM tasks. Importantly, the DLPFC deactivates when a temporal anomaly is detected.

Discussion: This deactivation occurs because the temporal anomaly does not require ongoing maintenance for later comparison, thus demanding fewer cognitive resources from the DLPFC. This seemingly counterintuitive effect can be attributed to the temporal aspects being irrelevant to the primary task goals. This finding highlights the crucial role of implicit temporal interference and establishes a strong connection between timing and executive cognitive processes.

Introduction: Alterations in cognitive performance are associated with inadequate nutritional states and diet composition. Prebiotics, such as inulin, are substances that can modulate the gut microbiome and, consequently, brain function by producing metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementation with inulin on cognitive flexibility, body composition, and gut microbiota in a murine model exposed to a high-fat (HF) diet.

Methods: CD1 mice were divided into five groups: control fed a standard diet (C), high-fat diet (HF), inulin (I), high-fat diet with inulin (HFI), and manipulation control (M). Dietary supplementation was administered for 6 weeks. Cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Attentional Set-Shifting Test (AST). In addition, body composition was measured via electrical bioimpedance and adipose tissue compartments of each mouse were removed and weighed. Finally, gut microbiota metataxonomic was analyzed through metataxonomic bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing.

Results: We observed that HF group required more AST trials than the C, HFI, and I groups in the compound discrimination (CD) and extra-dimensional (ED) stages. Notably, the HFI group required fewer trials than the HF group in the ED stage (p = 0.0187). No significant differences in overall body composition were observed between the groups. However, the percentage of gonadal and peritoneal adipose tissue was significantly higher in the HF and I groups compared to the C group. Statistically significant differences in alpha diversity for gut microbiota were observed using the Shannon, Simpson, and Chao1 indices. The I group showed a decrease in bacterial diversity compared to the HF group. While no differences were observed between groups in the phyla Bacillota and Bacteroidotes, Clostridium bacteria represented a lower proportion of sequences in the I group compared to the C group. Additionally, Lactobacillus represented a lower proportion of sequences in the HF group compared to the C and I groups.

Discussion: These findings suggest that supplementation with inulin could be a useful approach to mitigate the negative effects of an HF diet on cognitive flexibility and modulate gut microbiota composition.

Social interactions are fundamental for our survival as a predominately social species. We need and seek positive social interactions to navigate the world. However, when social interactions are negative, and occur in the presence of an aversive event, learning occurs to associate such social interactions as threatening. Gaining insight into the neural circuits that drive social threat learning is crucial for understanding social interactions. Animal models can be leveraged to employ technologies that allow us to track neuronal processes with very high resolution to obtain a better understanding of the neural circuits involved. To accomplish this, we need robust behavioral models that are replicable and high throughput. Here, we present an open-source social interaction chamber that detects social interaction and automatically pairs it with foot shock. The social interaction chamber is designed to easily integrate into modular chambers commonly used for auditory and context threat learning. It contains an array of optical gates that precisely track mouse-to-mouse interactions in real time with digital triggers that can communicate with external devices to deliver a foot shock. We find that pairing social interactions with electric foot shock using our fully automated social interaction chamber is optimal for social threat associations. We further demonstrate that timing of social contact with foot shock produces optimal learning.

Introduction: Exposure to blue-enriched light from electronic devices is an emergent disruptor of human sleep, especially at particular times of day. Further dissection of this phenomenon necessitates modeling in a tractable model organism.

Methods: Thus, we investigated the effects of light color on sleep in Drosophila melanogaster. We measured sleep in red-eyed Canton-S (CS) and white-eyed w ¹¹¹⁸ flies in baseline 12:12 light/dark conditions and experimental conditions with light-color (blue, red, or green) exposure for all 12 h of daylight or 3 h in the morning or evening.

Results: Blue light reduced daytime and nighttime sleep in CS but not in w ¹¹¹⁸, potentially indicating a role for the compound eye in blue light's effects on fruit fly sleep. Red light, especially in the evening, reduced sleep during exposure in both strains. Green light had minimal effects on sleep in CS flies, but evening exposure reduced sleep in w ¹¹¹⁸ flies, mimicking red light's effects.

Discussion: In conclusion, light's effects on sleep in D. melanogaster are dependent on wavelength and time-of-day. Future studies will aim to dissect these mechanisms genetically.

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disorder with significant limitations in pharmacological treatments, necessitating the exploration of non-pharmacological interventions.

Methods: We used a model of alcohol self-administration (10% v/v) to analyze behavioral, neurochemical, and signaling mechanisms.

Results: Our findings demonstrate that stimulation of the HT7 acupuncture point significantly decreased the frequency of active lever presses in rats self-administering alcohol (p < 0.05). Alcohol self-administration increased microglial activity and sigma 1 receptor expression in the habenula (Hb), while HT7 stimulation mitigated these effects, decreasing microglial activity and sigma 1 receptor levels (p < 0.05). Additionally, alcohol self-administration reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (p < 0.05). HT7 stimulation reversed these alterations by increasing BDNF expression in the mPFC and decreasing TH levels in the VTA (p < 0.05). Further investigation revealed that BDNF microinjection into the mPFC inhibited sigma 1 receptor activity in the Hb, while microglial inhibition in the Hb decreased TH expression in the VTA (p < 0.05). The administration of the microglial inhibitor MINO to the Hb also reduced alcohol self-administration (p < 0.05).

Discussion: These results suggest that HT7 stimulation regulates the mPFC-Hb-VTA circuit, leading to decreased alcohol-seeking behavior. Our study demonstrates that HT7 acupuncture can modulate the mPFC-Hb-VTA circuit, providing a potential non-pharmacological treatment for alcohol-seeking behavior by influencing microglial activity, sigma 1 receptor expression, and TH levels. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying acupuncture's therapeutic effects on alcohol use disorder.