Pub Date : 2024-07-20DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115154
Introduction
This research evaluated the feasibility of a hybrid SSVEP + P300 brain computer interface (BCI) for controlling the movement of an avatar in a virtual reality (VR) gaming environment (VR + BCI). Existing VR + BCI gaming environments have limitations, such as visual fatigue, a lower communication rate, minimum accuracy, and poor system comfort. Hence, there is a need for an optimized hybrid BCI system that can simultaneously evoke the strongest P300 and SSVEP potentials in the cortex.
Methods
A BCI headset was coupled with a VR headset to generate a VR + BCI environment. The author developed a VR game in which the avatar’s movement is controlled using the user's cortical responses with the help of a BCI headset. Specifically designed visual stimuli were used in the proposed system to elicit the strongest possible responses from the user's brain. The proposed system also includes an auditory feedback mechanism to facilitate precise avatar movement.
Results and conclusions
Conventional P300 BCI and SSVEP BCI were also used to control the movements of the avatar, and their performance metrics were compared to those of the proposed system. The results demonstrated that the hybrid SSVEP + P300 BCI system was superior to the other systems for controlling avatar movement.
{"title":"Application of hybrid SSVEP + P300 brain computer interface to control avatar movement in mobile virtual reality gaming environment","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>This research evaluated the feasibility of a hybrid SSVEP + P300 brain computer interface (BCI) for controlling the movement of an avatar in a virtual reality (VR) gaming environment (VR + BCI). Existing VR + BCI gaming environments have limitations, such as visual fatigue, a lower communication rate, minimum accuracy, and poor system comfort. Hence, there is a need for an optimized hybrid BCI system that can simultaneously evoke the strongest P300 and SSVEP potentials in the cortex.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A BCI headset was coupled with a VR headset to generate a VR + BCI environment. The author developed a VR game in which the avatar’s movement is controlled using the user's cortical responses with the help of a BCI headset. Specifically designed visual stimuli were used in the proposed system to elicit the strongest possible responses from the user's brain. The proposed system also includes an auditory feedback mechanism to facilitate precise avatar movement.</p></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><p>Conventional P300 BCI and SSVEP BCI were also used to control the movements of the avatar, and their performance metrics were compared to those of the proposed system. The results demonstrated that the hybrid SSVEP + P300 BCI system was superior to the other systems for controlling avatar movement.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141747377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115156
Background
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors. Despite its prevalence, effective treatments remain elusive. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of the balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal synaptic functions in ASD development. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS) is a painless and effective treatment allowed for use in depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, its efficacy in treating autism is still under investigation. Low-frequency RTMS (LF-RTMS), which shows promise in reducing autism-like behaviors, is considered to regulate synaptic function.
Objective
We observed and recorded the behaviors of mice to assess the impact of RTMS on their social interactions and repetitive activities. Subsequently, we examined GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal markers along with synaptic marker proteins to understand the underlying changes associated with these behaviors.
Methods
To evaluate behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), several behavioral tests were conducted, focusing on sociability, repetitive behaviors, locomotion, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were employed to investigate the activity of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus, aiming to understand the synaptic mechanisms underlying these behaviors.
Results
LF-RTMS treatment effectively relieved the social disability and normalized synaptic function in the hippocampus of ASD mice model induced by valproate (VPA). Importantly, this treatment did not lead to any adverse effects on repetitive behavior, locomotion, anxiety, or depression.
Conclusion
LF-RTMS attenuated social disability without affecting repetitive behavior, locomotion, anxiety, or depression. Changes in the expression of GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal synaptic proteins in the hippocampus were also observed.
{"title":"Low-frequency RTMS attenuates social impairment in the VPA-induced mouse model","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115156","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115156","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors. Despite its prevalence, effective treatments remain elusive. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of the balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal synaptic functions in ASD development. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS) is a painless and effective treatment allowed for use in depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, its efficacy in treating autism is still under investigation. Low-frequency RTMS (LF-RTMS), which shows promise in reducing autism-like behaviors, is considered to regulate synaptic function.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>We observed and recorded the behaviors of mice to assess the impact of RTMS on their social interactions and repetitive activities. Subsequently, we examined GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal markers along with synaptic marker proteins to understand the underlying changes associated with these behaviors.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>To evaluate behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), several behavioral tests were conducted, focusing on sociability, repetitive behaviors, locomotion, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were employed to investigate the activity of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons in the hippocampus, aiming to understand the synaptic mechanisms underlying these behaviors.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>LF-RTMS treatment effectively relieved the social disability and normalized synaptic function in the hippocampus of ASD mice model induced by valproate (VPA). Importantly, this treatment did not lead to any adverse effects on repetitive behavior, locomotion, anxiety, or depression.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>LF-RTMS attenuated social disability without affecting repetitive behavior, locomotion, anxiety, or depression. Changes in the expression of GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal synaptic proteins in the hippocampus were also observed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141733480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115155
Several studies have reported side effects of finasteride (FIN), such as anxiety/depression in young men. Obesity is also positively associated with anxiety/depression symptoms; however, the impacts of long-term FIN treatment and FIN withdrawal in young obese individuals are still elusive. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term treatment and its withdrawal on anxiety/depression and brain pathologies in lean and obese adult male rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were equally divided into two groups and fed either a normal or high-fat diet. At age 13 weeks, rats in each dietary group were divided into three subgroups: 1) the control group receiving drinking water, 2) the long-term treatment group receiving FIN orally at 5 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks, and 3) the withdrawal group receiving FIN orally at 5 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks followed by a 4-week withdrawal period. Anxiety/depression-like behaviors, biochemical analysis, brain inflammation, oxidative stress, neuroactive steroids, brain metabolites, and microglial complexity were tested. The result showed that lean rats treated with long-term FIN and its withdrawal exhibited metabolic disturbances, depressive-like behavior, and both groups showed increased neurotoxic metabolites and reduced microglial complexity. Obesity itself led to metabolic disturbances and brain pathologies, including increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and quinolinic acid, as well as reduced microglial complexity, resulting in increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Interestingly, the long-term FIN treatment group in obese rats showed attenuation of depressive-like behaviors, brain inflammation, and oxidative stress, along with increased brain antioxidants, suggesting the possible benefits of FIN in obese conditions.
有几项研究报告了非那雄胺(FIN)的副作用,如年轻男性的焦虑/抑郁。肥胖也与焦虑/抑郁症状呈正相关;然而,长期非那雄胺治疗和非那雄胺停药对年轻肥胖者的影响仍然难以捉摸。本研究旨在调查长期治疗和停药对瘦弱和肥胖成年雄性大鼠的焦虑/抑郁和大脑病理学的影响。研究人员将 48 只雄性 Wistar 大鼠平均分为两组,分别喂食正常或高脂肪饮食。在大鼠 13 周大时,将每个饮食组的大鼠分为三个亚组:1)接受饮用水的对照组;2)连续 6 周以 5 毫克/千克/天的剂量口服 FIN 的长期治疗组;以及 3)连续 2 周以 5 毫克/千克/天的剂量口服 FIN 并随后停药 4 周的停药组。对焦虑/抑郁样行为、生化分析、脑部炎症、氧化应激、神经活性类固醇、脑部代谢物和小胶质细胞复杂性进行了检测。结果表明,长期服用 FIN 和停用 FIN 的瘦大鼠表现出代谢紊乱和抑郁样行为,两组大鼠均表现出神经毒性代谢物增加和小胶质细胞复杂性降低。肥胖本身会导致代谢紊乱和脑部病变,包括炎症、氧化应激和喹啉酸增加,以及小胶质细胞复杂性降低,从而导致焦虑和抑郁样行为增加。有趣的是,肥胖大鼠的长期 FIN 治疗组显示出抑郁样行为、脑部炎症和氧化应激的减轻,以及脑部抗氧化剂的增加,这表明 FIN 可能对肥胖症有益。
{"title":"Long-term Treatment with a 5‐Alpha‐Reductase Inhibitor Alleviates Depression‐like Behavior in Obese Male Rats","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Several studies have reported side effects of finasteride (FIN), such as anxiety/depression in young men. Obesity is also positively associated with anxiety/depression symptoms; however, the impacts of long-term FIN treatment and FIN withdrawal in young obese individuals are still elusive. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term treatment and its withdrawal on anxiety/depression and brain pathologies in lean and obese adult male rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were equally divided into two groups and fed either a normal or high-fat diet. At age 13 weeks, rats in each dietary group were divided into three subgroups: 1) the control group receiving drinking water, 2) the long-term treatment group receiving FIN orally at 5 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks, and 3) the withdrawal group receiving FIN orally at 5 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks followed by a 4-week withdrawal period. Anxiety/depression-like behaviors, biochemical analysis, brain inflammation, oxidative stress, neuroactive steroids, brain metabolites, and microglial complexity were tested. The result showed that lean rats treated with long-term FIN and its withdrawal exhibited metabolic disturbances, depressive-like behavior, and both groups showed increased neurotoxic metabolites and reduced microglial complexity. Obesity itself led to metabolic disturbances and brain pathologies, including increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and quinolinic acid, as well as reduced microglial complexity, resulting in increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Interestingly, the long-term FIN treatment group in obese rats showed attenuation of depressive-like behaviors, brain inflammation, and oxidative stress, along with increased brain antioxidants, suggesting the possible benefits of FIN in obese conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141733479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115152
The high rate of relapse to compulsive methamphetamine (MA)-taking and seeking behaviors after abstinence constitutes a major obstacle to the treatment of MA addiction. Perineuronal nets (PNNs), essential components of the extracellular matrix, play a critical role in synaptic function, learning, and memory. Abnormalities in PNNs have been closely linked to a series of neurological diseases, such as addiction. However, the exact role of PNNs in MA-induced related behaviors remains elusive. Here, we established a MA-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in female mice and found that the number and average optical density of PNNs increased significantly in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of mice during the acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement stages of CPP. Notably, the removal of PNNs in the mPFC via chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) before extinction training not only facilitated the extinction of MA-induced CPP and attenuated the relapse of extinguished MA preference but also significantly reduced the activation of c-Fos in the mPFC. Similarly, the ablation of PNNs in the mPFC before reinstatement markedly lessened the reinstatement of MA-induced CPP, which was accompanied by the decreased expression of c-Fos in the mPFC. Collectively, our results provide more evidence for the implication of degradation of PNNs in facilitating extinction and preventing relapse of MA-induced CPP, which indicate that targeting PNNs may be an effective therapeutic option for MA-induced CPP memories.
甲基苯丙胺(MA)强迫性吸食和寻求行为在戒断后的高复发率是治疗甲基苯丙胺成瘾的主要障碍。神经元周围网(PNN)是细胞外基质的重要组成部分,在突触功能、学习和记忆中发挥着关键作用。PNNs异常与一系列神经系统疾病(如成瘾)密切相关。然而,PNNs在MA诱导的相关行为中的确切作用仍然难以捉摸。在这里,我们在雌性小鼠体内建立了一个 MA 诱导的条件性位置偏好(CPP)范例,发现在 CPP 的获得、消退和恢复阶段,小鼠内侧前额叶皮层(mPFC)中 PNNs 的数量和平均光密度显著增加。值得注意的是,在消退训练前通过软骨素酶ABC(ChABC)去除mPFC中的PNNs不仅能促进MA诱导的CPP的消退,减少已消退的MA偏好的复发,还能显著降低mPFC中c-Fos的激活。同样,在恢复前消融 mPFC 中的 PNNs 也明显减少了 MA 诱导的 CPP 的恢复,同时 mPFC 中 c-Fos 的表达也减少了。总之,我们的研究结果为PNNs的降解在促进MA诱导的CPP的消退和防止复发中的作用提供了更多的证据,这表明针对PNNs的治疗可能是治疗MA诱导的CPP记忆的有效选择。
{"title":"Degradation of perineuronal nets in the medial prefrontal cortex promotes extinction and reduces reinstatement of methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference in female mice","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The high rate of relapse to compulsive methamphetamine (MA)-taking and seeking behaviors after abstinence constitutes a major obstacle to the treatment of MA addiction. Perineuronal nets (PNNs), essential components of the extracellular matrix, play a critical role in synaptic function, learning, and memory. Abnormalities in PNNs have been closely linked to a series of neurological diseases, such as addiction. However, the exact role of PNNs in MA-induced related behaviors remains elusive. Here, we established a MA-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in female mice and found that the number and average optical density of PNNs increased significantly in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of mice during the acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement stages of CPP. Notably, the removal of PNNs in the mPFC via chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) before extinction training not only facilitated the extinction of MA-induced CPP and attenuated the relapse of extinguished MA preference but also significantly reduced the activation of c-Fos in the mPFC. Similarly, the ablation of PNNs in the mPFC before reinstatement markedly lessened the reinstatement of MA-induced CPP, which was accompanied by the decreased expression of c-Fos in the mPFC. Collectively, our results provide more evidence for the implication of degradation of PNNs in facilitating extinction and preventing relapse of MA-induced CPP, which indicate that targeting PNNs may be an effective therapeutic option for MA-induced CPP memories.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141733478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115153
Rodents use their whisker system to discriminate surface texture. Whisker-based texture discrimination tasks are often used to investigate the mechanisms encoding tactile sensation. One such task is the textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT). It takes advantage of a tendency of rodents to explore novel objects more than familiar ones and assesses the sensitivity of whiskers in discriminating different textures of objects. It requires little training of the animals and the equipment involved is a simple arena with typically two objects placed inside. The success of the test relies on rodents spending sufficient time exploring these objects. Animals may lose interests in such tasks when performed repetitively within a limited time frame. However, such repeated tests may be crucial when establishing a sensitivity threshold of the whisker system. Here we present an adapted rodent tNORT protocol designed to maintain sustained interest in the objects even with repeated testing. We constructed complex objects from three simple-shaped objects. Different textures were provided by sandpapers of varying grit sizes. To minimise olfactory clues, we used the sandy and the laminar side of the same sandpaper as the familiar and novel textures assigned at random. We subsequently conducted repeated tNORTs on eight rats in order to identify a critical threshold of the sandpaper grit size below which rats would be unable to discriminate the sandy from the laminar side. With an inter-test-interval of seven days and after five tNORTs, the protocol enabled us to successfully identify the threshold. We suggest that the proposed tNORT is a useful tool for investigating the sensitivity threshold of the whisker system of rodent, and for testing the effectiveness of an intervention by comparing sensitivity threshold pre- and post-intervention.
{"title":"An effective textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT) for repeated measure of whisker sensitivity of rodents","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Rodents use their whisker system to discriminate surface texture. Whisker-based texture discrimination tasks are often used to investigate the mechanisms encoding tactile sensation. One such task is the textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT). It takes advantage of a tendency of rodents to explore novel objects more than familiar ones and assesses the sensitivity of whiskers in discriminating different textures of objects. It requires little training of the animals and the equipment involved is a simple arena with typically two objects placed inside. The success of the test relies on rodents spending sufficient time exploring these objects. Animals may lose interests in such tasks when performed repetitively within a limited time frame. However, such repeated tests may be crucial when establishing a sensitivity threshold of the whisker system. Here we present an adapted rodent tNORT protocol designed to maintain sustained interest in the objects even with repeated testing. We constructed complex objects from three simple-shaped objects. Different textures were provided by sandpapers of varying grit sizes. To minimise olfactory clues, we used the sandy and the laminar side of the same sandpaper as the familiar and novel textures assigned at random. We subsequently conducted repeated tNORTs on eight rats in order to identify a critical threshold of the sandpaper grit size below which rats would be unable to discriminate the sandy from the laminar side. With an inter-test-interval of seven days and after five tNORTs, the protocol enabled us to successfully identify the threshold. We suggest that the proposed tNORT is a useful tool for investigating the sensitivity threshold of the whisker system of rodent, and for testing the effectiveness of an intervention by comparing sensitivity threshold pre- and post-intervention.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432824003097/pdfft?md5=8b3c8c4e891499d40c27c900726cb8d4&pid=1-s2.0-S0166432824003097-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141722984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115147
Early life adversity has been linked with a higher probability of developing behavioral impairments and environmental manipulation is a strategy that may reduce the negative effects of exposure to adversity in early life. Here, we focused on exploring the influence of environmental enrichment (EE) as a protective factor in the context of early life adversity. We hypothesized that 24 hours of maternal deprivation (MD), in the second week of life, could induce anxiety-like behavior alterations and that exposure to EE could induce resilience to these behaviors due to alterations in the serotonergic system. Male Wistar rats were exposed to MD, on postnatal days 11 and 13, and to EE, after weaning. In adulthood, we performed a series of behavioral tests for fear, anxiety, and locomotor activity. We also measured the levels of serotonin in the amygdala and dorsal raphe nucleus. Our results revealed that MD does not impact fear behavior or the levels of serotonin, while EE decreases locomotor activity in a novel environment and enhances exploration in the predator odor test. EE also decreases serotonin in the amygdala and increases its turnover rate levels. Our findings provide insights into the critical timeframe during which stress exposure impacts the development and confirm that exposure to EE has an independent and protective effect for anxiety-like behaviors later in life.
{"title":"Exploring the role of environmental enrichment and early life adversity on emotional development","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115147","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115147","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Early life adversity has been linked with a higher probability of developing behavioral impairments and environmental manipulation is a strategy that may reduce the negative effects of exposure to adversity in early life. Here, we focused on exploring the influence of environmental enrichment (EE) as a protective factor in the context of early life adversity. We hypothesized that 24 hours of maternal deprivation (MD), in the second week of life, could induce anxiety-like behavior alterations and that exposure to EE could induce resilience to these behaviors due to alterations in the serotonergic system. Male Wistar rats were exposed to MD, on postnatal days 11 and 13, and to EE, after weaning. In adulthood, we performed a series of behavioral tests for fear, anxiety, and locomotor activity. We also measured the levels of serotonin in the amygdala and dorsal raphe nucleus. Our results revealed that MD does not impact fear behavior or the levels of serotonin, while EE decreases locomotor activity in a novel environment and enhances exploration in the predator odor test. EE also decreases serotonin in the amygdala and increases its turnover rate levels. Our findings provide insights into the critical timeframe during which stress exposure impacts the development and confirm that exposure to EE has an independent and protective effect for anxiety-like behaviors later in life.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141639806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-15DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115151
Caffeine exerts a biphasic effect on zebrafish behavior. High doses of caffeine have been associated with increased stress and anxiety, whereas low doses have been found to enhance performance on tasks requiring focus and attention. However, the sex-specific nature of these biphasic effects on behavior and physiology remains unclear. This study assessed the behavioral responses and hormone levels in male and female zebrafish after acute exposure to caffeine ranging from 0.3 to 600 mg/L. The results showed no significant difference in caffeine intake between males and females after acute exposure at each concentration. Caffeine-induced behavioral and physiological responses indicated a threshold dosage existed between 30 and 300 mg/L. Female fish displayed increased anxiety-like behavioral phenotypes, i.e., latency to upper and freezing, whereas males exhibited more erratic movement following acute exposure to a high-dose treatment. In addition, females exhibited a significant increase in whole-body cortisol levels, while males experienced a testosterone elevation at 300 mg/L of caffeine acute exposure. There was a significant decrease in the duration of erratic movements in males treated with the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide compared to the control group. The transcriptome analysis uncovered 511 and 592 up-regulated and 761 and 922 down-regulated differential expression genes in males and females, respectively, compared to the control. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) pathway analysis revealed that caffeine has the potential to impact various pathways in zebrafish, including phototransduction and steroid hormone biosynthesis. Our findings demonstrate that testosterone and cortisol play a combined role in regulating stress responses in both behavior and physiology. Furthermore, our study highlights the significance of encompassing both male and female zebrafish as a model system.
{"title":"Zebrafish gender-specific anxiety-like behavioral and physiological reactions elicited by caffeine","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Caffeine exerts a biphasic effect on zebrafish behavior. High doses of caffeine have been associated with increased stress and anxiety, whereas low doses have been found to enhance performance on tasks requiring focus and attention. However, the sex-specific nature of these biphasic effects on behavior and physiology remains unclear. This study assessed the behavioral responses and hormone levels in male and female zebrafish after acute exposure to caffeine ranging from 0.3 to 600 mg/L. The results showed no significant difference in caffeine intake between males and females after acute exposure at each concentration. Caffeine-induced behavioral and physiological responses indicated a threshold dosage existed between 30 and 300 mg/L. Female fish displayed increased anxiety-like behavioral phenotypes, i.e., latency to upper and freezing, whereas males exhibited more erratic movement following acute exposure to a high-dose treatment. In addition, females exhibited a significant increase in whole-body cortisol levels, while males experienced a testosterone elevation at 300 mg/L of caffeine acute exposure. There was a significant decrease in the duration of erratic movements in males treated with the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide compared to the control group. The transcriptome analysis uncovered 511 and 592 up-regulated and 761 and 922 down-regulated differential expression genes in males and females, respectively, compared to the control. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) pathway analysis revealed that caffeine has the potential to impact various pathways in zebrafish, including phototransduction and steroid hormone biosynthesis. Our findings demonstrate that testosterone and cortisol play a combined role in regulating stress responses in both behavior and physiology. Furthermore, our study highlights the significance of encompassing both male and female zebrafish as a model system.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141630740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-14DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115150
Introduction
Both cannabis use and depressive symptomology increase in prevalence throughout adolescence. Concurrently, the brain is undergoing neurodevelopment in important limbic regions, such as the amygdala. Prior research indicates the amygdala may also be related to cannabis use and depressive symptoms. We aimed to investigate the effects of adolescent cannabis use on amygdala volumes as well as the interaction of cannabis use and amygdala morphometry on depressive symptoms in youth.
Method
Two-hundred-twenty-four participants (ages 12–15), balanced by sex assigned at birth, were selected from a sub-sample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study based on hair toxicology and self-report measures of cannabis use. Participants positive for cannabinoids in hair and/or self-reported cannabis use were demographically matched to youth with no self-reported or confirmed cannabis use. The guardians of these youth reported depression symptoms on the Child Behavioral Checklist. Linear mixed effect models were run investigating cannabis use group on amygdala volumes bilaterally, controlling for whole brain volume and random effects of scanner type. Additional analyses examined cannabis group status and bilateral amygdala volume on depression symptoms.
Results
Cannabis use was not significantly associated with amygdala volume but was associated with increased depressive symptoms (p<0.01). Cannabis group interacted with amygdala volume, such that individuals with smaller volumes had increased depressive symptoms within the cannabis group (p’s<0.01–0.02).
Conclusion
Aberrations in amygdala volume based on cannabis use were not found in early adolescence; however, more depressive symptoms were related to cannabis group. Youth who use cannabis and have smaller amygdala volumes were at increased risk for depressive symptomology, suggesting potential neurovulnerabilities to cannabis use.
{"title":"Amygdala volume and depression symptoms in young adolescents who use cannabis","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115150","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115150","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>Both cannabis use and depressive symptomology increase in prevalence throughout adolescence. Concurrently, the brain is undergoing neurodevelopment in important limbic regions, such as the amygdala. Prior research indicates the amygdala may also be related to cannabis use and depressive symptoms. We aimed to investigate the effects of adolescent cannabis use on amygdala volumes as well as the interaction of cannabis use and amygdala morphometry on depressive symptoms in youth.</p></div><div><h3>Method</h3><p>Two-hundred-twenty-four participants (ages 12–15), balanced by sex assigned at birth, were selected from a sub-sample of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study based on hair toxicology and self-report measures of cannabis use. Participants positive for cannabinoids in hair and/or self-reported cannabis use were demographically matched to youth with no self-reported or confirmed cannabis use. The guardians of these youth reported depression symptoms on the Child Behavioral Checklist. Linear mixed effect models were run investigating cannabis use group on amygdala volumes bilaterally, controlling for whole brain volume and random effects of scanner type. Additional analyses examined cannabis group status and bilateral amygdala volume on depression symptoms.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Cannabis use was not significantly associated with amygdala volume but was associated with increased depressive symptoms (p<0.01). Cannabis group interacted with amygdala volume, such that individuals with smaller volumes had increased depressive symptoms within the cannabis group (p’s<0.01–0.02).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Aberrations in amygdala volume based on cannabis use were not found in early adolescence; however, more depressive symptoms were related to cannabis group. Youth who use cannabis and have smaller amygdala volumes were at increased risk for depressive symptomology, suggesting potential neurovulnerabilities to cannabis use.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141619210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-14DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115146
Mental imagery may represent a weaker form of perception and, thus, mental images may be more ambiguous than visual percepts. If correct, the acquisition of fear would be less specific for imagined fears in comparison to perceptual fears, perhaps facilitating broader fear generalization. To test this idea, a two-day differential fear conditioning experiment (N = 98) was conducted. On day one, two groups of participants underwent differential fear conditioning such that a specific Gabor patch orientation (CS+) was paired with mild shocks (US) while a second Gabor patch of orthogonal orientation (CS-) was never paired with shock. Critically, one group imagined the Gabor patches and the other group was visually presented the Gabor patches. Next, both groups were presented visual Gabor patches of similar orientations (GCS) to the CS+. On day two, to assess the persistence of imagined fear, participants returned to the lab and were tested on the GCS devoid of shock. For day one, in contrast to our primary hypothesis, both self-report and skin conductance response measures did not show a significant interaction between the GCS and groups. On day two, both measures demonstrated a persistence of imagined fear, without US delivery. Taken together, rather than demonstrating an overgeneralization effect, the results from this study suggest that imagery-based fear conditioning generalizes to a similar extent as perceptually acquired fear conditioning. Further, the persistence of imagery-based fear may have unique extinction qualities in comparison to perceptual-based fear.
{"title":"Suffering more in imagination than in reality? Mental imagery and fear generalization","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115146","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115146","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mental imagery may represent a weaker form of perception and, thus, mental images may be more ambiguous than visual percepts. If correct, the acquisition of fear would be less specific for imagined fears in comparison to perceptual fears, perhaps facilitating broader fear generalization. To test this idea, a two-day differential fear conditioning experiment (<em>N</em> = 98) was conducted. On day one, two groups of participants underwent differential fear conditioning such that a specific Gabor patch orientation (CS+) was paired with mild shocks (US) while a second Gabor patch of orthogonal orientation (CS-) was never paired with shock. Critically, one group imagined the Gabor patches and the other group was visually presented the Gabor patches. Next, both groups were presented visual Gabor patches of similar orientations (GCS) to the CS+. On day two, to assess the persistence of imagined fear, participants returned to the lab and were tested on the GCS devoid of shock. For day one, in contrast to our primary hypothesis, both self-report and skin conductance response measures did not show a significant interaction between the GCS and groups. On day two, both measures demonstrated a persistence of imagined fear, without US delivery. Taken together, rather than demonstrating an overgeneralization effect, the results from this study suggest that imagery-based fear conditioning generalizes to a similar extent as perceptually acquired fear conditioning. Further, the persistence of imagery-based fear may have unique extinction qualities in comparison to perceptual-based fear.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432824003024/pdfft?md5=21b9ba25accf1b2558e859025f31d941&pid=1-s2.0-S0166432824003024-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141619211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-14DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115149
The microbiome–gut–brain axis is related to schizophrenia (SCZ). The role of intestinal mycobiota in SCZ has been under investigated. We present a half-year follow-up study involving 109 chronic SCZ patients and 77 healthy controls. Intestinal mycobiota was tested by internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to measure fecal metabolites. Symptom severity was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Enterotype analysis showed that Candida-type patients exhibited severer positive symptoms and depression factors than Saccharomyces-type patients. Candida and its top species and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were positively correlated with depression factors (all p=0.001). Fecal metabolites analysis showed that upregulated metabolites were associated with chronic inflammation (NF-κB pathway and T helper cell differentiation), downregulated metabolites were associated with glutamate metabolism, serotonergic and dopaminergic synapse. Procrustes analysis revealed significant correlation between intestinal mycobiota and fecal metabolites (M2=0.937, p<0.001). Metabolic module analysis showed that the top module, MEturquoise (associated with Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation), was negatively correlated with SCZ (r=-0.783, p<0.0001), positively correlated with Candida, Aspergillus, Trichosporon and Talaromyces (decreased in SCZ) and negatively correlated with Saccharomyces (increased in SCZ). We also found impairments of intestinal barrier in SCZ, characterized by increased in blood D-lactate (mucosa impairment marker) and decreased in blood mucin 2 (mucosal barrier protective protein). Serum levels of TNF-α was increased and showed stable high levels during treatment. This study suggests that mycobiota dysbiosis-related chronic inflammation and an impaired intestinal mucosal barrier are associated with chronic SCZ.
{"title":"Intestinal mycobiota dysbiosis associated inflammation activation in chronic schizophrenia","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115149","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115149","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The microbiome–gut–brain axis is related to schizophrenia (SCZ). The role of intestinal mycobiota in SCZ has been under investigated. We present a half-year follow-up study involving 109 chronic SCZ patients and 77 healthy controls. Intestinal mycobiota was tested by internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to measure fecal metabolites. Symptom severity was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Enterotype analysis showed that <em>Candida-</em>type patients exhibited severer positive symptoms and depression factors than <em>Saccharomyces-</em>type patients. <em>Candida</em> and its top species and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were positively correlated with depression factors (all p=0.001). Fecal metabolites analysis showed that upregulated metabolites were associated with chronic inflammation (NF-κB pathway and T helper cell differentiation), downregulated metabolites were associated with glutamate metabolism, serotonergic and dopaminergic synapse. Procrustes analysis revealed significant correlation between intestinal mycobiota and fecal metabolites (M2=0.937, p<0.001). Metabolic module analysis showed that the top module, MEturquoise (associated with Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation), was negatively correlated with SCZ (r=-0.783, p<0.0001), positively correlated with <em>Candida</em>, <em>Aspergillus</em>, <em>Trichosporon</em> and <em>Talaromyces</em> (decreased in SCZ) and negatively correlated with <em>Saccharomyces</em> (increased in SCZ). We also found impairments of intestinal barrier in SCZ, characterized by increased in blood D-lactate (mucosa impairment marker) and decreased in blood mucin 2 (mucosal barrier protective protein). Serum levels of TNF-α was increased and showed stable high levels during treatment. This study suggests that mycobiota dysbiosis-related chronic inflammation and an impaired intestinal mucosal barrier are associated with chronic SCZ.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8823,"journal":{"name":"Behavioural Brain Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141622510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}