Prenatal restraint stress impairs recognition memory in adult male and female offspring

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-127
Author(s):  
Clarissa A. Moura ◽  
Matheus C. Oliveira ◽  
Layse F. Costa ◽  
Pamella R. F. Tiago ◽  
Victor A. D. Holanda ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:Accumulating evidence from preclinical and clinical studies indicates that prenatal exposure to stress impairs the development of the offspring brain and facilitates the emergence of mental illness. This study aims to describe the impact of prenatal restraint stress on cognition and exploration to an unfamiliar environment at adulthood in an outbred strain of mice.Methods:Late pregnant mice were exposed to restraint stress and adult offspring (60 days of age) behaviours were assessed in the object recognition task and open field test.Findings:Prenatal stress (PNS) impaired new object recognition in male and female mice. Importantly, the learning deficits in female PNS mice were linked to their estrous cycle. Actually, PNS females in metestrus/diestrus but not in proestrus/estrus phases displayed recognition deficits compared to controls. Concerning locomotion in an unfamiliar environment, male but not female PNS mice displayed significant increase, but showed no differences in the distance travelled within the centre zone of the arena.Conclusion:Present findings support the view that maternal restraint-stress during late pregnancy impairs recognition memory in both male and female offspring, and in females, this cognitive deficit is dependent on the estrous cycle phase. Ultimately, these data reinforce that PNS is an aetiological component of psychiatric disorders associated with memory deficits.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Sierra ◽  
Ilario De Toma ◽  
Lorenzo Lo Cascio ◽  
Esteban Vegas ◽  
Mara Dierssen

The use of mouse models has revolutionized the field of Down syndrome (DS), increasing our knowledge about neuropathology and helping to propose new therapies for cognitive impairment. However, concerns about the reproducibility of results in mice and their translatability to humans have become a major issue, and controlling for moderators of behavior is essential. Social and environmental factors, the experience of the researcher, and the sex and strain of the animals can all have effects on behavior, and their impact on DS mouse models has not been explored. Here we analyzed the influence of a number of social and environmental factors, usually not taken into consideration, on the behavior of male and female wild-type and trisomic mice (the Ts65Dn model) in one of the most used tests for proving drug effects on memory, the novel object recognition (NOR) test. Using principal component analysis and correlation matrices, we show that the ratio of trisomic mice in the cage, the experience of the experimenter, and the timing of the test have a differential impact on male and female and on wild-type and trisomic behavior. We conclude that although the NOR test is quite robust and less susceptible to environmental influences than expected, to obtain useful results, the phenotype expression must be contrasted against the influences of social and environmental factors.


2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Hirte ◽  
Frauke Graf ◽  
Ziyon Kim ◽  
Monika Knopf

From birth on, infants show long-term recognition memory for persons. Furthermore, infants from six months onwards are able to store and retrieve demonstrated actions over long-term intervals in deferred imitation tasks. Thus, information about the model demonstrating the object-related actions is stored and recognition memory for the objects as well as memory for the actions is retrieved. To study the development of long-term retention for different memory contents systematically, the present study investigated the recognition of person- and object-related information as well as the retention of actions in two samples of three-year-olds who had participated in a deferred imitation task at either nine or 18 months of age. Results showed that three-year-olds who had participated at nine months of age retained actions in a re-enactment task; however, they neither indicated person- nor object-recognition in a picture-choice task (recognition task). Children who had participated at 18 months of age demonstrated person- and object-recognition but no re-enactment at three years of age. Findings are discussed against the background of memory development from a preverbal to a verbal age and in regard to the characteristics of the recognition vs re-enactment tasks and the stimuli used.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxia Li

Abstract Social identity theory shows that individuals’ social identity can become salient in some contexts and affect their cognition and behavior. Little research has focused on the impact of ethnic identity salience on the group-reference effect in the remembering-knowing recognition task. Thus, the current study aims to examine this effect of ethnic identity salience. In Experiment 1 we recruited 26 Tibetan students and 30 Han Chinese students from a predominantly Han Chinese university. In Experiment 2, we selected 26 Tibetan students and 30 Han Chinese students from a predominantly Tibetan university. Two weeks before the experiment, all participants reported the baseline level of their social identity salience. After two weeks, each participant underwent a memory test. Tibetan students at the predominantly Han Chinese university showed evidence of higher ethnic identity salience and superior recognition memory performance during a Tibetan reference encoding task than during a Han Chinese reference encoding task (Experiment 1). However, Tibetan students at the Tibetan-majority university did not show this effect (Experiment 2). In comparison, Han Chinese participants did not show any social identity salience in the two experiments. The results show that the salient social identity had an effect on the group reference effect in a remembering-recognition memory test. The current study contributes to the past literature by providing a tentative further understanding of the relationship between social identity salience and remembering judgments.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jena B. Hales ◽  
Amber C. Ocampo ◽  
Nicola J. Broadbent ◽  
Robert E. Clark

Spatial memory in rodents can be erased following the infusion of zeta inhibitory peptide (ZIP) into the dorsal hippocampus via indwelling guide cannulas. It is believed that ZIP impairs spatial memory by reversing established late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP). However, it is unclear whether other forms of hippocampus-dependent memory, such as recognition memory, are also supported by hippocampal LTP. In the current study, we tested recognition memory in rats following hippocampal ZIP infusion. In order to combat the limited targeting of infusions via cannula, we implemented a stereotaxic approach for infusing ZIP throughout the dorsal, intermediate, and ventral hippocampus. Rats infused with ZIP 3–7 days after training on the novel object recognition task exhibited impaired object recognition memory compared to control rats (those infused with aCSF). In contrast, rats infused with ZIP 1 month after training performed similar to control rats. The ability to form new memories after ZIP infusions remained intact. We suggest that enhanced recognition memory for recent events is supported by hippocampal LTP, which can be reversed by hippocampal ZIP infusion.


2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1845) ◽  
pp. 20162275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu K. E. Tam ◽  
Sibah Hasan ◽  
Steven Hughes ◽  
Mark W. Hankins ◽  
Russell G. Foster ◽  
...  

Acute light exposure exerts various effects on physiology and behaviour. Although the effects of light on brain network activity in humans are well demonstrated, the effects of light on cognitive performance are inconclusive, with the size, as well as direction, of the effect depending on the nature of the task. Similarly, in nocturnal rodents, bright light can either facilitate or disrupt performance depending on the type of task employed. Crucially, it is unclear whether the effects of light on behavioural performance are mediated via the classical image-forming rods and cones or the melanopsin-expressing photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. Here, we investigate the modulatory effects of light on memory performance in mice using the spontaneous object recognition task. Importantly, we examine which photoreceptors are required to mediate the effects of light on memory performance. By using a cross-over design, we show that object recognition memory is disrupted when the test phase is conducted under a bright light (350 lux), regardless of the light level in the sample phase (10 or 350 lux), demonstrating that exposure to a bright light at the time of test, rather than at the time of encoding, impairs performance. Strikingly, the modulatory effect of light on memory performance is completely abolished in both melanopsin-deficient and rodless–coneless mice. Our findings provide direct evidence that melanopsin-driven and rod/cone-driven photoresponses are integrated in order to mediate the effect of light on memory performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Kai Chang ◽  
Jung Chu ◽  
Ya-Ting Tsai ◽  
Yan-Heng Lai ◽  
Jin-Chung Chen

Abstract Background Over-stimulation of dopamine signaling is thought to underlie the pathophysiology of a list of mental disorders, such as psychosis, mania and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These disorders are frequently associated with cognitive deficits in attention or learning and memory, suggesting that persistent activation of dopamine signaling may change neural plasticity to induce cognitive or emotional malfunction. Methods Dopamine transporter knockdown (DAT-KD) mice were used to mimic a hyper-dopamine state. Novel object recognition (NOR) task was performed to assess the recognition memory. To test the role of dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) on NOR, DAT-KD mice were treated with either a D3R antagonist, FAUC365 or by deletion of D3R. Total or phospho-GSK3 and –ERK1/2 signals in various brain regions were measured by Western blot analyses. To examine the impact of GSK3 signal on NOR, wild-type mice were systemically treated with GSK3 inhibitor SB216763 or, micro-injected with lentiviral shRNA of GSK3β or GSK3α in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Results We confirmed our previous findings that DAT-KD mice displayed a deficit in NOR memory, which could be prevented by deletion of D3R or exposure to FAUC365. In WT mice, p-GSK3α and p-GSK3β were significantly decreased in the mPFC after exposure to novel objects; however, the DAT-KD mice exhibited no such change in mPFC p-GSK3α/β levels. DAT-KD mice treated with FAUC365 or with D3R deletion exhibited restored novelty-induced GSK3 dephosphorylation in the mPFC. Moreover, inhibition of GSK3 in WT mice diminished NOR performance and impaired recognition memory. Lentiviral shRNA knockdown of GSK3β, but not GSK3α, in the mPFC of WT mice also impaired NOR. Conclusion These findings suggest that D3R acts via GSK3β signaling in the mPFC to play a functional role in NOR memory. In addition, treatment with D3R antagonists may be a reasonable approach for ameliorating cognitive impairments or episodic memory deficits in bipolar disorder patients.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Soniya Xavier ◽  
Jasmine Gili ◽  
Peter McGowan ◽  
Simin Younesi ◽  
Paul F. A. Wright ◽  
...  

Maternal diet is critical for offspring development and long-term health. Here we investigated the effects of a poor maternal diet pre-conception and during pregnancy on metabolic outcomes and the developing hypothalamus in male and female offspring at birth. We hypothesised that offspring born to dams fed a diet high in fat and sugar (HFSD) peri-pregnancy will have disrupted metabolic outcomes. We also determined if these HFSD-related effects could be reversed by a shift to a healthier diet post-conception, in particular to a diet high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFAs), since ω3 PUFAs are considered essential for normal neurodevelopment. Unexpectedly, our data show that there are minimal negative effects of maternal HFSD on newborn pups. On the other hand, consumption of an ω3-replete diet during pregnancy altered several developmental parameters. As such, pups born to high-ω3-fed dams weighed less for their length, had reduced circulating leptin, and also displayed sex-specific disruption in the expression of hypothalamic neuropeptides. Collectively, our study shows that maternal intake of a diet rich in ω3 PUFAs during pregnancy may be detrimental for some metabolic developmental outcomes in the offspring. These data indicate the importance of a balanced dietary intake in pregnancy and highlight the need for further research into the impact of maternal ω3 intake on offspring development and long-term health.


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