A water-reward task assay for evaluating mouse mutualistic cooperative behavior

AbstractSocial cooperation is fundamentally important for group animals but rarely studied with mice because of their natural aggressiveness. In the present work, we induced pairs of mice to develop a mutualistic cooperative behavior in a non-divided chamber. Each mouse was first trained to learn to use a water dispenser by occupying a particular zone served as a switch to the dispenser. Two trained mice were then put into a chamber containing two separate zones jointly controlling two dispensers. We recorded the latency before each co-drinking, the number and cumulated time of co-drinking each day during the test. These parameters served as quantitative measurements of cooperative behavior in mice. The whole procedure includes preparation, training and testing phases, which take 15 days in total. This assay provides detailed procedures and analytical methods for investigators to characterize and quantify the mutualistic cooperative behavior. The use of mice as subjects allows convenient coupling to other behavior assays and is amiable to genetic manipulations for mechanistic study.

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Dopamine and social cooperation

10.1093/oso/9780198824091.003.0008 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Richard J. Beninger

Keyword(s):

Nucleus Accumbens ◽

Maternal Behavior ◽

Cooperative Behavior ◽

Female Rats ◽

Incentive Learning ◽

Social Cooperation ◽

Social Stimuli ◽

Incentive Value ◽

Body Regions ◽

Sexually Mature

Dopamine and social cooperation describes how, in humans, dopamine-innervated brain areas or cell body regions are activated during cooperative social interactions, suggesting that social stimuli may be primary incentive stimuli. Lactating female rats lever press for access to their pups, nucleus accumbens dopamine is released during maternal behavior, and accumbens dopamine lesions decrease maternal behavior, implicating incentive learning in maternal care. Adult male Syrian hamsters learn a preference for a place associated with a female scent that increases nucleus accumbens dopamine and a dopamine receptor antagonist blocks the learning implicating dopamine in incentive learning in sexually mature males. In songbirds, striatal dopamine release is associated with directed song used to attract a mate; dopamine may influence the incentive value of the mate. Dopamine is linked to social behavior in reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. Dopamine-mediated incentive learning may contribute to the organization of socially cooperative behavior in many species.

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Early growth response 2 regulates mouse cooperative behavior

10.21203/rs.3.rs-105053/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ming Xiao ◽

Yanli Zhang ◽

Weixi Feng ◽

Ze Wang ◽

Tianqi Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Growth Response ◽

Cooperative Behavior ◽

Early Growth ◽

Psychological State ◽

Social Cooperation ◽

Early Growth Response ◽

Corrective Effect ◽

Novel Model

Abstract Social cooperation is essential to animals’ physical health and psychological state. However, the underlying molecular and neurobiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we established a novel model for systematically evaluating the cooperative behavior of mice for the task of water reward. Using this paradigm, we characterized cooperative deficits in isolated juvenile mice and the corrective effect of resocialization. Mechanistically, we found that the transcription factor early growth response 2 (Egr2)-dependent myelin maturation in the medial prefrontal cortex is necessary for the development of mice’s cooperative behavior. Additionally, corticosterone levels in the serum and medial prefrontal cortex were elevated in the isolated mice, potentially contributing to Egr2 expression reduction. This work suggests targeting Egr2 could be targeted for preventing and treating social isolation-related neuropsychiatric disorders in the future.

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Quantitative Measurements on the Ion Etching of TMV

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100072125 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 336-337

Author(s):

Irwin Bendet ◽

Nabil Rizk

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscope ◽

Tobacco Mosaic Virus ◽

Mosaic Virus ◽

Ion Current ◽

Beam Diameter ◽

Ion Etching ◽

Preliminary Results ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Monitoring Devices

Preliminary results reported last year on the ion etching of tobacco mosaic virus indicated that the diameter of the virus decreased more rapidly at 10KV than at 5KV, perhaps reaching a constant value before disappearing completely.In order to follow the effects of ion etching on TMV more quantitatively we have designed and built a second apparatus (Fig. 1), which incorporates monitoring devices for measuring ion current and vacuum as well as accelerating voltage. In addition, the beam diameter has been increased to approximately 1 cm., so that ten electron microscope grids can be exposed to the beam simultaneously.

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Some quantitative applications of vascular corrosion casting

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100124094 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 738-739

Author(s):

Fred E. Hossler

Keyword(s):

Blood Vessels ◽

Nuclear Orientation ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Surrounding Tissue ◽

Confocal Laser ◽

Corrosion Casting ◽

Venous Valve ◽

Casting Technique ◽

Low Viscosity ◽

Quantitative Measurements

Preparation of replicas of the complex arrangement of blood vessels in various organs and tissues has been accomplished by infusing low viscosity resins into the vasculature. Subsequent removal of the surrounding tissue by maceration leaves a model of the intricate three-dimensional anatomy of the blood vessels of the tissue not obtainable by any other procedure. When applied with care, the vascular corrosion casting technique can reveal fine details of the microvasculature including endothelial nuclear orientation and distribution (Fig. 1), locations of arteriolar sphincters (Fig. 2), venous valve anatomy (Fig. 3), and vessel size, density, and branching patterns. Because casts faithfully replicate tissue vasculature, they can be used for quantitative measurements of that vasculature. The purpose of this report is to summarize and highlight some quantitative applications of vascular corrosion casting. In each example, casts were prepared by infusing Mercox, a methyl-methacrylate resin, and macerating the tissue with 20% KOH. Casts were either mounted for conventional scanning electron microscopy, or sliced for viewing with a confocal laser microscope.

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Stereo modeling of HVEM specimens by serial tilting and computer graphics

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100141913 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 34-35

Author(s):

J.R. McIntosh ◽

D.L. Stemple ◽

William Bishop ◽

G.W. Hannaway

Keyword(s):

Computer Graphics ◽

Analytical Methods ◽

Photographic Film ◽

Complex Structures ◽

Multiple Objects ◽

Multiple Images ◽

3 Dimensional

EM specimens often contain 3-dimensional information that is lost during micrography on a single photographic film. Two images of one specimen at appropriate orientations give a stereo view, but complex structures composed of multiple objects of graded density that superimpose in each projection are often difficult to decipher in stereo. Several analytical methods for 3-D reconstruction from multiple images of a serially tilted specimen are available, but they are all time-consuming and computationally intense.

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Imaging of ferroelectric domain walls by electron holography

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100121636 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 246-247

Author(s):

Xiao Zhang

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Field ◽

High Resolution ◽

Domain Walls ◽

Ferroelectric Domain ◽

Object Wave ◽

Electron Holography ◽

High Resolution Imaging ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Electron Microscopes

Electron holography has recently been available to modern electron microscopy labs with the development of field emission electron microscopes. The unique advantage of recording both amplitude and phase of the object wave makes electron holography a effective tool to study electron optical phase objects. The visibility of the phase shifts of the object wave makes it possible to directly image the distributions of an electric or a magnetic field at high resolution. This work presents preliminary results of first high resolution imaging of ferroelectric domain walls by electron holography in BaTiO3 and quantitative measurements of electrostatic field distribution across domain walls.

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Label-free, mass-sensitive single-molecule imaging using interferometric scattering microscopy

Essays in Biochemistry ◽

10.1042/ebc20200023 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nikolas Hundt

Keyword(s):

Single Molecule ◽

Cellular Systems ◽

Single Molecule Imaging ◽

Label Free ◽

Measurement Sensitivity ◽

Mass Distributions ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Contrast Mechanism ◽

Cellular Components ◽

Scattering Signal

Abstract Single-molecule imaging has mostly been restricted to the use of fluorescence labelling as a contrast mechanism due to its superior ability to visualise molecules of interest on top of an overwhelming background of other molecules. Recently, interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy has demonstrated the detection and imaging of single biomolecules based on light scattering without the need for fluorescent labels. Significant improvements in measurement sensitivity combined with a dependence of scattering signal on object size have led to the development of mass photometry, a technique that measures the mass of individual molecules and thereby determines mass distributions of biomolecule samples in solution. The experimental simplicity of mass photometry makes it a powerful tool to analyse biomolecular equilibria quantitatively with low sample consumption within minutes. When used for label-free imaging of reconstituted or cellular systems, the strict size-dependence of the iSCAT signal enables quantitative measurements of processes at size scales reaching from single-molecule observations during complex assembly up to mesoscopic dynamics of cellular components and extracellular protrusions. In this review, I would like to introduce the principles of this emerging imaging technology and discuss examples that show how mass-sensitive iSCAT can be used as a strong complement to other routine techniques in biochemistry.

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