scholarly journals Lane-maze for preference testing in flies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiola Boz Eckert ◽  
Dhiozer de Brittos Valdati ◽  
Jose Marino-Neto ◽  
Daniela Cristina de Toni ◽  
Cilene Lino de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Sucrose Preference ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Preference Testing ◽  
Maze Test ◽  
Candidate Species ◽  
Capillary Zone ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Behavioural Test ◽  
Behavioural Tests

Drosophila melanogaster is a candidate species to replace rodents in some neurobiological studies, encouraging attempts to develop behavioural tests for these flies. This study aimed to develop a behavioural test to simultaneously evaluate ethological (categorical) aspects of the motor and fluid intake activities, which may be used to assess sucrose preference in flies. For that, a lane-maze was 3D-printed to accommodate up to 14 individual flies in a single trial. Each lane had a capillary filled with 5% sucrose solution attached to one of the extremities. To validate a 5-min lane-maze test, male and female flies (adults, 5-6 days of age) underwent 0, 2, 8 or 20 h of food deprivation (FD, n=9-11/group) before testing. Duration of locomotion, immobility and grooming in the lane or capillary were scored from the video-recorded trials using EthoWatcher software. Minor effects of sex or FD were observed in the behaviours of flies. Independent of sex or FD, flies spent proportionally longer on the capillary than on the lane. Flies exhibited a significantly higher preference than expected for the capillary zone when food-deprived for 2h (males) or 20 h (females). Data suggest that short lane-maze test is a feasibly high throughput assessment of sucrose preference in flies, which may be sexually dimorphic as in other species studied so far.

scholarly journals Behavioural evidence for self-medication in bumblebees?

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Baracchi ◽  
Mark J. F. Brown ◽  
Lars Chittka
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Crithidia Bombi ◽  
Nicotine Consumption ◽  
Behavioural Experiments ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Behavioural Evidence

The presence of antimicrobial secondary metabolites in nectar suggests that pollinators, which are threatened globally by emergent disease, may benefit from the consumption of nectars rich in these metabolites. We tested whether nicotine, a nectar secondary metabolite common in Solanaceae and Tilia species, is used by parasitized bumblebees as a source of self-medication, using a series of toxicological, microbiological and behavioural experiments. Caged bees infected with Crithidia bombi had a slight preference for sucrose solution laced with the alkaloid and behavioural tests showed that the parasite infection induced an increased consumption of nicotine during foraging activity, though nicotine had an appetite-reducing effect overall. When ingested, nicotine delayed the progression of a gut infection in bumblebees by a few days, but dietary nicotine did not clear the infection, and after 10 days the parasite load approached that of control bees. Moreover, when pathogens were exposed to the alkaloid prior to host ingestion, the protozoan’s viability was not directly affected, suggesting that anti-parasite effects were relatively weak. Nicotine consumption in a single dose did not impose any cost even in starved bees but the alkaloid had detrimental effects on healthy bees if consistently consumed for weeks. These toxic effects disappeared in infected bees, suggesting that detoxification costs might have been counterbalanced by the advantages in slowing the progression of the infection. Nicotine consumption did not affect bee lifespan but the reduction in the parasite load may have other likely unexplored subtle benefits both for individual bees and their colony.  Potential evidence for self-medication is discussed. The contention that secondary metabolites in nectar may be under selection from pollinators, or used by plants to enhance their own reproductive success, remains to be confirmed.

scholarly journals Weak and contradictory effects of self-medication with nectar nicotine by parasitized bumblebees

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Baracchi ◽  
Mark J. F. Brown ◽  
Lars Chittka
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Plant Metabolites ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Crithidia Bombi ◽  
Nicotine Consumption ◽  
Behavioural Experiments ◽  
Behavioural Tests

The presence of antimicrobial secondary metabolites in nectar suggests that pollinators, which are threatened globally by emergent disease, may benefit from the consumption of nectars rich in these metabolites. We tested whether nicotine, a nectar secondary metabolite common in Solenaceae and Tilia species, is used by parasitized bumblebees as a source of self-medication, using a series of toxicological, microbiological and behavioural experiments. Caged bees infected with Crithidia bombi [TI1] had a slight preference for sucrose solution laced with the alkaloid and behavioural tests showed that the parasite infection induced an increased consumption of nicotine during foraging activity. When ingested, nicotine delayed the progression of a gut infection in bumblebees by a few days, but dietary nicotine did not clear the infection, and after 10 days the parasite load approached that of control bees. Moreover, when pathogens were exposed to the alkaloid prior to host ingestion the protozoan’s viability was not directly affected, suggesting that anti-parasite effects were relatively weak. Nicotine consumption in a single dose did not impose any cost even in food-stressed bees (starved) but the alkaloid had detrimental effects on healthy bees if consistently consumed for weeks. These toxic effects disappeared in infected bees suggesting that detoxification costs might have been counterbalanced by the advantages in slowing the progression of the infection. Nonetheless we did not find a benefit of nicotine consumption in terms of life expectancy of infected bees, making these findings difficult to interpret. Our results indicate that caution is warranted in interpreting impacts of plant metabolites on insect parasites and suggest that the conditions under which nicotine consumption provides benefits to either bees or plants remain to be identified. The contention that secondary metabolites in nectar may be under selection from pollinators, or used by plants to enhance their own reproductive success, remains to be confirmed.

scholarly journals Electroacupuncture Promotes Proliferation of Amplifying Neural Progenitors and Preserves Quiescent Neural Progenitors from Apoptosis to Alleviate Depressive-Like and Anxiety-Like Behaviours

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Yang ◽  
Na Yue ◽  
Xiaocang Zhu ◽  
Qiuqin Han ◽  
Bin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forced Swimming Test ◽  
Elevated Plus Maze ◽  
Neural Progenitors ◽  
Chronic Unpredictable Stress ◽  
Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus ◽  
Elevated Plus Maze Test ◽  
Maze Test ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
Swimming Test ◽  
Behavioural Tests

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviours and neural progenitors in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) in a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) rat model of depression. After being exposed to a CUS procedure for 2 weeks, rats were subjected to EA treatment, which was performed on acupoints Du-20 (Bai-Hui) and GB-34 (Yang-Ling-Quan), once every other day for 15 consecutive days (including 8 treatments), with each treatment lasting for 30 min. The behavioural tests (i.e., forced swimming test, elevated plus-maze test, and open-field entries test) revealed that EA alleviated the depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviours of the stressed rats. Immunohistochemical results showed that proliferative cells (BrdU-positive) in the EA group were significantly larger in number compared with the Model group. Further, the results showed that EA significantly promoted the proliferation of amplifying neural progenitors (ANPs) and simultaneously inhibited the apoptosis of quiescent neural progenitors (QNPs). In a word, the mechanism underlying the antidepressant-like effects of EA is associated with enhancement of ANPs proliferation and preserving QNPs from apoptosis.

scholarly journals Further characterization of the effect of the prototypical antidepressant imipramine on the microstructure of licking for sucrose

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245559
Author(s):  
Paolo S. D'Aquila ◽  
Adriana Galistu
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Period ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Day Treatment ◽  
Burst Size ◽  
Testing Time ◽  
Antidepressant Imipramine ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Dose Dependent

We previously reported that treatment with the prototypical antidepressant imipramine induced a dose-dependent reduction of the ingestion of a 10% sucrose solution, due to reduction of the licking burst number, thus suggesting reduced motivation and/or increased satiation. Importantly, the experimental sessions were performed in an alternate order, either 1-h or 24-h after imipramine administration. The observation that imipramine effect was more pronounced in the “1-h after-treatment” sessions, i.e. at the time of the brain drug Cmax, led us to suggest that it was likely related to brain drug levels at testing time. However, such an experimental design does not allow to rule out the alternative possibility that the observed effect might be due to post-session administration, as previously observed with memantine. To determine whether imipramine-induced decrease of sucrose ingestion could be observed even in absence of post-session administration, we examined the effect of a daily 22 day treatment with imipramine (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg). In the first half of the treatment period all behavioural tests were performed 1-h after administration. In the second half of the treatment period, tests were performed alternatively either 1-h or 24-h after imipramine administration. The results confirm that imipramine reduces sucrose ingestion due to a reduction of the licking burst number. Most importantly, these results demonstrate that this effect does not require imipramine post-session administration, since it was present before the beginning of post-session administrations. This supports the interpretation of the reduction of sucrose ingestion as a consequence of reduced motivation and/or increased satiation. Thus, these findings, taken together with the results of our previous study, might be relevant in explaining the effects of imipramine in models of drug-seeking and in body weight gain reduction in rats, but not in accounting for the antidepressant therapeutic effect. At variance with the results of our previous study, an increase in burst size was present in the first half of the treatment period, which might be interpreted as a prohedonic effect and/or as a compensatory effect.

scholarly journals The influence of the stereotypic forms of activity in mice behaviour in standard behavioural tests

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Kseniya P. Avimova ◽  
Dmitry B. Sandakov
Keyword(s):  
Home Cage ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Immobility Time ◽  
Stereotypic Behaviour ◽  
Hole Board ◽  
Behavioural Test ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Home Cage Activity ◽  
Grooming Behaviour ◽  
Over Time

Laboratory animals often develop abnormal repetitive (stereotypic) behaviour that can influence both physiology and behavioural test results. Such abnormal behaviours usually develop in suboptimal environment and increase over time. To explore the development of stereotypic forms of activity night home-cage behaviour of laboratory mice was analysed and collated with the behaviour in open field (OFT), hole-board (HBT) and tail suspension (TST) tests twice within 16 weeks. Mice expressed few stereotypies and their duration lessened over time from median 8.2 to 1.0 %. In contrast, grooming behaviour increased significantly from 29.5 to 49.6 %. Home-cage grooming correlated with the latency of locomotion start in OFT and with the immobility time in TST. Intensity and stability of stereotypic activity and grooming inf­luenced the duration of grooming in OFT: the mice with unstable stereotypies groomed more than others, and mice with the lowes home-cage grooming level also groomed in OFT the most. Intensity and stability of night grooming influenced the behaviour in TST: the mice with unstable level of grooming were the most mobile in this test. Abnormal home-cage activity may indicate impaired welfare, and that, in turn, may affect test activity, so researchers need to keep it in mind when planning animal behaviour experiments.  

scholarly journals Spontaneous, Voluntary, and Affective Behaviours in Rat Models of Pathological Pain

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Draxler ◽  
Aurora Moen ◽  
Karolina Galek ◽  
Ani Boghos ◽  
Dariga Ramazanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Power ◽  
Pain Model ◽  
Daily Life Activities ◽  
Mechanical Threshold ◽  
Pain Models ◽  
Pathological Pain ◽  
Behavioural Test ◽  
Threshold Testing ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Pain Patients

In pain patients affective and motivational reactions as well as impairment of daily life activities dominate the clinical picture. In contrast, many rodent pain models have been established on the basis of mechanical hypersensitivity testing. Up to today most rodent studies on pain still rely on reflexive withdrawal responses only. This discrepancy has likely contributed to the low predictive power of preclinical pain models for novel therapies. Here, we used a behavioural test array for rats to behaviourally evaluate five aetiologically distinct pain models consisting of inflammatory-, postsurgical-, cephalic-, neuropathic- and chemotherapy-induced pain. We assessed paralleling clinical expressions and comorbidities of chronic pain with an array of behavioural tests to assess anxiety, social interaction, distress, depression, and voluntary/spontaneous behaviours. Pharmacological treatment of the distinct pain conditions was performed with pathology-specific and clinically efficacious analgesics as gabapentin, sumatriptan, naproxen, and codeine. We found that rats differed in their manifestation of symptoms depending on the pain model and that pathology-specific analgesics also reduced the associated behavioural parameters. Based on all behavioural test performed, we screened for tests that can discriminate experimental groups on the basis of reflexive as well as non-sensory, affective parameters. Together, we propose a set of non-evoked behaviours with a comparable predictive power to mechanical threshold testing for each pain model.

scholarly journals Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase-Dependent Neurotoxic Kynurenine Metabolism Contributes to Poststroke Depression Induced in Mice by Ischemic Stroke along with Spatial Restraint Stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Soo Koo ◽  
Hyunha Kim ◽  
Jung Hwa Park ◽  
Min Jae Kim ◽  
Yong-Il Shin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Morris Water Maze ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Restraint Stress ◽  
Sucrose Preference ◽  
Morris Water Maze Test ◽  
Maze Test ◽  
Ido1 Expression ◽  
Kynurenine Metabolism

Aim. Poststroke depression (PSD), which occurs in approximately one-third of stroke survivors, is clinically important because of its association with slow functional recovery and increased mortality. In addition, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Methods. We used a mouse model of PSD to examine the neurobiological mechanisms of PSD and the beneficial effects of aripiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic drug. PSD was induced in mice by combining middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with spatial restraint stress. The body weight, sucrose preference, and forced swim tests were performed at 5, 7, and 9 weeks and the Morris water maze test at 10 weeks after completing MCAO and spatial restraint stress. Results. Mice subjected to MCAO and spatial restraint stress showed significant depressive-like behavior in the sucrose preference test and forced swim test as well as cognitive impairment in the Morris water maze test. The PSD-like phenotype was accompanied by an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) expression increase in the nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, but not in the striatum. Furthermore, the increased IDO1 levels were localized in Iba-1(+) cells but not in NeuN(+) or GFAP(+) cells, indicating that microglia-induced IDO1 expression was prominent in the PSD mouse brain. Moreover, 3-hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-dioxygenase (HAAO), quinolinic acid (QUIN), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly increased in the nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and hypothalamus of PSD mice. Importantly, a 2-week aripiprazole (1 mg/kg, per os) regimen, which was initiated 1 day after MCAO, ameliorated depressive-like behavior and impairment of cognitive functions in PSD mice that was accompanied by downregulation of IDO1, HAAO, QUIN, and ROS. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the IDO1-dependent neurotoxic kynurenine metabolism induced by microglia functions in PSD pathogenesis. The beneficial effect of aripiprazole on depressive-like behavior and cognitive impairment may be mediated by inhibition of IDO1, HAAO, QUIN, and ROS.

scholarly journals Behavioural evidence for self-medication in bumblebees?

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Baracchi ◽  
Mark J. F. Brown ◽  
Lars Chittka
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Crithidia Bombi ◽  
Nicotine Consumption ◽  
Behavioural Experiments ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Behavioural Evidence

The presence of antimicrobial secondary metabolites in nectar suggests that pollinators, which are threatened globally by emergent disease, may benefit from the consumption of nectars rich in these metabolites. We tested whether nicotine, a nectar secondary metabolite common in Solanaceae and Tilia species, is used by parasitized bumblebees as a source of self-medication, using a series of toxicological, microbiological and behavioural experiments. Caged bees infected with Crithidia bombi had a slight preference for sucrose solution laced with the alkaloid and behavioural tests showed that the parasite infection induced an increased consumption of nicotine during foraging activity, though nicotine had an appetite-reducing effect overall. When ingested, nicotine delayed the progression of a gut infection in bumblebees by a few days, but dietary nicotine did not clear the infection, and after 10 days the parasite load approached that of control bees. Moreover, when pathogens were exposed to the alkaloid prior to host ingestion, the protozoan’s viability was not directly affected, suggesting that anti-parasite effects were relatively weak. Nicotine consumption in a single dose did not impose any cost even in starved bees but the alkaloid had detrimental effects on healthy bees if consistently consumed for weeks. These toxic effects disappeared in infected bees, suggesting that detoxification costs might have been counterbalanced by the advantages in slowing the progression of the infection. Nicotine consumption did not affect bee lifespan but the reduction in the parasite load may have other likely unexplored subtle benefits both for individual bees and their colony.  Potential evidence for self-medication is discussed. The contention that secondary metabolites in nectar may be under selection from pollinators, or used by plants to enhance their own reproductive success, remains to be confirmed.

Sucrose Preference as a Function of Water Deprivation and Prepreference Training

1979 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 823-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome S. Cohen ◽  
Brian Burtt
Keyword(s):  
Water Deprivation ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Sucrose Preference ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Preference Tests

Highly (23.5-hr.) as well as moderately (18-hr.) water-deprived animals preferred a location containing a 10% sucrose solution to one containing water after experiencing a series of forced-choice trials to each reward. Reliable incentive preferences were either eliminated or their development considerably retarded in highly water-deprived animals, however, when they experienced only sucrose at both positions prior to preference tests. These findings help explain discrepant results on the relationship of drive and incentive choice previously obtained in our laboratory from those in Beck's laboratory.

Exploring test batteries for depression- and anxiety-like behaviours in female and male ICR and black Swiss mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydmila Kazavchinsky ◽  
Sofi Dahan ◽  
Haim Einat
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Behavioural Phenotype ◽  
Drug Treatments ◽  
Emotional Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Test ◽  
Outbred Mice ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractObjective and rationale: Animal models are critical for the study of mental disorders and their treatments but are repeatedly criticized for problems with validity and reproducibility. One approach to enhance validity and reproducibility of models is to use test batteries rather than single tests. Yet, a question regarding batteries is whether one can expect a consistent individual behavioural phenotype in mice across tests that can be presumed to be part of the same construct. This study was designed to explore the relationship between the behaviours of mice across tests in some variations of test batteries for depression- and anxiety-like behaviours. Methods: Female and male healthy, intact, and untreated mice from the ICR and black Swiss strains were used in four separate experiments. With some variations, mice were exposed to a battery of behavioural tests representing affective- and anxiety-like behaviours. Data were analysed for differences between sexes and for correlations between behaviours within and across the tests in the battery. Results: No differences were found between the sexes. With very few exceptions, we found correlations within tests (when one test has more than one measure or is repeated) but not across different tests within the battery. Conclusions: The results cast some doubt on the utility of behavioural test batteries to represent different facets of emotional behaviour in healthy intact outbred mice, without any interventions or treatments. Additional studies are designed to explore whether stronger relationship between the tests will appear after manipulations or drug treatments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document