Activation of ERK1/2 is required for normal response of isosexual social interactions in male rats

Betaine prevents cognitive dysfunction by suppressing hippocampal microglial activation in chronic social isolated male mice

Chronic social isolation (SI) stress, which became more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributes to abnormal behavior, including mood changes and cognitive impairment. Known as a functional nutrient, betaine has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in vivo. However, whether betaine can alleviate the abnormal behavior induced by chronic SI in mice remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of betaine in the treatment of behavioral changes and its underlying mechanism. Three-week-old male mice were randomly housed for 8 weeks in either group housing (GH) or SI. The animals were divided into normal saline-treated GH, normal saline-treated SI, and betaine-treated SI groups in the sixth week. The cognitive and depression-like behavior was determined in the eighth week. We found that long-term betaine administration improved cognitive behavior in SI mice but failed to prevent depression-like behavior. Moreover, long-term betaine administration inhibited hippocampal microglia over-activation and polarized microglia toward the M2 phenotype, which effectively inhibited the expression of inflammatory factors in SI mice. Finally, the protective effect of betaine treatment in SI mice might not be due to altered activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Collectively, our findings reveal that betaine can improve SI-induced cognitive impairment, thus providing an alternative natural source for the prevention of memory loss caused by SI or loneliness.

Role of early environmental enrichment on the social dominance tube test at adulthood in the rat

RATIONALE

Environmental enrichment (EE) could influence brain plasticity and behavior in rodents. Whether the early EE may predispose individuals to a particular social hierarchy in the social dominance tube test (SDTT) at adulthood is still unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The present study directly investigated the influence of EE on competitive success in the SDTT among adult rats.

METHODS

Male rats were maintained in EE from postnatal days 21 to 35. Social dominance behavior was determined by SDTT, competitive food foraging test, and mate preference test at adulthood. IBA-1 expression in the hypothalamus was examined using immunohistochemistry and western blot.

RESULTS

EE rats were prone to become submissive during a social encounter with standard environment (SE) rats in the SDTT. No difference was found in food foraging in the competitive food foraging test between SE and EE rats. Male EE rats were more attractive than the SE to the female rats in the mate preference test. IBA-1 expression was found to be decreased in the hypothalamus of EE rats compared to SE group. Infusion of a microglia inhibitor reduced percentage of forward in SE rats in the SDTT. Infusion of DNA methyltransferase inhibitor prevented the development of subordinate status in EE rats and restored the expression of IBA-1 in the hypothalamus.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that early EE did not lead to reduced social hierarchy in the male rat. However, EE caused a reduction in the percentage of forward in the SDTT, which might be associated with reduced number of microglia in the hypothalamus.

Anterior cingulate cortex involved in social food-foraging decision-making strategies of rats

INTRODUCTION

Decision making as a complex cognitive process involves assessing risk, reward, and costs. Typically, it has been studied in nonsocial contexts. We have developed a novel laboratory model used with rodents to detect food-foraging decision-making strategies in different social settings. However, the brain regions that mediate these behaviors are not well identified. Substantial evidence shows that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) participates in evaluation of social information and in decision making.

METHODS

In this study, we investigated the effect of bilateral lesions in the ACC on established behaviors. Kainic acid (KA) was administered bilaterally to induce ACC lesions, and saline microinjection into the ACC was used in the sham group.

RESULTS

In contrast to the sham-lesioned animals, when faced with the choice of foraging under a social context, rats with ACC lesions preferred foraging for the less desirable food. Moreover, in these situations, the total amount of food foraged by the ACC-lesioned group was less than the amount foraged by the sham group. Notably, neither social interactions nor social agonistic behaviors were affected by ACC lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the ACC is a key region underlying neural processing of social decision-making, specifically tending to compete for foraging high predictive reward food.

Differential roles of hippocampal glutamatergic receptors in neuropathic anxiety-like behavior after partial sciatic nerve ligation in rats

BACKGROUND

Neuropathic pain evoked by nerve injury is frequently accompanied by deterioration of emotional behaviors, but the underlying signaling mechanisms remain elusive. Glutamate (Glu) is the major mediator of excitatory synaptic transmission throughout the brain, and abnormal activity of the glutamatergic system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of pain and associated emotional comorbidities. In this study we used the partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) model of neuropathic pain in rats to characterize the development of anxiety-like behavior, the expression of glutamatergic receptors, and the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the hippocampus, the region that encodes memories related to emotions.

RESULTS

We found that the mechanical withdrawal threshold was significantly reduced and an anxiety-like behavior was increased as determined via open field tests and elevated plus-maze tests at 28 days after injury. No significant differences were found in the ratio of sucrose preference and immobility time detected by sucrose preference tests and forced swimming tests respectively, possibly due to the timing factor. The expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtypes NR1 and NR2B, but not NR2A, GluR1, or GluR2 (the main subtype of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid [AMPA] receptor) in the hippocampus of injured rats was significantly reduced. Moreover, PSNL resulted in decreased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in the hippocampus. Intriguingly, treatment with D-serine (a co-agonist of NMDA receptor, 1 g/kg intraperitoneally) reduced the anxiety-like behavior but not the mechanical hypersensitivity induced by PSNL.

CONCLUSIONS

PSNL can induce significant anxiety-like but not depression-like behavior, and trigger down-regulation of NMDA but not AMPA receptors in the hippocampus at 28 days after injury.

Inactivation of BRD7 results in impaired cognitive behavior and reduced synaptic plasticity of the medial prefrontal cortex

BRD7 is a bromodomain-containing protein (BCP), and recent evidence implicates the role of BCPs in the initiation and development of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, few studies have investigated the biological functions of BRD7 in the central nervous system. In our study, BRD7 was found to be widely expressed in various regions of the mouse brain, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), caudate putamen (CPu), hippocampus (Hip), midbrain (Mb), cerebellum (Cb), and mainly co-localized with neuron but not with glia. Using a BRD7 knockout mouse model and a battery of behavioral tests, we report that disruption of BRD7 results in impaired cognitive behavior leaving the emotional behavior unaffected. Moreover, a series of proteins involved in synaptic plasticity were decreased in the medial prefrontal cortex and there was a concomitant decrease in neuronal spine density and dendritic branching in the medial prefrontal cortex. However, no significant difference was found in the hippocampus compared to the wild-type mice. Thus, BRD7 might play a critical role in the regulation of synaptic plasticity and affect cognitive behavior.