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Garduño BM, Hanni P, Hays C, Cogram P, Insel N, Xu X. How the forebrain transitions to adulthood: developmental plasticity markers in a long-lived rodent reveal region diversity and the uniqueness of adolescence. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1365737. [PMID: 38456144 PMCID: PMC10917993 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1365737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Maturation of the forebrain involves transitions from higher to lower levels of synaptic plasticity. The timecourse of these changes likely differs between regions, with the stabilization of some networks scaffolding the development of others. To gain better insight into neuroplasticity changes associated with maturation to adulthood, we examined the distribution of two molecular markers for developmental plasticity. We conducted the examination on male and female degus (Octodon degus), a rodent species with a relatively long developmental timecourse that offers a promising model for studying both development and age-related neuropathology. Immunofluorescent staining was used to measure perineuronal nets (PNNs), an extracellular matrix structure that emerges during the closure of critical plasticity periods, as well as microglia, resident immune cells that play a crucial role in synapse remodeling during development. PNNs (putatively restricting plasticity) were found to be higher in non-juvenile (>3 month) degus, while levels of microglia (putatively mediating plasticity) decreased across ages more gradually, and with varying timecourses between regions. Degus also showed notable variation in PNN levels between cortical layers and hippocampal subdivisions that have not been previously reported in other species. These results offer a glimpse into neuroplasticity changes occurring during degu maturation and highlight adolescence as a unique phase of neuroplasticity, in which PNNs have been established but microglia remain relatively high.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Maximiliano Garduño
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Patrick Hanni
- Department of Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States
| | - Chelsea Hays
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Patricia Cogram
- Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Nathan Insel
- Department of Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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Tan Z, Garduño BM, Aburto PF, Chen L, Ha N, Cogram P, Holmes TC, Xu X. Cognitively impaired aged Octodon degus recapitulate major neuropathological features of sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:182. [PMID: 36529803 PMCID: PMC9761982 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01481-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The long-lived Chilean rodent (Octodon degus) has been reported to show spontaneous age-dependent neuropathology and cognitive impairments similar to those observed in human AD. However, the handful of published papers on degus of differing genetic backgrounds yield inconsistent findings about sporadic AD-like pathological features, with notably differing results between lab in-bred degus versus outbred degus. This motivates more extensive characterization of spontaneously occurring AD-like pathology and behavior in degus. In the present study, we show AD-like neuropathological markers in the form of amyloid deposits and tau abnormalities in a cognitively impaired subset of aged outbred degus. Compared to the aged degus that show normal burrowing behavior, the age-matched degus with burrowing behavior deficits correlatively exhibit detectable human AD-like Aβ deposits and tau neuropathology, along with neuroinflammatory markers that include enhanced microglial activation and higher numbers of reactive astrocytes in the brain. This subset of cognitively impaired aged degus also exhibits cerebral amyloid angiopathy and tauopathy. We find robust neurodegenerative features in behaviorally deficient aged degus, including hippocampal neuronal loss, altered parvalbumin and perineuronal net staining in the cortex, and increased c-Fos neuronal activation in the cortex that is consistent with the neural circuit hyperactivity reported in human AD patients. By focusing on the subset of aged degus that show AD-like behavioral deficits and correlative neuropathology, our findings establish outbred degus as a natural model of sporadic AD and demonstrate the potential importance of wild-type outbred genetic backgrounds for AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqun Tan
- Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - B Maximiliano Garduño
- Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Pedro Fernández Aburto
- Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Lujia Chen
- Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Nicole Ha
- Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Patricia Cogram
- Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Todd C Holmes
- Department Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
- The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
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Synergistic Effect of Motivation for the Elderly and Support for Going out. J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12081257. [PMID: 36013206 PMCID: PMC9410321 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12081257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining a social environment that enables going out freely is important for older people and aids the prevention of frailty syndrome. However, losing a driver’s license can increase the long-term care needs of older people. Therefore, outing support systems are important. However, the utilization rate of these systems is currently relatively low. We conducted a demonstration experiment among older people aged 70 years and over, living in Iruma City, Saitama Japan, by implementing the Choisoko outing support system developed by Aisin Co., Ltd., in conjunction with an approach for improving motivation. Using this system, elderly people were able to go shopping freely whenever they chose, without a driver’s license. Participants in the demonstration experiment exhibited higher Functional Independence Measure scores after the intervention, irrespective of whether or not they used the Choisoko system. The number of uses per person increased over time, and the subjective well-being of Choisoko users improved. However, few male participants engaged with the system. Although improving motivation is important for inducing positive behaviors and enabling the elderly to go out, motivation-improving factors differ between men and women.
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Lee NS, Beery AK. Selectivity and Sociality: Aggression and Affiliation Shape Vole Social Relationships. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:826831. [PMID: 35330842 PMCID: PMC8940285 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.826831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The formation of selective social relationships is not a requirement of group living; sociality can be supported by motivation for social interaction in the absence of preferences for specific individuals, and by tolerance in place of social motivation. For species that form selective social relationships, these can be maintained by preference for familiar partners, as well as by avoidance of or aggression toward individuals outside of the social bond. In this review, we explore the roles that aggression, motivation, and tolerance play in the maintenance of selective affiliation. We focus on prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) as rodent species that both exhibit the unusual tendency to form selective social relationships, but differ with regard to mating system. These species provide an opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that underlie social relationships, and to compare mechanisms supporting pair bonds with mates and same-sex peer relationships. We then relate this to the role of aggression in group composition in a comparative context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole S. Lee
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, United States
| | - Annaliese K. Beery
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Annaliese K. Beery,
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