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Gencturk S, Unal G. Rodent tests of depression and anxiety: Construct validity and translational relevance. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:191-224. [PMID: 38413466 PMCID: PMC11039509 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01171-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral testing constitutes the primary method to measure the emotional states of nonhuman animals in preclinical research. Emerging as the characteristic tool of the behaviorist school of psychology, behavioral testing of animals, particularly rodents, is employed to understand the complex cognitive and affective symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders. Following the symptom-based diagnosis model of the DSM, rodent models and tests of depression and anxiety focus on behavioral patterns that resemble the superficial symptoms of these disorders. While these practices provided researchers with a platform to screen novel antidepressant and anxiolytic drug candidates, their construct validity-involving relevant underlying mechanisms-has been questioned. In this review, we present the laboratory procedures used to assess depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors in rats and mice. These include constructs that rely on stress-triggered responses, such as behavioral despair, and those that emerge with nonaversive training, such as cognitive bias. We describe the specific behavioral tests that are used to assess these constructs and discuss the criticisms on their theoretical background. We review specific concerns about the construct validity and translational relevance of individual behavioral tests, outline the limitations of the traditional, symptom-based interpretation, and introduce novel, ethologically relevant frameworks that emphasize simple behavioral patterns. Finally, we explore behavioral monitoring and morphological analysis methods that can be integrated into behavioral testing and discuss how they can enhance the construct validity of these tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinem Gencturk
- Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gunes Unal
- Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey.
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2
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Buenhombre J, Daza-Cardona EA, Mota-Rojas D, Domínguez-Oliva A, Rivera A, Medrano-Galarza C, de Tarso P, Cajiao-Pachón MN, Vargas F, Pedraza-Toscano A, Sousa P. Trait sensitivity to stress and cognitive bias processes in fish: A brief overview. PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 7:e3. [PMID: 38384666 PMCID: PMC10877277 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2023.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Like other animals, fish have unique personalities that can affect their cognition and responses to environmental stressors. These individual personality differences are often referred to as "behavioural syndromes" or "stress coping styles" and can include personality traits such as boldness, shyness, aggression, exploration, locomotor activity, and sociability. For example, bolder or proactive fish may be more likely to take risks and present lower hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis reactivity as compared to shy or reactive individuals. Likewise, learning and memory differ between fish personalities. Reactive or shy individuals tend to have faster learning and better association recall with aversive stimuli, while proactive or bold individuals tend to learn more quickly when presented with appetitive incentives. However, the influence of personality on cognitive processes other than cognitive achievement in fish has been scarcely explored. Cognitive bias tests have been employed to investigate the interplay between emotion and cognition in both humans and animals. Fish present cognitive bias processes (CBP) in which fish's interpretation of stimuli could be influenced by its current emotional state and open to environmental modulation. However, no study in fish has explored whether CBP, like in other species, can be interpreted as long-lasting traits and whether other individual characteristics may explain its variation. We hold the perspective that CBP could serve as a vulnerability factor for the onset, persistence, and recurrence of stress-related disorders. Therefore, studying fish's CBP as a state or trait and its interactions with individual variations may be valuable in future efforts to enhance our understanding of anxiety and stress neurobiology in animal models and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhon Buenhombre
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
- ICB Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | - Erika Alexandra Daza-Cardona
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Daniel Mota-Rojas
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco Campus, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Adriana Domínguez-Oliva
- Neurophysiology, Behavior and Animal Welfare Assessment, DPAA, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco Campus, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Astrid Rivera
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Catalina Medrano-Galarza
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - María Nelly Cajiao-Pachón
- Especialización en Bienestar Animal y Etología, Fundación Universitaria Agraria de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Francisco Vargas
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Adriana Pedraza-Toscano
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agrarian Science, Animal Welfare Program, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Pêssi Sousa
- ICB Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
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3
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Structural environmental enrichment and the way it is offered influence cognitive judgement bias and anxiety-like behaviours in zebrafish. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:563-577. [PMID: 36209454 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01700-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment in zebrafish generally reduces anxiety-related behaviours, improves learning in maze trials and increases health and biological fitness. However, certain types of enrichment or certain conditions induce the opposite effects. Therefore, it is essential to study the characteristics of environmental enrichment that modulate these effects. This study aims to investigate if structural environmental enrichment and the way it is offered influence cognitive judgement bias and anxiety-like behaviours in adult zebrafish. The fish were assigned to six housing manipulations: constant barren, constant enrichment, gradual gain of enrichment, gradual loss of enrichment, sudden gain of enrichment and sudden loss of enrichment. We then transposed the cognitive judgment bias paradigm, formerly used in studies on other animals to measure the link between emotion and cognition, to objectively assess the impact of these manipulations on the zebrafish's interpretation of ambiguous stimuli, considering previous experiences and related emotional states. We used two battery tests (light/dark and activity tests), which measured anxiety-related behaviours to check if these tests covariate with cognitive bias results. The fish with a sudden gain in enrichment showed a pessimistic bias (interpreted ambiguous stimuli as negative). In addition, the fish that experienced a sudden gain and a gradual loss in enrichment showed more anxiety-like behaviours than the fish that experienced constant conditions or a gradual gain in enrichment. The data provide some proof that structural environmental enrichment and the way it is presented can alter zebrafish's cognitive bias and anxiety-like behaviours.
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Jabarin R, Netser S, Wagner S. Beyond the three-chamber test: toward a multimodal and objective assessment of social behavior in rodents. Mol Autism 2022; 13:41. [PMID: 36284353 PMCID: PMC9598038 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-022-00521-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
MAIN: In recent years, substantial advances in social neuroscience have been realized, including the generation of numerous rodent models of autism spectrum disorder. Still, it can be argued that those methods currently being used to analyze animal social behavior create a bottleneck that significantly slows down progress in this field. Indeed, the bulk of research still relies on a small number of simple behavioral paradigms, the results of which are assessed without considering behavioral dynamics. Moreover, only few variables are examined in each paradigm, thus overlooking a significant portion of the complexity that characterizes social interaction between two conspecifics, subsequently hindering our understanding of the neural mechanisms governing different aspects of social behavior. We further demonstrate these constraints by discussing the most commonly used paradigm for assessing rodent social behavior, the three-chamber test. We also point to the fact that although emotions greatly influence human social behavior, we lack reliable means for assessing the emotional state of animals during social tasks. As such, we also discuss current evidence supporting the existence of pro-social emotions and emotional cognition in animal models. We further suggest that adequate social behavior analysis requires a novel multimodal approach that employs automated and simultaneous measurements of multiple behavioral and physiological variables at high temporal resolution in socially interacting animals. We accordingly describe several computerized systems and computational tools for acquiring and analyzing such measurements. Finally, we address several behavioral and physiological variables that can be used to assess socio-emotional states in animal models and thus elucidate intricacies of social behavior so as to attain deeper insight into the brain mechanisms that mediate such behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we suggest that combining automated multimodal measurements with machine-learning algorithms will help define socio-emotional states and determine their dynamics during various types of social tasks, thus enabling a more thorough understanding of the complexity of social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renad Jabarin
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Shai Netser
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shlomo Wagner
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Zhang YH, Wang N, Lin XX, Wang JY, Luo F. Application of Cognitive Bias Testing in Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Mini-Review Based on Animal Studies. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:924319. [PMID: 35846788 PMCID: PMC9283837 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.924319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive biases can arise from cognitive processing under affective states and reflect the impact of emotion on cognition. In animal studies, the existing methods for detecting animal emotional state are still relatively limited, and cognitive bias test has gradually become an important supplement. In recent years, its effectiveness in animal research related to neuropsychiatric disorders has been widely verified. Some studies have found that cognitive bias test is more sensitive than traditional test methods such as forced swimming test and sucrose preference test in detecting emotional state. Therefore, it has great potential to become an important tool to measure the influence of neuropsychiatric disorder-associated emotions on cognitive processing. Moreover, it also can be used in early drug screening to effectively assess the potential effects or side effects of drugs on affective state prior to clinical trials. In this mini-review, we summarize the application of cognitive bias tests in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and pain. We also discussed its critical value in the identification of neuropsychiatric disorders and the validation of therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Han Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Ning Wang,
| | - Xiao-Xiao Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Yan Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fei Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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6
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Hodges TE, Lee GY, Noh SH, Galea LA. Sex and age differences in cognitive bias and neural activation in response to cognitive bias testing. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100458. [PMID: 35586750 PMCID: PMC9109184 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive symptoms of depression, including negative cognitive bias, are more severe in women than in men. Current treatments to reduce negative cognitive bias are not effective and sex differences in the neural activity underlying cognitive bias may play a role. Here we examined sex and age differences in cognitive bias and functional connectivity in a novel paradigm. Male and female rats underwent an 18-day cognitive bias procedure, in which they learned to discriminate between two contexts (shock paired context A, no-shock paired context B), during either adolescence (postnatal day (PD 40)), young adulthood (PD 100), or middle-age (PD 210). Cognitive bias was measured as freezing behaviour in response to an ambiguous context (context C), with freezing levels akin to the shock paired context coded as negative bias. All animals learned to discriminate between the two contexts, regardless of sex or age. However, adults (young adults, middle-aged) displayed a greater negative cognitive bias compared to adolescents, and middle-aged males had a greater negative cognitive bias than middle-aged females. Females had greater neural activation of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and hippocampal regions to the ambiguous context compared to males, and young rats (adolescent, young adults) had greater neural activation in these regions compared to middle-aged rats. Functional connectivity between regions involved in cognitive bias differed by age and sex, and only adult males had negative correlations between the frontal regions and hippocampal regions. These findings highlight the importance of examining age and sex when investigating the underpinnings of negative cognitive bias and lay the groundwork for determining what age- and sex-specific regions to target in future cognitive bias studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis E. Hodges
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Grace Y. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sophia H. Noh
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Liisa A.M. Galea
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Canada
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7
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Assessing animal welfare: a triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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8
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Yan X, Meng T, Liu H, Liu J, Du J, Chang C. The Association Between the Duration, Treatment, Control of Hypertension and Lifestyle Risk Factors in Middle-Aged and Elderly Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Case-Control Study. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2022; 18:585-595. [PMID: 35342291 PMCID: PMC8942123 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s353164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of hypertension in China is causally related to cognitive impairment. However, there is a dearth of information available regarding important factors for the association, including disease duration, therapeutic options, and risk factors associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in patients with hypertension. Methods We selected a diverse cohort of 572 patients with hypertension and assessed cognitive function using MoCA. Potential risk factors were investigated by a structured questionnaire. Risk factors associated with the hypertension-induced MCI occurring conversion of were analyzed using multifactorial regression analysis. Results MCI was observed in 256 of 572 individuals, which increased with age (OR=1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.20), but was decreased with high education status (OR=0.47, 95% CI 0.32-0.71). Risk factors independently associated with MCI were diabetes (OR=2.40, 95% CI 1.53-3.76), hyperlipidemia (OR=1.49, 95%=1.01-2.16), high salt diet (OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.34-3.84), and physical activity:>2h/week (OR=0.65, 95%0.44-0.94). However, controlling blood pressure to "normal" target values helped decrease the incidence of MCI (OR=0.44, 95% CI 0.30-0.65): this was not age dependent. Conclusion Our results suggest that it is necessary to promote the education of the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population to correctly and effectively use anti-hypertensives to control hypertension to a normal range to prevent cognitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiwu Yan
- Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Impairment Research, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ting Meng
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Impairment Research, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huaijun Liu
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Impairment Research, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jinfeng Liu
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Juan Du
- Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
| | - Cheng Chang
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China
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9
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Puccetti NA, Villano WJ, Fadok JP, Heller AS. Temporal dynamics of affect in the brain: Evidence from human imaging and animal models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 133:104491. [PMID: 34902442 PMCID: PMC8792368 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Emotions are time-varying internal states that promote survival in the face of dynamic environments and shifting homeostatic needs. Research in non-human organisms has recently afforded specific insights into the neural mechanisms that support the emergence, persistence, and decay of affective states. Concurrently, a separate affective neuroscience literature has begun to dissect the neural bases of affective dynamics in humans. However, the circuit-level mechanisms identified in animals lack a clear mapping to the human neuroscience literature. As a result, critical questions pertaining to the neural bases of affective dynamics in humans remain unanswered. To address these shortcomings, the present review integrates findings from humans and non-human organisms to highlight the neural mechanisms that govern the temporal features of emotional states. Using the theory of affective chronometry as an organizing framework, we describe the specific neural mechanisms and modulatory factors that arbitrate the rise-time, intensity, and duration of emotional states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikki A Puccetti
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - William J Villano
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - Jonathan P Fadok
- Department of Psychology and Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
| | - Aaron S Heller
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA.
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10
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Lecorps B, Weary DM, von Keyserlingk MAG. Negative expectations and vulnerability to stressors in animals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:240-251. [PMID: 34454913 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 08/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Humans express stable differences in pessimism that render some individuals more vulnerable to stressors and mood disorders. We explored whether non-human animals express stable individual differences in expectations (assessed via judgment bias tests) and whether these differences relate to susceptibility to stressors. Judgment bias tests do not distinguish pessimism from sensitivity to reinforcers; negative expectations are likely driven by a combination of these two elements. The available evidence suggests that animals express stable individual differences in expectations such that some persistently perceive ambiguous situations in a more negative way. A lack of research prevents drawing firm conclusions on how negative expectations affect responses to stressors, but current evidence suggests a link between negative expectations and the adoption of avoidance coping strategies, stronger responses to uncontrollable stressors and risk of mood-related disorders. We explore implications for animals living in captivity and for research using animals as models for human disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Lecorps
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, 2357 Main Mall, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z6, Canada
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, 2357 Main Mall, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z6, Canada
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, 2357 Main Mall, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z6, Canada.
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11
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Knockout of the Serotonin Transporter in the Rat Mildly Modulates Decisional Anhedonia. Neuroscience 2021; 469:31-45. [PMID: 34182055 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Serotonin transporter gene variance has long been considered an essential factor contributing to depression. However, meta-analyses yielded inconsistent findings recently, asking for further understanding of the link between the gene and depression-related symptoms. One key feature of depression is anhedonia. While data exist on the effect of serotonin transporter gene knockout (5-HTT-/-) in rodents on consummatory and anticipatory anhedonia, with mixed outcomes, the effect on decisional anhedonia has not been investigated thus far. Here, we tested whether 5-HTT-/- contributes to decisional anhedonia. To this end, we established a novel touchscreen-based go/go task of visual decision-making. During the learning of stimulus discrimination, 5-HTT+/+ rats performed more optimal decision-making compared to 5-HTT-/- rats at the beginning, but this difference did not persist throughout the learning period. During stimulus generalization, the generalization curves were similar between both genotypes and did not alter as the learning progress. Interestingly, the response time in 5-HTT+/+ rats increased as the session increased in general, while 5-HTT-/- rats tended to decrease. The response time difference might indicate that 5-HTT-/- rats altered willingness to exert cognitive effort to the categorization of generalization stimuli. These results suggest that the effect of 5-HTT ablation on decisional anhedonia is mild and interacts with learning, explaining the discrepant findings on the link between 5-HTT gene and depression.
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12
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Resasco A, MacLellan A, Ayala MA, Kitchenham L, Edwards AM, Lam S, Dejardin S, Mason G. Cancer blues? A promising judgment bias task indicates pessimism in nude mice with tumors. Physiol Behav 2021; 238:113465. [PMID: 34029586 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
In humans, affective states can bias responses to ambiguous information: a phenomenon termed judgment bias (JB). Judgment biases have great potential for assessing affective states in animals, in both animal welfare and biomedical research. New animal JB tasks require construct validation, but for laboratory mice (Mus musculus), the most common research vertebrate, a valid JB task has proved elusive. Here (Experiment 1), we demonstrate construct validity for a novel mouse JB test: an olfactory Go/Go task in which subjects dig for high- or low-value food rewards. In C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice faced with ambiguous cues, latencies to dig were sensitive to high/low welfare housing: environmentally-enriched animals responded with relative 'optimism' through shorter latencies. Illustrating the versatility of this validated JB task across different fields of research, it further allowed us to test hypotheses about the mood-altering effects of cancer in male and female nude mice (Experiment 2). Males, although not females, treated ambiguous cues as intermediate; and males bearing subcutaneous lung adenocarcinomas also responded more pessimistically to these than did healthy controls. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a valid mouse JB task, and the first demonstration of pessimism in tumor-bearing animals. This task still needs to be refined to improve its sensitivity. However, it has great potential for investigating mouse welfare, the links between affective state and disease, depression-like states in animals, and hypotheses regarding the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie affect-mediated biases in judgment.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Resasco
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, National Scientific and Technical Research Council-University of Buenos Aires, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Laboratory of Experimental Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - A MacLellan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - M A Ayala
- Laboratory of Experimental Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - L Kitchenham
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - A M Edwards
- Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - S Lam
- Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - S Dejardin
- Formerly Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - G Mason
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
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Guo CCG, He T, Grandjean J, Homberg J. Knockout serotonin transporter in rats moderates outcome and stimulus generalization. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:25. [PMID: 33414390 PMCID: PMC7791109 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01162-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the common dimension of mental disorders (such as anxiety, depression, and drug addiction) might contribute to the construction of biological frameworks (Research Domain Criteria, RDoC) for novel ways of treatment. One common dimension at the behavioral level observed across these disorders is a generalization. Testing generalization in serotonin transporter (5-HTT) knockout (KO) rats, an animal model showing depression/anxiety-like behaviors and drug addiction-like behaviors, could therefore provide more insights into this framework. We tested the outcome and stimulus generalization in wild-type (WT) and 5-HTT KO rats. Using a newly established touchscreen-based task, subjects directly responded to visual stimuli (Gabor patch images). We measured the response time and outcome in a precise manner. We found that 5-HTT KO rats processed visual information faster than WT rats during outcome generalization. Interestingly, during stimulus generalization, WT rats gradually responded faster to the stimuli as the sessions progressed, while 5-HTT KO rats responded faster than WT in the initial sessions and did not change significantly as the sessions progressed. This observation suggests that KO rats, compared to WT rats, may be less able to update changes in information. Taken together, KO 5-HTT modulates information processing when the environment changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Ciu-Gwok Guo
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Tao He
- grid.11135.370000 0001 2256 9319School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Joanes Grandjean
- grid.10417.330000 0004 0444 9382Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands ,grid.10417.330000 0004 0444 9382Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Judith Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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