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Williams DC, Chu A, Gordon NT, DuBois AM, Qian S, Valvo G, Shen S, Boyce JB, Fitzpatrick AC, Moaddab M, Russell EL, Counsman LH, McDannald MA. Ethograms predict visual fear conditioning status in rats. eLife 2025; 14:e102782. [PMID: 40029045 PMCID: PMC11957538 DOI: 10.7554/elife.102782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2025] [Indexed: 03/05/2025] Open
Abstract
Recognizing and responding to threat cues is essential to survival. Freezing is a predominant threat behavior in rats. We have recently shown that a threat cue can organize diverse behaviors beyond freezing, including locomotion (Chu et al., 2024). However, that experimental design was complex, required many sessions, and had rats receive many foot shock presentations. Moreover, the findings were descriptive. Here, we gave female and male Long Evans rats cue light illumination paired or unpaired with foot shock (eight total) in a conditioned suppression setting using a range of shock intensities (0.15, 0.25, 0.35, or 0.50 mA). We found that conditioned suppression was only observed at higher foot shock intensities (0.35 mA and 0.50 mA). We constructed comprehensive temporal ethograms by scoring 22,272 frames across 12 behavior categories in 200-ms intervals around cue light illumination. The 0.50 mA and 0.35 mA shock-paired visual cues suppressed reward seeking, rearing, and scaling, as well as light-directed rearing and light-directed scaling. These shock-paired visual cues further elicited locomotion and freezing. Linear discriminant analyses showed that ethogram data could accurately classify rats into paired and unpaired groups. Using complete ethogram data produced superior classification compared to behavior subsets, including an immobility subset featuring freezing. The results demonstrate diverse threat behaviors - in a short and simple procedure - containing sufficient information to distinguish the visual fear conditioning status of individual rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Williams
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Amanda Chu
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Nicholas T Gordon
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Aleah M DuBois
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Suhui Qian
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Genevieve Valvo
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Selena Shen
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Jacob B Boyce
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Anaise C Fitzpatrick
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Mahsa Moaddab
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Emma L Russell
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
| | | | - Michael A McDannald
- Boston College Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceChestnut HillUnited States
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Williams DC, Chu A, Gordon NT, DuBois AM, Qian S, Valvo G, Shen S, Boyce JB, Fitzpatrick AC, Moaddab M, Russell EL, Counsman L, McDannald MA. Ethograms reveal a fear conditioned visual cue to organize diverse behaviors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.10.612214. [PMID: 39314414 PMCID: PMC11419114 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.10.612214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Recognizing and responding to threat cues is essential to survival. In rats, freezing is the most common behavior measured. Previously we demonstrated a threat cue can organize diverse behaviors (Chu et al., 2024). However, the experimental design of Chu et al. (2024) was complex and the findings descriptive. Here, we gave female and male Long Evans rats simple paired or unpaired presentations of a light and foot shock (8 total) in a conditioned suppression setting, using a range of shock intensities (0.15, 0.25, 0.35 or 0.5 mA). We found that conditioned suppression was only observed at higher foot shock intensities (0.35 mA and 0.5 mA). We constructed comprehensive, temporal ethograms by scoring 22,272 frames of behavior for 12 mutually exclusive behavior categories in 200 ms intervals around cue presentation. A 0.5 mA and 0.35 mA shock-paired visual cue suppressed reward seeking, rearing and scaling, as well as light-directed rearing and light-directed scaling. The shock-paired visual paired cue further elicited locomotion and freezing. Linear discriminant analyses showed that ethogram data could accurately classify rats into paired and unpaired groups. Considering the complete ethogram data produced superior classification than considering subsets of behaviors. The results demonstrate diverse threat-elicited behaviors - in a simple Pavlovian fear conditioning design - containing sufficient information to distinguish the fear learning status of individual rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Williams
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Amanda Chu
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Nicholas T Gordon
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Aleah M DuBois
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Suhui Qian
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Genevieve Valvo
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Selena Shen
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Jacob B Boyce
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Anaise C Fitzpatrick
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Mahsa Moaddab
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Emma L Russell
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Liliuokalani Counsman
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Michael A McDannald
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
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