Topic: C57BL/6J mice

Life experiences wield particular influence over brain development during restricted time windows (i.e., critical periods), when the brain is more responsive to environmental stimuli. Positive experiences during critical periods lead to healthy brain wiring and development of proper behavioral skills. Conversely, diverse traumatic life experiences (e.g., physical/sexual abuse, prolonged hospitalization, warfare) can damage the brain structure and connectivity, increasing the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperac

Recent data show that women are more likely to drink alcohol to cope with stress, compared to men. We hypothesized that changes in circuit function in the basolateral (BLA) and central amygdala (CeA) of females could prime for this sex-specific effect of stress on ethanol drinking. To test this, we first developed a behavioral model that captures sex differences in stress-induced ethanol drinking. After training male and female C57BL/6J mice in a drinking-in-the-dark paradigm, we show that female mice drink more ethanol following repeated exposure to a foot shock stressor, compared to male mic

Older people remain underrepresented in translational studies, primarily due to the challenges associated with including aged animals. Their low survivorship, frailty status and heterogeneity hinder their use in longitudinal studies. Furthermore, social isolation, a prevalent issue among this population, is difficult to replicate in animals of advanced age. This study aims to evaluate the impact of social isolation on a cohort of surviving, aged animals in three different behavioral dimensions. A total of 37 C57BL/6J mice of both sexes were assessed in a longitudinal design over a three-month

Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC®) system by Tecniplast S.p.A. has revolutionized animal housing in research facilities by allowing precise control of environmental conditions to ensure optimal animal welfare. Furthermore, the possibility of a long-term, 24/7 monitoring of animal behaviour directly in the home-cage, has led to uncovering new digital biomarkers in mouse disease models. In this study, the utility of DVC to further facilitate behavioural research is explored, focusing on cognitive, anxiety, and social tests in C57BL/6J mice. Three tests traditionally performed out of the home cage (

Major neurocognitive disorder (NCD) affects over 55 million people worldwide and is characterized by cognitive impairment (CI). This study aimed to develop a non-invasive diagnostic test for CI based upon retinal thickness measurements explored in a mouse model. Discrimination indices and retinal layer thickness of healthy C57BL/6J mice were quantified through a novel object recognition test (NORT) and ocular coherence tomography (OCT), respectively. Based on criteria from the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 5th ed. (DSM-V), a diagnostic test was generated by transforming

Sleep deprivation (SD) detrimentally affects hippocampal-dependent memories, notably spatial and fear memories. However, its effect on social recognition memory — crucial for identifying conspecifics, remains unexplored. To address this, we developed a novel protocol to study the effects of SD on long-term social recognition memory (SRM) in adult male C57BL/6J mice. Our study revealed that 6 hours of SD, following a socialization trial, caused amnesia when SRM was assessed 24 hours later.Next, we investigated whether SD causes permanent loss or suboptimal storage of SRM. We employed mouse mode

Early-life is a critical window in offspring development. An unhealthy diet during this period can negatively impact offspring metabolic function and eating behaviour later in life​. Microbiota-targeted interventions hold promise for the treatment of aberrant functioning of eating behaviour. This study evaluates the impact of an early-life high-fat/high-sugar (HFHS) diet on eating behaviour later in life, and whether this can be attenuated by microbiota-targeted strategies.Male and female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to either control or HFHS diet from birth for 5 weeks. Afterwards, all mice rec

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) are implicated in various aspects of social behavior such as initiating, maintaining, or avoiding social interaction. C57BL/6J mice, CD1 mice and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats are amongst the most commonly used animal models for studying these behaviors. It was previously established that these strains of mice and rats differ in their social motivation during interaction with a sex-matched conspecific. We aim to find neural correlates to these differences using chronically implanted multi-electrode arrays targeting various nuclei of PFC and NA