Biology subjects

Adriaensen, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Adriaensen, H..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Affiliative behaviours regulate allostasis development and shape biobehavioural trajectories in horse

Social interactions shape both physiological and behavioural development of offspring and poor care/early caregiver loss are known to promote negative outcomes in adulthood in both animals and humans. How affiliative behaviours impact future development of offspring remains unknown. Here, we used Equus caballus (domestic horse) as a model to investigate this question. By coupling magnetic resonance imaging, longitudinal biobehavioural assessment and advanced multivariate statistical modelling we found that maternal presence during childhood promotes maturation of brain territories involved in both social behaviour (anterior cingulate, retrosplenial cortex) and physiological regulation (hypothalamus, amygdala). Additionally, we found that offsprings benefiting from prolonged maternal presence showed higher default mode network (DMN) connectivity, improved social competences, more efficient feeding behaviours, and metabolic profiles. The present study underscores the salient role of social interactions for the development of allostatic regulation in offspring.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

The sheep brain: an interesting translational model for functional MRI studies?

Biomedical investigations in clinically relevant animal models is of crucial interest for faster and appropriate transfer to human. The ovine model has already demonstrated its potential compared to rodents and non-human primates (NHP) in various studies: sheep possess a gyrencephalic brain, captivity is not an issue and can undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in routine clinical scanners (1.5T, 3T) under identical conditions using similar techniques to humans. To date, the effects of anesthesia have been poorly explored and only few functional MRI (fMRI) studies were conducted in sheep. Here, Blood Oxygen Level dependent fMRI and perfusion MRI were conducted in lambs and adult ewes at 3 T. Robust but weak BOLD responses to visual stimulation were found in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) up to 3% isoflurane anaesthesia. BOLD responses were weaker in adult sheep than in lambs while relative cerebral blood volumes (rCBV) and relative cerebral blood flows (rCBF) were significantly higher in lambs than in adult sheep for both gray and white matter in accordance with previous findings in the human. Assessment of functional responses in healthy individuals under adequate physiological conditions is essential for robust translational studies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Brain orchestration of pregnancy and maternal behavior in mice.

Reproduction induces changes within the brain to prepare for gestation and motherhood. However, the dynamic of these central changes and their relationships with the development of maternal behavior remain poorly understood. Here, we describe a longitudinal morphometric neuroimaging study in female mice between pre-gestation and weaning, using new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) resources comprising a high-resolution brain template, its associated tissue priors (60-m isotropic resolution) and a corresponding mouse brain atlas (1320 regions of interest). Using these tools, we observed transient hypertrophies not only within key regions controlling gestation and maternal behavior (medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis), but also in the amygdala, caudate nucleus and hippocampus. Additionally, unlike females exhibiting lower levels of maternal care, highly maternal females developed transient hypertrophies in somatosensory, entorhinal and retrosplenial cortices among other regions. Therefore, coordinated and transient brain modifications associated with maternal performance occurred during gestation and lactation.

neuroscience↗