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Results for “animal behavior and cognition”

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bioRxiv2018

The swimming plus-maze test: a novel high-throughput model for assessment of anxiety-related behaviour in larval zebrafish. (Danio rerio)

Larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) has the potential to supplement rodent models due to the availability of resource efficient methods implying high-throughput screening and high-resolution imaging techniques. Although behavioural models are available in larvae, only a few, insensitive approaches can be employed to assess anxiety. Here we present the swimming plus-maze (SPM) test paradigm to assess anxiety-related states in young zebrafish. The \"+\" shaped apparatus consists of arms of different depth representing differentially aversive context. The paradigm was validated i.) in larval and juvenile zebrafish, ii.) after administration of compounds affecting human anxiety and iii.) in differentially aversive experimental conditions. Furthermore, we compared the SPM with conventional \"anxiety tests\" of larvae such as the open tank and light/dark tank tests to identify their shared characteristics. We clarified that the preference towards deeper water is conserved trough the ontogenesis and can be abolished by anxiolytic or enhanced by anxiogenic agents, respectively. The behavioural read-out is insensitive to the aversiveness of the platform and unrelated to behaviours assessed by conventional tests utilizing larval fish. Taken together, we developed a sensitive high-throughput test measuring anxiety-related responses of larval zebrafish, which likely reflect bottom-dwelling behaviour of adults, potentially supporting larva-based integrative approaches.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Low-Cost Solution for Rodent Home-Cage Behaviour Monitoring

In the current research on measuring complex behaviours/phenotyping in rodents, most of the experimental design requires the experimenter to remove the animal from its home-cage environment and place it in an unfamiliar apparatus (novel environment). This interaction may influence behaviour, general well-being, and the metabolism of the animal, affecting the phenotypic outcome even if the data collection method is automated. Most of the commercially available solutions for home-cage monitoring are expensive and usually lack the flexibility to be incorporated with existing home-cages. Here we present a low-cost solution for monitoring home-cage behaviour of rodents that can be easily incorporated to practically any available rodent home-cage. To demonstrate the use of our system, we reliably predict the sleep/wake state of mice in their home-cage using only video. We validate these results using hippocampal local field potential (LFP) and electromyography (EMG) data. Our approach provides a low-cost flexible methodology for high-throughput studies of sleep, circadian rhythm and rodent behaviour with minimal experimenter interference.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Recording and reproducing the diurnal oviposition rhythms of wild populations of the soft- and stone- fruit pest Drosophila suzukii

Drosophila suzukii is a horticultural pest on a global scale which causes both yield and economic losses on a range of soft- and stone-fruit. Tackling this pest is problematic but exploiting behavioral rhythms could increase the impact of control. To do this, a better understanding of behavioral patterns is needed. Within this study we aimed to investigate rhythms in reproductive behavior of wild D. suzukii under natural conditions in the field. Environmental parameters were also recorded to decipher how they influence these rhythms. Assays were then performed on laboratory cultures, housed under artificial conditions mimicking the temperature and light cycles, to see if these patterns were reproducible and rhythmic. We were able to promote field like oviposition patterns within the laboratory using realistic temperature and light cycles regardless of variations in other factors including substrate, humidity, and lighting type. Locomotion activity was also recorded under these mimicked conditions to identify how this behavior interacts with oviposition rhythms. Both our field and laboratory assays show that oviposition behavior is likely under the control of the circadian clock and primarily occurs during the day, but these patterns will be disrupted by unfavorable temperature conditions. This was also found within locomotion rhythms. With an increased understanding of how these behaviors are influenced by environmental conditions, we highlight the importance of using realistic temperature and light cycles when investigating behavioral patterns. From an increased understanding of D. suzukii behavior we increase our ability to target the pest in the field.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Can Drosophila melanogaster tell who’s who?

Drosophila melanogaster are known to live in a social but cryptic world of touch and odours, but the extent to which they can perceive and integrate visual information is a hotly debated topic. Some researchers fixate on the limited resolution of D. melanogasters optics, others on their seemingly identical appearance; yet there is evidence of individual recognition and surprising visual learning in flies. Here, we apply machine learning and show that individual D. melanogaster are visually distinct. We also use the striking similarity of Drosophilas visual system to current convolutional neural networks to theoretically investigate D. melanogasters capacity for visual understanding. We find that, despite their limited optical resolution, D. melanogasters neuronal architecture has the capability to extract and encode a rich feature set that allows flies to re-identify individual conspecifics with surprising accuracy. These experiments provide a proof of principle that Drosophila inhabit in a much more complex visual world than previously appreciated.\n\nAuthor summaryIn this paper, we determine a proof of principle for inter-individual recognition in two parts; is there enough information contained in low resolution pictures for inter-fly discrimination, and if so does Drosophilas visual system have enough capacity to use it. We show that the information contained in a 29x29 pixel image (number of ommatidia in a fly eye) is sufficient to achieve 94% accuracy in fly re-identification. Further, we show that the fly eye has the theoretical capacity to identify another fly with about 75% accuracy. Although it is unlikely that flies use the exact algorithm we tested, our results show that, in principle, flies may be using visual perception in ways that are not usually appreciated.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Serotonergic and catecholaminergic (dopaminergic) oscillations in the reproductive regulation of Japanese quail

Specific temporal phase relation of serotonergic and dopaminergic oscillations alters reproductive responses in many species. Aim of the study was to confirm whether effect of serotonergic drug (5-HTP) and dopaminergic drug (L-DOPA) is due to their conversion into serotonin and dopamine respectively or other products. For this study, PCPA (p-chlorophenylalanine, a long lasting inhibitor of serotonin synthesis), DDC (Diethyldithiocarbamate, which inhibits biosynthesis of nor-adrenaline), -MT (Methyl-p-tyrosine, an inhibitor for the conversion of tyrosine to DOPA) and DOPS (Dihydroxyphenylserine, a specific precursor for noradrenaline) were used in different groups in addition to 5-HTP and L-DOPA given at specific time interval. Reproductive responses monitored at 10 weeks post treatment indicate that gonadal activity was significantly low in HTP:DOPA (8-hr quail), HTP+PCPA:DOPA and HTP:DOPA+DDC quail compare to control (S:S). However, gonadal activity of HTP:S(HTP control), S:DOPA(DOPA control) and HTP: -MT+DOPS was not different from S:S control and remained in active condition. These findings indicate that it is not the dose of neurotransmitter precursor drugs (5-HTP and L-DOPA) and the neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine itself) that cause the effect, instead it is the function of interval between the drug administration which induces or entrains specific phase relation between serotonergic and dopaminergic oscillations. Further, gonadal suppression observed in HTP:DOPA, HTP+PCPA:DOPA and HTP:DOPA+DDC group three groups is not due to injection of 5-HTP or L-DOPA (alone) but due to conversion of administered 5-HTP into serotonin and conversion of L-DOPA (administered) into dopamine; not due to their further conversion into catecholamines other than dopamine i.e. noradrenaline or adrenaline.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Live Mouse Tracker: real-time behavioral analysis of groups of mice

Preclinical studies of psychiatric disorders require the use of animal models to investigate the impact of environmental factors or genetic mutations on complex traits such as decision-making and social interactions. Here, we present a real-time method for behavior analysis of mice housed in groups that couples computer vision, machine learning and Triggered-RFID identification to track and monitor animals over several days in enriched environments. The system extracts a thorough list of individual and collective behavioral traits and provides a unique phenotypic profile for each animal. On mouse models, we study the impact of mutations of genes Shank2 and Shank3 involved in autism. Characterization and integration of data from behavioral profiles of mutated female mice reveals distinctive activity levels and involvement in complex social configuration.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Environmental enrichment in piglet creeps: behavior and productive performance

In the farrowing stage, to use heated creeps is crucial for meeting the thermal requirements of newborn piglets and alternatives for environmental enrichment to attract the animals to the creeps. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior and productive performance of piglets submitted to creeps enriched with different types of sensory stimuli. The study had a completely randomized design. The animals were submitted to seven treatments: T1) Enrichment with blue LED lighting; T2) Enrichment with fragrance of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) essential oil; T3) Enrichment with fragrance of lavender (Lavandula) essential oil; T4) Enrichment with fragrance of lemon (Citrus x latifolia) essential oil; T5) Enrichment with classical music, \"The Four Seasons\" by Vivaldi; T6) Creeps heated without environmental enrichment (control group); T7) Enrichment with fragrance of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oil. The piglets were submitted to creeps with environmental enrichment under automatic control every 15 min (on/off), from 8 am to 5:45 pm (21 consecutive days). The environmental conditions of the creeps - air temperature, relative humidity, luminous intensity, and decibels - were evaluated within the creeps with environmental enrichment to determine the influence on the piglets behavior and productive performance. The results show that piglets submitted to creeps with environmental enrichment with blue artificial light and thyme essential oil showed reduced frequency outside the creeps when compared with treatment T6 (control). This showed the reduction of the stay of piglets in areas susceptible to crushing, in proximities to the mother. Piglets showed greater preference for creeps enriched with fragrance diffusion of thyme essential oil and with blue artificial lighting.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Tool use by four species of Indo-Pacific sea urchins

We compared the covering behavior of four sea urchin species, Tripneustes gratilla, Pseudoboletia maculata, Toxopneutes pileolus, and Salmacis sphaeroides found in the waters of Malapascua Island, Cebu Province and Bolinao, Panagsinan Province, Philippines. Specifically, we measured the amount and type of covering material on each urchin, and, in several cases, the recovery of debris cover after stripping the animal of its cover.\n\nWe found that Tripneustes gratilla and Salmacis sphaeroides have a higher preference for plant material, especially sea-grass, compared to Pseudoboletia maculata and Toxopneutes pileolus, which prefer to cover themselves with coral rubble and other calcified material. Only for Toxopneutes pileolus did we find a decrease in cover with depth, confirming previous work that the covering behavior serves UV protection. We found no dependence of particle size on either species or urchin size, but we observed that larger urchins carried more and heavier debris. We observed a transport mechanism of debris onto the echinoid body surface utilizing a combination of tube feet and spines. The transport speed of individual debris items varied between species.\n\nWe compare our results to previous studies of urchin covering behavior, comment on the phylogeny of urchin covering behavior and discuss the interpretation of this behavior as animal tool use.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Netrin-1 plays a role in the effect of 10 weeks moderate exercise on myocardial fibrosis in rats.

This study aimed to determine the effect of Netrin-1 and its receptor on acute myocardial infarction in rats after aerobic exercise.METHODS:Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into three groups: the sham group (n = 8); acute myocardial infarction model group (AMI)(n = 8); and aerobic exercise treatment after acute myocardial infarction group(ET) (n = 8). After 10 weeks, the levels of netrin-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-), and interleukin 6(IL-6) in the serum were measured. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9(MMP2,9), and their inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2(TIMP2), myocardial netrin-1, Deleted in colorectal cancer(DCC) receptor were evaluated. Histopathological were evaluated. The collagen volume fraction of myocardial tissues was also calculated.RESULTS:Compared to the sham group, the AMI group and ET groups showed increased levels of serum TNF-, IL-6 and significantly reduced levels of netrin-1. Levels of TNF- and IL-6 were significantly reduced in the ET group compared to the AMI group, whereas the level of netrin-1 was increased. The expression of myocardial MMP2,9 was significantly increased in the AMI group compared to the sham group, whereas that of myocardial netrin-1, inhibitor of TIMP2 and DCC receptor, was significantly reduced. Compared to AMI group, the ET group showed reduced expression of myocardial MMP2,9 proteins, whereas expression of myocardial netrin-1, inhibitor of TIMP2 and DCC receptor, was significantly increased. The collagen volume fraction of myocardial tissues was significantly increased in the AMI group and ET group compared to the sham group, with the greater increase being noted in the AMI group.CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise could increase levels of serum netrin-1 myocardial netrin-1, and DCC receptor and reduced expression of myocardial MMP2,9 proteins, to improve the degree of fibrosis following myocardial infarction in rats.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Losing maternal care: Neotenic gene expression in the preoptic area of avian brood parasites

Parental care for is critical for offspring survival in many species. However, parental behaviors have been lost in roughly 1% of avian species known as the obligate brood parasites. To shed light on molecular and neurobiological mechanisms mediating brood parasitic behavior, brain gene expression patterns between two brood parasitic species and one closely related non-parasitic Icterid (blackbird) species were compared. Our analyses focused on gene expression changes specifically in the preoptic area (POA), a brain region known to play a critical role in maternal behavior across vertebrates. Using comparative transcriptomic approaches, we identified gene expression patterns associated with brood parasitism and evaluated two alternative explanations for the evolution of brood parasitism: reduced expression of parental-related genes in the POA versus retention of juvenile (neotenic) gene expression. While we did not find evidence for large scale gene downregulation, expression patterns did reflect substantial evidence for neotenic POA gene expression in parasitic birds. Differentially expressed genes with previously established roles in parental care were identified. Targeted examination of these selected candidate genes in additional hypothalamic regions revealed species differences in gene expression patterns is not POA-specific. Together, these results provide new insights into neurogenomics underlying maternal behavior loss in avian brood parasites.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Look before you jump: jumping spiders discriminate different ants by visual cues

Ants, being ubiquitous, aggressive, and top predators, play a predominant role in terrestrial ecosystems. Jumping spiders are another prominent invertebrate predator that are present in similar habitats as that of ants. Most jumping spiders are thought to avoid ants, yet little is known if they discriminate among them. In this study we examined the response of jumping spider genus Plexippus towards three different ant species (Oecophylla smaragdina, the weaver ants; Camponotus sericeus the golden-back carpenter ants, and Leptogenys processionalis, the procession ants). In a behavioral assay that excluded tactile and chemical cues, we tested if spiders distinguish the three ants by visual cues alone. We recorded and analysed behaviors such as look, approach, stalk, attack, and avoidance by spiders towards ants. Our results show that the three ants differ in their color, movement and aggressive behavior. Spiders gave short looks to live ants, suggesting movement is important in detecting ants. Furthermore, spiders gave significantly more long looks to procession and golden-back ants compared to weaver ants. Spiders approached, stalked and attacked procession ants more compared to weaver ants. Numerous jumping spiders and ants overlap in their habitat, and it is advantageous to selectively avoid some ants over others. Our results suggests that jumping spiders can indeed distinguish ants that co-occur in their habitat by visual cues alone, however, the precise nature of visual cues warrants further studies.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Revised testing procedures do not elicit magnetoreceptive behavior in C. elegans

A diverse range of species is known to rely on the Earths magnetic field for spatial information. Vidal-Gadea et al. claimed that C. elegans are magneto-sensitive, exploiting the magnetic field to guide their burrowing behavior [1]. Our attempts to replicate their findings were unsuccessful [2], which Vidal-Gadea attributed to the satiety of the animals and the environment in which they were raised. Here, we report our repeated experiments, having adopted several suggestions proposed by Vidal-Gadea et al. [3]. We find that shortening the length of the behavioral assay and raising the animals in a Faraday cage does not result in magnetotactic behavior. We reluctantly conclude that the assays employed by Vidal-Gadea are not robust or C. elegans are not magneto-sensitive.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Genetic Architecture of Collective Behaviors in Zebrafish

Collective behaviors of groups of animals, such as schooling and shoaling of fish, are central to species survival, but genes that regulate these activities are not known. Here we parsed collective behavior of groups of adult zebrafish using computer vision and unsupervised machine learning into a set of highly reproducible, unitary, several hundred millisecond states and transitions, which together can account for the entirety of relative positions and postures of groups of fish. Using CRISPR-Cas9 we then targeted for knockout 35 genes associated with autism and schizophrenia. We found mutations in three genes had distinctive effects on the amount of time spent in the specific states or transitions between states. Mutation in immp2l (inner mitochondrial membrane peptidase 2-like gene) enhances states of cohesion, so increases shoaling; mutation in in the Nav1.1 sodium channel, scn1lab+/- causes the fish to remain scattered without evident social interaction; and mutation in the adrenergic receptor, adra1aa-/-, keeps fish close together and retards transitions between states, leaving fish motionless for long periods. Motor and visual functions seemed relatively well-preserved. This work shows that the behaviors of fish engaged in collective activities are built from a set of stereotypical states. Single gene mutations can alter propensities to collective actions by changing the proportion of time spent in these states or the tendency to transition between states. This provides an approach to begin dissection of the molecular pathways used to generate and guide collective actions of groups of animals.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Time preferences are reliable across time-horizons and verbal vs. experiential tasks

Individual differences in delay-discounting correlate with important real world outcomes, e.g. education, income, drug use, & criminality. As such, delay-discounting has been extensively studied by economists, psychologists and neuroscientists to reveal its behavioral and biological mechanisms in both human and non-human animal models. However, two major methodological differences hinder comparing results across species. Human studies present long time-horizon options verbally, whereas animal studies employ experiential cues and short delays. To bridge these divides, we developed a novel language-free experiential task inspired by animal decision-making studies. We find that subjects time-preferences are reliable across both verbal/experiential differences and also second/day differences. When we examined whether discount factors shifted or scaled across the tasks, we found a surprisingly strong effect of temporal context. Taken together, this indicates that subjects have a stable, but context-dependent, time-preference that can be reliably assessed using different methods; thereby, providing a foundation to bridge studies of time-preferences across species.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Habitual stone-tool aided extractive foraging in white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus

AO_SCPCAPBSTRACTC_SCPCAPHabitual reliance on tool use is a marked behavioral difference between wild robust (genus Sapajus) and gracile (genus Cebus) capuchin monkeys. Despite being well studied and having a rich repertoire of social and extractive foraging traditions, Cebus sp have rarely been observed engaging in tool use and have never been reported to use stone tools. In contrast, habitual tool use and stone-tool use by Sapajus is widespread. We discuss factors which might explain these differences in patterns of tool use between Cebus and Sapajus. We then report the first case of habitual stone-tool use in a gracile capuchin: a population of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator) in Coiba National Park, Panama who habitually rely on hammerstone and anvil tool use to access structurally protected food items in coastal areas including Terminalia catappa seeds, hermit crabs, marine snails, terrestrial crabs, and other items. This behavior has persisted on one island in Coiba National Park since at least 2004. From one year of camera trapping, we found that stone tool use is strongly male-biased. Of the 205 unique camera-trap-days where tool use was recorded, adult females were never observed to use stone-tools, although they were frequently recorded at the sites and engaged in scrounging behavior. Stone-tool use occurs year-round in this population, and over half of all identifiable individuals were observed participating. At the most active tool use site, 83.2% of days where capuchins were sighted corresponded with tool use. Capuchins inhabiting the Coiba archipelago are highly terrestrial, under decreased predation pressure and potentially experience resource limitation compared to mainland populations- three conditions considered important for the evolution of stone tool use. White-faced capuchin tool use in Coiba National Park thus offers unique opportunities to explore the ecological drivers and evolutionary underpinnings of stone tool use in a comparative within- and between-species context.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Learned predictiveness acquired through experience prevails over the influence of conflicting verbal instructions in rapid selective attention

Previous studies have provided evidence that selective attention tends to prioritize the processing of stimuli that are good predictors of upcoming events over nonpredictive stimuli. In the present study we explored whether the mechanism responsible for this effect critically reflects the influence of prior experience of predictiveness (history of attentional selection of predictive stimuli), or whether it reflects a more flexible process that can be adapted to new verbally acquired knowledge. Our experiment manipulated participants experience of the predictiveness of different stimuli over the course of trial-by-trial training; we then provided explicit verbal instructions regarding stimulus predictiveness that were designed to be either consistent or inconsistent with the previously established learned predictiveness. The effects of training and instruction on attention to stimuli were measured using a dot probe task. Results revealed a rapid attentional bias towards stimuli experienced as predictive (versus those experienced as nonpredictive), that was completely unaffected by verbal instructions. This was not due to participants failure to recall or use instructions appropriately, as revealed by analyses of their learning about stimuli, and their memory for instructions. Overall, these findings suggest that stimuli experienced as predictive through trial-by-trial training produce a relatively inflexible attentional bias based on prior selection history, which is not (always) easily altered through instructions.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

A MULTI-PURPOSE WORM TRACKER BASED ON FIM

The analysis of behavioural traits of Caenorhabditis elegans is an important method for understanding neuromuscular functions and diseases. Since C. elegans is a small and translucent animal which conducts a variety of complex movement patterns many different imaging and tracking protocols are used for different behavioural traits. Thus a unified multi-purpose imaging and tracking system for multiple behavioural assays would be favourable to improve statistical strength and comparability. Here we present a novel worm tracking toolbox based on the FIM (Frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) based Imaging Method) system incorporating a variety of different behavioural assays into a single imaging and tracking setup.\n\nFirst, we apply the FTIR-based imaging method to C. elegans, thus we are able to improve the overall image quality compared to state of the art recording techniques. This method is easy to use and can be utilised to image animals during crawling on agar and trashing in water. Second, we extended the existing FIMTrack software to extract skeleton-based posture and motion features of multiple worms with very high accuracy in a comparatively large field-of-view. Third, we integrated a variety of different assays into this system. We carried out chemotaxis assays both with attractant and repellent chemicals. A novel electrotaxis dome compatible with FIM allows locomotion analyses that are not corrupted by random aberrations in unrestricted movement. Additionally, the FIM based worm tracker is able to analyse thrashing behaviour of multiple worms automatically with a high accuracy. Finally we demonstrate the capacity of the FIM based worm tracker to observe GFP signals in C. elegans worms. We tested our new C. elegans tracking suite with mutant strains of the ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (Ufm1) cascade. We identified intermediate chemosensory phenotypes in Ufm1 cascade mutants which were previously undetected.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Orexin-1 receptor signaling in ventral pallidum mediates demand for the opioid remifentanil

Signaling at the orexin-1 receptor (Ox1R) is important for motivation for various drugs of abuse. Recently, our laboratory showed that systemic blockade of Ox1Rs decreased motivation for the potent and short-acting opioid remifentanil (Porter-Stransky et al, 2017). However, the central sites through which orexin acts to mediate motivation for opioids are not known. Here, we investigated ventral pallidum (VP) as a potential site of orexin action, as VP is a known mediator of opioid reward and is densely innervated by orexin-immunoreactive fibers. We used a within-session behavioral economics (BE) paradigm in which remifentanil price (responses/{micro}g iv remifentanil) was sequentially increased throughout the session. Rats were implanted with bilateral cannulae into VP, through which microinjections of SB334867 (SB), and orexin 1 receptor (Ox1R) antagonist, were given prior to BE testing. Rats were then extinguished and subjected to cue-induced reinstatement following intra-VP SB microinjection. We found that inhibition of Ox1R signaling in VP reduced both motivation (increased demand elasticity) for remifentanil and cued reinstatement of extinguished remifentanil-seeking without affecting baseline consumption or general locomotor activity. These effects were specific to the VP, as control injections of SB immediately dorsal to VP did not affect remifentanil-seeking. Together, these findings indicate a selective role of Ox1R signaling in VP in motivation and relapse for the opioid remifentanil.

animal behavior and cognition↗