Behavioral Biology of Mice

MacLellan, Aileen; Adcock, Aimée; Mason, Georgia

doi:10.1201/9780429019517-8

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Mice in well-resourced housing were provided with biologically relevant enrichments, as described by Nip et al [15], which they are highly motivated to access [23] (figure 1b,c). Conventional and well-resourced cages were evenly distributed on racks to control for differences in light exposure [22]. The colony room was maintained at 23 ± 1°C and 35-55% relative humidity, on a reverse 12 : 12 h light cycle, with lights off at 07.00 and lights on at 19.00.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…containing only bedding and nesting material) are aversive for mice: they restrict highly motivated, species-typical behaviours (e.g. hiding, foraging, exploring [21,22]), and individuals kept in conventional cages will push heavy weights to leave them and access well-resourced environments [23]. Moreover, conventional cages elevate anxiety [24], increase stereotypic behaviours (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states

et al. 2022

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Animal welfare assessment relies on valid and practical indicators of affect. In mice, the most widely used research vertebrates, lying still with eyes open, inactive-but-awake (IBA) in the home cage, has potential to be one such indicator. IBA is elevated in barren, conventional housing compared with well-resourced, enriched housing, and predicts immobility in Forced Swim Tests, a common measure of ‘helplessness’ in depression research. In Experiment 1, using females from three strains (C57BL/6, Balb/c and DBA/2), we first replicated past findings, confirming higher levels of IBA in conventional cages and a positive relationship between IBA and helplessness. We then extended this research to three other signs of depression: changes in weight and sleep, and reduced hippocampal volume. Here, IBA positively covaried with body mass index, with sleep in DBA/2s and conventionally housed BALB/cs, and negatively covaried with hippocampal volume in conventionally housed C57BL/6s. In Experiment 2, we sought to refine the phenotype of IBA to improve its accuracy as a welfare indicator. Here, scoring IBA performed in hunched postures appeared to improve its accuracy as an indicator in Balb/c mice. Additional research is now needed to further refine the phenotype of IBA and to confirm whether it reflects states consistent with depression, or instead other underlying poor welfare conditions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states

et al. 2022

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“…Mice and many other rodents have a polygamous mating system, meaning that both males and females will mate with multiple different partners throughout their reproductive lifespan [23]. A polygamous mating system makes these rodents particularly susceptible to infection by contagious parasites due to the increased frequency of physical proximity and sexual contact with multiple individuals [9,19].…”

Section: Mate Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MOE projects to the main olfactory bulb, while the VNO projects to the accessory olfactory bulb [74]. Rodents emit various odours consisting of volatile (detected directly through the MOE) and non-volatile (detected through the VNO) chemical constituents that serve as an indication of a conspecific's physiological state [23,75]. In mice, pheromone chemical cues are typically present in urine and convey information about health status [76,77].…”

Section: Olfactory Mediated Detection Of and Response To Infection St...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Females may be responding to subtle differences in male urinary odours, likely associated with polymorphic gene complexes: the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and the major urinary proteins (MUP) [68,83]. These gene complexes convey an array of information about sex, kinship, dominance, age, and health status [23]. Olfactory processing of odours containing MHC in particular serves as an indication of genotype and physiological quality and is used to assess immune function [84][85][86].…”

Section: Olfactory Mediated Detection Of and Response To Infection St...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurobiology of Pathogen Avoidance and Mate Choice: Current and Future Directions

Cantini,

Choleris,

Kavaliers

2024

Animals

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Animals are under constant threat of parasitic infection. This has influenced the evolution of social behaviour and has strong implications for sexual selection and mate choice. Animals assess the infection status of conspecifics based on various sensory cues, with odours/chemical signals and the olfactory system playing a particularly important role. The detection of chemical cues and subsequent processing of the infection threat that they pose facilitates the expression of disgust, fear, anxiety, and adaptive avoidance behaviours. In this selective review, drawing primarily from rodent studies, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the detection and assessment of infection status and their relations to mate choice are briefly considered. Firstly, we offer a brief overview of the aspects of mate choice that are relevant to pathogen avoidance. Then, we specifically focus on the olfactory detection of and responses to conspecific cues of parasitic infection, followed by a brief overview of the neurobiological systems underlying the elicitation of disgust and the expression of avoidance of the pathogen threat. Throughout, we focus on current findings and provide suggestions for future directions and research.

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The laboratory mouse

Pritchett‐Corning,

Garner

2024

The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals

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Behavioral Biology of Mice

Cited by 3 publications

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Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states

Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states

Neurobiology of Pathogen Avoidance and Mate Choice: Current and Future Directions

The laboratory mouse

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