Effects of Hallucinogenic and other Drugs on the Nest-building Behaviour of Mice

Schneider, Craig W.; Chenoweth, Maynard B.

doi:10.1038/2251262a0

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…When a sheet of cotton is introduced into a rodent home cage, they typically build a nest by shredding the material and piling it together to form a single unit (Schneider and Chenoweth 1970). Psychotomimetic agents, such as amphetamine, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide, are known to disrupt this nesting behavior in rodents (Schneider and Chenoweth 1970). In addition, nest-building is a cooperative or "social" activity for rodents and is a measure of social activity (Crawley 2004).…”

Section: Rodent Behaviors Relevant To Human Schizophreniamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Disruption of nesting behavior in rodents is another common index of social behavior. When a sheet of cotton is introduced into a rodent home cage, they typically build a nest by shredding the material and piling it together to form a single unit (Schneider and Chenoweth 1970). Psychotomimetic agents, such as amphetamine, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide, are known to disrupt this nesting behavior in rodents (Schneider and Chenoweth 1970).…”

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Schizophrenia-Relevant Behavioral Testing in Rodent Models: A Uniquely Human Disorder?

Powell

Miyakawa

2006

Biological Psychiatry

320

247

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Animal models are extremely useful tools in defining pathogenesis and treatment of human disease. Creating adequate animal models of complex neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia represents a particularly difficult challenge. In the case of schizophrenia, little is certain regarding the etiology or pathophysiology of the human disease. In addition, many symptoms of the disorder are difficult to measure directly in rodents. These challenges have not daunted neuroscientists who are capitalizing on even subtle overlaps between this uniquely human disorder and rodent behavior. In this perspective, we detail the features of ideal animal models of schizophrenia, the potential utility of such models, and the rodent behaviors used to model certain aspects of schizophrenia. The development of such models will provide critical tools to understand the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and novel insights into therapeutic approaches to this complex disorder. KeywordsSchizophrenia; animal model; psychosis; behavior; knockout; genetic A glance at the characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia would seem to make any attempt to model schizophrenia in rodents mere folly (American Psychiatric Association 2000). Indeed some would characterize schizophrenia as a quintessentially human disease, recalcitrant to rodent modeling. Certainly, the primary difficulty in modeling schizophrenia in rodents is that they cannot self-report hallucinations, scattered thinking, and other features of the disease. This has not fazed neuroscientists keen to capitalize on even subtle overlaps between this uniquely human disorder and rodent behavior and to make use of the many advantages of studying even complex neuropsychiatric disorders with animal models.In this brief perspective, we do not list in detail existing animal models of schizophrenia, as such reviews abound (Gainetdinov et al 2001b;Lipska and Weinberger 2000). Rather we provide a blueprint for animal models of schizophrenia, from ideal features, to utility, to behavioral methodology. We discuss potential contributions of animal models of schizophrenia and desired features and utility of an "ideal" animal model. We then detail the behavioral tests that map directly or indirectly onto certain signs and symptoms of © NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript schizophrenia. Finally, we discuss challenges for the future of rodent models of schizophrenia. What Constitutes an "Ideal" Animal Model?The "ideal" animal model of schizophrenia begins with the known pathogenesis of the human disease. Unfortunately, at this point, we are far from understanding the precise etiologies of human schizophrenia, although we know that interactions between genetic susceptibility (Cardno and Gottesman 2000;Sullivan et al 2003) and environment (Hoek et al 1998;Jablensky and Kalaydjieva 2003;Koenig et al 2005;Selten et al 1999;Susser and Lin 1992;Susser et al 1996;Takei et al 1995Takei et al , 1996Thomas et al 2001) Just as patients with schizophrenia do not manifest e...

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Section: Rodent Behaviors Relevant To Human Schizophreniamentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Schizophrenia-Relevant Behavioral Testing in Rodent Models: A Uniquely Human Disorder?

Powell

Miyakawa

2006

Biological Psychiatry

320

247

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“…Towel and tissues were shredded to build nests and the wood-wool and cotton string were shaped into the desired form. When nesting material is put into the home cages of mice they start building nests within minutes after introduction (Watson 1993, Schneider & Chenoweth 1970. With cage cleaning, these nests can be transported completely to the clean cage.…”

Section: Nesting Material: Wood Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferences for nesting material as environmental enrichment for laboratory mice

et al. 1997

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Behavioural and psychological needs of laboratory animals generally cannot adequately be met in standard laboratory cages. Environmental enrichment, which provides a more structured environment can enhance the well-being of laboratory animals. They may perform more of their species-specific behaviour and may control their environment in a better way. An easily applicable form of enrichment for laboratory mice is nesting material. Six different types of nesting materials were evaluated in a preference test with male and female animals of two strains (C57BL/6J or BALB/c, n=48). No significant differences in preference were found between the strains or between the sexes. All mice showed a clear preference for cages with tissues or towels as compared to paper strips or no nesting material, and for cages with cotton string or wood-wool as compared to wood shavings or no nesting material. Paper-derived materials were preferred over wood-derived materials, although the results also suggest that the nature (paper or wood) of the nesting material is less important than its structure, which determines the nestability of the material. Nesting material may be a relatively simple method to contribute to the well-being of laboratory mice.

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“…Mescaline has been reported to have a variety of different effects on mice. These include twitching of the hindquarters (Cooper & Walters, 1972) or of the head (Come & Pickering, 1967), inhibition of aggressiveness (Rewerski, Kostowski, Piechocki & Rylski, 1971), increased motor activity (Shah & Himwich, 1971 ), decreased motor activity (Cooper & Walters, 1972) and a modification of nest-building behaviour (Schneider & Cheroweth, 1970 The complete experimental schedule for each mouse began with the procedure described above. The mouse was then removed from the open field, weighed and injected intraperitoneally with mescaline hemi-sulphate (Sigma Ltd.) 3 5 mg/kg in saline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of the Effect of Mescaline on Activity and Emotional Defaecation in Seven Strains of Mice

Lush

1975

British J Pharmacology

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1Mescaline hemi-sulphate (35 mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally into male mice (Mus musculus) from seven genetically diverse laboratory strains. 2 The effect of mescaline was found by comparison of the emotional defaecation and open field activity of mice after mescaline injection with the performance of the same mice after a subsequent saline (0.9% w/v NaCl solution) control injection. 3 In strains A2G, C3H/He, C57BR/cd, CBA/Cam and F/St, mescaline inhibited emotional defaecation and stimulated open field activity. These effects did not occur in strains ICFW and Schneider. 4 A positive relationship was found between the degree of emotional defaecation characteristic of each strain in the saline control experiment and the inhibitory effect of mescaline on emotional defaecation. 5 Pre-treatment of mice with tranylcypromine (20 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) had no effect on emotional defaecation or on its inhibition by mescaline.

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Effects of Hallucinogenic and other Drugs on the Nest-building Behaviour of Mice

Cited by 27 publications

References 1 publication

Schizophrenia-Relevant Behavioral Testing in Rodent Models: A Uniquely Human Disorder?

Schizophrenia-Relevant Behavioral Testing in Rodent Models: A Uniquely Human Disorder?

Preferences for nesting material as environmental enrichment for laboratory mice

A Comparison of the Effect of Mescaline on Activity and Emotional Defaecation in Seven Strains of Mice

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