The Experts below are selected from a list of 243 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Susan D. Healy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Neural Circuits Underlying Nest Building in Male Zebra Finches
Integrative and comparative biology, 2020Co-Authors: Sophie C Edwards, Zachary J. Hall, Susan D. Healy, Eira Ihalainen, Valerie Bishop, Elisa T Nicklas, Simone MeddleAbstract:Nest Building consists of a series of motor actions, which are concomitant with activity in regions of the anterior motor pathway, the social behavior network, and the reward circuity in Nest Building adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). It is not clear, however, whether this activity is due to Nest Building, collection, and/or manipulation of Nest material. To identify which areas of the brain are specifically involved, we used immunohistochemistry to quantify the immediate early gene c-Fos in male zebra finches that were Nest Building (Building), birds given a Nest box but could interact only with tied down Nest material (Fixed), and birds that were not given a Nest box or Nest material (Control). We investigated the following brain regions: the anterior motor pathway (anterior ventral mesopallium [AMV], AN, anterior striatum [ASt]), areas of the social behavior network (bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, dorsomedial subdivision [BSTmd], lateral septum [LS]), the dopaminergic reward circuitry (ventral tegmental area), and the cerebellum. We found that there was greater Fos immunoreactivity expression in the BSTmd, LS, and AMV with increased material deposition; in LS, AMV ASt, and Folium VI with increased material carrying; in LS, AMV, and ASt with increased Nest material tucking; and in LS and all folia (except Folium VIII) with increased tugging at tied down material. These data confirm a functional role for areas of the anterior motor pathway, social behavior network, and the cerebellum in Nest material collection and manipulation by birds.
-
Nest Building in Birds
Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, 2019Co-Authors: Mark C. Mainwaring, Susan D. HealyAbstract:Most bird species construct Nests of some form in which to lay eggs and raise offspring. Traditionally, behaviours associated with the location and design of birds’ Nests were thought to be innate and inflexible, which is at least partly due to the paucity of research examining Nest Building behaviours. There is increasing evidence, however, that there are multiple points at which birds make decisions concerning their Nest: where to build, what to build and which material to use. Nest structure is determined by a number of factors including natural selection, sexual selection, ectoparasite avoidance and environmental adjustment. The choice of Nest site and materials may be affected by a bird’s own experience or by the experience of conspecifics. A bird may also learn at least some aspects of Nest Building from observing others. For such a key component of reproduction, it is perhaps surprising that there is rather little known about the causes and consequences of variation in Nest structure and almost nothing about Building itself.
-
Social learning in Nest-Building birds : a role for familiarity
Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2016Co-Authors: Lauren M. Guillette, Alice C Y Scott, Susan D. HealyAbstract:It is becoming apparent that birds learn from their own experiences of Nest Building. What is not clear is whether birds can learn from watching conspecifics build. As social learning allows an animal to gain information without engaging in costly trial-and-error learning, first-time builders should exploit the successful habits of experienced builders. We presented first-time Nest-Building male zebra finches with either a familiar or an unfamiliar conspecific male Building with material of a colour the observer did not like. When given the opportunity to build, males that had watched a familiar male build switched their material preference to that used by the familiar male. Males that observed unfamiliar birds did not. Thus, first-time Nest builders use social information and copy the Nest material choices when demonstrators are familiar but not when they are strangers. The relationships between individuals therefore influence how Nest-Building expertise is socially transmitted in zebra finches.
-
From neurons to Nests: Nest-Building behaviour as a model in behavioural and comparative neuroscience
Journal of Ornithology, 2015Co-Authors: Zachary J. Hall, Simone L. Meddle, Susan D. HealyAbstract:Despite centuries of observing the Nest Building of most extant bird species, we know surprisingly little about how birds build Nests and, specifically, how the avian brain controls Nest Building. Here, we argue that Nest Building in birds may be a useful model behaviour in which to study how the brain controls behaviour. Specifically, we argue that Nest Building as a behavioural model provides a unique opportunity to study not only the mechanisms through which the brain controls behaviour within individuals of a single species but also how evolution may have shaped the brain to produce interspecific variation in Nest-Building behaviour. In this review, we outline the questions in both behavioural and comparative neuroscience that Nest Building could be used to address, summarize recent findings regarding the neurobiology of Nest Building in lab-reared zebra finches and across species Building different Nest structures, and suggest some future directions for the neurobiology of Nest Building.
-
A role for nonapeptides and dopamine in Nest-Building behaviour
Journal of neuroendocrinology, 2015Co-Authors: Zachary J. Hall, Susan D. Healy, Simone MeddleAbstract:During Nest Building in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), several regions in the social behaviour network and the dopaminergic reward system, which are two neural circuits involved in social behaviour, appear to be active in male and female Nest-Building finches. Because the nonapeptides, mesotocin and vasotocin and the neurotransmitter, dopamine, play important roles in avian social behaviour, we tested the hypothesis that mesotocinergic-vasotocinergic and dopaminergic neuronal populations in the social behaviour network and dopaminergic reward system, respectively, are active during Nest Building. We combined immunohistochemistry for Fos (an indirect marker of neuronal activity) and vasotocin, mesotocin or tyrosine hydroxylase on brain tissue from Nest-Building and non-Nest-Building male and female zebra finches and compared Fos immunoreactivity in these neuronal populations with the variation in Nest-Building behaviour. Fos immunoreactivity in all three types of neuronal populations increased with some aspect of Nest Building: (i) higher immunoreactivity in a mesotocinergic neuronal population of Nest-Building finches compared to controls; (ii) increased immunoreactivity in the vasotocinergic neuronal populations in relation to the amount of material picked up by Nest-Building males and the length of time that a male spent in the Nest with his mate; and (iii) increased immunoreactivity in a dopaminergic neuronal population in relation to the length of time that a male Nest-Building finch spent in the Nest with his mate. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for a role of the mesotocinergic-vasotocinergic and dopaminergic systems in avian Nest Building.
Atsushi Toyoda - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Assessment of Nest Building and social interaction behavior in mice exposed to acute social defeat stress using a three-dimensional depth camera.
Animal science journal = Nihon chikusan Gakkaiho, 2020Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Nest Building is an instinctive behavior toward protection from predators, body temperature regulation, and courtship. Previously, we discovered that acute and chronic social defeat stress suppresses the onset of Nest-Building behavior in male mice (C57BL/6J). Here, we analyzed Nest Building and other behavioral deficits induced by acute social defeat stress (ASDS). We utilized a customized cage and specifically developed observational programs for Nest Building, social avoidance, and other behaviors using an infrared depth camera to acquire three-dimensional (3D) data of animal behavior (Negura system). We determined the volume of Nesting materials from these 3D depth images. Mice exposed to ASDS showed increased spontaneous activities, decreased rearing, and delayed Nest Building; however, Nest-Building activity was gradually recovered during the dark period of the 24 hr observation interval. At the endpoint following 24 hr, the ASDS and control groups showed no differences in Nest volumes. Furthermore, we observed the time courses of both Nest Building and social avoidance behaviors and their relationship using the Negura system. Our data demonstrated a weak positive correlation between Nest-Building delay and social avoidance in ASDS mice. The Negura system can observe various behaviors that reflect the effects of social defeat stress.
-
the acute social defeat stress and Nest Building test paradigm a potential new method to screen drugs for depressive like symptoms
Behavioural Processes, 2017Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Atsushi Toyoda, Daisuke KohariAbstract:Psychosocial stress can cause mental conditions such as depression in humans. To develop drug therapies for the treatment of depression, it is necessary to use animal models of depression to screen drug candidates that exhibit anti-depressive effects. Unfortunately, the present methods of drug screening for antidepressants, the forced-swim test and tail-suspension test, are limiting factors in drug discovery because they are not based on the constructive validity of objective phenotypes in depression. Previously, we discovered that the onset of Nest Building is severely delayed in mice exposed to subchronic mild social defeat stress (sCSDS). Therefore, a novel paradigm combining acute social defeat stress (ASDS) and the Nest-Building test (SNB) were established for the efficient screening of drugs for depressive-like symptoms. Since ASDS severely delayed the Nest-Building process as shown in chronically social defeated mice, we sought to rescue the delayed Nest-Building behavior in ASDS mice. Injecting a specific serotonin 2a receptor antagonist (SR-46349B), the Nest-Building deficit exhibited by ASDS mice was partially rescued. On the other hand, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) did not rescue the Nest-Building deficit in ASDS mice. Therefore, we conclude that the SNB paradigm is an another potential behavioral method for screening drugs for depressive-like symptoms including attention deficit, anxiety, low locomotion, and decreased motivation.
-
Subchronic and mild social defeat stress alter mouse Nest Building behavior
Behavioural processes, 2015Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Daisuke Kohari, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Behavioral and physiological evaluations of animal models of depression are essential to thoroughly understand the mechanisms of depression in humans. Various models have been developed and characterized, and the socially defeated mouse has been widely used for studying depression. Here, we developed and characterized a mouse model of social aversion using a subchronic and mild social defeat stress (sCSDS) paradigm. Compared to control mice, sCSDS mice showed significantly increased body weight gain, water intake, and social aversion to dominant mice on the social interaction test. We observed Nest Building behavior in sCSDS mice using the pressed cotton as a Nest material. Although sCSDS mice eventually successfully built Nests, the onset of Nest Building was severely delayed compared to control mice. The underlying mechanism of this significant delay in Nest Building by sCSDS mice is unclear. However, our results demonstrate that Nest Building evaluation is a simple and useful assay for understanding behavior in socially defeated mice and screening drugs such as antidepressants.
-
Assessing Nest-Building behavior of mice using a 3D depth camera.
Journal of neuroscience methods, 2015Co-Authors: Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Abstract We developed a novel method to evaluate the Nest-Building behavior of mice using an inexpensive depth camera. The depth camera clearly captured Nest-Building behavior. Using three-dimensional information from the depth camera, we obtained objective features for assessing Nest-Building behavior, including “volume,” “radius,” and “mean height”. The “volume” represents the change in volume of the Nesting material, a pressed cotton square that a mouse shreds and untangles in order to build its Nest. During the Nest-Building process, the total volume of cotton fragments is increased. The “radius” refers to the radius of the circle enclosing the fragments of cotton. It describes the extent of Nesting material dispersion. The “radius” averaged approximately 60 mm when a Nest was built. The “mean height” represents the change in the mean height of objects. If the Nest walls were high, the “mean height” was also high. These features provided us with useful information for assessment of Nest-Building behavior, similar to conventional methods for the assessment of Nest Building. However, using the novel method, we found that JF1 mice built Nests with higher walls than B6 mice, and B6 mice built Nests faster than JF1 mice. Thus, our novel method can evaluate the differences in Nest-Building behavior that cannot be detected or quantified by conventional methods. In future studies, we will evaluate Nest-Building behaviors of genetically modified, as well as several inbred, strains of mice, with several Nesting materials.
John C. Crabbe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Effects of acute alcohol withdrawal on Nest Building in mice selectively bred for alcohol withdrawal severity
Physiology & behavior, 2016Co-Authors: Gian D. Greenberg, Tamara J. Phillips, John C. CrabbeAbstract:Nest Building has been used to assess thermoregulatory behavior and positive motivational states in mice. There are known genetic influences on ethanol withdrawal severity as well as individual/thermoregulatory Nest Building. Withdrawal Seizure-Prone (WSP-1, WSP-2) and Withdrawal Seizure-Resistant (WSR-1, WSR-2) mice were selectively bred for high vs low handling-induced convulsion (HIC) severity, respectively, during withdrawal from chronic ethanol vapor inhalation. They also differ in HIC severity during withdrawal from an acute, 4 g/kg ethanol injection. In our initial study, withdrawal from an acute dose of ethanol dose-dependently impaired Nest Building over the initial 24 h of withdrawal in genetically segregating Withdrawal Seizure Control (WSC) mice. In two further studies, acute ethanol withdrawal suppressed Nest Building for up to two days in WSP-1 females. Deficits in Nest Building from ethanol were limited to the initial 10 h of withdrawal in WSR-1 females and to the initial 24 h of withdrawal in WSP-1 and WSR-1 males. Effects of ethanol on Nest Building for up to two days were found in WSP-2 and WSR-2 mice of both sexes. Nest Building deficits in female mice from the first replicate could not be explained by a general decrease in locomotor behavior. These results suggest that Nest Building is a novel behavioral phenotype for indexing the severity of acute ethanol withdrawal, and that genes contributing to this trait differ from those affecting acute withdrawal HIC severity.
-
Nest Building is a novel method for indexing severity of alcohol withdrawal in mice.
Behavioural brain research, 2016Co-Authors: Gian D. Greenberg, Lawrence C. Huang, Stephanie E. Spence, Jason P. Schlumbohm, Pamela Metten, Angela R. Ozburn, John C. CrabbeAbstract:Abstract Withdrawal after chronic ethanol (EtOH) affects body temperature, goal-directed behavior and motor function in mice and increases general central nervous system excitability. Nest-Building tests have been used to assay these states but to this point have not been employed as measures of EtOH withdrawal severity. We first refined Nest-scoring methods using a genetically heterogeneous stock of mice (HS/Npt). Mice were then made physically dependent following three days of chronic EtOH vapor inhalation to produce average blood EtOH concentrations (BECs) of 1.89 mg/mL. EtOH withdrawal affected the progression of Nest Building over time when mice were tested 2–4 days after removal from three days of chronic exposure to EtOH. In a separate group of mice, chronic EtOH vapor inhalation (BECs 1.84 mg/mL) suppressed Nest Building over days 1–2 but not days 2–3 of withdrawal. In a following experiment, EtOH withdrawal dose-dependently slowed recovery of Nest Building for up to 32 h. Finally, we determined that long-lasting Nest-Building deficits extend to mice undergoing withdrawal from a high dose (4 g/kg) of acute EtOH. Sex differences for Nest Building were absent following EtOH exposure. In mice naive to EtOH treatments, male mice had lower pre-test body temperatures and increased Nest scores across a two-day testing period compared to females. These results suggest that Nest Building can be used to assess chronic and acute EtOH withdrawal severity in mice.
Simone Meddle - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Neural Circuits Underlying Nest Building in Male Zebra Finches
Integrative and comparative biology, 2020Co-Authors: Sophie C Edwards, Zachary J. Hall, Susan D. Healy, Eira Ihalainen, Valerie Bishop, Elisa T Nicklas, Simone MeddleAbstract:Nest Building consists of a series of motor actions, which are concomitant with activity in regions of the anterior motor pathway, the social behavior network, and the reward circuity in Nest Building adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). It is not clear, however, whether this activity is due to Nest Building, collection, and/or manipulation of Nest material. To identify which areas of the brain are specifically involved, we used immunohistochemistry to quantify the immediate early gene c-Fos in male zebra finches that were Nest Building (Building), birds given a Nest box but could interact only with tied down Nest material (Fixed), and birds that were not given a Nest box or Nest material (Control). We investigated the following brain regions: the anterior motor pathway (anterior ventral mesopallium [AMV], AN, anterior striatum [ASt]), areas of the social behavior network (bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, dorsomedial subdivision [BSTmd], lateral septum [LS]), the dopaminergic reward circuitry (ventral tegmental area), and the cerebellum. We found that there was greater Fos immunoreactivity expression in the BSTmd, LS, and AMV with increased material deposition; in LS, AMV ASt, and Folium VI with increased material carrying; in LS, AMV, and ASt with increased Nest material tucking; and in LS and all folia (except Folium VIII) with increased tugging at tied down material. These data confirm a functional role for areas of the anterior motor pathway, social behavior network, and the cerebellum in Nest material collection and manipulation by birds.
-
A role for nonapeptides and dopamine in Nest-Building behaviour
Journal of neuroendocrinology, 2015Co-Authors: Zachary J. Hall, Susan D. Healy, Simone MeddleAbstract:During Nest Building in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), several regions in the social behaviour network and the dopaminergic reward system, which are two neural circuits involved in social behaviour, appear to be active in male and female Nest-Building finches. Because the nonapeptides, mesotocin and vasotocin and the neurotransmitter, dopamine, play important roles in avian social behaviour, we tested the hypothesis that mesotocinergic-vasotocinergic and dopaminergic neuronal populations in the social behaviour network and dopaminergic reward system, respectively, are active during Nest Building. We combined immunohistochemistry for Fos (an indirect marker of neuronal activity) and vasotocin, mesotocin or tyrosine hydroxylase on brain tissue from Nest-Building and non-Nest-Building male and female zebra finches and compared Fos immunoreactivity in these neuronal populations with the variation in Nest-Building behaviour. Fos immunoreactivity in all three types of neuronal populations increased with some aspect of Nest Building: (i) higher immunoreactivity in a mesotocinergic neuronal population of Nest-Building finches compared to controls; (ii) increased immunoreactivity in the vasotocinergic neuronal populations in relation to the amount of material picked up by Nest-Building males and the length of time that a male spent in the Nest with his mate; and (iii) increased immunoreactivity in a dopaminergic neuronal population in relation to the length of time that a male Nest-Building finch spent in the Nest with his mate. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for a role of the mesotocinergic-vasotocinergic and dopaminergic systems in avian Nest Building.
Tsuyoshi Okayama - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Assessment of Nest Building and social interaction behavior in mice exposed to acute social defeat stress using a three-dimensional depth camera.
Animal science journal = Nihon chikusan Gakkaiho, 2020Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Nest Building is an instinctive behavior toward protection from predators, body temperature regulation, and courtship. Previously, we discovered that acute and chronic social defeat stress suppresses the onset of Nest-Building behavior in male mice (C57BL/6J). Here, we analyzed Nest Building and other behavioral deficits induced by acute social defeat stress (ASDS). We utilized a customized cage and specifically developed observational programs for Nest Building, social avoidance, and other behaviors using an infrared depth camera to acquire three-dimensional (3D) data of animal behavior (Negura system). We determined the volume of Nesting materials from these 3D depth images. Mice exposed to ASDS showed increased spontaneous activities, decreased rearing, and delayed Nest Building; however, Nest-Building activity was gradually recovered during the dark period of the 24 hr observation interval. At the endpoint following 24 hr, the ASDS and control groups showed no differences in Nest volumes. Furthermore, we observed the time courses of both Nest Building and social avoidance behaviors and their relationship using the Negura system. Our data demonstrated a weak positive correlation between Nest-Building delay and social avoidance in ASDS mice. The Negura system can observe various behaviors that reflect the effects of social defeat stress.
-
the acute social defeat stress and Nest Building test paradigm a potential new method to screen drugs for depressive like symptoms
Behavioural Processes, 2017Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Atsushi Toyoda, Daisuke KohariAbstract:Psychosocial stress can cause mental conditions such as depression in humans. To develop drug therapies for the treatment of depression, it is necessary to use animal models of depression to screen drug candidates that exhibit anti-depressive effects. Unfortunately, the present methods of drug screening for antidepressants, the forced-swim test and tail-suspension test, are limiting factors in drug discovery because they are not based on the constructive validity of objective phenotypes in depression. Previously, we discovered that the onset of Nest Building is severely delayed in mice exposed to subchronic mild social defeat stress (sCSDS). Therefore, a novel paradigm combining acute social defeat stress (ASDS) and the Nest-Building test (SNB) were established for the efficient screening of drugs for depressive-like symptoms. Since ASDS severely delayed the Nest-Building process as shown in chronically social defeated mice, we sought to rescue the delayed Nest-Building behavior in ASDS mice. Injecting a specific serotonin 2a receptor antagonist (SR-46349B), the Nest-Building deficit exhibited by ASDS mice was partially rescued. On the other hand, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) did not rescue the Nest-Building deficit in ASDS mice. Therefore, we conclude that the SNB paradigm is an another potential behavioral method for screening drugs for depressive-like symptoms including attention deficit, anxiety, low locomotion, and decreased motivation.
-
Subchronic and mild social defeat stress alter mouse Nest Building behavior
Behavioural processes, 2015Co-Authors: Hikari Otabi, Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Daisuke Kohari, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Behavioral and physiological evaluations of animal models of depression are essential to thoroughly understand the mechanisms of depression in humans. Various models have been developed and characterized, and the socially defeated mouse has been widely used for studying depression. Here, we developed and characterized a mouse model of social aversion using a subchronic and mild social defeat stress (sCSDS) paradigm. Compared to control mice, sCSDS mice showed significantly increased body weight gain, water intake, and social aversion to dominant mice on the social interaction test. We observed Nest Building behavior in sCSDS mice using the pressed cotton as a Nest material. Although sCSDS mice eventually successfully built Nests, the onset of Nest Building was severely delayed compared to control mice. The underlying mechanism of this significant delay in Nest Building by sCSDS mice is unclear. However, our results demonstrate that Nest Building evaluation is a simple and useful assay for understanding behavior in socially defeated mice and screening drugs such as antidepressants.
-
Assessing Nest-Building behavior of mice using a 3D depth camera.
Journal of neuroscience methods, 2015Co-Authors: Tsuyoshi Okayama, Tatsuhiko Goto, Atsushi ToyodaAbstract:Abstract We developed a novel method to evaluate the Nest-Building behavior of mice using an inexpensive depth camera. The depth camera clearly captured Nest-Building behavior. Using three-dimensional information from the depth camera, we obtained objective features for assessing Nest-Building behavior, including “volume,” “radius,” and “mean height”. The “volume” represents the change in volume of the Nesting material, a pressed cotton square that a mouse shreds and untangles in order to build its Nest. During the Nest-Building process, the total volume of cotton fragments is increased. The “radius” refers to the radius of the circle enclosing the fragments of cotton. It describes the extent of Nesting material dispersion. The “radius” averaged approximately 60 mm when a Nest was built. The “mean height” represents the change in the mean height of objects. If the Nest walls were high, the “mean height” was also high. These features provided us with useful information for assessment of Nest-Building behavior, similar to conventional methods for the assessment of Nest Building. However, using the novel method, we found that JF1 mice built Nests with higher walls than B6 mice, and B6 mice built Nests faster than JF1 mice. Thus, our novel method can evaluate the differences in Nest-Building behavior that cannot be detected or quantified by conventional methods. In future studies, we will evaluate Nest-Building behaviors of genetically modified, as well as several inbred, strains of mice, with several Nesting materials.
