Impact of housing conditions on social behavior, neuroimmune markers, and oxytocin receptor expression in aged male and female Fischer 344 rats.

Impact of housing conditions on social behavior, neuroimmune markers, and oxytocin receptor expression in aged male and female Fischer 344 rats. Exp Gerontol. 2019 May 14;: Authors: Perkins AE, Varlinskaya EI, Deak T Abstract Aging is associated with a substantial decline in social behavior, whereas positive social interaction can improve overall health in aged individuals. In laboratory rodents, manipulations of the social environment across the lifespan have been shown to affect social behavior. Therefore, we examined the effects of long-term (5-6 weeks) housing conditions (alone, with one adult, or with two adults) on social behavior and the expression of neuroinflammation-related genes as well as oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene expression in brain areas associated with social behavior regulation in aged male and female Fischer (F) 344 rats. Single-housed males and females exhibited increased social investigation, relative to pair-housed rats (one aged and one adult). Triple-housed (one aged and two adults) aged males exhibited lower levels of social investigation, relative to triple-housed aged females. Aged females were more socially active that their male counterparts. Although social housing condition significantly affected social behavior in males, it had no impact on cytokine gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) or medial amygdala (MeA). However, in ...
Source: Experimental Gerontology - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Exp Gerontol Source Type: research