Neurophysiological correlates of stereotypic behaviour in a model carnivore species.

Neurophysiological correlates of stereotypic behaviour in a model carnivore species. Behav Brain Res. 2019 Jul 06;:112056 Authors: Díez-León M, Kitchenham L, Duprey R, Bailey CDC, Choleris E, Lewis M, Mason G Abstract Stereotypic behaviour (SB) is common in animals housed in farm, zoo or laboratory conditions, including captive Carnivora (e.g. wild ursids and felids). Neurobiological data on housing-induced SBs come from four species (macaques, two mouse species, and horses), and suggest basal ganglia (BG) dysfunction. We investigated whether similar patterns occur in Carnivora via a model, American mink, because their SB is distinctive in form and timing. We raised 32 males in non-enriched (NE) or enriched (E) cages for 2 years, and assessed two forms of SB : 1) Carnivora-typical locomotor-and-whole-body ('loco') SBs (e.g. pacing, weaving); 2) scrabbling with the forepaws. Neuronal activity was analysed via cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining of the dorsal striatum (caudate; putamen), globus pallidus (externus, GPe; internus, GPi), STN, and nucleus accumbens (NAc); and the GPe:GPi ratio (GPr) calculated to assess relative activation of direct and indirect pathways. NE mink stereotyped more, and had lower GPr CO-staining indicating relatively lower indirect pathway activation. However, no single BG area was affected by housing; and nor did GPr values covary with SB. Independent of housing, elevated NAc CO-staining predicted more loco ...
Source: Behavioural Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research