Acute gut microbiome changes after traumatic brain injury are associated with chronic deficits in decision-making and impulsivity in male rats.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 137(1), Feb 2023, 15-28; doi:10.1037/bne0000532The mechanisms underlying chronic psychiatric-like impairments after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are currently unknown. The goal of the present study was to assess the role of diet and the gut microbiome in psychiatric symptoms after TBI. Rats were randomly assigned to receive a high-fat diet (HFD) or calorie-matched low-fat diet (LFD). After 2 weeks of free access, rats began training on the rodent gambling task (RGT), a measure of risky decision-making and motor impulsivity. After training, rats received a bilateral frontal TBI or a sham procedu...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 28, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Evaluation of baseline behavioral tests in ferrets.
As the smallest mammal with a gyrencephalic cerebral cortex, ferrets are becoming increasingly important animal models to study neurological disorders. In order for them to be optimally used, typical behavioral measurements are highly desirable. To ascertain a baseline level of behavior, we conducted a battery of tests assessing motor, social, memory, headache, and aspects of depressive-like behavior. Adult male ferrets participated in open field, beam walk, sucrose preference, eye contact, light/dark box, socialization, and novel object recognition tests. The animals were assessed in three cohorts, which differed in age, ...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 28, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Quitting while you’re ahead: Patch foraging and temporal cognition.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(5), Oct 2022, 467-478; doi:10.1037/bne0000526Theoretical models of foraging are based on the maximization of food intake rate. Remarkably, foragers often hew close to the predictions of rate maximization, except for a frequently observed bias to remain in patches for too long. By sticking with depleting options beyond the optimal patch residence time—a phenomenon referred to as overharvesting or overstaying—foragers miss out on food they could have earned had they sought a new option elsewhere. Here, we review potential causes of overstaying and consider the role that temporal cognition...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Event-related brain potentials of temporal generalization: The P300 span marks the transition between time perception and time estimation.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(5), Oct 2022, 430-444; doi:10.1037/bne0000530There has been a long-standing debate on where on the time axis the transition between time perception and time estimation (i.e., the cognitive reconstruction of time) can be located. According to Fraisse (1984), time perception applies to intervals1 s are subject to time estimation. While there is good empirical evidence for this notion, it might be possible to further pinpoint the threshold. In two experiments, an auditory temporal generalization (TG) task in the range of 400 ms was used to compare event-related potentials (ERPs) with findings ...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
mPFC catecholamines modulate attentional capture by appetitive distracters and attention to time in a peak-interval procedure in rats.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(5), Oct 2022, 418-429; doi:10.1037/bne0000528The behavioral and neural mechanisms by which distracters delay interval timing behavior are currently unclear. Distracters delay timing in a considerable dynamic range: Some distracters have no effect on timing (“run”), whereas others seem to “stop” timing; some distracters restart (“reset”) the entire timing mechanisms at their offset, whereas others seem to capture attentional resources long after their termination (“over-reset”). While the run–reset range of delays is accounted for by the Time-Sharing Hypothesis (Buhusi, 200...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Quitting while you’re ahead: Patch foraging and temporal cognition.
Theoretical models of foraging are based on the maximization of food intake rate. Remarkably, foragers often hew close to the predictions of rate maximization, except for a frequently observed bias to remain in patches for too long. By sticking with depleting options beyond the optimal patch residence time—a phenomenon referred to as overharvesting or overstaying—foragers miss out on food they could have earned had they sought a new option elsewhere. Here, we review potential causes of overstaying and consider the role that temporal cognition might play in this phenomenon. We first consider how an explicit, internal se...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Event-related brain potentials of temporal generalization: The P300 span marks the transition between time perception and time estimation.
There has been a long-standing debate on where on the time axis the transition between time perception and time estimation (i.e., the cognitive reconstruction of time) can be located. According to Fraisse (1984), time perception applies to intervals1 s are subject to time estimation. While there is good empirical evidence for this notion, it might be possible to further pinpoint the threshold. In two experiments, an auditory temporal generalization (TG) task in the range of 400 ms was used to compare event-related potentials (ERPs) with findings from an analogous task using standard durations in the range of 200 ms. As an ...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
mPFC catecholamines modulate attentional capture by appetitive distracters and attention to time in a peak-interval procedure in rats.
The behavioral and neural mechanisms by which distracters delay interval timing behavior are currently unclear. Distracters delay timing in a considerable dynamic range: Some distracters have no effect on timing (“run”), whereas others seem to “stop” timing; some distracters restart (“reset”) the entire timing mechanisms at their offset, whereas others seem to capture attentional resources long after their termination (“over-reset”). While the run–reset range of delays is accounted for by the Time-Sharing Hypothesis (Buhusi, 2003, 2012), the behavioral and neural mechanisms of “over-resetting” are cur...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - July 14, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
The rostral medial frontal cortex is crucial for engagement in consummatory behavior.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(6), Dec 2022, 551-560; doi:10.1037/bne0000523The medial frontal cortex (MFC) in rodents emits rhythmic activity that is entrained to the animal’s licking cycle during consumption and encodes the value of consumed fluids. These signals are especially prominent in the rostral half of the MFC. This region is located above an orbitofrontal region where mu-opioid receptors regulate intake and reversible inactivation reduces behavioral measures associated with the incentive value and palatability of liquid sucrose. Here, we examined the effects of reversible inactivation and stimulation of mu-o...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 30, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Chemogenetic inhibition of corticotropin-releasing factor neurons in the central amygdala alters binge-like ethanol consumption in male mice.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(6), Dec 2022, 541-550; doi:10.1037/bne0000522Repetitive bouts of binge drinking can lead to neuroplastic events that alter ethanol’s pharmacologic effects and perpetuate excessive consumption. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system is an example of ethanol-induced neuroadaptations that drive excessive ethanol consumption. Our laboratory has previously shown that CRF antagonist, when infused into the central amygdala (CeA), reduces binge-like ethanol consumption. The present study extends this research by assessing the effects of silencing CRF-producing neurons in CeA on binge-lik...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 30, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
The rostral medial frontal cortex is crucial for engagement in consummatory behavior.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(6), Dec 2022, 551-560; doi:10.1037/bne0000523The medial frontal cortex (MFC) in rodents emits rhythmic activity that is entrained to the animal’s licking cycle during consumption and encodes the value of consumed fluids. These signals are especially prominent in the rostral half of the MFC. This region is located above an orbitofrontal region where mu-opioid receptors regulate intake and reversible inactivation reduces behavioral measures associated with the incentive value and palatability of liquid sucrose. Here, we examined the effects of reversible inactivation and stimulation of mu-o...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 30, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Chemogenetic inhibition of corticotropin-releasing factor neurons in the central amygdala alters binge-like ethanol consumption in male mice.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(6), Dec 2022, 541-550; doi:10.1037/bne0000522Repetitive bouts of binge drinking can lead to neuroplastic events that alter ethanol’s pharmacologic effects and perpetuate excessive consumption. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system is an example of ethanol-induced neuroadaptations that drive excessive ethanol consumption. Our laboratory has previously shown that CRF antagonist, when infused into the central amygdala (CeA), reduces binge-like ethanol consumption. The present study extends this research by assessing the effects of silencing CRF-producing neurons in CeA on binge-lik...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 30, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
The temporal context in bayesian models of interval timing: Recent advances and future directions.
Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 136(5), Oct 2022, 364-373; doi:10.1037/bne0000513Sensory perception, motor control, and cognition necessitate reliable timing in the range of milliseconds to seconds, which implies the existence of a highly accurate timing system. Yet, partly owing to the fact that temporal processing is modulated by contextual factors, perceived time is not isomorphic to physical time. Temporal estimates exhibit regression to the mean of an interval distribution (global context) and are also affected by preceding trials (local context). Recent Bayesian models of interval timing have provided important insights...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 23, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
The temporal context in bayesian models of interval timing: Recent advances and future directions.
Sensory perception, motor control, and cognition necessitate reliable timing in the range of milliseconds to seconds, which implies the existence of a highly accurate timing system. Yet, partly owing to the fact that temporal processing is modulated by contextual factors, perceived time is not isomorphic to physical time. Temporal estimates exhibit regression to the mean of an interval distribution (global context) and are also affected by preceding trials (local context). Recent Bayesian models of interval timing have provided important insights regarding these observations, but questions remain as to how exposure to past...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 23, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Effects of a cue associated with cocaine or food reinforcers on extinction and postextinction return of behavior.
Studies of instrumental responding often include the delivery of a cue that is coincident with the delivery of the reinforcer. One purpose of this is for the cue to be removed during extinction and then presented later to assess whether responding returns (cue-induced reinstatement). In two experiments, we examined the effects of having a cue associated with reinforcement present or absent during extinction. In Experiment 1, the cue was associated with fixed ratio responding for intravenous cocaine or food pellets in one context (Context A), followed by extinction in another context (Context B), where responding produced t...
Source: Behavioral Neuroscience - June 9, 2022 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
