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Behavioral despair and home-cage activity in mice with chronically elevated baseline corticosterone concentrations
Jessica L Malisch1, Creagh W Breuner, Erik M Kolb
1Department of Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Behavior Genetics
|December 11, 2008
Summary
High-running mice exhibit depression-like behaviors and elevated corticosterone, suggesting a link between high activity, stress hormones, and affective disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Genetics
- Endocrinology
Background:
- The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates stress response, with dysfunction linked to anxiety and depression.
- Elevated baseline glucocorticoids, like corticosterone (CORT), are characteristic of stress-related affective disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between high voluntary wheel running, elevated baseline corticosterone, and depression-like behaviors in mice.
- To assess if genetically selected high-running mice exhibit a predisposition to depression-like behavior.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of high-running (HR) mice and control (C) mice, selectively bred for voluntary wheel activity.
- Quantification of depressive-like behavior using the forced-swim test (FST) and tail-suspension test (TST) after wheel deprivation.
- Measurement of home-cage and wheel-running activity levels.
Main Results:
- HR mice exhibited significantly higher baseline circulating corticosterone levels compared to C mice.
- Male HR mice spent more time immobile in the FST, indicating increased depression-like behavior.
- HR mice demonstrated significantly greater wheel-running and home-cage activity than C mice.
Conclusions:
- High voluntary wheel running in mice is associated with elevated baseline corticosterone and a predisposition to depression-like behaviors.
- These findings suggest a potential link between HPA axis hyperactivity, high locomotor activity, and affective disorder vulnerability.
