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Updated: Sep 13, 2025
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An Olfactory Preference Test for Measuring Olfactory Hedonic Biases in Mouse Models of Depression
Published on: July 11, 2025
234
An Olfactory Preference Test for Measuring Olfactory Hedonic Biases in Mouse Models of Depression
Claire-Hélène de Badts1, Gilles Gheusi2, Chantal Henry3
1Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité; Ecole Doctorale 158 - Cerveau, Cognition, Comportement, Université Paris Cité; claire-helene.de-badts@pasteur.fr.
Journal of Visualized Experiments : Jove
|July 28, 2025
Summary
Depression is linked to a negative bias in how stimuli are perceived. A new olfactory preference test in mice reveals this negative bias, offering a translational tool for depression research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Depression is a leading cause of global disability, affecting 280 million people annually.
- Depression is characterized by reduced motivation and a negative valence bias, affecting perception of neutral, positive, and negative stimuli.
- Olfactory hedonic bias may serve as a state marker for depression and is measurable in animal models, but translational tests are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a reliable protocol for evaluating odor valence attribution in control and depressive-like mice.
- To establish a translational method for measuring emotional bias in animal models of depression.
Main Methods:
- An olfactory preference test using odorants with varying hedonic values was employed.
- Behavioral readouts and established mouse models of depression were utilized.
- The protocol was designed for applicability to both male and female individuals.
Main Results:
- A negative olfactory bias towards both appetitive and aversive stimuli was confirmed in two distinct mouse models of depression.
- The proposed method demonstrated reliability and applicability across sexes.
- The protocol is adaptable and can be integrated with neuronal activity monitoring tools.
Conclusions:
- The developed olfactory preference test provides a reliable and translational method for assessing emotional bias in mouse models of depression.
- This protocol advances the study of depression's affective biases and offers potential for further research, including real-time neuronal activity monitoring.
