Infection of male rats with Toxoplasma gondii induces effort-aversion in a T-maze decision-making task

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 273-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Tan ◽  
Ajai Vyas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Male Rats

scholarly journals Risk-based Decision Making in Rats: Modulation by Sex and Amphetamine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dannia Islas-Preciado ◽  
Steven R. Wainwright ◽  
Julia Sniegocki ◽  
Stephane E. Lieblich ◽  
Shunya Yagi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Gonadal Hormones ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Risky Decision Making ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
17Β Estradiol ◽  
Males And Females

AbstractDecision-making is a complex process essential to daily adaptation in many species. Risk is an inherent aspect of decision-making and it is influenced by gonadal hormones. Testosterone and 17β-estradiol may modulate decision making and impact the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway. Here, we explored sex differences, the effect of gonadal hormones and the dopamine agonist amphetamine on risk-based decision making. Intact or gonadectomised (GDX) male and female rats underwent to a probabilistic discounting task. High and low doses of testosterone propionate (1.0 or 0.2 mg) and 17β-estradiol benzoate (0.3 μg) were administered to assess acute effects on risk-based decision making. After 3-days of washout period, intact and GDX rats received high or low (0.5 or 0.125 mg/kg) doses of amphetamine and re-tested in the probabilistic discounting task. Under baseline conditions, males made more risky choices during probability discounting compared to female rats, particularly in the lower probability blocks, but GDX did not influence risky choice. The high, but not the low dose, of testosterone modestly reduced risky decision making in GDX male rats. Conversely, 17β-estradiol had no significant effect on risky choice regardless of GDX status in either sex. Lastly, a higher dose of amphetamine increased risky decision making in both intact males and females, but had no effect in GDX rats. These findings demonstrated sex differences in risk-based decision making, with males showing a stronger bias towards larger, uncertain rewards. GDX status influenced the effects of amphetamine, suggesting different dopaminergic regulation in risk-based choices among males and females.

Central but not peripheral oxytocin administration reduces risk-based decision-making in male rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 104840
Author(s):  
Danielle N. Tapp ◽  
Mitchell D. Singstock ◽  
Meredith S. Gottliebson ◽  
Matthew S. McMurray
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Male Rats

Toxoplasma gondii: Reproductive parameters in experimentally infected male rats

2009 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos I. Terpsidis ◽  
Margarita G. Papazahariadou ◽  
Ioannis A. Taitzoglou ◽  
Nikolaos G. Papaioannou ◽  
Marios P. Georgiadis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Infected Male

A cafeteria diet alters the decision making strategy and metabolic markers in Sprague-Dawley male rats

2018 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Virtuoso ◽  
Björn Forkman ◽  
David A. Sarruf ◽  
Pernille Tveden-Nyborg ◽  
Dorte Bratbo Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cafeteria Diet ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Metabolic Markers

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Reproductive Ability of Male Rats in Acute Toxoplasmosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
M. S. Kosova ◽  
◽  
E. S. Pashinskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Reproductive Capacity ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Reproductive Ability ◽  
Male Wistar Rats ◽  
Implantation Sites ◽  
Acute Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Post Implantation

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease of humans and animals caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma is an intracellular parasite that belongs to the simplest and has a complex development cycle. Infection with Toxoplasma is possible orally, transplacentally, percutaneously (if the integrity of the skin is damaged). This invasion is often the cause of problems with bearing pregnancy, as well as the development of congenital anomalies in children. The purpose of the study was to study the reproductive ability of male rats in acute toxoplasmosis. Materials and methods. The experiment was performed on 90 female and 45 male Wistar rats with a body weight of 180-200 g. The intact control males were orally injected with 2 ml of 0.2% starch gel. Experimental groups of males were infected with an invasive Toxoplasma gondii culture at a dose of 25 tachyzoites per 1 g of body weight (5000 tachyzoites per rat) and 50 tachyzoites per 1 g of body weight (10000 tachyzoites per rat). Then the males of all groups were coupled with the females for 3 days. The effect of toxoplasmas on the reproductive ability of male rats was assessed by the development of pregnancy and changes in the levels of pre- and post-implantation embryo death in female rats on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days after pregnancy. To account for changes in the pre- and post-implantation death of embryos in female rats after removal from the experiment, the uterus and ovaries were isolated, the uterine horns were opened, the number of implantation sites, the total number of embryos, the number of living and dead embryos, the number of resorption, and the number of yellow bodies in the ovaries were determined. Results and discussion. In the females of the 4th, 5th and 6th groups (coupling with males infected at the dose of 25 tachyzoites per 1 g of body weight), a decrease in the number of implantation sites in the uterus, the total number of embryos and the number of live embryos was recorded by 1.8-1.9 times compared to the control parameters. In female rats of the 7th, 8th and 9th groups (coupling with males infected at the dose of 50 tachyzoites per 1 g of body weight), there was a decrease in the number of implantation sites in the uterus, the total number of embryos and the number of live embryos by 5.6-6.8 times compared to the control. When compared to the results obtained from the females of the 4th, 5th and 6th groups, a decrease in these indicators was recorded by 3.1-3.5 times. Conclusion. Toxoplasma gondii has an effect on reproductive capacity in male rats expressed in changes of the levels of preimplantation mortality in female rats. The obtained effect depends on the dose of infection and the period of parasitosis development in males

scholarly journals A bidirectional corticoamygdala circuit for the encoding and retrieval of detailed reward memories

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana C Sias ◽  
Ashleigh K Morse ◽  
Sherry Wang ◽  
Venuz Y Greenfield ◽  
Caitlin M Goodpaster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Optical Recording ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Work Activity ◽  
Specific Stimulus ◽  
Reward Conditioning ◽  
Environmental Reward ◽  
Direct Input

Adaptive reward-related decision making often requires accurate and detailed representation of potential available rewards. Environmental reward-predictive stimuli can facilitate these representations, allowing one to infer which specific rewards might be available and choose accordingly. This process relies on encoded relationships between the cues and the sensory-specific details of the reward they predict. Here we interrogated the function of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and its interaction with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in the ability to learn such stimulus-outcome associations and use these memories to guide decision making. Using optical recording and inhibition approaches, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning, and the outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) test in male rats, we found that the BLA is robustly activated at the time of stimulus-outcome learning and that this activity is necessary for sensory-specific stimulus-outcome memories to be encoded, so they can subsequently influence reward choices. Direct input from the lOFC was found to support the BLA in this function. Based on prior work, activity in BLA projections back to the lOFC was known to support the use of stimulus-outcome memories to influence decision making. By multiplexing optogenetic and chemogenetic inhibition we performed a serial circuit disconnection and found that the lOFCàBLA and BLAàlOFC pathways form a functional circuit regulating the encoding (lOFCàBLA) and subsequent use (BLAàlOFC) of the stimulus-dependent, sensory-specific reward memories that are critical for adaptive, appetitive decision making.

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