A joint research group of the University of Shizuoka and the National Institute of Genetics showed that individual mice with low social ranking in the cage and thought to be socially stressed showed depressive behavior, and gene expression in the brain was further increased according to the ranking. I found it to be affected.
It is thought that stress due to the living environment is involved in the onset of many depressions, and among them, the main stress is said to occur in social relationships.Clarifying the effects of social stress on the brain is important for establishing treatments to alleviate depression.
In order to clarify how male mice with wild hanawa are affected by being placed in a multiple cohabiting breeding environment for experiments, this research group has multiple animals raised in the same cage. The behavior of male mice was investigated in detail.
As a result, it was found that social rankings were formed among male individuals, and that individuals with lower rankings showed significantly higher depressive behavior than individuals with higher rankings.Furthermore, it was also found that gene expression such as serotonin receptors in the brain is affected according to the order.Administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, an antidepressant, to these mice significantly alleviated changes in depressive behavior and gene expression.
It is expected that the results of this research will clarify the effect of stress due to social ranking on the brain and lead to the establishment of a methodology for improving depression.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Hierarchy in the home cage affects behavior and gene expression in group-housed C57BL / 6 male mice
