Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors

Summary

This paper presents a protocol for the investigation of social transmission of food preference in mice. The advantages and possible applications for this procedure, for instance, in detecting early changes in AD mouse models, are highlighted. To conclude, interpretation of the results in light of critical details are discussed.

Abstract

Olfactory recognition deficits are suggested to be able to serve as clinical marker to differentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects from healthy aging groups. For example, olfactory dysfunction in AD can present as impairment in olfactory recognition, emerging during early stages of the disease and worsening while the disease progresses. The social transmission of food preferences (STFP) task is based on a rudimentary form of communication between rodents concerning distant foods dependent on the transmission of olfactory cues. Healthy wild-type mice would prefer to eat a novel, flavored food that was previously cued by a conspecific, and this food preference would be hampered in transgenic AD mice, such as the APP/PS1 model. Indeed, a strong preference for the cued food in C57Bl6/J mice of 3 months of age was found, and this was reduced in 3 months old transgenic APP/PS1 mice. In summary, STFP task could be a powerful measure to be integrated in present subclinical detection assays of AD.

Introduction

Olfactory recognition deficits are suggested to serve as clinical marker to differentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects from normal aging groups^1,2,3,4. A range of neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by disturbances in olfactory recognition and memory, including AD and Parkinson's^5,6. Several behavioral tests and protocols have been established to assess olfactory recognition and discrimination in animal models⁷. As such, translational res....

Protocol

All protocols have been reviewed and approved by the animal experiments committee of the University of Leuven, Belgium, and were carried out in accordance with the European Community Council Directive (86/609/EEC).

1. Equipment, Apparatus, and Room Set Up:

1. Prepare a Crawley's three-chamber box²³ which consists of three chambers (19 x 45 cm, height 30 cm) with transparent dividing walls allowing free access to each chamber.
2. Utilize two food cups made from transparent plastic (diameter of 3.8 cm, height of 3.2 cm) and place them inside fitting food cup holders consisting of a metal ramp (10x10....

Results

An example of the social exploration phase is shown in Figure 1A-B. This phase allows estimation of social exploration of the subject mouse with the demonstrator mouse that just consumed a flavored food. In the original protocol, mice were allowed to explore each other freely. In the protocol described in this paper, the demonstrator mouse was contained in a wire cup allowing nose and ano-genital contact. Also, the arena where the mice encoun.......

Discussion

An animal behavioral repertoire can be broadly tracked back to four basic reasons, locating food and water, avoiding predators, socially interacting, and reproducing. Implementation of a behavioral pattern produced by one individual of a social group that directly promotes adoption and exhibition by another is coined social transmission²⁴. This kind of behavior can profoundly impact a species' ecology because behavior initiated by (some) individual(s) may quickly extend out to others in the so.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
3-chamber apparatus	custom made		19 x 45 cm, height 30 cm
wire cages to hold mouse	custom made		diameter of 12 cm, height 10 cm
ramp to hold food cup	custom made		10 x 10 cm, height 7 cm
food cups	sunlessbody via ebay	http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Plastic-Sample-Jars-Pots-Cups-Containers-with-Hinged-Lid-x-200-Small-25ml-/251708415240	diameter of 3.8 cm, height 3.2 cm
lux meter	Volcraft	BL-10 L 0 - 40000 lx
paprika herb	Delhaize	ID:716703	Gemalen paprika,| 40 g
celery herb	Delhaize	ID:716301	Selderzout, 57 g
vide-tracking software	Ethovision (Noldus)	http://www.noldus.com/animal-behavior-research/products/ethovision-xt
	ANYmaze (Stoelting)	https://www.stoeltingco.com/any-maze-video-tracking-software-1218.html