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Exogenous testosterone treatment dually affects huddling strategies in mice under different conditions (A) Experimental timeline. Mice are injected with saline (S) or testosterone (T) 30mins before 2 MT exposure. Analysis by unpaired, two-tailed t test (B-I). (B) 2 MT significantly increases the all huddling time, dyad huddling time, triplet huddling time, and quad huddling time. (C) 2 MT odor significantly increases the all huddling time of mice in S and T groups, and T significantly increases the all huddling time of mice exposed to 2 MT odor. (D) T significantly increases the dyad huddling time under the condition of no odor. (E) T has no effect on tripelt huddling time under the condition of no odor. (F) T significantly decreases the quad huddling time under the condition of no odor. (G) T has no effect on dyad huddling time under the condition of 2 MT odor. (H) T significantly increases the triplet huddling time under the condition of 2 MT odor. (I) T significantly increased the quad huddling time under the condition of 2 MT odor. The data are expressed as the mean G SEM. n = 16 per group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
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Huddling behavior, a typical social interaction among animals, has the benefits of obtaining social support and adapting environment. Huddling behavior is determined by social (social hierarchy), environmental factors (stress events), and the neuroendocrine system. Nevertheless, the huddling behavior of different social hierarchies and the underlyi...
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... = 0.06, Figures 2D and 2E). Individual serum T levels were positively correlated with all huddling time and triplet huddling time (r = 0.569, p < 0.01, Figure 2F; r = 0.599, p < 0.001, Figure 2H) Figure 3B), 2 MT odor iScience Article exposure also exerted the same effect in S and T groups (S, t 30 = 13.12, p < 0.001; T, t 30 = 11.85, ...
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... < 0.001; T, t 30 = 11.85, p < 0.001; Figure 3C), which is consistent with previous studies. Notably, T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. ...
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... < 0.001; Figure 3C), which is consistent with previous studies. Notably, T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... T significantly increased all huddle times in mice exposed to the 2 MT odor (t 30 = 4.697, p < 0.001, Figure 3C), but not in the no odor condition. More interestingly, in the no odor condition, T significantly increased dyad huddling time and significantly decreased quad huddling time (t 30 = 2.046, p < 0.05, Figure 3D; t 30 = 3.467, p < 0.01; Figure 3F), but had no effect on triplet huddling time ( Figure 3E); Under the 2 MT odor condition, T significantly increased triplet huddling time and quad huddling time of mice (t 30 = 2.863, p < 0.01, Figure 3H; t 30 = 3.434, p < 0.01, Figure 3I), but had no effect on dyad huddling time ( Figure 3G). The above results suggest that exogenous T treatment dually affects the huddling strategy in mice under different conditions. ...
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... we did not find a clear correlation between the percentage of mice occupying a dominant position and winning times ( Figures 5N-5Q). No correlation between social dominance and huddling time in no odor condition ( Figures S3A-S3H). The above results suggest that T can rapidly regulate individual adaptive responses to threats in a social rank-dependent manner. ...
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... second possibility is that the huddling strategy of mice tends to be more than two because two huddling prevent the expected benefit or protection to the mice. We prefer the summation of the two explanations because the latency time in quad huddling was significantly decreased ( Figure 3F). ...
Citations
... Importantly, this alteration is not of toxicological concern, as the observed P levels remained within the normal range as defined by Frye et al. [42]. Similarly, T levels showed a significant reduction in male mice at 55 mg PTSO/kg b.w./day when compared with the control groups (p < 0.05), although these levels were within a normal range [43]. In contrast, female mice showed no significant alteration in T levels. ...
Propyl-propane thiosulfonate (PTSO), an antioxidant organosulfur compound present in the genus Allium, has become a potential natural additive for food and feed, as well as a possible biopesticide for pest control in plants. A toxicological assessment is necessary to verify its safety for livestock, consumers, and the environment. As part of the risk assessment of PTSO, this study was designed to explore its potential reproductive toxicity in mice following the OECD 416 guideline. The investigation spans two generations to comprehensively evaluate potential reproductive, teratogenic, and hereditary effects. A total of 80 CD1 mice per sex and generation were subjected to PTSO exposure during three phases (premating, gestation, and lactation). This evaluation encompassed three dose levels: 14, 28, and 55 mg PTSO/kg b.w./day, administered through the feed. No clinical changes or mortality attributed to the administration of PTSO were observed in the study. Some changes in the body weight and food consumption were observed, but not related to sex or in a dose-dependent manner. The two parental generations (F0, F1) exhibited normal reproductive performance, and the offspring (F1 and F2) were born without any abnormalities. The serum sexual hormone levels (progesterone -P-, testosterone -T-, estradiol -E2-, follicular stimulating hormone -FSH-, and luteinizing hormone -LH-) were in a normal range. Although significant changes were observed in the sperm analysis in the case of F0 group, no variation was found for F1 group, and no alterations in fertility were recorded either. The absolute organ weights and relative organ weight/body weight and organ weight/brain weight ratios, and the complete histopathological study, showed no significant alterations in males and females for all the generations considered. Considering all the results obtained, PTSO is not considered a reproductive or developmental toxicant in mice under the assayed conditions. These results support the good safety profile of PTSO for its potential application in the agrifood sector.
... However, grouping behavior can be broadly defined as any type of behavior that occurs in groups and can focus not only on the group as a whole unit but also on individuals within the group Majolo and Huang, 2022). Behaviors that occur in groups may also occur in non-group environments, such as foraging, which can occur alone or with others, or huddling which can occur in dyadic or large-group interactions (Gobrogge and Wang, 2015;Ding et al., 2020;Zhao et al., 2023). Importantly, though, the social context of being in a group may be quite distinct from that of the social context of being with just one other individual. ...
Despite the prevalence of large group-living in the animal kingdom, we know surprisingly little about how the brain facilitates grouping behavior, particularly in mammals. In this brief communication, I provide an update on advancements in the study of the neural mechanisms underlying mammalian grouping behavior. I discuss the benefits of using non-traditional organisms in the laboratory and provide examples of how using non-standard, large housing and testing apparatuses produces more ethologically-relevant behavioral datasets. Further, with advancements in computer vision-based automated tracking and increasing availability of wireless neural recording and manipulation tools, scientists can now generate unprecedented neurobehavioral datasets from multiple interacting animals. Together, recent advancements in behavioral and neural approaches hold great promise for expanding our understanding of how the brain modulates complex, mammalian grouping behaviors.
Severe stress exposure increases the risk of stress-related disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD). An essential characteristic of MDD is the impairment of social functioning and lack of social motivation. Chronic social defeat stress is an established animal model for MDD research, which induces a cascade of physiological and behavioral changes. Current markerless pose estimation tools allow for more complex and naturalistic behavioral tests. Here, we introduce the open-source tool DeepOF to investigate the individual and social behavioral profile in mice by providing supervised and unsupervised pipelines using DeepLabCut-annotated pose estimation data. Applying this tool to chronic social defeat in male mice, the DeepOF supervised and unsupervised pipelines detect a distinct stress-induced social behavioral pattern, which was particularly observed at the beginning of a novel social encounter and fades with time due to habituation. In addition, while the classical social avoidance task does identify the stress-induced social behavioral differences, both DeepOF behavioral pipelines provide a clearer and more detailed profile. Moreover, DeepOF aims to facilitate reproducibility and unification of behavioral classification by providing an open-source tool, which can advance the study of rodent individual and social behavior, thereby enabling biological insights and, for example, subsequent drug development for psychiatric disorders.
