Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making
Chronic stress can impact decision-making and lead to a preference for immediate rewards rather than long-term payoffs. Factors that may influence these effects of chronic stress on decision-making are under-explored. Here we used a mouse model to investigate the changes in decision-making caused by...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00081/full |
| _version_ | 1818119148772786176 |
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| author | Arish Mudra Rakshasa Arish Mudra Rakshasa Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong |
| author_facet | Arish Mudra Rakshasa Arish Mudra Rakshasa Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong |
| author_sort | Arish Mudra Rakshasa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chronic stress can impact decision-making and lead to a preference for immediate rewards rather than long-term payoffs. Factors that may influence these effects of chronic stress on decision-making are under-explored. Here we used a mouse model to investigate the changes in decision-making caused by the experience of chronic stress and the role of social isolation in exaggerating these changes. To test decision-making, mice were trained to perform a Cost-Benefit Conflict (CBC) task on a T-maze, in which they could choose between a high-reward, high-risk alternative and a low-reward, low-risk alternative. Mice were either housed in groups or alone throughout the experiment. Both groups of mice underwent a seven-day period of repeated immobilization to induce chronic stress. Stress levels were confirmed using behavioral (open field test) and physiological (urine corticosterone ELISA) measures. We found a significant increase in frequency of high-risk decisions after exposure to chronic stress among both socially- and individually-housed mice. Crucially, socially-housed mice showed a significantly smaller increase in high-risk decision-making compared to singly-housed mice. These findings suggest that chronic stress leads to an increase in high-risk decision-making in mice, and that lack of social interaction may exacerbate this stress effect. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:05:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48da28c934cf4bf9976e4c3ad2c0d3dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:05:36Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-48da28c934cf4bf9976e4c3ad2c0d3dc2022-12-22T01:20:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532020-05-011410.3389/fnbeh.2020.00081539118Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision MakingArish Mudra Rakshasa0Arish Mudra Rakshasa1Michelle T. Tong2Michelle T. Tong3Michelle T. Tong4Neuroscience Program, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, United StatesBiochemistry Program, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, United StatesNeuroscience Program, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, United StatesNeuroscience Program and Department of Biology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, United StatesChronic stress can impact decision-making and lead to a preference for immediate rewards rather than long-term payoffs. Factors that may influence these effects of chronic stress on decision-making are under-explored. Here we used a mouse model to investigate the changes in decision-making caused by the experience of chronic stress and the role of social isolation in exaggerating these changes. To test decision-making, mice were trained to perform a Cost-Benefit Conflict (CBC) task on a T-maze, in which they could choose between a high-reward, high-risk alternative and a low-reward, low-risk alternative. Mice were either housed in groups or alone throughout the experiment. Both groups of mice underwent a seven-day period of repeated immobilization to induce chronic stress. Stress levels were confirmed using behavioral (open field test) and physiological (urine corticosterone ELISA) measures. We found a significant increase in frequency of high-risk decisions after exposure to chronic stress among both socially- and individually-housed mice. Crucially, socially-housed mice showed a significantly smaller increase in high-risk decision-making compared to singly-housed mice. These findings suggest that chronic stress leads to an increase in high-risk decision-making in mice, and that lack of social interaction may exacerbate this stress effect.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00081/fullcost-benefit conflictchronic stressrepeated immobilizationsocial isolationdecision-makingadaptive behavior |
| spellingShingle | Arish Mudra Rakshasa Arish Mudra Rakshasa Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong Michelle T. Tong Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience cost-benefit conflict chronic stress repeated immobilization social isolation decision-making adaptive behavior |
| title | Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making |
| title_full | Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making |
| title_fullStr | Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making |
| title_full_unstemmed | Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making |
| title_short | Making “Good” Choices: Social Isolation in Mice Exacerbates the Effects of Chronic Stress on Decision Making |
| title_sort | making good choices social isolation in mice exacerbates the effects of chronic stress on decision making |
| topic | cost-benefit conflict chronic stress repeated immobilization social isolation decision-making adaptive behavior |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00081/full |
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