Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory.
Food insecurity correlates with poor physical and mental health in older individuals, but has not been studied in a laboratory animal model. This explorative study developed a laboratory mouse model for analyzing the impact of food insecurity on food consumption, stress coping mechanisms, explorator...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250585 |
| _version_ | 1819134530613673984 |
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| author | Samantha M Estacio Madalyn M Thursby Noel C Simms Vanessa A Orozco Jessica P Wu Alyssa A Miawotoe Whitney W Worth Claire B Capeloto Kyla Yamashita Kayla R Tewahade Katherine B Saxton |
| author_facet | Samantha M Estacio Madalyn M Thursby Noel C Simms Vanessa A Orozco Jessica P Wu Alyssa A Miawotoe Whitney W Worth Claire B Capeloto Kyla Yamashita Kayla R Tewahade Katherine B Saxton |
| author_sort | Samantha M Estacio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food insecurity correlates with poor physical and mental health in older individuals, but has not been studied in a laboratory animal model. This explorative study developed a laboratory mouse model for analyzing the impact of food insecurity on food consumption, stress coping mechanisms, exploratory behavior, and memory. 18-month-old CD-1 female mice were assigned to either the food insecurity exposure condition (31 mice, 8 cages) or the control condition (34 mice, 8 cages) by cage. Over four weeks, the mice that were exposed to food insecurity received varied, unpredictable portions of their baseline food consumption (50%, 75%, 125%, 150% of baseline) for four days, followed by ad libitum access for three days, to approximate the inconsistent access to food observed in households experiencing food insecurity. Behavioral tasks were conducted before and after food insecurity exposure. Mice in the food insecurity exposure condition ate less compared to control mice during food insecurity (two-way ANOVA: group x time interaction: F7,93 = 10.95, P < 0.01) but ate more when given access to high fat food (two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,14 = 11.14, P < 0.01). Mice exposed to food insecurity increased active escaping behaviors in the forced swim test (repeated measures two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,63 = 5.40, P = 0.023). Exploratory behaviors were unaffected by food insecurity. Mice exposed to food insecurity showed a reduction in memory (repeated measures two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,61 = 4.81, P = 0.037). These results suggest that exposure to food insecurity is associated with differences in food consumption patterns, active coping mechanisms, and memory. The behavioral changes associated with food insecurity may inform research on food insecurity's impact on health in elderly humans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:04:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1d38eab736a4c7f8a16b7359c6e6075 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:04:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1d38eab736a4c7f8a16b7359c6e60752022-12-21T18:30:00ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01164e025058510.1371/journal.pone.0250585Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory.Samantha M EstacioMadalyn M ThursbyNoel C SimmsVanessa A OrozcoJessica P WuAlyssa A MiawotoeWhitney W WorthClaire B CapelotoKyla YamashitaKayla R TewahadeKatherine B SaxtonFood insecurity correlates with poor physical and mental health in older individuals, but has not been studied in a laboratory animal model. This explorative study developed a laboratory mouse model for analyzing the impact of food insecurity on food consumption, stress coping mechanisms, exploratory behavior, and memory. 18-month-old CD-1 female mice were assigned to either the food insecurity exposure condition (31 mice, 8 cages) or the control condition (34 mice, 8 cages) by cage. Over four weeks, the mice that were exposed to food insecurity received varied, unpredictable portions of their baseline food consumption (50%, 75%, 125%, 150% of baseline) for four days, followed by ad libitum access for three days, to approximate the inconsistent access to food observed in households experiencing food insecurity. Behavioral tasks were conducted before and after food insecurity exposure. Mice in the food insecurity exposure condition ate less compared to control mice during food insecurity (two-way ANOVA: group x time interaction: F7,93 = 10.95, P < 0.01) but ate more when given access to high fat food (two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,14 = 11.14, P < 0.01). Mice exposed to food insecurity increased active escaping behaviors in the forced swim test (repeated measures two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,63 = 5.40, P = 0.023). Exploratory behaviors were unaffected by food insecurity. Mice exposed to food insecurity showed a reduction in memory (repeated measures two-way ANOVA, group x time interaction: F1,61 = 4.81, P = 0.037). These results suggest that exposure to food insecurity is associated with differences in food consumption patterns, active coping mechanisms, and memory. The behavioral changes associated with food insecurity may inform research on food insecurity's impact on health in elderly humans.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250585 |
| spellingShingle | Samantha M Estacio Madalyn M Thursby Noel C Simms Vanessa A Orozco Jessica P Wu Alyssa A Miawotoe Whitney W Worth Claire B Capeloto Kyla Yamashita Kayla R Tewahade Katherine B Saxton Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. PLoS ONE |
| title | Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. |
| title_full | Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. |
| title_fullStr | Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. |
| title_short | Food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption, coping behaviors, and memory. |
| title_sort | food insecurity in older female mice affects food consumption coping behaviors and memory |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250585 |
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