Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness characterized by excessively restricted caloric intake and abnormally high levels of physical activity. A challenging illness to treat, due to the lack of understanding of the underlying neurobiology, AN has the highest mortality rate among psychiatric illnesses. To address this need, neuroscientists are using an animal model to study how neural circuits may contribute toward vulnerability to AN and may be affected by AN. Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is a bio-behavioral phenomenon described in rodents that models the key symptoms of anorexia nervosa. When rodents with free access to voluntary exercise on a running wheel experience food restriction, they become hyperactive – running more than animals with free access to food. Here, we describe the procedures by which ABA is induced in adolescent female C57BL/6 mice. On postnatal day 36 (P36), the animal is housed with access to voluntary exercise on a running wheel. After 4 days of acclimation to the running wheel, on P40, all food is removed from the cage. For the next 3 days, food is returned to the cage (allowing animals free food access) for 2 hr daily. After the fourth day of food restriction, free access to food is returned and the running wheel is removed from the cage to allow the animals to recover. Continuous multi-day analysis of running wheel activity shows that mice become hyperactive within 24 hr following the onset of food restriction. The mice run even during the limited time during which they have access to food. Additionally, the circadian pattern of wheel running becomes disrupted by the experience of food restriction. We have been able to correlate neurobiological changes with various aspects of the animals’ wheel running behavior to implicate particular brain regions and neurochemical changes with resilience and vulnerability to food-restriction induced hyperactivity.     

Novel glycylated sugar alcohols protect ESC-specific microRNAs from degradation in iPS cells

Excessive accumulation of embryonic stem cell (ESC)-specific microRNAs occurs in both ESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC); yet, the mechanism involved is unknown. In iPSCs, we for the first time found that novel glycylated sugar alcohols, particularly glycylglycerins, are tightly bound with ESC-specific microRNA precursors (pre-miRNA), such as pre-miR-302. Among these isolated glycylglycerins, we further identified that 1,3-diglycylglycerin and 1,2,3-triglycylglycerin are two major compounds bonded with negatively charged nucleic acids via electro-affinity and subsequently forming sugar-like coats in the hairpin-like double helix structures of pre-miRNAs. As a result, such glycylglycerin-formed coating serves as a protection layer against miRNA degradation. Moreover, we found that the pH value of iPSC cytosol determines the charges of these glycylglycerins. During iPSC differentiation, the cytosol pH is increased and hence neutralizes the charges of glycylglycerins, consequently leading to fast miRNA degradation. Therefore, the current findings not only explain how ESC-specific miRNAs are preserved and accumulated in iPSCs and ESCs but also demonstrate an important function of glycylglycerins in protecting the structural integrity of highly degradable miRNAs, providing a useful means for maintaining miRNA/siRNA function as well as developing the related RNA interference (RNAi) applications.     

眼睛注视线索对物体认知加工的影响及其机制

眼睛注视作为一种重要的非语言社会线索,不仅可以传达他人丰富的注意方向信息,并且能够诱发独特的社会性注意行为.近年来,研究者利用改编的社会性注意任务发现,眼睛注视线索还可以进一步影响我们对各种不同种类物体(用具、符号、面孔等)的感知觉加工,以及主观评价、记忆等其他高级认知加工过程.眼睛注视线索对物体加工的这种影响受到诸多因素的调节,如面孔属性、数量以及注视模式等.特别地,眼睛注视线索对物体加工的这一调制作用能够在无意识水平发生,具有一定的特异性.此外,针对这一调制作用背后机制的研究暗示心理理论和观点采择可能参与其中,但仍有待进一步探究.眼睛注视对物体加工影响的研究有助于我们深入理解社会互动的方式以及人类与环境的交互过程,因此具有重要的理论意义和社会应用价值.     

Mandarin Fish Caveolin 1 Interaction with Major Capsid Protein of Infectious Spleen and Kidney Necrosis Virus and Its Role in Early Stages of Infection

Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) is the type species of the genus Megalocytivirus from the family Iridoviridae. ISKNV is one of the major agents that cause mortality and economic losses to the freshwater fish culture industry in Asian countries, particularly for mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi). In the present study, we report that the interaction of mandarin fish caveolin 1 (mCav-1) with the ISKNV major capsid protein (MCP) was detected by using a virus overlay assay and confirmed by pulldown assay and coimmunoprecipitation. This interaction was independent of the classic caveolin 1 scaffolding domain (CSD), which is responsible for interacting with several signaling proteins and receptors. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy showed that ISKNV MCP colocalized with mCav-1 in the perinuclear region of virus-infected mandarin fish fry (MFF-1) cells, which appeared as soon as 4 h postinfection. Subcellular fractionation analysis showed that ISKNV MCP was associated with caveolae in the early stages of viral infection. RNA interference silencing of mCav-1 did not change virus-cell binding but efficiently inhibited the entry of virions into the cell. Taken together, these results suggested that mCav-1 plays an important role in the early stages of ISKNV infection.     

面孔社会信息对注视提示效应的调制及其神经机制

眼睛注视是一种独特的非言语社会线索,能够诱发对生存和进化至关重要的注意效应。近年来,研究者采用中央线索提示范式及其变式,关注了面孔社会信息尤其是表情对这一注意效应的调节。面孔表情的调节作用与具体的表情类型有关,同时会受到任务因素和个体因素的影响。这一调节作用会随个体发展而逐渐成熟,与负责对面孔表情和注视方向各自及整合加工的机制相关,涉及到杏仁核和颞上沟脑区。除了面孔表情,其他面孔社会信息(如熟悉性和可信任度、优势度和社会地位、群体属性)也可以调节注视提示效应。这一调节可能涉及额叶视区、额顶注意网络。对面孔表情及其他社会信息调制注视提示效应的行为学证据及其神经机制进行系统综述,能够深化当前对面孔加工和注视提示效应间关系的理解,为社会认知障碍的临床诊断和干预提供参考。