title: PhenoWorld: a new paradigm to screen rodent behavior.
abstract: Modeling depression in animals has inherent complexities that are augmented by intrinsic difficulties to measure the characteristic features of the disorder. Herein, we describe the PhenoWorld (PhW), a new setting in which groups of six rats lived in an ethological enriched environment, and have their feeding, locomotor activity, sleeping and social behavior automatically monitored. A battery of emotional and cognitive tests was used to characterize the behavioral phenotype of animals living in the PhW and in standard conditions (in groups of six and two rats), after exposure to an unpredictable chronic mild stress paradigm (uCMS) and antidepressants. Data reveal that animals living in the PhW displayed similar, but more striking, behavioral differences when exposed to uCMS, such as increased behavioral despair shown in the forced swimming test, resting/sleep behavior disturbances and reduced social interactions. Moreover, several PhW-cage behaviors, such as spontaneous will to go for food or exercise in running wheels, proved to be sensitive indicators of depressive-like behavior. In summary, this new ethological enriched paradigm adds significant discriminative power to screen depressive-like behavior, in particularly rodent's hedonic behavior.
authors.affiliation: 1] Neuroscience Research Domain, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [2] ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castelhano-Carlos
authors.affiliation: 1] Neuroscience Research Domain, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [2] ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: TSE Systems GmbH, TSE Systems International Group, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Russig
authors.affiliation: 1] Neuroscience Research Domain, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal [2] ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sousa
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D051381:Rats / Q000523:psychology*; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012890:Sleep; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors