title: Wistar audiogenic rats display abnormal behavioral traits associated with artificial selection for seizure susceptibility.
abstract: Accumulating evidence from different animal models has contributed to the understanding of the bidirectional comorbidity associations between the epileptic condition and behavioral abnormalities. A strain of animals inbred to enhance seizure predisposition to high-intensity sound stimulation, the Wistar audiogenic rat (WAR), underwent several behavioral tests: forced swim test (FST), open-field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), elevated plus maze (EPM), social preference (SP), marble burying test (MBT), inhibitory avoidance (IAT), and two-way active avoidance (TWAA). The choice of tests aimed to investigate the correlation between underlying circuits believed to be participating in both WAR's innate susceptibility to sound-triggered seizures and the neurobiological substrates associated with test performance. Comparing WAR with its Wistar counterpart (i.e., resistant to audiogenic seizures) showed that WARs present behavioral despair traits (e.g., increased FST immobility) but no evidence of anhedonic behavior (e.g., increased sucrose consumption in SPT) or social impairment (e.g., no difference regarding juvenile exploration in SP). In addition, tests suggested that WARs are unable to properly evaluate degrees of aversiveness (e.g., performance on OFT, EPM, MBT, IAT, and TWAA). The particularities of the WAR model opens new venues to further untangle the neurobiology underlying the co-morbidity of behavioral disorders and epilepsy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Genetic and Reflex Epilepsies, Audiogenic Seizures and Strains: From Experimental Models to the Clinic".
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriel Perfeito
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto-Ressonância, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel de Castro
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo de Oliveira
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Guarnieri
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto-Ressonância, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávio Afonso Gonçalves
authors.initials: FAG
authors.lastname: Mourão
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hyorrana Priscila Pereira
authors.initials: HPP
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Grace Schenatto
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Neurociências (NNC), Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto-Ressonância, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais CEP 31270-901, Brazil. Electronic address: mfdm@ufmg.br.
authors.forename: Márcio Flávio Dutra
authors.initials: MFD
authors.lastname: Moraes
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000523:psychology; D020195:Epilepsy, Reflex / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012640:Seizures / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Comorbidities; Epilepsy; Psychiatric disorder; Seizure predisposition; Wistar audiogenic rat