Abstract
Prolonged social isolation is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes, findings observed in both humans, and rodent models of isolation. Humans, like mice, may engage in enhanced exploratory and social behaviour following isolation, which may protect against subsequent cognitive decline and psychological distress. Understanding how these effects may impact behaviour in older adults is particularly relevant, as this population is likely to experience periods of late-life social isolation. We report that late-life social isolation in female mice did not lead to robust depressive-like symptomology, altered social interaction behaviour, sensitivity to context fear acquisition and memory, or alterations in inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, Tnf-α) or microglial activation (Itgam) within the hippocampus. Rather, isolation increased hyperactivity and exploration behaviours. These findings have translational value as the first female mouse model of late-life social isolation, and provide evidence to inform the development of interventions aimed at promoting functional recovery following isolation in late-life.
Highlights
Given the recent social isolation recommendations in place globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the impact of isolation on behaviour is important for informing interventions that may mitigate the development of mental health disturbances following the isolation period
We found that month-long late-life isolation increased hyperactivity and exploratory behaviour, while not significantly affecting normal social interaction behaviour, depressive-like behaviour, or fear learning and memory in aged female mice
It is important to note that while including only female subjects limits the interpretations one can make based on sex, the characterization of the impact of late-life isolation in female subjects contributes to the literature by addressing a question that, to date, has been explored in studies using exclusively male animals
Summary
Given the recent social isolation recommendations in place globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the impact of isolation on behaviour is important for informing interventions that may mitigate the development of mental health disturbances following the isolation period. People experiencing prolonged periods of isolation commonly report feelings of anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress, anger, loneliness, and boredom [1, 2], high blood pressure and increased expression of inflammatory markers [3], and are at an increased risk of functional decline and early mortality [4, 5]. Understanding how these effects may differentially influence behaviour in older adults is relevant, as this population frequently experiences late-life social isolation, especially in females due to their longer life expectancy [3, 6].
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