Changes In Emotional Behavior Research Articles

Neurophysiological analysis of disadvantageous social inequity: Exploring emotional behavior changes and c-Fos expression in a male rat model

Humans and other animals exhibit aversive behavioral and emotional responses to unequal reward distributions compared with their conspecifics. Despite the significance of this phenomenon, experimental animal models designed to investigate social inequity aversion and delve into the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are limited. In this study, we developed a rat model to determine the effects of socially equal or unequal reward and stress on emotional changes in male rats. During the training session, the rats were trained to escape when a sound cue was presented, and they were assigned to one of the following groups: all escaping rats [advantageous equity (AE)], freely moving rats alongside a restrained rat [advantageous inequity (AI)], all restrained rats [disadvantageous equity (DE)], and a rat restrained in the presence of freely moving companions [disadvantageous inequity (DI)]. During the test session, rats in the advantageous group (AE and AI) escaped after the cue sound (expected reward acquisition), whereas rats in the disadvantageous group (DE and DI) could not escape despite the cue being presented (expected reward deprivation). Emotional alteration induced by exposure to restraint stress under various social interaction circumstances was examined using an open field test. Notably, the DI group displayed reduced exploration of the center zone during the open field tests compared with the other groups, indicating heightened anxiety-like behaviors in response to reward inequity. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed increased c-Fos expression in the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, coupled with reduced c-Fos expression in the striatum and nucleus accumbens under DI conditions, in contrast to the other experimental conditions. These findings provide compelling evidence that rats are particularly sensitive to reward inequity, shedding light on the neurophysiological basis for distinct cognitive processes that manifest when individuals are exposed to social equity and inequity situations.

Sex-specific pleiotropic changes in emotional behavior and alcohol consumption in human α-synuclein A53T transgenic mice during early adulthood.

Point mutations in the α-synuclein coding gene may lead to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is often accompanied by other psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and drug use disorders, which typically emerge in adulthood. Some of these point mutations, such as SNCA and A30T, have been linked to behavioral effects that are not commonly associated with PD, especially regarding alcohol consumption patterns. In this study, we investigated whether the familial PD point mutation A53T is associated with changes in alcohol consumption behavior and emotional states at ages not yet characterized by α-synuclein accumulation. The affective and alcohol-drinking phenotypes remained unaltered in female PDGF-hA53T-synuclein-transgenic (A53T) mice during both early and late adulthood. Brain region-specific activation of ceramide-producing enzymes, acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), and neutral sphingomyelinase (NSM), known for their neuroprotective properties, was observed during early adulthood but not in late adulthood. In males, the A53T mutation was linked to a reduction in alcohol consumption in both early and late adulthood. However, male A53T mice displayed increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors during both early and late adulthood. Enhanced ASM activity in the dorsal mesencephalon and ventral hippocampus may potentially contribute to these adverse behavioral effects of the mutation in males during late adulthood. In summary, the A53T gene mutation was associated with diverse changes in emotional states and alcohol consumption behavior long before the onset of PD, and these effects varied by sex. These alterations in behavior may be linked to changes in brain ceramide metabolism.

Air pollution and age-dependent changes in emotional behavior across early adolescence in the U.S.

Recent studies have linked air pollution to increased risk for behavioral problems during development, albeit with inconsistent findings. Additional longitudinal studies are needed that consider how emotional behaviors may be affected when exposure coincides with the transition to adolescence – a vulnerable time for developing mental health difficulties. This study investigates if annual average PM2.5 and NO2 exposure at ages 9–10 years moderates age-related changes in internalizing and externalizing behaviors over a 2-year follow-up period in a large, nationwide U.S. sample of participants from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®. Air pollution exposure was estimated based on the residential address of each participant using an ensemble-based modeling approach. Caregivers answered questions from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at the baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up visits, for a total of 3 waves of data; from the CBCL we obtained scores on internalizing and externalizing problems plus 5 syndrome scales (anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, and attention problems). Zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to examine both the main effect of age as well as the interaction of age with each pollutant on behavior while adjusting for various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Against our hypothesis, there was no evidence that greater air pollution exposure was related to more behavioral problems with age over time.

Muscle activity and emotional behavior changes in rats with chronic brain ischemia via comprehensive pathogenetic correction

Cerebrovascular pathology has evolved from a medical concern to a social issue, with the efficacy of secondary neuroprotection remaining a pertinent question. While some investigations have been conducted to elucidate the effectiveness of a comprehensively grounded pharmacological correction scheme under conditions of experimentaly induced chronic brain ischemia, further refinement is necessary to understand the behavioral effects of animals, dosages, routes of administration of pharmacological agents, and analysis of obtained data. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of applying Semax and hopantenic acid in the comprehensive treatment of motor disorders and established neurological impairments in rats with experimentally induced chronic brain ischemia. We determined that rats with chronic brain ischemia exhibit muscular dysfunctions and experience pronounced disturbances in emotional behavior from the first day. It has been demonstrated that the separate and combined application of Semax and hopantenic acid contributes to the restoration of muscle activity, normalization of coordination, and emotional behavior in rats with chronic brain ischemia. The most significant neuroprotective effect in rats with chronic brain ischemia was observed with the combined administration of Semax and hopantenic acid, starting from the 3rd day of the trial. The subsequent in the series of anti-ischemic effectiveness is the impact of Semax from the 3rd day of the experiment. The least pronounced neuroprotective effect was exhibited by hopantenic acid, starting from the 5th day of the experiment. We consider these findings to be an experimental foundation supporting the feasibility of clinically testing the effects of combined Semax and hopantenic acid administration, capable of restoring functional disorders caused by chronic brain ischemia. In conclusion, the observed effectiveness of the developed pathogenetically justified complex for the correction of post-ischemic muscle dysfunction and disorders indicates the development of an anti-ischemic effect, as well as the fundamental possibility of improving the treatment for patients with chronic brain ischemia through clinical intranasal administration of Semax, either alone or in combination with hopantenic acid. However, for a more comprehensive understanding of the temporal and dose-dependent effects of this complex pathogenetic correction scheme on other disorders and dysfunctions related to chronic brain ischemia and to formulate final conclusions, it is essential to conduct separate series of experimental studies.

Sex-Specific Timelines for Adaptations of Prefrontal Parvalbumin Neurons in Response to Stress and Changes in Anxiety- and Depressive-Like Behaviors.

Women are twice as likely as men to experience emotional dysregulation after stress, resulting in substantially higher psychopathology for equivalent lifetime stress exposure, yet the mechanisms underlying this vulnerability remain unknown. Studies suggest changes in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity as a potential contributor. Whether maladaptive changes in inhibitory interneurons participate in this process, and whether adaptations in response to stress differ between men and women, producing sex-specific changes in emotional behaviors and mPFC activity, remained undetermined. This study examined whether unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) in mice differentially alters behavior and mPFC parvalbumin (PV) interneuron activity by sex, and whether the activity of these neurons drives sex-specific behavioral changes. Four weeks of UCMS increased anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors associated with FosB activation in mPFC PV neurons, particularly in females. After 8 weeks of UCMS, both sexes displayed these behavioral and neural changes. Chemogenetic activation of PV neurons in UCMS-exposed and nonstressed males induced significant changes in anxiety-like behaviors. Importantly, patch-clamp electrophysiology demonstrated altered excitability and basic neural properties on the same timeline as the emergence of behavioral effects: changes in females after 4 weeks and in males after 8 weeks of UCMS. These findings show, for the first time, that sex-specific changes in the excitability of prefrontal PV neurons parallel the emergence of anxiety-like behavior, revealing a potential novel mechanism underlying the enhanced vulnerability of females to stress-induced psychopathology and supporting further investigation of this neuronal population to identify new therapeutic targets for stress disorders.

NLRP3 upregulation related to sleep deprivation-induced memory and emotional behavior changes in TRPV1-/- mice

Sleep deprivation, which is a common problem in modern society, impairs memory function and emotional behavior. TRPV1, a subfamily of transient receptor potential cation channels, is abundantly expressed in the central nervous system and is associated with animal behavior. In this article, we report that TRPV1 deficiency in mice alleviates sleep deprivation-induced abnormal behaviors. We found that in the sleep-deprived mice, TRPV1 knockout increased the duration and visits in the central area in the open field task and increased visits to the open arms in the elevated plus maze. The TRPV1-/- mice performed better during the test stage in the Morris water maze phase after sleep deprivation. In the mPFC and hippocampus regions, western blotting results showed that TRPV1-/- attenuated sleep deprivation-induced increases in GFAP, NLRP3, and ASC and increased the expression of the mitochondrial marker Tom20. Immunofluorescence results showed that the action of TRPV1 knockout on NLRP3 was negatively correlated with Tom20 after sleep deprivation. Our results confirm that TRPV1 knockout attenuates sleep deprivation-induced behavioral disorders. The effect of TRPV1 on the behavior of sleep-deprived mice may be related to the neuroinflammation associated with mitochondria in the mPFC and hippocampus.

DESIGN OF INDOOR AGARIC CULTIVATION MONITORING DEVICE BASED ON INTERNET OF THINGS AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE

BackgroundAuricularia auricula grows in high environmental conditions and takes a long time to produce. The environmental quality control of Auricularia auricula has gradually become the biggest bottleneck and obstacle restricting its quality production. At present, the environmental control of most edible fungi still depends on artificial experience. The control and regulation efficiency of environment and nutrient solution is low, prone to deviation, unable to provide a comprehensive and high-quality growth environment for edible fungi, which seriously affects its production efficiency and hinders its large-scale development. Therefore, in order to create the best environmental conditions for the growth and development of Auricularia auricula and improve the quality, yield and economic value of Auricularia auricula products, it is particularly important to introduce the Internet of things technology into indoor Auricularia auricula cultivation monitoring from the perspective of cognitive psychology to control the environmental parameters of Auricularia auricula cultivation. Based on cognitive psychology and emotional behavior changes, the cultivation system of Auricularia auricula was improved accordingly.Subjects and MethodsFrom the perspective of cognitive psychology, an indoor agaric cultivation monitoring device based on Internet of things is designed, which is mainly composed of monitoring terminal (stm32f103zet6 microcomputer as the main controller), cloud platform and user control center. The monitoring terminal is mainly responsible for sensor data acquisition, threshold setting and control of some external equipment, including fan cooling, lighting, grass curtain ventilation, water pump watering and infrared anti-theft alarm control; The cloud platform mainly receives various data information uploaded by the main controller through wireless data communication technology and sends it to users; The user control center is mainly responsible for real-time remote monitoring of the growth environment of Auricularia auricula through mobile phones or computers. The information collected by each sensor is automatically identified and tracked in real time after being processed by single chip microcomputer. The data is displayed in real time through LCD, and the data is uploaded to onenet cloud platform through NB IOT wireless communication technology, so as to realize accurate and fast data interactive transmission, remote monitoring and report the real-time status to users. On the other hand, the alarm effect is achieved by setting the corresponding threshold, and the corresponding decision-making and control are carried out automatically. SPSS 22.0 software is also used for data statistical analysis. The measurement data is expressed as mean ± standard deviation (x ± s). The statistical method is: descriptive statistics is used for general data characteristics, t-test is used for the comparison of the mean of two independent samples, nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test is used for ordered classified data, and regression analysis is used to verify the mediation effect of RS between as and terminal according to the mediation effect test model. P < 0.05 was statistically significant.ResultsCompile and download the software and assemble the module, process the environmental parameters collected by the sensor through the microcomputer, and send the sensor data to the onenet cloud platform through the Nb Internet of things module. Users can remotely monitor data through computer or mobile phone to realize the functions of data detection, threshold setting, data display, audible and visual alarm, parameter adjustment, cloud platform monitoring and so on., The total score of Internet of things terminal as is different in whether to monitor the environment (P < 0.05), and the total score of RS is different in users' use of cloud platform data (P < 0.05), that is, the terminal running with emotional behavior changes performs better; The total score of SCL-90 was only different in use.ConclusionThe indoor agaric cultivation monitoring device based on Internet of things and cognitive psychology adopts NB IOT wireless data communication module for wireless transmission, which can complete the collection of indoor environmental information and display the information on mobile phones and computers. It has the functions of remote monitoring and anti-theft alarm, and can realize the intelligent management of agaric cultivation. At the same time, it can also promote the application of cognitive psychology of the Internet of things in various fields and achieve good social builders, managers and collaborators.AcknowledgementsSupported by a project grant from Ministry of education industry university cooperation collaborative education project, (Grant No. 202102371060).

STUDY ON THE FORMATION MECHANISM OF LAND RENT ECONOMY AND FARMERS' “DE URBANIZATION” BASED ON THE CHANGE OF EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR

Abstract Objective From the perspective of social emotional behavior analysis in social psychology, this paper discusses which land development mode can better promote the urbanization in China through the analysis of the formation mechanism of the “Deurbanization” of farmers in the core rural areas of the Pearl River Delta and the emotional behavior of survey data. Method The paper adopts a qualitative method. Based on the field investigation of Village Q, Dongguan City, China, the paper conducts semi-structured in-depth interviews with the incumbent leaders of the village party branch and village committee, officers, retired cadres, group leaders, members of the supervisory committee, local villagers, factory owners, migrant workers, etc., and deeply discussed the emotional behavior changes of various roles under several land development modes. Findings It is found that the core rural areas of the Pearl River Delta represented by Village Q are based on the development of collective lands, and the use of collective non-agricultural construction land has promoted the local industrialization and urbanization, and has driven the rapid development of local economy. As the members of collective economy, the farmers indeed enjoy the value-added benefits brought by the non-agricultural use of land, but in practice, the granting of land rights makes the local farmers show a weak market competition and de-laboring “Deurbanization” in terms of values and behaviors. Conclusion Human psychology is the product of social construction. The formation of “Deurbanization” of farmers in Pearl River Delta is closely related to the land system in this area. Through the analysis of the formation mechanism of the “Deurbanization” of farmers in the core rural areas of the Pearl River Delta and the emotional behavior of survey data, it is found that empowering farmers land rights does not necessarily promote the transformation of farmers into modern citizens. On the contrary, it may make the farmers who happen to occupy specific areas become land rentiers, thus resulting in excessive dependence on the economic benefits of land rent and unable to transform into the real modern citizens. Therefore, the main part of value-added income from non-agricultural use of farmland should still be owned by the government in the form of land finance, so as to promote urban economic development and fair distribution of social wealth, and to truly promote the urbanization of farmers. From the angle of human urbanization, the land system should adhere to the constitutional order of land public ownership. That is to say, through strict urban planning and land acquisition system, the government shall own the increase in value-added income from non-agricultural use of land. Because only the main part of value-added income of non-agricultural use of agricultural land belongs to the government in the form of land finance, can it promote the urban economic development and the fair distribution of social wealth. Acknowledgement The paper is the achievement of “Spatial Sociology of Urban-Rural Integration in China”(20&amp;ZD149) supported by the National Social Science Fund and “Research on Community Governance Strategy of ‘from Villagers to Urban Residents’ from the Perspective of Spatial Production”( Project No.: 2019ZZTS003) of the 2019 Hunan Provincial Postgraduate Project of Independent Exploration.

LAND CIRCULATION, FARMERS' WAGE LEVEL, LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND SCALE MANAGEMENT: A STUDY ON THE CHANGES OF EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR BASED ON THE SURVEY DATA OF JIANGXI PROVINCE

LAND CIRCULATION, FARMERS' WAGE LEVEL, LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND SCALE MANAGEMENT: A STUDY ON THE CHANGES OF EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR BASED ON THE SURVEY DATA OF JIANGXI PROVINCE

FROM CONFLICT TO INTEGRATION: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES OF MANCHU URBAN PLANNING AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN THE QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

FROM CONFLICT TO INTEGRATION: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES OF MANCHU URBAN PLANNING AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN THE QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

Contribution of hippocampal BDNF/CREB signaling pathway and gut microbiota to emotional behavior impairment induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress during pregnancy in rats offspring.

BackgroundNumerous studies have shown that exposure to prenatal maternal stress (PMS) is associated with various psychopathological outcomes of offspring. The accumulating evidence linking bacteria in the gut and neurons in the brain (the microbiota-gut-brain axis) has been aconsensus; however, there is a lack of research on the involvement mechanism of gut microbiota in the regulation of the BDNF/CREB signaling pathway in the hippocampus of prenatally stressed offspring.MethodsPregnant rats were subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) to establish the prenatal maternal stress model. The body weight was measured and the behavioral changes were recorded. Offspring were tested to determine emotional state using sucrose preference test (SPT), open-field test (OFT) and suspended tail test (STT). Gut microbiota was evaluated by sequencing the microbial 16S rRNA V3–V4 region, and the interactive analysis of bacterial community structure and diversity was carried out. The expression of hippocampal BDNF, TrkB and CREB mRNA and proteins were respectively measured using RT-PCR and Western blotting.ResultsPrenatal maternal stress increased maternal plasma corticosterone levels, slowed maternal weight gain and caused depression-like behaviors (all P < 0.05). In offspring, prenatal maternal stress increased plasma corticosterone levels (P < 0.05) and emotional behavior changes (depression-like state) were observed (P < 0.05). The species abundance, diversity and composition of the offspring’s gut microbiota changed after the maternal stress during pregnancy (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group’s offspring, the species abundance of Lactobacillaceae was dropped, while the abundance of the Muribaculaceae species abundance was risen. Concurrent, changes in the hippocampal structure of the offspring and decreases in expression of BDNF/CREB signaling were noted (P < 0.05).ConclusionsPrenatal maternal stress leads to high corticosterone status and abnormal emotion behavior of offspring, which may be associated with the abnormal BDNF/CREB signaling in hippocampus of offspring caused by the change of gut microbiota composition.

Chronic rapid eye movement sleep restriction during juvenility has long-term effects on anxiety-like behaviour and neurotransmission of male Wistar rats

Modernity imposes a toll on the sleep time of young population, with concomitant increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Whether there is a causal relationship between these events are only now being experimentally tested in humans and rodents. In a previous study, we showed that chronic sleep deprivation in juvenile-adolescent male rats led to increased anxiety-like behaviour and changes in noradrenaline and serotonin in the amygdala and hippocampus. In the present study we investigated whether early chronic sleep restriction affects emotional behaviour, stress response and neurochemistry in adulthood. From 21 to 42 days of age, Wistar male rats were submitted to sleep restriction by the multiple platform method or allowed to sleep freely. Forty-five days after this period, rats were tested in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and blood samples were collected from non-tested rats or 30 and 60 min after the EPM for determination of plasma corticosterone levels. Levels of monoamines were determined in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and hypothalamus 60 min after the EPM. Sleep restriction resulted in increased anxiety-like behaviour, decreased noradrenaline levels in the amygdala and dopamine levels in the ventral hippocampus. Anxiety index was positively correlated with increased serotonin metabolism in the frontal cortex and greater dopamine metabolism in the ventral hippocampus, and negatively correlated with dopamine levels in the ventral hippocampus. These results suggest that sleep restriction in juvenility and adolescence induces persistent changes in emotional behaviour in adult male rats and that levels of anxiety are correlated with increased serotonin and dopamine metabolism in specific brain areas.

Gut Feelings: Vagal Stimulation Reduces Emotional Biases

The vagus nerve is a key physical constituent of the gut–brain axis. Increasing attention has recently been paid to the role that the gut, and the microorganisms inhabiting it, play in emotion and cognition. Animal studies have revealed the importance of the vagus nerve in mediating communication between the gut microbiome and the central nervous system, resulting in changes in emotional behaviour. This has renewed interest in understanding the role of vagal signalling in human emotion, particularly since human studies have also shown that alterations in gut microbiome composition can affect emotion. While stimulating the vagus nerve can help treat some cases of severe depression, here we investigate whether vagal afferent signalling can influence emotional processing in healthy subjects. We use the dot-probe task to determine the effect of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on attentional biases towards emotional stimuli in 42 volunteers. Participants received both active and sham treatments using a within-subject design. We show that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation reduces the emotional bias towards faces expressing sadness and happiness, indicating a decrease in emotional reactivity. While our novel findings reveal the effect that vagal signalling can have on emotional biases in healthy subjects, future studies should seek to develop our understanding of the ways in which the microbiome interacts with, and stimulates, the vagus nerve. Since we find a reduction in emotional bias, most notably towards sadness, this may partly account for the effective use of vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression. While its clinical application currently involves surgical stimulation, our results support the potential benefit of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as a non-invasive, intermittent adjunctive therapy for patients with depression, given its frequent association with emotional biases.

Acute stress and alcohol exposure during adolescence result in an anxious phenotype in adulthood: Role of altered glutamate/endocannabinoid transmission mechanisms

BackgroundStressful episodes and high alcohol consumption during adolescence are considered major risk factors for the development of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Identification of mechanisms underlying these early events, which enhanced vulnerability to mental illness, is essential for both their prevention and treatment. MethodsMale Wistar rats were used to investigate the long-term effects of early restraint stress and intermittent alcohol exposure (intragastric administration of 3 g/kg ethanol; 4 days/week for 4 weeks during adolescence) on anxiety-like behavior and the expression of signaling systems associated with emotional behaviors [e.g., corticosterone, fatty acid-derived molecules and endocannabinoid enzymes, glutamate receptor subunits, corticotropin releasing hormone receptors (CRHR1 and CRHR2) and neuropeptide Y receptors (NPY1R and NPYR2)] in the blood and amygdala. ResultsOverall, both stress and alcohol exposure during adolescence induced anxiogenic-like behaviors, increased plasma levels of corticosterone and increases in the amygdalar expression of the cannabinoid CB2 receptor and certain subunits of glutamate receptors (i.e., mGluR1, mGluR5 and NMDAR1) in young adult rats. In addition, there were specific main effects of alcohol exposure on the expression of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) and NPY2R in the amygdala, and significant increases were observed in rats exposed to alcohol. Interestingly, there were significant interaction effects between restraint stress and alcohol exposure on the expression of plasma 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), and both CRHR1,2 and NPY1R in the amygdala. Thus, the restraint stress was associated with increased 2-AG levels, which was not observed in rats exposed to alcohol. The alcohol exposure was associated with an increased expression of CRHR1,2 but the restraint stress prevented these increases (stress alcohol rats). In contrast, NPY1R was only increased in rats exposed to stress and alcohol. Finally, we did not observe any potentiation of the behavioral and molecular effects by the combination of stress and alcohol, which is concordant with an overall ceiling effect on some of the variables. ConclusionSeparate and combined early stress and alcohol induced a common anxious phenotype with increased corticosterone in adulthood. However, there were differences in the amygdalar expression of signaling systems involved in maladaptive changes in emotional behavior. Therefore, our results suggest the existence of partially different mechanisms for stress and alcohol exposures.

Effect of short- and long-term heat exposure on brain monoamines and emotional behavior in mice and rats

Heat exposure affects several physiological, neuronal, and emotional functions. Notably, monoaminergic neurotransmitters in the brain such as noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, which regulate several basic physiological functions, such as thermoregulation, food intake, and energy balance, are affected by heat exposure and heat acclimation. Furthermore, cognition and emotional states are also affected by heat exposure and changes in brain monoamine levels. Short-term heat exposure has been reported to increase anxiety in some behavioral tests. In contrast, there is a possibility that long-term heat exposure decreases anxiety due to heat acclimation. These changes might be due to adaptation of the core body temperature and/or brain monoamine levels by heat exposure. In this review, we first outline the changes in brain monoamine levels and thereafter focus on changes in emotional behavior due to heat exposure and heat acclimation. Finally, we describe the relationships between emotional behavior and brain monoamine levels during heat acclimation.

Relationship Identification Between Conversational Agents Using Emotion Analysis

Human relationships are influenced by the underlying emotions in their interactions. With the increasing use of social networks, relationships from textual data can also be inferred from online interactions. Such interactions result in massive amount of textual data which is available in the form of text messages, emails, and social media posts. Identification and analysis of human relationships are useful for numerous applications ranging from cybersecurity to public health. In this paper, we present a method called RIEA (Relationship Identification using Emotion Analysis), for identifying relationships between multiple intelligent agents by analyzing the conversation between them. The objective of our work is to combine concepts of cognitive psychology and natural language processing (NLP) to extract emotions and map them onto a set of relationships and analyze how relationships transform over time. We employ psychological models to label a large corpus of conversations and apply machine learning techniques to determine emotion-to-relationship mapping. We use four distinct association classes and four attachment styles using best-worst scaling method for classification. Combining the attachment and association styles given in research literature gives us the relationship combinations for our analysis. Additionally, this work studies the most common changes of behaviors and emotions and the corresponding transformations in human relationships. Our results show that RIEA can correctly detect interpersonal relationships with an accuracy of 85%. The evaluation shows that RIEA can accurately identify interpersonal relationships from conversations and can be extended for identifying more complex relationships. This study also highlights the effect of changes in emotional behavior in the development of relationships over time.

Toluene Inhalation Causes Early Anxiety and Delayed Depression with Regulation of Dopamine Turnover, 5-HT1A Receptor, and Adult Neurogenesis in Mice.

Inhaled solvents such as toluene are of particular concern due to their abuse potential that is easily exposed to the environment. The inhalation of toluene causes various behavioral problems, but, the effect of short-term exposure of toluene on changes in emotional behaviors over time after exposure and the accompanying pathological characteristics have not been fully identified. Here, we evaluated the behavioral and neurochemical changes observed over time in mice that inhaled toluene. The mice were exposed to toluene for 30 min at a concentration of either 500 or 2,000 ppm. Toluene did not cause social or motor dysfunction in mice. However, increased anxiety-like behavior was detected in the short-term after exposure, and depression-like behavior appeared as delayed effects. The amount of striatal dopamine metabolites was significantly decreased by toluene, which continued to be seen for up to almost two weeks after inhalation. Additionally, an upregulation of serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor in the hippocampus and the substantia nigra, as well as reduced immunoreactivity of neurogenesis markers in the dentate gyrus, was observed in the mice after two weeks. These results suggest that toluene inhalation, even single exposure, mimics early anxiety- and delayed depression-like emotional disturbances, underpinned by pathological changes in the brain.

Age-related changes in emotional behavior: Evidence from a 13-year longitudinal study of long-term married couples.

We examined age-related changes in emotional behavior in a sample of middle-aged and older long-term married couples over a 13-year period. Data were collected at 3 waves, each occurring 5 to 6 years apart. For the present study, only couples who participated in all 3 waves were examined (n = 87). Couples were either in the middle-aged group (40-50 years old, married at least 15 years) or the older group (60-70 years old, married at least 35 years). At each wave, couples engaged in 15-min unrehearsed conversations about an area of disagreement in their marriage. Emotional behaviors during the conversation were objectively coded using the Specific Affect Coding System. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that, for both husbands and wives, negative emotional behavior (primarily belligerence, defensiveness, fear/tension, and whining) decreased and positive emotional behavior (primarily humor, enthusiasm, and validation) increased with age. Findings generalized across middle-aged and older cohorts and levels of marital satisfaction. These findings support theories that suggest that positive emotion increases and negative emotion decreases with age, expanding upon previous findings by examining objectively coded emotional behaviors longitudinally in an interpersonal context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of left and right long-term amygdala kindling on interictal emotionality and Fos expression

Clinical observations have often reported that patients with seizures arising from limbic structures on the right side of the brain have a higher incidence of emotional disturbances, such as fear and anxiety, than those who have seizures lateralized to limbic structures on the left side. However, there have been some inconsistent reports regarding the presence of these laterality effects. The use of animal models of epilepsy can help circumvent many of the methodological and ethical issues that arise from human clinical studies. In the present study, we examined the unique contribution of left- or right-sided long-term kindling of the amygdala on the development of interictal emotional disturbances. Following kindling to 99 electrical stimulations, male kindled and control rats were examined on a series of behavioral tests — open-field exploration, elevated plus maze, forced swim, and social interaction. Our results revealed that long-term amygdala kindling, irrespective of the hemisphere stimulated, increased general behavioral hyperactivity and fearful behavior. Interestingly, rats that were kindled from the left amygdala showed greater social avoidance and defensive behaviors during interactions with another kindled conspecific. To examine the brain structures that support long-term kindling, we also examined the expression of the immediate early gene product Fos 1 h after rats received their last electrical stimulation. Compared with control rats, kindled rats had increased Fos expression in several brain regions (e.g., piriform, frontal motor cortex, perirhinal cortex) involved in the generation and development of epilepsy. However, decreased Fos expression was also observed in several subregions of the hippocampus and amygdala that are known to be important fear behavior and memory. These findings suggest that both left and right amygdala kindling produce similar changes in emotional behavior and support the idea that the development of kindled fear may result from reduced activation of specific hippocampal and amygdaloid circuits.

Prefrontal parvalbumin cells are sensitive to stress and mediate anxiety-related behaviors in female mice

Reduced activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is seen in mood disorders including depression and anxiety. The mechanisms of this hypofrontality remain unclear. Because of their specific physiological properties, parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) inhibitory interneurons contribute to the overall activity of the PFC. Our recent work using a chronic stress mouse model showed that stress-induced increases in prefrontal PV expression correlates with increased anxiety-like behaviors in female mice. Our goal is now to provide a causal relationship between changes in prefrontal PV+ cells and changes in emotional behaviors in mice. We first show that, in addition to increasing overall level of PV expression, chronic stress increases the activity of prefrontal PV+ cells. We then used a chemogenetic approach to mimic the effects of chronic stress and specifically increase the activity of prefrontal PV+ cells. We observed that chemogenetic activation of PV+ cells caused an overall reduction in prefrontal activity, and that chronic activation of PV+ cells lead to increased anxiety-related behaviors in female mice only. These results demonstrate that activity of prefrontal PV+ cells could represent a novel sex-specific modulator of anxiety-related behaviors, potentially through changes in overall prefrontal activity. The findings also support the idea that prefrontal PV+ cells are worth further investigation to better understand mood disorders that are more prevalent in female populations.