Parkin Deficiency Delays Motor Decline and Disease Manifestation in a Mouse Model of Synucleinopathy

In synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease, partially ubiquitylated α-synuclein species phosphorylated on serine 129 (PS129-α-synuclein) accumulate abnormally. Parkin, an ubiquitin-protein ligase that is dysfunctional in autosomal recessive parkinsonism, protects against α-synuclein-mediated toxicity in various models

Peripubertal exposure to male odors influences female puberty and adult expression of male-directed odor preference in mice

Testosterone-dependent olfactory signals emitted by male are well known to accelerate female puberty in mice (Vandenbergh effect). However, it remains unclear whether these chemosignals also influence adult expression of male-directed odor preference. Therefore, we exposed female mice to intact or castrated male bedding (vs clean bedding as control) during the peripubertal period (postnatal day (PD) 21–38) and measured male-directed odor preference in adulthood. At PD45 or PD60, females exposed to intact male odors, and thus showing puberty acceleration, preferred to investigate odors from intact males over females or castrated males. Females exposed to castrated male odors did not show puberty acceleration but preferred male (intact or castrated) over female odors. Finally, control females did not show any odor preference when tested at PD45, although a preference for male odors emerged later (PD60). In a second experiment, females that were exposed to intact male odors after pubertal transition (PD36-53) also preferred intact male over castrated male odors. In conclusion, our results indicate that peripubertal exposure to male odors induced early expression of male-directed odor preference regardless of puberty-accelerating effect and that induction of male-directed odor preference is not specific to the peripubertal period

Development of social familiarity in ewes

 absen

Oxytocin modulates the attachment of the newborn lamb to its mother

International audienc

Lien social mère-jeune chez la brebis : un lien préférentiel mère-fille par rapport au lien mère-fils

National audienc

Peripubertal exposure to male odor influences both female puberty and adult sexual preference in mice

International audienc

Vaginocervical stimulation of ewes induces the rapid formation of a new bond with an alien young without interfering with a previous bond

 Ewes form a selective olfactory memory for their lambs offer 2 hr of mother young interaction following parturition Mothers will subsequently reject any strange lamb at suckling The present study investigated whether artificial vaginocervical stimulation (VCS) allows the formation of a selective bond with an unfamiliar Iamb and whether it interferes with the maintenance of the bond formed with the familiar lamb At 2 hr postpartum, mothers were separated from then familial lamb after having formed a selective bond with it and were given 10 nun of mechanical VCS. In the "VCS + lamb" group (n = 24) an unfamiliar lamb was left with the ewe for 2 hr whereas in the "VCS no lamb" group (n = 26) the mother was left alone for the same period of tune Ewes of the "no VCS" group (n = 14) did not receive any VCS In the majority of animals of the "VCS + lamb" group (23/24) VCS induced a complete acceptance of the unfamiliar lamb without any disruption of the bond previously formed with the familiar lamb VCS or 2 hr of reparation did not disrupt the maintenance of the selective bond initially formed with the familiar Iamb since all the ewes of the "VCS no lamb" and "no VCS'' groups accepted it at suckling (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc Dev Psychobiol 52 537-544, 201

Male odor influences both female puberty and sexual perference in mice

National audienc

If not here, then there: The domestic hen is capable of exclusion in a food searching task

Despite the strong link between farm animals’ welfare and their cognition (ANSES 2018), there is still a gap in our understanding of the range of their cognitive abilities. The process of inferring by exclusion is a complex cognitive capacity, which has been demonstrated in few birds categorized as “intelligent birds” (corvids, parrots). The principle is that when presented with two objects A and B (here two tubes), the individual can see that the reward is not inside A and therefore infers the reward is inside B. We tested this capacity in the domestic hen. With twelve hens trained, our results show that when hens can freely explore the two tubes (free-choice test), they have a significant tendency to walk towards the tube they can see inside, even if it does not contain the reward. But when individuals are tested in conditions in which they can visit only one of the two tubes (forced-choice test), two thirds of the hens learned the exclusion rule (significantly within 36 to 63 trials). Data suggest that motor laterality may be linked to success in inference trials. To our knowledge, this result is a first demonstration that the domestic hen is capable to infer by exclusion. Moreover, the study suggests that the hens’ selective use of exclusion might be driven by a threshold from which the risk to fail is worth the cognitive cost of the mental process. [abstract: corrected version 25/09/2023

La caille japonaise (Coturnix coturnix japonica) : un modèle pour des études dans de nombreuses disciplines

National audienceLa caille japonaise est un petit oiseau de la famille des Phasianidés qui est très utilisé pour étudier de nombreux processus développementaux et qui sert également de modèle pour mimer les processus d’intérêt présents chez les volailles. Cet oiseau de petite taille a une croissance rapide avec une maturité sexuelle aux alentours de 8 à 10 semaines, ce qui facilite la production de lignées génétiques. La caille a été une espèce utilisée pour des travaux fondateurs sur le développement embryonnaire. Les travaux en toxicologie ont également beaucoup utilisé ce modèle. La caille a été utilisée pour étudier certains facteurs maternels et transgénérationnels qui influencent les comportements et divers mécanismes physiologiques. Cette espèce constitue un modèle d’étude historique pour comprendre comment le cerveau intègre le signal photopériodique. Cette espèce est capable d’apprentissages simples de type conditionnement, mais aussi d’apprentissages plus complexes reposant sur la mémoire spatiale et les bases neurobiologiques de ces processus cognitifs font l’objet d’investigations croissantes. Cet oiseau est utilisé comme modèle pour certains caractères de production des volailles, mais également pour rechercher des mécanismes biologiques très variés d’intérêt fondamental