Impacts on brain and behavior have been reported in laboratory rodents after developmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), raising concerns about possible human effects. Epidemiological data suggest links between prenatal BPA exposure and altered affective behaviors in children, but potential mechanisms are unclear. Disruption of mesolimbic oxytocin (OT)/vasopressin (AVP) pathways have been proposed, but supporting evidence is minimal. To address these data gaps, we employed a novel animal model for neuroendocrine toxicology: the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), which are more prosocial than lab rats or mice. Male and female prairie vole pups were orally exposed to 5-μg/kg body weight (bw)/d, 50-μg/kg bw/d, or 50-mg/kg bw/d BPA or vehicle over postnatal days 8-14. Subjects were tested as juveniles in open field and novel social tests and for partner preference as adults. Brains were then collected and assessed for immunoreactive (ir) tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) (a dopamine marker) neurons in the principal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (pBNST) and TH-ir, OT-ir, and AVP-ir neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). Female open field activity indicated hyperactivity at the lowest dose and anxiety at the highest dose. Effects on social interactions were also observed, and partner preference formation was mildly inhibited at all dose levels. BPA masculinized principal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis TH-ir neuron numbers in females. Additionally, 50-mg/kg bw BPA-exposed females had more AVP-ir neurons in the anterior PVN and fewer OT-ir neurons in the posterior PVN. At the 2 lowest doses, BPA eliminated sex differences in PVN TH-ir neuron numbers and reversed this sex difference at the highest dose. Minimal behavioral effects were observed in BPA-exposed males. These data support the hypothesis that BPA alters affective behaviors, potentially via disruption of OT/AVP pathways.

Highlights d Ensembles from both the OT and pPCX accurately encode conditioned odors d More OT neurons represent rewarded odors and do so in manners different from pPCX d OT D1 neurons flexibly represent rewarded odors during reversal learning d Activation of OT D1 neurons promotes engagement in a reinforcer-motivated task

BackgroundA traditional lecture-based pedagogy conveys information and content while lacking sufficient development of critical thinking skills and problem solving. A puzzle-based pedagogy creates a broader contextual framework, and fosters critical thinking as well as logical reasoning skills that can then be used to improve a student’s performance on content specific assessments. This paper describes a pedagogical comparison of traditional lecture-based teaching and puzzle-based teaching in a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab.MethodsUsing a single subject/cross-over design half of the students from seven sections of the course were taught using one type of pedagogy for the first half of the semester, and then taught with a different pedagogy for the second half of the semester. The other half of the students were taught the same material but with the order of the pedagogies reversed. Students’ performance on quizzes and exams specific to the course, and in-class assignments specific to this study were assessed for: learning outcomes (the ability to form the correct conclusion or recall specific information), and authentic academic performance as described by (Am J Educ 104:280–312, 1996).ResultsOur findings suggest a significant improvement in students’ performance on standard course specific assessments using a puzzle-based pedagogy versus a traditional lecture-based teaching style. Quiz and test scores for students improved by 2.1 and 0.4 % respectively in the puzzle-based pedagogy, versus the traditional lecture-based teaching. Additionally, the assessments of authentic academic performance may only effectively measure a broader conceptual understanding in a limited set of contexts, and not in the context of a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab.ConclusionIn conclusion, a puzzle-based pedagogy, when compared to traditional lecture-based teaching, can effectively enhance the performance of students on standard course specific assessments, even when the assessments only test a limited conceptual understanding of the material.

Hyposmia is evident in over 90% of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. A characteristic of PD is intraneuronal deposits composed in part of α-synuclein fibrils. Based on the analysis of post-mortem PD patients, Braak and colleagues suggested that early in the disease α-synuclein pathology is present in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, as well as the olfactory bulb and anterior olfactory nucleus, and then later affects other interconnected brain regions. Here, we bilaterally injected α-synuclein preformed fibrils into the olfactory bulbs of wild type male and female mice. Six months after injection, the anterior olfactory nucleus and piriform cortex displayed a high α-synuclein pathology load. We evaluated olfactory perceptual function by monitoring odor-evoked sniffing behavior in a plethysmograph at one-, three- and six-months after injection. No overt impairments in the ability to engage in sniffing were evident in any group, suggesting preservation of the ability to coordinate respiration. At all-time points, females injected with fibrils exhibited reduced odor detection sensitivity, which was observed with the semi-automated plethysmography apparatus, but not a buried pellet test. In future studies, this sensitive methodology for assessing olfactory detection deficits could be used to define how α-synuclein pathology affects other aspects of olfactory perception and to clarify the neuropathological underpinnings of these deficits.