Increased locomotor response to amphetamine, but not other psychostimulants, in adult mice submitted to a low-protein diet

Protein deficiency decreases stereotypic behavior frequency and prevalence and activity in the striped mouse Rhabdomys dilectus chakae

“…Thirdly, long‐term changes in the composition of dietary macronutrients are known to affect brain chemistry, neurotransmitter systems (Morgane, Mokler, & Galler, ) and cause neurophysiological, morphological, and neurochemical changes in the developing brain (reviewed in: Alamy & Bengelloun, ). Low dietary protein results in reduced dopamine receptor density in the brain (Hamdi, Onaivi, & Prasad, ) and altered catecholamine metabolism (Dietrich et al, ). Moreover, prenatal protein‐restriction can cause abnormal synaptogenesis in the basal ganglia (Alamy & Bengelloun, ), and damage or dysfunction in the basal ganglia system have been linked to stereotypies in several vertebrate species (Garner, ; Graybiel, ; Lewis et al, ).…”

Behaviour of postnatally growth-impaired mice during malnutrition and after partial weight recovery

“…13 A range of methods have been applied to induce the nutritional deficit: temporal maternal separation, manipulation of litter size, restriction of maternal protein-energy intake, or the surgical ligation of the dam's nipples to impair lactation. [14][15][16][17] Reported effects of postnatal protein malnutrition induced by these methods in rodent offspring include changes in social, aggressive, and maternal behaviour, 18,19 exploratory behaviour and anxiety, 20 altered learning and memory capacities, 21,22 differences in the behavioural response to the administration of drugs, 23,24 and the response threshold to aversive stimuli. 16 The extent and persistence of effects of a limited period of PEM on brain development, behaviour and cognition are not entirely explored; however, they seem to be partly reversible later in life.…”

A simple webcam-based approach for the measurement of rodent locomotion and other behavioural parameters

“…This algorithm can be easily adapted to other species and special behavioural situations through simple variations in its code. We discuss some of the myriad applications of this inexpensive methodology in the neurosciences, briefly presenting results we have obtained with it (Coitinho et al, 2002;Lourenco Da Silva et al, 2003;Dall'Igna et al, 2003Tort et al, 2004Tort et al, , 2005Dietrich et al, 2004Dietrich et al, , 2005da Silva et al, 2005;de Oliveira et al, 2005;Kazlauckas et al, 2005) and proposing other applications to which it can be easily adapted.…”