Studying Laboratory Mice – Into the Wild

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2019.05.004

Trends in Neurosciences

Volume 42, Issue 9, September 2019, Pages 566-568

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2019.05.004 Get rights and content

Studies using rewilded laboratory mice have begun to provide important clues into the complex relationship between environment, immunity, and behavior. In a recent paper, Cope and colleagues (Hippocampus, 2019) showed that exposing laboratory mice to outdoor living, either with or without peripheral worm infection, increased adult neurogenesis and had major effects on microglia, but only outdoor living coupled with worm infection increased anxiety.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Fernando González Ibáñez for his insightful suggestions on the article. The laboratory of M-È.T. is supported by NEURON-ERANET (MicroSynDep) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Foundation Scheme). J.C.S. is recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé. M-È.T. holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair.

References (10)

E.C. Cope
The effects of living in an outdoor enclosure on hippocampal plasticity and anxiety-like behavior in response to nematode infection
Hippocampus
(2019)
J.M. Leung
Rapid environmental effects on gut nematode susceptibility in rewilded mice
PLoS Biol.
(2018)
C. Anacker et al.
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive flexibility – linking memory and mood
Nat. Rev. Neurosci.
(2017)
T.L. Tay
Microglia across the lifespan: from origin to function in brain development, plasticity and cognition
J. Physiol.
(2017)
R. Abdel-Haq
Microbiome–microglia connections via the gut–brain axis
J. Exp. Med.
(2019)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (3)

Sex differences in microglia as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease
2021, Sex and Gender Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease
Women are known to have a significantly higher lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and recent research shows that they also appear to suffer greater cognitive deterioration than men at the same disease stage. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this prevalence remain elusive. The purpose of this review is to examine the potential role of neuroinflammation and microglia in driving this sex difference in AD. We first introduce the dual role of microglia in AD, describing their transition from being neuroprotective, in reducing amyloid burden during earlier stages of disease, to their pathological role in exacerbating tau pathology in the later stages. We then describe sex differences in the immune system and in microglial maturation and activities as well as how immune activation in early life may modulate brain function later in life. Lastly, sex differences in microglial function are described in the contexts of aging and AD among other neurodegenerative conditions.
A Diversity of Cell Types, Subtypes and Phenotypes in the Central Nervous System: The Importance of Studying Their Complex Relationships
2020, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
Synaptic Loss in Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanistic Insights Provided by Two-Photon in vivo Imaging of Transgenic Mouse Models
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Trends in Neurosciences

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Acknowledgments

References (10)

The effects of living in an outdoor enclosure on hippocampal plasticity and anxiety-like behavior in response to nematode infection

Hippocampus

Rapid environmental effects on gut nematode susceptibility in rewilded mice

PLoS Biol.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive flexibility – linking memory and mood

Nat. Rev. Neurosci.

Microglia across the lifespan: from origin to function in brain development, plasticity and cognition

J. Physiol.

Microbiome–microglia connections via the gut–brain axis

J. Exp. Med.

Cited by (3)

Sex differences in microglia as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

A Diversity of Cell Types, Subtypes and Phenotypes in the Central Nervous System: The Importance of Studying Their Complex Relationships

Synaptic Loss in Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanistic Insights Provided by Two-Photon in vivo Imaging of Transgenic Mouse Models

Trends in Neurosciences

SpotlightStudying Laboratory Mice – Into the Wild

Section snippets

Acknowledgments

The effects of living in an outdoor enclosure on hippocampal plasticity and anxiety-like behavior in response to nematode infection

Hippocampus

Rapid environmental effects on gut nematode susceptibility in rewilded mice

PLoS Biol.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive flexibility – linking memory and mood

Nat. Rev. Neurosci.

Microglia across the lifespan: from origin to function in brain development, plasticity and cognition

J. Physiol.

Microbiome–microglia connections via the gut–brain axis

J. Exp. Med.

Spotlight
Studying Laboratory Mice – Into the Wild