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Journal articles
Behavioral Sequence Analysis Reveals a Novel Role for ß2* Nicotinic Receptors in Exploration
Abstract : Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely expressed throughout the central nervous system and modulate neuronal function in most mammalian brain structures. The contribution of defined nAChR subunits to a specific behavior is thus difficult to assess. Mice deleted for beta2-containing nAChRs (beta2-/-) have been shown to be hyperactive in an open-field paradigm, without determining the origin of this hyperactivity. We here develop a quantitative description of mouse behavior in the open field based upon first order Markov and variable length Markov chain analysis focusing on the time-organized sequence that behaviors are composed of. This description reveals that this hyperactivity is the consequence of the absence of specific inactive states or "stops". These stops are associated with a scanning of the environment in wild-type mice (WT), and they affect the way that animals organize their sequence of behaviors when compared with stops without scanning. They characterize a specific "decision moment" that is reduced in beta2-/- mutant mice, suggesting an important role of beta2-nAChRs in the strategy used by animals to explore an environment and collect information in order to organize their behavior. This integrated analysis of the displacement of an animal in a simple environment offers new insights, specifically into the contribution of nAChRs to higher brain functions and more generally into the principles that organize sequences of behaviors in animals.
Cited literature [33 references]
https://hal-pasteur.archives-ouvertes.fr/pasteur-02935825
Contributor : Rhizlane Laatabi <>
Submitted on : Thursday, September 10, 2020 - 4:50:50 PM
Last modification on : Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - 4:02:17 AM
Contributor : Rhizlane Laatabi <>
Submitted on : Thursday, September 10, 2020 - 4:50:50 PM
Last modification on : Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - 4:02:17 AM
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journal.pcbi.1000229.PDF
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