Can the food-entrainable oscillator ameliorate the deleterious effect of circadian rhythm disruption in an animal model of social jet lag?
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Today’s society fosters circadian rhythm disruptions. In particular, individuals often \nexperience “social jet lag” (SJL), resulting in differences between weekday and weekend \nsleep schedules, and disruption of their light-entrainable oscillator (LEO). The current \nstudy investigated the interaction between the LEO and the food-entrainable oscillator \n(FEO) by implementing a novel animal model of SJL, the “social jet lag manipulation” \n(SJM). Particularly, the impact of SJL on retention and acquisition of hippocampal-dependent \nand non-hippocampal-dependent tasks was investigated. During Experiment \nOne, while receiving one (FEO access) or many (no FEO access) meals per day, rats \nwere trained under a 12:12 light-dark cycle, then exposed to the SJM. SJM and Control \nrats retained the tasks equally, yet rats with FEO access retained hippocampal-dependent \ntasks better than rats without FEO access. During Experiment Two, while receiving one \nor many meals per day, rats were exposed to the SJM during hippocampal-dependent and \nnon-hippocampal-dependent task training. SJM and Control rats acquired the tasks \nequally. However, rats with FEO access acquired the hippocampal-dependent task faster \nthan rats without FEO access. While no detrimental impact of the SJM was apparent, \nactograms suggested that the SJM induced free-running activity. Previous shift work \nmodels have induced free-running activity, causing hippocampal-dependent learning and \nmemory deficits. It is, therefore, possible that the hippocampal-dependent tasks used in \nthe current study were not sensitive enough to display hippocampal deficits. Nonetheless, \nthe current findings displaying the benefit of FEO access for learning and memory \nindicate the need to further investigate this oscillator and its potential benefits.
Author: Leanna M. Lewis
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2913853948