Investigating a Potential Effect of an Immune System Challenge On Temperament
Open Access
- Author:
- Golden, Carla Esther
- Area of Honors:
- Biology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Victoria Anne Braithwaite Read, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Bernhard Lüscher, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- neuroscience
animal behavior
anxiety
trade-off
immune system - Abstract:
- Because both the immune and neural systems are known to require large amounts of energy and other resources (e.g. nutrients and time), it seems likely that trade-offs may occur between these two systems. In order to test whether such a trade-off does indeed occur, C57BL/6 mice were introduced to either a combination of Bordetella pertussis and saline or just saline when young (4 weeks old). At the same time they were introduced to cage enrichment, which is linked with neural stimulation. All of the mice were kept under a control feed ration in order to limit their available energy. To determine whether simultaneous immune and neural challenges led to a decreased investment in cognition, adult mice (12 weeks old) were tested with a learning and memory assay, the Barnes maze. As immune challenges have been shown to heighten expressed anxiety and other related temperaments (such as activity, exploration, and boldness), these temperaments may contribute to performance on the Barnes maze as opposed to solely their cognitive abilities. Thus temperament assays (the Elevated Plus Maze, the Open Field test, and a Novel Object Test) were given before the Barnes Maze. The results from the four treatment groups (vaccinated/enriched, vaccinated/not enriched, not vaccinated/enriched, not vaccinated/not enriched) were compared. Temperament behaviors were changed both by exposure to a vaccine and through exposure to enrichment. Exposure to enrichment increased general activity patterns in the Elevated Plus Maze and the Open Field Test.