Mice subjected to an irregular light-dark cycle are known to lose their capacity to synchronize their behavioral rhythm to environmental light, and to show endophenotypes related to depressive disorders. Here we obser...Mice subjected to an irregular light-dark cycle are known to lose their capacity to synchronize their behavioral rhythm to environmental light, and to show endophenotypes related to depressive disorders. Here we observed that a susceptible strain of mice (C3H/HeJ) subjected to an irregular 3.5 hr:3.5 hr light-dark cycle showed an enhanced acoustic startle reflex and deficits in prepulse inhibition. As impaired sensorimotor gating is associated with the onset of a variety of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, irregular environmental light without circadian photo-entrainment may cause stress that has the potential to be involved in humans’ susceptibility to neuropsychiatric abnormalities.展开更多
文摘Mice subjected to an irregular light-dark cycle are known to lose their capacity to synchronize their behavioral rhythm to environmental light, and to show endophenotypes related to depressive disorders. Here we observed that a susceptible strain of mice (C3H/HeJ) subjected to an irregular 3.5 hr:3.5 hr light-dark cycle showed an enhanced acoustic startle reflex and deficits in prepulse inhibition. As impaired sensorimotor gating is associated with the onset of a variety of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, irregular environmental light without circadian photo-entrainment may cause stress that has the potential to be involved in humans’ susceptibility to neuropsychiatric abnormalities.
