Abstract
This study was designed to test whether Cynopterus sphinx distress calls influence olfactory learning and memory in conspecifics. Bats were exposed to distress calls/playbacks (PBs) of distress calls/modified calls and were then trained to novel odors. Bats exposed to distress calls/PBs made significantly fewer feeding attempts and bouts of PBs exposed to modified calls, which significantly induced the expression of c-Fos in the caudomedial neostriatum (NCM) and the amygdala compared to bats exposed to modified calls and trained controls. However, the expression of c-Fos in the hippocampus was not significantly different between the experimental groups. Further, protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1) expression was significantly lower, and the expression levels of E1A homologue of CREB-binding protein (CBP) (P300), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its tyrosine kinase B1 (TrkB1) receptor were significantly higher in the hippocampus of control/bats exposed to modified calls compared to distress calls/PBs of distress call-exposed bats. Exposure to the call possibly alters the reciprocal interaction between the amygdala and the hippocampus, accordingly regulating the expression levels of PP1, P300 and BDNF and its receptor TrkB1 following training to the novel odor. Thus, the learning and memory consolidation processes were disrupted and showed fewer feeding attempts and bouts. This model may be helpful for understanding the contributions of stressful social communications to human disorders.
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- ALP:
-
Alkaline phosphatase
- bAFM:
-
Broadband arched frequency modulation
- BCIP:
-
5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolylphosphate disodium
- BDNF:
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
- CREB-1:
-
Cyclic AMP response element binding protein-1
- ERK-1/2:
-
Extracellular-signal-regulated kinase-1/2
- GAPDH:
-
Glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
- IEG:
-
Immediate early gene
- LTP:
-
Long-term potentiation
- nAFM:
-
Narrow band arched frequency modulation
- NBT:
-
Nitro-blue tetrazoliumchloride
- NCM:
-
Caudomedial neostriatum
- PBs:
-
Playbacks
- PKA:
-
Protein kinase A
- PP-1:
-
Protein phosphatase-1
- TrkB1:
-
Tyrosine kinase B1
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Acknowledgements
KER thank the anonymous reviewer for their suggestions that improved this manuscript. This Project is financially supported by Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) and Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) 2.0-Biological Sciences. The Department of Animal Science is supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST)-Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) and DST-Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE). Experimental protocol used in this study was approved by Bharathidasan University Wild Animal Ethics Committee (03/AS/BUWAE/2008), which was in compliance with the laws in India. Experiments were designed to minimize the number of animals used.
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Rajan, K.E. Olfactory learning and memory in the greater short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx: the influence of conspecifics distress calls. J Comp Physiol A 207, 667–679 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01505-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01505-2