Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (12): 3609-3618.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2021.012.027

• BASIC VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Heat Stress on Related Neurobehavior in Mice

ZHANG Meng, HU Yajie, CAO Yu, ZHEN Li, LIU Yang, XU Bin, YANG Yuying, LI Shize*   

  1. College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Bovine Diseases, Daqing 163319, China
  • Received:2021-03-15 Online:2021-12-25 Published:2021-12-22

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of different durations of thermal stimulation on the neurobehavior of mice at 34℃ and the specific changes in the blood physiological indicators of mice under this condition. Eight weeks old mice were selected and divide them into 4 groups with 10 mice in each group. After grouping, the mice were placed in a 34℃ environment for thermal stimulation for 0, 2, 4 and 6 hours. Immediately after the stimulation, the mice were subjected to open-field and elevated plus maze tests to observe and record the movement of the mice within 5 minutes, and take blood samples from the mice to detect their blood physiological indicators. Results were as follows:Compared with the control group, the exploratory behavior of the mice in the 2 h heat stimulation group was significantly increased, while the anxiety-like behavior of the mice in the heat stimulation 4 h group and the heat stimulation 6 h group was significantly increased, and the exploratory behavior was reduced; the levels of EPI and CORT of the mice in heat stimulation 2 h group increased in a time-dependent manner and the difference were significant; the levels of norepinephrine (NE) in the 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h heat stimulation groups increased extremely significantly, and it reached a peak at 4 h of heat stimulation and slightly decreased at 6 h; the level of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in mice in the heat-stimulated 4 h group increased significantly, and decreased slightly at 6 h. The results suggest that heat stimulation at 34℃ for 2 hours promotes spontaneous movement and exploratory behavior in mice. As the stimulation duration increases, the spontaneous movement and exploratory behavior of mice are significantly inhibited, and anxiety-like behaviors increase significantly, showing a time dependence, and suggest that the emotional and behavioral abnormalities of mice after thermal stimulation may be regulated by the central nervous system.

Key words: heat stress, neuroethology, open field test, plus maze test, blood physiology

CLC Number: