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HFD-induced energy states-dependent bidirectional control of anxiety levels in mice (animal)
The roles of HFD and body weight in Controlling Anxiety in Mice
This 2017 preclinical study examined the relationships between body weight, high-fat diet (HFD), anxiety levels, and energy states among mice, with the aim of discovering whether the duration of exposure to the HFD can have an impact on anxiety-related behaviors. The mice were fed either a regular (RC) or HFD chow and were assessed on anxiety-related behaviors using behavioral tests, such as the open field test (OFT) and the elevated plus maze. In order to test whether obesity phenotypes are associated with anxiety-related behaviors, the changes in behaviors observed through the OPF were analyzed alongside the alterations in body weight and glucose sensitivity after the mice were exposed to various levels of HFD and RC. The consumption of HFD was found to have a time-dependent biphasic effect on anxiety-related behaviors: showing less anxious behavior at 5 weeks compared with RC mice at the same stage of the intervention; at 8 weeks level of anxiety of both groups did not differ; and then at 15 weeks irrespective of type of feeding mice with metabolic symptoms of obesity exhibited more anxiety-related behaviors than those mice resilient to obesity phenotypes. The results suggested that HFD has a bidirectional influence on anxiety-related behaviors. Short-term exposure reduces anxiety, while longer exposure raises the anxiety of mice that present metabolic signs of obesity. The roles of both HFD and body weight in altering anxiety-like behaviors may overlap one another, which may be vital in explaining the relationship between HFD feeding and anxiety. [NPID: body weight, high-fat, anxiety, obesity, obesity phenotypes]
Year: 2017
