New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Sex-specific differences in behaviour induced by inflammation in the brain’s memory centre, the hippocampus, should be kept in mind while developing treatments for neurological disorders, researchers said after they found more pronounced effects in female mice.
The hippocampus is known to be crucial to memory, learning and managing emotions.
The researchers explained that people having inflammation in this brain region can experience symptoms such as apathy, difficulty with daily activities and changes to food preferences.
The symptoms, which can occur in a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and depression, tend to be more severe in women than in men, they found.
“While inflammation in the hippocampus is not solely responsible for behaviour changes, it likely triggers wider brain activity that influences behaviour,” Laura Bradfield, Director of the Brain and Behaviour Lab at the University of Technology Sydney and co-author of the study published in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity, said.
The findings highlighted the importance of considering sex-specific effects when developing treatments for neurological diseases, said lead author Kiruthika Ganesan, who recently completed her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney.
“These findings provide fresh insights into how neuroinflammation affects brain function, potentially paving the way for new therapies that address the behavioural and cognitive symptoms of a range of diseases,” she said.
For the study, the researchers induced inflammation in cell cultures of hippocampus of mice by exposing them to a bacterial toxin ‘lipopolysaccharide’, known to elicit a strong immune response.
Further, the team injected the toxin directly into the hippocampus of mice and analysed their activity and food-seeking behaviours.
Neuroinflammation was found to increase movement and activity levels in mice of both sexes, but a more pronounced effect was seen in the food-seeking behaviours in female mice.
“This research suggests that treatments targeting hippocampal neuroinflammation could help reduce cognitive and behavioural symptoms in these diseases and improve brain health, especially in women,” Bradfield said. PTI KRS NB NB
About the Author
