Simulated Chronic Jet Lag Affects the Structural and Functional Complexity of Hippocampal Neurons in Mice

Feb 14, 2024Neuroscience

Long-Term Jet Lag Changes the Shape and Activity of Memory-Related Brain Cells in Mice

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Abstract

Mice exposed to simulated chronic jet lag for 24 days exhibited depression-like behavior and increased anxiety.

Simulated chronic jet lag involved alternately advancing and delaying the light-dark cycle by 9 hours every 2 days.
CJL-exposed mice demonstrated depression-like behavior, including anhedonia.
Behavioral tests indicated increased anxiety in CJL-exposed mice compared to control mice.
CJL exposure resulted in higher levels of serum corticosterone and the inflammatory marker TNF-α in both serum and hippocampus.
Structural complexity of hippocampal CA1 neurons was reduced in CJL-exposed mice, along with decreased levels of neurotrophic factors BDNF and NGF.

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There has been a long history that chronic circadian disruption such as jet lag or shift work negatively affects brain and body physiology. Studies have shown that circadian misalignment act as a risk factor for developing anxiety and mood-related depression-like behavior. Till date, most studies focused on simulating jet lag in model animals under laboratory conditions by repeated phase advances or phase delay only, while the real-life conditions may differ. In the present study, adult male mice were subjected to simulated chronic jet lag (CJL) by alternately advancing and delaying the ambient light-dark (LD) cycle by 9 h every 2 days, thereby covering a total of 24 days. The effect of CJL was then examined for a range of stress and depression-related behavioral and physiological responses. The results showed that mice exposed to CJL exhibited depression-like behavior, such as anhedonia. In the open field and elevated plus maze test, CJL-exposed mice showed increased anxiety behavior compared to LD control. In addition, CJL-exposed mice showed an increased level of serum corticosterone and proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α in both serum and hippocampus. Moreover, CJL-exposed mice exhibited a reduction in structural complexity of hippocampal CA1 neurons along with decreased expression of neurotrophic growth factors, BDNF and NGF in the hippocampus compared to LD control. Taken together, our findings suggest that simulated chronic jet lag adversely affects structural and functional complexity in hippocampal neurons along with interrelated endocrine and inflammatory responses, ultimately leading to stress, anxiety, and depression-like behavior in mice.

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Simulated Chronic Jet Lag Affects the Structural and Functional Complexity of Hippocampal Neurons in Mice

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