Empathy in mice: the role of GABAa-Benzodiazepine receptors within insula in the modulation of nociceptive response in mice after cohabiting with a pair submitted to chronic pain condition.

• Grant number: 15/11908-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2016
• End date: February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Neuropsychopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Azair Liane Matos Do Canto de Souza
• Grantee: Caroline Riberti Zaniboni
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The understanding of the empathy seems necessary considering the importance of the theme and its evolutionist feature, that contributes to human being evolution and fortification of society living. Empathy is an emotional response and product of many brain circuits. Recent studies suggest the capacity to empathy of rodents, mainly in front of pain situation. The pain perception also has evolutionary importance and, in the same way, covers several brain circuits. Researches of our group demonstrated that living in pairs with animals in neuropathic pain can alter nociceptive response in mice. In addition to this, we verify that the empathy modulatory circuits also can modulate pain, and insula is one of the brain structures that is involved in both process. The insula inactivation produced antinociception in mice that lived with a pair subjected to a model of chronic pain and evidence shows that insula can modulate nociceptive responses by receptors. However, it's not known how these processes are related with empathy. The objective of this study is investigate the role of GABAA-benzodiazepinics receptors located within insula in the modulation of nociceptive response in mice, after living for 28 days with a conspecific in chronic pain condition. For this purpose, mice will be housed in pairs, from weaning, and after 14 days of living, one animal of each pair will be submitted to chronic pain surgery or not (SHAM Group), and after surgery, will remain living in pairs for more 14 days. In the Experiment 1, after 28 days of cohabiting, the animal that lived with a pair in chronic pain will receive sistemic saline or midazolam (0,5, 1 e 2 mg/kg), a GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor agonist, and will be submitted to the writhing test for 5 minutes to evaluate nociception. In the experiment 2, the protocol will be the same, however the animal without pain, in the 24th day, will be submitted to a stereotaxic surgery, and, in the 28th day, to the writhing test after bilateral insula microinjections of saline or midazolam (3,0 e 30 nmol/0,1 µL).

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ZANIBONI, CAROLINE R.; PELARIN, VINICIUS; BAPTISTA-DE-SOUZA, DANIELA; CANTO-DE-SOUZA, AZAIR. Empathy for Pain: Insula Inactivation and Systemic Treatment With Midazolam Reverses the Hyperalgesia Induced by Cohabitation With a Pair in Chronic Pain Condition. FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE, v. 12, NOV 16 2018. (12/22238-6, 15/11908-9)

DE OLIVEIRA, P. E. CARNEIRO; ZANIBONI, CAROLINE R.; CARMONA, ISABELA M.; FONSECA, AURA R.; CANTO-DE-SOUZA, AZAIR. Preliminary behavioral assessment of cagemates living with conspecifics submitted to chronic restraint stress in mice. Neuroscience Letters, v. 657, p. 204-210, SEP 14 2017. (15/11908-9)