Retrospective descriptive report comparing access systems to refine intravenous self-administration in rats.

For operant self-administration, permanent intravenous cannulas need to remain open and operational for months without infections or blockages. Here, we report retrospectively on our experiences and observations using different access systems during three studies. We identified a refined method for vena jugularis cannulation that is a vast improvement for the animals, biotechnicians and researchers.

Seeking under threat of adversity: assessing control over reward pursuit in rats.

Rationale: Substance use disorder (SUD) is a chronic relapsing brain disorder that is characterised by loss of control over substance use. A variety of rodent models employing punishment setups have been developed to assess loss of control over substance use, i.e.

Impact of play restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being in children with a chronic condition.

Unlabelled: This study is to investigate the effects of social restrictions, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, on play behavior, and the associations with mental well-being in children with a chronic physical condition. Additionally, we explored potential moderating effects of environmental factors. Data from the PROactive cohort study including children with a chronic physical condition was used.

Opportunities for risk-taking during play alters cognitive performance and prefrontal inhibitory signalling in rats of both sexes.

Social play behaviour is a rewarding activity that can entail risks, thus allowing young individuals to test the limits of their capacities and to train their cognitive and emotional adaptability to challenges. Here, we tested in rats how opportunities for risk-taking during play affect the development of cognitive and emotional capacities and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function, a brain structure important for risk-based decision making. Male and female rats were housed socially or social play-deprived (SPD) between postnatal day (P)21 and P42.

CaMKIIa+ neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis modulate pace of natural reward seeking depending on internal state.

This study aims to investigate the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that regulate natural reward seeking behaviors, specifically in the context of sexual behavior and sucrose self-administration. The role of CaMKIIa+ neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) was explored using chemogenetic silencing and -stimulation. Additionally, the study examined how these effects interacted with the internal state of the animals.