Journal: Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science

Article Title: Consumption of the Prebiotic-Rich Chicory Taproot Contrasts the Cognitive and Motivational Consequences of Chronic Corticosterone Exposure and Modulates Gut Microbiota Composition in Mice

doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100520

Figure Lengend Snippet: Timeline of the experiment and prebiotic administration’s effects on selected physiological parameters. (A) Timeline of the experiment. The behavioral and physiological tests were divided in 2 separate test batteries. Battery A included the FR test for associative learning, the PR test for motivation, the ASST for attentional capabilities and cognitive flexibility, and collection of biological samples (feces, brain areas, cecal content). Battery B included the Barnes maze test (Barnes) for short- and long-term spatial memory, the elevated ZM and the OF tests for anxiety-like behavior, the NOR test for short- and long-term recognition memory, and the response to restraint stress for physiological stress reactivity. The behavioral tests of batteries A and B were completed within the ninth and the eighth week of diet administration, respectively. The response to restraint stress (battery B) was evaluated during the 9th week of diet administration, while the biological samples (battery A) were collected during the 12th week. Body weight and food/liquid intake were monitored weekly throughout the duration of the experiment. Behavioral tests in battery A (FR, PR, ASST) required the application of a food restriction schedule aimed at maintaining the animals at 85% to 90% of their free feeding body weight (for details, see ). Therefore, analyses of body weight variation and fructans intake involved only mice belonging to battery B, because they were not subjected to the food restriction schedule, while analysis of corticosterone intake comprised both test batteries. Food and liquid intakes were measured by weighing the food in the feeders and the bottles; therefore, because mice were housed in couples, for the analyses of fructans and CORT intake, the cage, instead of the single mouse, constituted the experimental unit. (B) Body weight gain (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 18, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 18, CORT-CONTROL n = 18, CORT-CHICORY n = 18). The chicory-enriched diet reversed the CORT-induced increase in body weight. (C) Food intake (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 9, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 9, CORT-CONTROL n = 9, CORT-CHICORY n = 9). Mice that were fed the prebiotic diet exhibited an increment in food intake compared with mice fed the standard diet. (D) Liquid intake (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 18, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 18, CORT-CONTROL n = 18, CORT-CHICORY n = 18). Mice fed the prebiotic diet exhibited an increment in liquid intake compared with mice fed the standard diet. (E) CORT intake (CORT-CONTROL n = 18, CORT-CHICORY n = 18). Mice exposed to the chicory-enriched diet showed increased CORT intake compared with mice exposed to the standard diet. £ p < .05 H 2 O-CONTROL vs. CORT-CONTROL, $ p < .05 H 2 O-CHICORY vs. CORT-CHICORY, € p < .05 H 2 O-CONTROL vs. H 2 O-CHICORY, § p < .05 CORT-CONTROL vs. CORT-CHICORY in Tukey’s post hoc test. ASST, attentional set-shifting task; CORT, corticosterone; FR, fixed ratio; OF, open field; NOR, novel object recognition; PR, progressive ratio; ZM, zero maze.

Article Snippet: Behavioral scoring in the Barnes maze, elevated zero maze (ZM), open field (OF), and novel object recognition (NOR) tests was performed through an automated video tracking system (AnyMaze, Stoelting Europe).

Techniques: Battery, Control

Journal: Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science

Article Title: Consumption of the Prebiotic-Rich Chicory Taproot Contrasts the Cognitive and Motivational Consequences of Chronic Corticosterone Exposure and Modulates Gut Microbiota Composition in Mice

doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100520

Figure Lengend Snippet: Prebiotic administration’s effects on plasma CORT concentrations and anxiety-related behaviors. (A) Plasma CORT concentrations at baseline and 25, 60, 120, and 240 minutes after restraint stress (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 12, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 13, CORT-CONTROL n = 15, CORT-CHICORY n = 12). The chicory-enriched diet reduced basal CORT concentrations in stressed mice. Prebiotic administration had no effect on the time spent in the open sectors of the elevated zero maze (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 18, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 17, CORT-CONTROL n = 18, CORT-CHICORY n = 18) (B) , time spent in the center (C) , or distance traveled (D) in the open field (H 2 O-CONTROL n = 18, H 2 O-CHICORY n = 18, CORT-CONTROL n = 18, CORT-CHICORY n = 18). £ p < .05 H 2 O-CONTROL vs. CORT-CONTROL, $ p < .05 H 2 O-CHICORY vs. CORT-CHICORY, § p < .05 CORT-CONTROL vs. CORT-CHICORY in Tukey’s post hoc test. ∗ p < .05 main effect of treatment. CORT, corticosterone. The dashed line represents chance level.

Article Snippet: Behavioral scoring in the Barnes maze, elevated zero maze (ZM), open field (OF), and novel object recognition (NOR) tests was performed through an automated video tracking system (AnyMaze, Stoelting Europe).

Techniques: Clinical Proteomics, Control