Wheel-running and other non-photic stimuli influence the rest-activity pattern of diurnal and nocturnal mammals. A day to night inversion of phase preference of activity was described among Octodon degus, when exposed to ad-libitum wheel running. We have studied the rest-activity pattern response in presence of ad libitum wheel-running in wild-captured male individuals from two species of genus...

Alzheimer's disease primarily occurs as sporadic disease and is accompanied with vast socio-economic problems. The mandatory basic research relies on robust and reliable disease models to overcome increasing incidence and emerging social challenges. Rodent models are most efficient, versatile, and predominantly used in research. However, only highly artificial and mostly genetically modified mo...

We describe the Holocene distribution of the Octodontids Aconaemys fuscus, Octodon bridgesi, O. degus, O. lunatus, O. pacificus and Spalacopus cyanus from Central Chile. We compared ancient and present day ranges. The Holocene pattern was inferred from zooarchaeological records. Octodon degus, O. lunatus, O. bridgesi, and Aconaemys fuscus showed a reduction in their geographic range. Although s...

Binocular vision is a visual property that allows fine discrimination of in-depth distance (stereopsis), as well as enhanced light and contrast sensitivity. In mammals enhanced binocular vision is structurally associated with a large degree of frontal binocular overlap, the presence of a corresponding retinal specialization containing a fovea or an area centralis, and well-developed ipsilateral...

Light exposure during the early and late subjective night generally phase delays and advances circadian rhythms, respectively. However, this generality was recently questioned in a photic entrainment study in Octodon degus. Because degus can invert their activity phase preference from diurnal to nocturnal as a function of activity level, assessment of phase preference is critical for computatio...

Rest activity pattern was studied in wild-captured males of Octodon degus (n=9), Octodon bridgesi (n=3), and Spalacopus cyanus (n=6) (Rodentia: Octodontidae). Ten-minute resolution actograms were constructed from data obtained by an automated acquisition system. After two months of habituation to a stable light-dark schedule, recordings were performed in isolation chambers under a 12: 12 Light ...

The wheel running (WR) and feeding activity (FA) of Octodon degus, a new laboratory rodent characterized by its diurnal habits, were recorded under different lighting conditions. Under 12:12-h light-dark (LD 12:12) cycles, WR activity exhibited a crepuscular pattern with two peaks, M and E, associated with "dawn" and "dusk," respectively. In both cases, an anticipatory activity was patent, sugg...

[This corrects the article on p. 66 in vol. 9, PMID: 28405187.].

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the degeneration of specific brain areas associated with accumulation of disease-related protein in extra- or intra-cellular deposits. Their preclinical investigations are mostly based on genetically-engineered animals. Despite their interest, these models are often based on high level of disease-related protein expression, thus questioning their ...