4.1 Animals
Male Wistar/ST rats (7–9 weeks old) were purchased from Sankyo Labo Service Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) and housed under controlled temperature (23°C ± 1°C), relative humidity (55% ± 5%), and 12-h/12-h light/dark cycle (lights on at 8:00 a.m.) with food and water ad libitum. All animal care and experimental protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the Tokyo University of Science (Approval No. Y22014) and conducted in compliance with National Institutes of Health and Japan Neuroscience Society guidelines. The study design and all procedures followed the ARRIVE Guidelines.
4.2 Sound exposure for immunohistochemical assessment
Artificial 100-kHz US (30 ms pulses at 60 ms intervals) and 35–100 kHz WN were produced as intervention and positive control stimuli using SASLab Pro software 5.2.09 (Avisoft Bioacoustics, Glienicke/Nordbahn, Germany) (Fig. 1) and delivered using an UltraSoundGate Player 116 (Avisoft Bioacoustics). All rats used in this assessment were not bulbectomized operated. Rats were randomly divided into three groups (no sound, audible sound stimulation with white noise, and inaudible sound stimulation with 100 kHz US) and placed in cages individually. Before sound exposure, all rats were habituated silently for at least 1 h without sound, then exposed to no sound, WN, or 100 kHz US for 1 h according to group designation.
4.3 Immunohistochemistry
Immediately after the sound exposure or equivalent no sound period, all rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of a medetomidine (2.4 mg/kg), midazolam (0.45 mg/kg), and butorphanol (3.0 mg/kg) mixture dissolved in 0.9% saline. Rats were then perfused transcardially with 0.9% saline followed by 4% paraformaldehyde in 0.2M phosphate buffer (PB) (PFA; Sigma-Aldrich, Tokyo, Japan). Brains were excised, post fixed overnight in 4% PFA, immersed in 30% sucrose dissolved in 0.2M PB for cryoprotection, embedded in an Optimal Cutting Temperature compound (Sakura-Finetek, Tokyo, Japan), frozen at − 80˚C, and sliced at 40-µm thickness. Brain sections were stored at − 20˚C in cryoprotection solution (30% ethylene glycol, 25% glycerol in 1 × PBS).
For c-Fos immunostaining, six sections per animal − 3.14–−5.60 mm from the bregma were incubated with 0.3% hydrogen peroxide in 40% methanol/PBS for 5 min to quench endogenous peroxidase activity, washed three times with PBS plus Triton X (PBST), blocked with 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA, Jackson ImmunoResearch, West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA) in PBST for 1 h, and then incubated with c-Fos antibody (anti-c-Fos (C-10), SCB Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, TX, USA) diluted 1:1000 in blocking solution for overnight. After washing with PBST, sections were incubated with a biotinylated horse antimouse antibody (BA-2000; Vector Laboratories, Newark, CA, USA) diluted in a blocking solution for 90 min, washed three times with PBST, incubated with AB solution (Vector Laboratories) for 60 min, rewashed three times with PBST, incubated with DAB (Vector Laboratories) for six min, washed three times with PBST, mounted on glass slides, and mounted using Eukitt (ORSAtec GmbH, Bobingen, Germany). Digital images were obtained using NDP viewer (HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS, Shizuoka, Japan) and processed using Fiji software by investigators blinded to the animal group. Briefly, after converting the images to 8 bits, noise was reduced using the Subtract Background tool. The regions of interest (ROIs) within auditory cortex were set according to the Paxinos and Watson atlas (fourth edition). The number of c-Fos-positive cells within each ROI was counted using the Analyze Particles tool. The number of c-Fos per unit area was determined by dividing the number of positive cells by the total ROI area of the ROI for each section, and averaged for each rat.
4.4 Surgical procedure of olfactory bulbectomy
Olfactory bulbectomy was performed as previously described4,12. Briefly, rats were anesthetized using a mixed solution of medetomidine (2.4 mg/kg), midazolam (0.45 mg/kg), and butorphanol (3.0 mg/kg) dissolved in 0.9% saline and fixed in a stereotactic apparatus. The skull covering the olfactory bulbs was exposed, and burr holes were drilled 7.0 mm anterior to the bregma and ± 1.8 mm lateral to the midline. Both olfactory bulbs were removed by aspiration. Blood loss was prevented by filling the burr holes with hemostatic sponges (Spongel, Astells Pharma Inc., Tokyo, Japan). All animals received antibiotics and analgesics on the day of surgery. Postoperatively, animals were housed in single cages (W: 15 × D: 20 × H: 16 cm) for two weeks. Upon completion of the behavioral experiments, OBX rats were decapitated and the accuracy of bulbectomy was visually verified. Data obtained from animals with incomplete removal of the olfactory bulbs or incidental frontal cortex damage were discarded. The sham operations were performed similarly, but the olfactory bulbs were left intact.
4.5 Ultrasound exposure for behavioral assessment
For the behavioral assessment, OBX rats were exposed to 100 kHz US (Fig. 1c, d) produced using SASLab Pro software 5.2.09 (Avisoft Bioacoustics) or to no sound as a control. The cage containing an individual rat was placed in a soundproof box (20 × 20 × 33 cm, LabDesign, Ibaraki, Japan; at 23°C and 10 Lux) and exposed to US generated by an UltraSoundGate Player 116 (Avisoft Bioacoustics) or placed in the same soundproof box without US exposure for 12, 24, or 48 h.
4.6 Evaluation of olfactory bulbectomy-induced hyperemotionality (HE)
The hyperemotionality of OBX rats at baseline and following the indicated intervention was evaluated using a hyperemotionality score4,12,13 derived from the following behaviors: (1) attack response to a rod held in front of the snout, (2) startle response to air blown on the snout, (3) struggle response to handling with a gloved hand, and (4) fight response to a tail pitch delivered with mosquito forceps. Each response was graded as 0 (no reaction), 1 (slight), 2 (moderate), 3 (marked), or 4 (extreme). Vocalizations during the test were also scored as 0 (no vocalization), 1 (occasional), or 2 (marked), and the vocal score was added to the respective emotional response score. The total emotional response score was calculated as the sum of these scores. The maximum score of emotional responses was set to 24 in total. We conducted the experiment across multiple Lots to verify reproducibility.
4.7 Elevated Plus Maze test
The EPM test was conducted following 12 or 24 h in the aforementioned soundproof box with or without US exposure and 1 h of habituation. Tests were conducted as described in our previous study4,14. Briefly, the EPM apparatus was constructed of plastic and consisted of four 10 cm wide arms projecting in a cross pattern from a neutral central square and elevated 50 cm above the floor. Two of the opposing arms were enclosed by vertical walls (closed arms) while the other two had unprotected edges (open arms). The entire maze was placed under indirect light (50 Lux). At the beginning of the 5-min test session, each rat was positioned in the central neutral zone facing one of the closed arms. The total distance traveled and time spent on the open arms was then recorded using a video camera system and analyzed using Smart 3.0 (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA, USA). The experiment was conducted across multiple sessions to verify reproducibility.
4.8 Corticosterone assay
Immediately after the HE evaluation, trunk blood was collected into heparin-containing tubes and centrifuged for 15 min at 15,000 rpm and 4°C to isolate the plasma fraction. Plasma samples were then aliquoted and stored at − 30°C until analysis of corticosterone levels. Concentrations were measured in duplicate using a corticosterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) following the manufacturer’s instructions.
4.9 Data analysis
All data are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean (S.E.M.). Results were compared among groups using the Wilcoxon signed rank test or one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Holm–Sidak tests as indicated. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 (corrected for multiple comparisons). In figures, levels of significance are indicated as follows: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism7 (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA).