Oxidative Stress Linked To Repetitive Behaviors In Mice

Abnormal repetitive behaviors successful mice are powerfully linked to aggregate biomarkers of oxidative stress, which occurs erstwhile antioxidants cannot counteract nan effects of harmful molecules successful nan body, according to a study published November 5, 2025, successful nan open-access diary PLOS One by Kendall Coden and Dr. Joseph Garner of Stanford University, U.S. However, much investigation is needed to trial whether antioxidants tin forestall aliases dainty these behaviors.

Stereotypies are abnormal, repetitive, and seemingly goal-less behaviors that are prevalent wrong nan animal kingdom. They person been documented successful astir each captive mammal and vertebrate species, including laboratory animals, zoo animals, and workplace animals. In addition, they are a halfway characteristic of respective quality neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders specified arsenic autism spectrum upset and schizophrenia. Despite good documented biology consequence factors associated pinch stereotypies successful captive animals, nan developmental origins of these behaviors stay elusive.

Past investigation suggests that respective neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions are linked to REDOX imbalance -- a authorities successful which physiological request for antioxidants surpasses their bioavailability. Yet nan narration betwixt REDOX imbalance and stereotypy has been unclear. To capable this knowledge gap, Coden, Garner and collaborators investigated whether REDOX imbalance is associated pinch nan severity of stereotypies successful mice. The researchers measured humor levels of nan antioxidant glutathione -- a gold-standard biomarker of REDOX imbalance.

The results showed that glutathione levels were positively associated pinch stereotypy severity successful young mice, but not aged mice. Using a state-of-the-art proteomics approach, nan researchers identified broader biomarker profiles of REDOX imbalance and stereotypy severity. As predicted, they recovered beardown relationships betwixt proteins linked to REDOX imbalance and some glutathione levels and stereotypy severity. Some of these associations were recovered only successful young mice, and others were independent of age, suggesting that different factors lend to stereotypies successful aged mice. These proteomics findings were replicated successful a abstracted validation group of mice, indicating that these profiles are robust and independent of strain.

Taken together, these information bespeak that REDOX imbalance whitethorn lend to nan developmental origins of stereotypy, highlighting caller targets for early discovery and intervention. Moreover, nan results propose that plasma glutathione levels aliases levels of nan identified macromolecule biomarkers whitethorn service arsenic consequence predictors for processing abnormal repetitive behaviors. According to nan authors, nan evolutionarily conserved quality of nan proteins they identified suggests that nan results person promising translational imaginable for objective populations.

However, they be aware that nan results are correlational successful nature, truthful it remains unclear whether REDOX imbalance is causally related to nan improvement of stereotypy. Further investigation into nan causal narration betwixt REDOX imbalance and stereotypy, and translator to different type specified arsenic humans, is required to corroborate nan generality of nan results. In addition, much investigation is needed to find whether antioxidant therapies tin forestall aliases dainty stereotypies successful mice.

The authors add: "Our findings show that REDOX imbalance (greater request for, than proviso of antioxidants) is related to repetitive behaviors, and that circumstantial proteins recovered successful humor whitethorn supply a clearer, much precise measurement to measurement this relationship. Many of nan proteins identified successful our study are besides associated pinch neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, suggesting that this group of proteins could thief to guideline improvement of caller diagnostic methods and treatments for disorders involving repetitive behaviors."

"The awesome enigma pinch repetitive behaviors is that individuals disagree truthful overmuch successful some consequence and severity, moreover erstwhile they turn up successful nan aforesaid situation and stock nan aforesaid genetics," adds Garner, professor of comparative medicine, Stanford Medicine. "This enigma besides gives america dream that repetitive behaviors mightiness beryllium preventable aliases curable. That's why this activity is specified an breathtaking breakthrough, it gives america truthful galore clues to follow, and a full caller technological attack to do so."