Effects of short photoperiod and carbohydrate consumption on sleep, liver steatosis, and the gut microbiome in diurnal grass rats

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a recurrent depression triggered by exposure to short photoperiods, with a subset of patients reporting hypersomnia, increased appetite, and carbohydrate craving. Dysfunction of the microbiota–gut–brain axis is frequently associated with depressive disorders, but its role in SAD is unknown. Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) are potentially useful for exploring the pathophysiology of SAD, as they are diurnal and have been found to exhibit anhedonia and affective-like behavior in response to short photoperiods. Further, given grass rats have been found to spontaneously develop metabolic syndrome, they may be particularly susceptible to environmental triggers of metabolic dysbiosis. We conducted a 2x2 factorial design experiment to test the effects of short photoperiod (4h:20h Light:Dark (LD) vs. neutral 12:12 LD), access to a high concentration (8%) sucrose solution, and the interaction between the two, on activity, sleep, liver steatosis, and th..., , , # SAD rats: Effects of short photoperiod and carbohydrate consumption on sleep, liver steatosis, and the gut microbiome in diurnal grass rats

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## General Info

Dataset contains 4 zipped files, corresponding to data used for analysis. AnimalData.zip contains data files (in .csv format) to analyze data corresponding to animal weights, fat pad data, liver steatosis data, and phase 1 and phase 2 animal metadata. ConsumptionData.zip contains all data (in .csv format) necessary for analyze sucrose/water consumption stats. microBiome.zip contains data files (in .csv, .qza, and .txt format) necessary to analyze fecal/intestine microBiome data. sleepData.zip contains all data to analyze sleep data obtained from the piezo system.

We used a 2x2 experimental design, with animals subjected to either a short (4h Light: 20h Dark [4:20 LD]) or neutral (12:12 LD) photoperiod and provided with either access to 8% sucrose or only water. Room temperatures were always maintained at 22°C. Grass rats we...