Altered light-dark phase-dependent behavioral responses and suprachiasmatic nucleus pathology in an α-synuclein rat model of Parkinson's disease

Description

This dataset accompanies the study investigating circadian rhythm dysfunction and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) pathology in α-synuclein-overexpressing transgenic rats as a preclinical model of Parkinson’s disease (DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7816986/v1).

The dataset contains behavioral, histological, and quantitative analysis data obtained from three-month-old α-synuclein transgenic rats and wild-type littermate controls. Experiments were designed to assess light-dark phase-dependent modulation of motor and non-motor behaviors and to evaluate structural and cellular alterations within the SCN.

Behavioral assessments include measures of:

• exploratory activity,
• locomotor behavior,
• sucrose preference,
• and olfaction-guided feeding performance

across different light-dark cycle phases.

Histological and immunohistochemical analyses include:

• α-synuclein accumulation,
• overall SCN cell density,
• neuronal markers,
• orexinergic fiber markers,
• and microglial markers (including Iba1-positive cell quantification).

The dataset further includes correlation analyses linking α-synuclein pathology with neuroinflammatory and orexinergic alterations.

The data support the conclusion that α-synuclein-overexpressing rats exhibit disrupted phase-dependent behavioral modulation and early SCN pathology prior to pronounced motor impairment, thereby representing a translational model for studying non-motor symptoms and circadian dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.

Dataset Contents

The repository may include:

• raw behavioral measurements,
• processed quantitative data,
• microscopy-derived quantifications,
• statistical analysis tables,
• and supplementary documentation required for data interpretation and reuse.

Experimental Model

• Species: Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
• Model: α-synuclein-overexpressing transgenic rats (SPRD-Tg(RP11-115D19)2Uhg)
• Control group: Wild-type littermates
• Age at analysis: 3 months

Additional Information

For additional information regarding the dataset, experimental procedures, or data processing, readers may contact the corresponding author at any time.