Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41973337›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

Conserved trajectories of age-related thigmotaxis across insects and mammals reveal the house cricket as a scalable model for behavioral aging.

Gerald Yu Liao, Jenna Klug, Swastik Singh, Christina Pettan-Brewer, Warren Ladiges

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Gerald Yu LiaoDepartment of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Jenna KlugDepartment of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Swastik SinghDepartment of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Christina Pettan-BrewerDepartment of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Warren LadigesDepartment of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. wladiges@uw.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-3420

Funding

A geroscience approach for treating Alzheimer's diseaseR01AG067193 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI DARVAS, MARTIN C, LADIGES, WARREN C · 2020 to 2024
$4.4M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG067193
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Age-related cognitive and exploratory decline is a hallmark of brain aging across species, yet the evolutionary conservation of specific behavioral phenotypes remains unresolved. Thigmotaxis, the wall-following preference in open-field exploration, serves as a robust index of anxiety and cognitive vulnerability in humans and rodent models of aging and neurodegeneration. Here, we report that house crickets (Acheta domesticus) exhibit steep age-related increases in thigmotaxis, mirroring trajectories observed in C57BL/6 J mice, while CB6F1 hybrids remain resistant. Using lifespan- and maturity-normalized age metrics, we show that these patterns are robust across alternative scaling frameworks and independent of body size or sex. The conservation of exploratory decline across insects and mammals suggests that thigmotaxis reflects fundamental, evolutionarily ancient neurobehavioral processes of aging. Importantly, house crickets provide practical advantages (i.e., short lifespan, low cost, and responsiveness to established geroprotective drugs) positioning them as a powerful bridge model for scalable screening of interventions targeting age-related cognitive and behavioral decline.

Indexed as

Behavioral agingComparative geroscienceCross-species conservationHouse cricketOpen-field testThigmotaxis

Identifiers

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.