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Ostlund SB, Kosheleff AR, Maidment NT. Differential effects of systemic cholinergic receptor blockade on Pavlovian incentive motivation and goal-directed action selection. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:1490-7. [PMID: 24370780 PMCID: PMC3988553 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2013] [Revised: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Reward-seeking actions can be guided by external cues that signal reward availability. For instance, when confronted with a stimulus that signals sugar, rats will prefer an action that produces sugar over a second action that produces grain pellets. Action selection is also sensitive to changes in the incentive value of potential rewards. Thus, rats that have been prefed a large meal of sucrose will prefer a grain-seeking action to a sucrose-seeking action. The current study investigated the dependence of these different aspects of action selection on cholinergic transmission. Hungry rats were given differential training with two unique stimulus-outcome (S1-O1 and S2-O2) and action-outcome (A1-O1 and A2-O2) contingencies during separate training phases. Rats were then given a series of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer tests, an assay of cue-triggered responding. Before each test, rats were injected with scopolamine (0, 0.03, or 0.1 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), a muscarinic receptor antagonist, or mecamylamine (0, 0.75, or 2.25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), a nicotinic receptor antagonist. Although the reward-paired cues were capable of biasing action selection when rats were tested off-drug, both anticholinergic treatments were effective in disrupting this effect. During a subsequent round of outcome devaluation testing-used to assess the sensitivity of action selection to a change in reward value--we found no effect of either scopolamine or mecamylamine. These results reveal that cholinergic signaling at both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors mediates action selection based on Pavlovian reward expectations, but is not critical for flexibly selecting actions using current reward values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean B Ostlund
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Box 951759, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA, Tel: +1 310 206 7890, Fax: +1 310 206 5895, E-mail:
| | - Alisa R Kosheleff
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nigel T Maidment
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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102
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Muñoz W, Rudy B. Spatiotemporal specificity in cholinergic control of neocortical function. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2014; 26:149-60. [PMID: 24637201 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2014.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2014] [Revised: 02/16/2014] [Accepted: 02/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Cholinergic actions are critical for normal cortical cognitive functions. The release of acetylcholine (ACh) in neocortex and the impact of this neuromodulator on cortical computations exhibit remarkable spatiotemporal precision, as required for the regulation of behavioral processes underlying attention and learning. We discuss how the organization of the cholinergic projections to the cortex and their release properties might contribute to this specificity. We also review recent studies suggesting that the modulatory influences of ACh on the properties of cortical neurons can have the necessary temporal dynamic range, emphasizing evidence of powerful interneuron subtype-specific effects. We discuss areas that require further investigation and point to technical advances in molecular and genetic manipulations that promise to make headway in understanding the neural bases of cholinergic modulation of cortical cognitive operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Muñoz
- NYU Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, Smilow Research Building Sixth Floor, 522 First Ave, NY, NY, 10016, United States
| | - Bernardo Rudy
- NYU Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, Smilow Research Building Sixth Floor, 522 First Ave, NY, NY, 10016, United States.
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103
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Bloem B, Poorthuis RB, Mansvelder HD. Cholinergic modulation of the medial prefrontal cortex: the role of nicotinic receptors in attention and regulation of neuronal activity. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:17. [PMID: 24653678 PMCID: PMC3949318 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2013] [Accepted: 02/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetylcholine (ACh) release in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is crucial for normal cognitive performance. Despite the fact that many have studied how ACh affects neuronal processing in the mPFC and thereby influences attention behavior, there is still a lot unknown about how this occurs. Here we will review the evidence that cholinergic modulation of the mPFC plays a role in attention and we will summarize the current knowledge about the role between ACh receptors (AChRs) and behavior and how ACh receptor activation changes processing in the cortical microcircuitry. Recent evidence implicates fast phasic release of ACh in cue detection and attention. This review will focus mainly on the fast ionotropic nicotinic receptors and less on the metabotropic muscarinic receptors. Finally, we will review limitations of the existing studies and address how innovative technologies might push the field forward in order to gain understanding into the relation between ACh, neuronal activity and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Bloem
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Vrije UniversiteitAmsterdam, Netherlands
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Huibert D. Mansvelder
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Vrije UniversiteitAmsterdam, Netherlands
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