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Wikgren J, Nokia MS, Mäkinen E, Koch LG, Britton SL, Kainulainen H, Lensu S. Rats with elevated genetic risk for metabolic syndrome exhibit cognitive deficiencies when young. Physiol Behav 2021; 236:113417. [PMID: 33838202 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a known risk factor for cognitive decline. Using polygenic rat models selectively bred for high and low intrinsic exercise capacity and simultaneously modelling as low and high innate risk factor for MetS respectively, we have previously shown that adult animals with lower exercise capacity/higher MetS risk perform poorly in tasks requiring flexible cognition. However, it is not known whether these deficits in cognition are present already at young age. Also, it is unclear whether the high risk genome is related also to lower-level cognition, such as sensory gating measured as prepulse inhibition. In this study, young and adult (5-8 weeks and ~9 months) rats selectively bred for 36 generations as High-Capacity Runners (HCR) or Low-Capacity Runners (LCR) were tested for behavior in an open field task, modulation of startle reflex, and spatial learning in a T-maze. HCR rats were more active in the open field than LCR rats independent of age. Responses to the startle stimulus habituated to the same extent in LCR compared to HCR rats when young, but as adults, stronger habituation was seen in the HCR animals. The prepulse inhibition of startle response was equally strong in young HCR and LCR animals but the effect was shorter lasting in HCR animals. In T-maze, adult HCR animals unexpectedly showed attenuated learning, but we interpret this finding to stem from differences in motivation rather than learning ability. Overall, in the LCR rats with the risk genome for poor aerobic fitness and MetS, indications of compromised cognitive function are present already at a young age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Wikgren
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
| | - Miriam S Nokia
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Elina Mäkinen
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Lauren G Koch
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Center for Hypertension and Personalized Medicine, The University of Toledo College of Medicine & Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 2801 W. Bancroft, Toledo OH 43606-3390, USA
| | - Steven L Britton
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1500 E Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5048, USA; Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, 7744 MS II, 1137 E, Catherine St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5622, USA
| | - Heikki Kainulainen
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Sanna Lensu
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
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2
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Fournier P, Hébert S. The gap prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle (GPIAS) paradigm to assess auditory temporal processing: Monaural versus binaural presentation. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13755. [PMID: 33355931 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The Gap Prepulse Inhibition of the Acoustic Startle Reflex (GPIAS) is a paradigm used to assess auditory temporal processing in both animals and humans. It consists of the presentation of a silent gap embedded in noise and presented a few milliseconds before a startle sound. The silent gap produces the inhibition of the startle reflex, a phenomenon called gap-prepulse inhibition (GPI). This paradigm is also used to detect tinnitus in animal models. The lack of inhibition by the silent gaps is suggested to be indicative of the presence of tinnitus "filling-in" the gaps. The current research aims at improving the GPIAS technique by comparing the GPI produced by monaural versus binaural silent gaps in 29 normal-hearing subjects. Two gap durations (5 or 50 ms), each embedded in two different frequency backgrounds (centered around 500 or 4 kHz). Both low- and high- frequency narrowband noises had a bandwidth of half an octave. Overall, the startle magnitude was greater for the binaural versus the monaural presentation, which might reflect binaural loudness summation. In addition, the GPI was similar between the monaural and the binaural presentations for the high-frequency background noise. However, the GPI was greater for the low-frequency background noise for the binaural, compared to the monaural, presentation. These findings suggest that monaural GPIAS might be more suited to detect tinnitus compared to the binaural presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Fournier
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,BRAMS, International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research, Université de Montréal and McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université d'Aix-Marseille, Centre St-Charles-Pôle 3C, Marseille, France
| | - Sylvie Hébert
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,BRAMS, International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research, Université de Montréal and McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Brown RW, Bhide PG, Gill WD, Peeters LD. The adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist CGS 21680 alleviates auditory sensorimotor gating deficits and increases in accumbal CREB in rats neonatally treated with quinpirole. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:3519-3527. [PMID: 32772144 PMCID: PMC7686116 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05631-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE The adenosine A(2A) receptor forms a mutually inhibitory heteromer with the dopamine D2 receptor, and A(2A) agonists decrease D2 signaling. This study analyzed whether an adenosine A(2A) agonist would alleviate deficits in sensorimotor gating and increases in cyclic-AMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the neonatal quinpirole model of schizophrenia (SZ). METHODS Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were neonatally treated with saline (NS) or quinpirole HCl (NQ; 1 mg/kg) from postnatal days (P) 1-21. Animals were raised to P44 and behaviorally tested on auditory sensorimotor gating as measured through prepulse inhibition (PPI) from P44 to P48. Approximately 15 min before each session, animals were given an ip administration of saline or the adenosine A(2A) agonist CGS 21680 (0.03 or 0.09 mg/kg). One day after PPI was complete on P49, animals were administered a locomotor activity test in the open field after saline or CGS 21680 treatment, respectively. On P50, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) was evaluated for CREB protein. RESULTS NQ-treated rats demonstrated a deficit in PPI that was alleviated to control levels by either dose of CGS 21680. The 0.03 mg/kg dose of CGS 21680 increased startle amplitude in males. The 0.09 mg/kg dose of CGS 21680 resulted in an overall decrease in locomotor activity. NQ treatment significantly increased NAc CREB that was attenuated to control levels by either dose of CGS 21680. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that an adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist was effective to alleviate PPI deficits in the NQ model of SZ in both male and female rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell W. Brown
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN 37614
| | - Pradeep G. Bhide
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL 32306
| | - W. Drew Gill
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN 37614
| | - Loren D. Peeters
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, James H. Quillen College of Medicine East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN 37614
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Versace V, Campostrini S, Sebastianelli L, Saltuari L, Valls-Solé J, Kofler M. Threat vs control: Potentiation of the trigeminal blink reflex by threat proximity is overruled by self-stimulation. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13626. [PMID: 32573801 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The magnitude of the defensive blink reflex is modulated by continuous assessment of its protective value. Here, we studied whether the trigeminal blink reflex (TBR) is modulated by a potentially offensive object close to the face, and, if so, whether self-stimulation or observation of the act of stimulus triggering counteracts such modulation. In all, 26 healthy volunteers participated in various experimental conditions. At baseline, an experimenter triggered supraorbital nerve stimuli remotely, unseen by the participants; in experimental conditions, the experimenter held a stimulation probe close to the participant's face but triggered the stimuli either remotely, "surprising" participants (S1 ), or directly on the probe, observed by participants (S2 ). In other conditions, participants triggered stimuli themselves on the probe held next to their body (S3 ) or held in front of their face (S4 ). The latter condition was repeated similarly, but pressing the button only randomly generated electrical stimuli (S5, "Russian roulette"). The size of the R2 component of the TBR (TBR-R2) was the main outcome measure. Compared to baseline, TBR-R2 area was significantly larger in S1 when the "threatening" probe was close to the face and the participant had no control over stimulation. Conversely, TBR-R2 was suppressed when participants either saw the action of triggering, thus being aware (S2 ), or had full initiative over stimulation (S3 , S4 ). Random self-generated stimuli (S5 ) inhibited TBR-R2, but to a lesser extent than S3 and S4. Perceived threat close to the face facilitates TBR-R2, but knowledge about impending stimulation or self-agency overrules this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Versace
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno/Sterzing, Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy.,Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
| | - Stefania Campostrini
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno/Sterzing, Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy.,Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
| | - Luca Sebastianelli
- Department of Neurorehabilitation, Hospital of Vipiteno/Sterzing, Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy.,Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy
| | - Leopold Saltuari
- Research Unit for Neurorehabilitation of South Tyrol, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.,Department of Neurology, Hochzirl Hospital, Zirl, Austria
| | - Josep Valls-Solé
- IDIBAPS (Institut d'Investigació August Pi i Sunyer), Facultat de Medicina, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Markus Kofler
- Department of Neurology, Hochzirl Hospital, Zirl, Austria
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McLaurin KA, Moran LM, Li H, Booze RM, Mactutus CF. The Power of Interstimulus Interval for the Assessment of Temporal Processing in Rodents. J Vis Exp 2019:10.3791/58659. [PMID: 31058895 PMCID: PMC6702946 DOI: 10.3791/58659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Temporal processing deficits have been implicated as a potential elemental dimension of higher-level cognitive processes, commonly observed in neurocognitive disorders. Despite the popularization of prepulse inhibition (PPI) in recent years, many current protocols promote using a percent of control measure, thereby precluding the assessment of temporal processing. The present study used cross-modal PPI and gap prepulse inhibition (gap-PPI) to demonstrate the benefits of employing a range of interstimulus intervals (ISIs) to delineate effects of sensory modality, psychostimulant exposure, and age. Assessment of sensory modality, psychostimulant exposure, and age reveals the utility of an approach varying the interstimulus interval (ISI) to establish the shape of the ISI function, including increases (sharper curve inflections) or decreases (flattening of the response amplitude curve) in startle amplitude. Additionally, shifts in peak response inhibition, suggestive of a differential sensitivity to the manipulation of ISI, are often revealed. Thus, the systematic manipulation of ISI affords a critical opportunity to evaluate temporal processing, which may reveal the underlying neural mechanisms involved in neurocognitive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A McLaurin
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina
| | - Landhing M Moran
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina
| | - Hailong Li
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina
| | - Rosemarie M Booze
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina
| | - Charles F Mactutus
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina;
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Li H, Illenberger JM, Cranston MN, Mactutus CF, McLaurin KA, Harrod SB, Booze RM. Posterior ventral tegmental area-nucleus accumbens shell circuitry modulates response to novelty. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213088. [PMID: 30835756 PMCID: PMC6400398 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens from ventral tegmental area (VTA) efferent neurons is critical for orientation and response to novel stimuli in the environment. However, there are considerable differences between neuronal populations of the VTA and it is unclear which specific cell populations modulate behavioral responses to environmental novelty. A retroDREADDs (designer drugs exclusively activated by designer receptors) technique, comprising designer G protein-coupled receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs and modulated by retrograde transported Cre, was used to selectively stimulate neurons of the VTA which project to the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh). First, the selectivity and expression of the human M3 muscarinic receptor-based adeno-associated virus (AAV-hM3D) was confirmed in primary neuronal cell cultures. Second, AAV-CMV-GFP/Cre was infused into the AcbSh and AAV-hSyn-DIO-hM3D(Gq)-mCherry (a presynaptic enhancer in the presence of its cognate ligand clozapine-N-oxide) was infused into the VTA of ovariectomized female Fisher 344 rats to elicit hM3D(Gq)-mCherry production specifically in neurons of the VTA which synapse in the AcbSh. Finally, administration of clozapine-N-oxide significantly altered rodents’ response to novelty (e.g. absence of white background noise) by activation of hM3D(Gq) receptors, without altering gross locomotor activity or auditory processing per se. Confocal imaging confirmed production of mCherry in neurons of the posterior aspect of the VTA (pVTA) suggesting these neurons contribute to novelty responses. These results suggest the pVTA-AcbSh circuit is potentially altered in motivational disorders such as apathy, depression, and drug addiction. Targeting the pVTA-AcbSh circuit, therefore, may be an effective target for pharmacological management of such psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailong Li
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jessica M. Illenberger
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Michael N. Cranston
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Charles F. Mactutus
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Kristen A. McLaurin
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Steven B. Harrod
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Rosemarie M. Booze
- Department of Psychology, Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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7
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McLaurin KA, Booze RM, Mactutus CF. Temporal processsing demands in the HIV-1 transgenic rat: Amodal gating and implications for diagnostics. Int J Dev Neurosci 2016; 57:12-20. [PMID: 28040491 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), approximately 50% of HIV-1 seropositive individuals develop HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Unfortunately, point-of-care screening tools for HAND lack sensitivity and specificity, especially in low-resource countries. Temporal processing deficits have emerged as a critical underlying dimension of neurocognitive impairments observed in HIV-1 and may provide a key target for the development of a novel point-of-care screening tool for HAND. Cross-modal prepulse inhibition (PPI; i.e., auditory, visual, or tactile prepulse stimuli) and gap-prepulse inhibition (gap-PPI; i.e., auditory, visual or tactile prepulse stimuli), two translational experimental paradigms, were used to assess the nature of temporal processing deficits in the HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat. Cross-modal PPI revealed a relative insensitivity to the manipulation of interstimulus interval (ISI) in HIV-1 Tg rats in comparison to controls, regardless of prestimulus modality. Gap-PPI revealed differential sensitivity to the manipulation of ISI, independent of modality, in HIV-1 Tg rats in comparison to control animals. Manipulation of context (i.e., concurrent visual or tactile stimulus) in auditory PPI revealed a differential sensitivity in HIV-1 Tg animals compared to controls. The potential utility of amodal temporal processing deficits as an innovative point-of-care screening tool was explored using a discriminant function analysis, which diagnosed the presence of the HIV-1 transgene with 97.4% accuracy. Thus, the presence of amodal temporal processing deficits in the HIV-1 Tg rat supports the hypothesis of a central temporal processing deficit in HIV-1 seropositive individuals, heralding an opportunity for the development of a point-of-care screening tool for HAND.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen A McLaurin
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States
| | - Rosemarie M Booze
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States
| | - Charles F Mactutus
- Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States.
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Goepfrich AA, Friemel CM, Pauen S, Schneider M. Ontogeny of sensorimotor gating and short-term memory processing throughout the adolescent period in rats. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2016; 25:167-175. [PMID: 27908562 PMCID: PMC6987840 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence and puberty are highly susceptible developmental periods during which the neuronal organization and maturation of the brain is completed. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, which is well known to modulate cognitive processing, undergoes profound and transient developmental changes during adolescence. With the present study we were aiming to examine the ontogeny of cognitive skills throughout adolescence in male rats and clarify the potential modulatory role of CB1 receptor signalling. Cognitive skills were assessed repeatedly every 10th day in rats throughout adolescence. All animals were tested for object recognition memory and prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex. Although cognitive performance in short-term memory as well as sensorimotor gating abilities were decreased during puberty compared to adulthood, both tasks were found to show different developmental trajectories throughout adolescence. A low dose of the CB1 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist SR141716 was found to improve recognition memory specifically in pubertal animals while not affecting behavioral performance at other ages tested. The present findings demonstrate that the developmental trajectory of cognitive abilities does not occur linearly for all cognitive processes and is strongly influenced by pubertal maturation. Developmental alterations within the eCB system at puberty onset may be involved in these changes in cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja A Goepfrich
- Research Group Developmental Neuropsychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Chris M Friemel
- Research Group Developmental Neuropsychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sabina Pauen
- Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Germany
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