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Degni LAE, Garofalo S, Finotti G, Starita F, Robbins TW, di Pellegrino G. Sex differences in motivational biases over instrumental actions. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:62. [PMID: 39379394 PMCID: PMC11461879 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00246-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 10/10/2024]
Abstract
Motivational (i.e., appetitive or aversive) cues can bias value-based decisions by affecting either direction and intensity of instrumental actions. Despite several findings describing important interindividual differences in these biases, whether biological sex can also play a role is still up to debate. By comparing females and males in both appetitive and aversive Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer paradigms we found that, while motivational cues similarly bias the direction of instrumental actions in both sexes, the intensity of such actions is increased by the cue in male participants only. The present results constitute compelling evidence that a crucial motivational bias of daily actions directed to obtaining rewards or avoiding punishments is modulated by biological sex. This evidence sheds new light on the role of sex in motivational processes that underlie decision-making, highlighting the importance of considering sex as a crucial factor in future research on this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi A E Degni
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
- International School of Advanced Studies, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy.
| | - Sara Garofalo
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Gianluca Finotti
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Francesca Starita
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Giuseppe di Pellegrino
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
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2
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Badioli M, Degni LAE, Dalbagno D, Danti C, Starita F, di Pellegrino G, Benassi M, Garofalo S. Unraveling the influence of Pavlovian cues on decision-making: A pre-registered meta-analysis on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 164:105829. [PMID: 39074674 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Amidst the replicability crisis, promoting transparency and rigor in research becomes imperative. The Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm is increasingly used in human studies to offer insights into how Pavlovian cues, by anticipating rewards or punishments, influence decision-making and potentially contribute to the development of clinical conditions. However, research on this topic faces challenges, including methodological variability and the need for standardized approaches, which can undermine the quality and robustness of experimental findings. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to unravel the methodological, task-related, individual, training, and learning factors that can modulate PIT. By scrutinizing these factors, the present meta-analysis reviews the current literature on human PIT, provides practical guidelines for future research to enhance study outcomes and refine methodologies, and identifies knowledge gaps that can serve as a direction for future studies aiming to advance the comprehension of how Pavlovian cues shape decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Badioli
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | - Claudio Danti
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Sara Garofalo
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy.
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3
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Leung BK, Chieng B, Becchi S, Balleine BW. A ventral pallidal-thalamocortical circuit mediates the cognitive control of instrumental action. Curr Biol 2024; 34:3315-3326.e6. [PMID: 38936365 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Predictive learning can engage a selective form of cognitive control that biases choice between actions based on information about future outcomes that the learning provides. This influence has been hypothesized to depend on a feedback circuit in the brain through which the basal ganglia modulate activity in the prefrontal cortex; however, direct evidence for this functional circuit has proven elusive. Here, using an animal model of cognitive control, we found that the influence of predictive learning on decision making is mediated by an inhibitory feedback circuit linking the medial ventral pallidum and the mediodorsal thalamus, the activation of which causes disinhibition of the orbitofrontal cortex via reduced activation of inhibitory parvalbumin interneurons during choice. Thus, we found that, for this function, the mediodorsal thalamus serves as a pallidal-cortical relay through which predictive learning controls action selection, which has important implications for understanding cognitive control and its vicissitudes in various psychiatric disorders and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice K Leung
- Decision Neuroscience Lab, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Billy Chieng
- Decision Neuroscience Lab, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Serena Becchi
- Decision Neuroscience Lab, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Bernard W Balleine
- Decision Neuroscience Lab, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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4
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Sias AC, Jafar Y, Goodpaster CM, Ramírez-Armenta K, Wrenn TM, Griffin NK, Patel K, Lamparelli AC, Sharpe MJ, Wassum KM. Dopamine projections to the basolateral amygdala drive the encoding of identity-specific reward memories. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:728-736. [PMID: 38396258 PMCID: PMC11110430 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01586-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
To make adaptive decisions, we build an internal model of the associative relationships in an environment and use it to make predictions and inferences about specific available outcomes. Detailed, identity-specific cue-reward memories are a core feature of such cognitive maps. Here we used fiber photometry, cell-type and pathway-specific optogenetic manipulation, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning and decision-making tests in male and female rats, to reveal that ventral tegmental area dopamine (VTADA) projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) drive the encoding of identity-specific cue-reward memories. Dopamine is released in the BLA during cue-reward pairing; VTADA→BLA activity is necessary and sufficient to link the identifying features of a reward to a predictive cue but does not assign general incentive properties to the cue or mediate reinforcement. These data reveal a dopaminergic pathway for the learning that supports adaptive decision-making and help explain how VTADA neurons achieve their emerging multifaceted role in learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Sias
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yousif Jafar
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Caitlin M Goodpaster
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Tyler M Wrenn
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas K Griffin
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Keshav Patel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Melissa J Sharpe
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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5
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Pierce-Messick ZJ, Brink AK, Anna Vo T, Corbit LH. Ghrelin receptor antagonism and satiety attenuate Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 207:107864. [PMID: 38000462 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Animals rely on learned cues to guide their behaviour for rewards such as food. The Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) task can be used to investigate the influence of Pavlovian stimuli on instrumental responding. Ghrelin, an orexigenic peptide, and its receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1A (GHS-R1A), has received growing interest for its role in reward-motivated learning and behaviours. A significant population of GHS-R1A have been identified within the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a critical node in the mesolimbic reward circuit that is necessary for the expression of PIT. As ghrelin has been found to increase dopaminergic activity in the VTA, we predicted that GHS-R1A antagonism with JMV-2959 would attenuate PIT. Further, given the relationship between hunger levels and changes in ghrelin signalling, we sought to compare the effects GHS-R1A antagonism with those of satiety, hypothesizing parallel effects, with each attenuating PIT. Rats received daily sessions of Pavlovian and then instrumental training over 3 weeks. Across three experiments, we examined the effects of a shift to satiety, or treatment with the GHS-R1A antagonist JMV-2959, either peripherally or directly into the VTA. We found that presentations of a stimulus paired with food reward enhanced responding for food across all conditions, thus demonstrating the expected PIT effect. Further, GHS-R1A antagonism, both peripherally and within the VTA, as well as satiety significantly reduced the magnitude of the PIT effect compared to control conditions. These results clarify our understanding of ghrelin signalling in PIT and begin to elucidate the role of feeding-related peptides in the modulation of reward-related responding.
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Milton AL. Drug memory reconsolidation: from molecular mechanisms to the clinical context. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:370. [PMID: 38040677 PMCID: PMC10692359 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02666-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Since its rediscovery at the beginning of the 21st Century, memory reconsolidation has been proposed to be a therapeutic target for reducing the impact of emotional memories that can go awry in mental health disorders such as drug addiction (substance use disorder, SUD). Addiction can be conceptualised as a disorder of learning and memory, in which both pavlovian and instrumental learning systems become hijacked into supporting drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviours. The past two decades of research have characterised the details of the molecular pathways supporting the reconsolidation of pavlovian cue-drug memories, with more recent work indicating that the reconsolidation of instrumental drug-seeking memories also relies upon similar mechanisms. This narrative review considers what is known about the mechanisms underlying the reconsolidation of pavlovian and instrumental memories associated with drug use, how these approaches have translated to experimental medicine studies, and the challenges and opportunities for the clinical use of reconsolidation-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Milton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Perkes IE, Morris RW, Griffiths KR, Quail S, Waters F, O’Brien M, Hazell PL, Balleine BW. The Motivational Determinants of Human Action, Their Neural Bases and Functional Impact in Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:1062-1072. [PMID: 37881550 PMCID: PMC10593889 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Establishing the motivational influences on human action is essential for understanding choice and decision making in health and disease. Here we used tests of value-based decision making, manipulating both predicted and experienced reward values to assess the motivational control of goal-directed action in healthy adolescents and those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods After instrumental training on a two action-two outcome probabilistic task, adolescents (n = 21) underwent Pavlovian conditioning using distinct stimuli predicting either the instrumental outcomes, a third outcome, or nothing. We then assessed functional magnetic resonance imaging during choice tests in which we varied the predicted value, using specific and general Pavlovian-instrumental transfer, and the experienced value, using outcome devaluation. To establish functional significance, we tested a matched cohort of adolescents with OCD (n = 20). Results In healthy adolescents, both predicted and experienced values influenced the performance of goal-directed actions, mediated by distinct orbitofrontal-striatal circuits involving the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and medial OFC, respectively. However, in adolescents with OCD, choice was insensitive to changes in either predicted or experienced values. These impairments were related to hypoactivity in the lateral OFC and hyperactivity in the medial OFC during specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer and hypoactivity in the anterior prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and their connectivity in the devaluation test. Conclusions We found that predicted and experienced values exerted a potent influence on the performance of goal-directed actions in adolescents via distinct orbitofrontal- and prefrontal-striatal circuits. Furthermore, the influence of these motivational processes was severely blunted in OCD, as was the functional segregation of circuits involving medial and lateral OFC, producing dysregulated action control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iain E. Perkes
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health and Discipline of Paediatrics and Children’s Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard W. Morris
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kristi R. Griffiths
- Brain Dynamics Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stephanie Quail
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Felicity Waters
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Margot O’Brien
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Philip L. Hazell
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Specialty of Psychiatry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Bernard W. Balleine
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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McNally GP, Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, Millan EZ, Lawrence AJ. Pathways to the persistence of drug use despite its adverse consequences. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:2228-2237. [PMID: 36997610 PMCID: PMC10611585 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02040-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
The persistence of drug taking despite its adverse consequences plays a central role in the presentation, diagnosis, and impacts of addiction. Eventual recognition and appraisal of these adverse consequences is central to decisions to reduce or cease use. However, the most appropriate ways of conceptualizing persistence in the face of adverse consequences remain unclear. Here we review evidence that there are at least three pathways to persistent use despite the negative consequences of that use. A cognitive pathway for recognition of adverse consequences, a motivational pathway for valuation of these consequences, and a behavioral pathway for responding to these adverse consequences. These pathways are dynamic, not linear, with multiple possible trajectories between them, and each is sufficient to produce persistence. We describe these pathways, their characteristics, brain cellular and circuit substrates, and we highlight their relevance to different pathways to self- and treatment-guided behavior change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavan P McNally
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
| | | | - E Zayra Millan
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Andrew J Lawrence
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
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9
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Watson P, Mahlberg J. Mechanisms underlying performance in a cued go/no-go Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer paradigm. Behav Brain Res 2023; 446:114413. [PMID: 37001819 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Environmental cues that remind us of rewarding outcomes (drugs, food) play a significant role in addiction relapse. In the lab the Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) task has been used to formally examine how cues associated with reward or punishment can bias ongoing instrumental responding. Using a version of this paradigm that integrates PIT with a go/no-go task many studies have related stronger PIT effects (with non-drug rewards) to problematic alcohol use including risky alcohol users relative to non-risky drinkers, individuals with alcohol dependence versus healthy controls and individuals in recovery from alcohol use disorder who are more likely to relapse. However the theoretical importance of these findings and the implications for models of addiction was previously not clear. Understanding if this task indexes the general motivating effects of reward cues on instrumental responding (and whether this is sensitive to shifts in motivation for those outcomes) is critical for understanding these previous results within the context of addiction. Thus, in the current study we aimed to delineate the associative mechanisms that drive the stimulus effects observed in this PIT task. Specifically, we wished to examine whether the cueing effects observed in the cued-go/no-go task were selective in their effect on action, insofar as Pavlovian cues specifically invigorated (or suppressed) responding only if they were associated with congruent outcomes. We conclude that the PIT measured with this task is general in nature. Surprisingly however, the biasing effects of Pavlovian cues on instrumental responding did not appear to be sensitive to outcome devaluation.
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10
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Campese VD, Laurent V. Editorial: Pavlovian-instrumental transfer: Neurobehavioral and clinical findings. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1151180. [PMID: 36891322 PMCID: PMC9986586 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1151180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vincent D Campese
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States
| | - Vincent Laurent
- Faculty of Science, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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11
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Ge M, Balleine BW. The role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the motivational control of instrumental action. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:968593. [DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.968593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We review recent studies assessing the role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in the motivational control of instrumental conditioning. This evidence suggests that the BNST and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) form a circuit that modulates the ventral tegmental area (VTA) input to the nucleus accumbens core (NAc core) to control the influence of Pavlovian cues on instrumental performance. In support of these claims, we found that activity in the oval region of BNST was increased by instrumental conditioning, as indexed by phosphorylated ERK activity (Experiment 1), but that this increase was not due to exposure to the instrumental contingency or to the instrumental outcome per se (Experiment 2). Instead, BNST activity was most significantly incremented in a test conducted when the instrumental outcome was anticipated but not delivered, suggesting a role for BNST in the motivational effects of anticipated outcomes on instrumental performance. To test this claim, we examined the effect of NMDA-induced cell body lesions of the BNST on general Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (Experiment 3). These lesions had no effect on instrumental performance or on conditioned responding during Pavlovian conditioning to either an excitory conditioned stimulus (CS) or a neutral CS (CS0) but significantly attenuated the excitatory effect of the Pavlovian CS on instrumental performance. These data are consistent with the claim that the BNST mediates the general excitatory influence of Pavlovian cues on instrumental performance and suggest BNST activity may be central to CeA-BNST modulation of a VTA-NAc core circuit in incentive motivation.
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12
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Panayi MC, Killcross S. Outcome devaluation by specific satiety disrupts sensory-specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:983480. [PMID: 36439968 PMCID: PMC9682038 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.983480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Reward predictive cues can selectively motivate instrumental behaviors that predict the same rewarding outcomes, an effect known as specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). This selective effect is thought to be mediated by a representation of the sensory specific properties of an outcome, that has become associated with both the Pavlovian cue and the instrumental response during initial learning. Specific satiety is a common method of outcome devaluation that reduces an outcome's value but might also lead to the habituation of the outcome's sensory properties. Previous research has demonstrated that specific PIT is insensitive to changes in specific outcome value following taste aversion devaluation, as well as general satiety manipulations, and therefore specific satiety should not disrupt specific PIT by reducing outcome value. The present rodent experiments used a specific satiety devaluation procedure immediately prior to a specific PIT test to show that habituation of these outcome specific sensory representations can disrupt its efficacy as a stimulus and abolish the specific PIT effect. Experiment 1 employed a two-lever choice test to show that a non-devalued stimulus supports specific PIT, whereas a devalued stimulus abolished the specific PIT effect. Experiment 2 replicated this procedure while controlling for response competition by using a single-lever test to confirm that a devalued stimulus abolishes the specific PIT effect. These findings demonstrate that specific satiety can disrupt the ability of an outcome specific representation to support specific PIT. Given previous findings that specific PIT is insensitive to changes in outcome value by general satiety and taste aversion devaluation, this suggests that specific satiety devaluation might disrupt the use of sensory specific outcome representations to guide behavior via a mechanism that is independent of the outcome's current value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios C. Panayi
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Simon Killcross
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Halbout B, Hutson C, Wassum KM, Ostlund SB. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation disrupts Pavlovian incentive motivation. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:999320. [PMID: 36311857 PMCID: PMC9608868 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.999320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is known to make important contributions to flexible, reward-motivated behavior. However, it remains unclear if the dmPFC is involved in regulating the expression of Pavlovian incentive motivation, the process through which reward-paired cues promote instrumental reward-seeking behavior, which is modeled in rats using the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) task. The current study examined this question using a bidirectional chemogenetic strategy in which inhibitory (hM4Di) or excitatory (hM3Dq) designer G-protein coupled receptors were virally expressed in dmPFC neurons, allowing us to later stimulate or inhibit this region by administering CNO prior to PIT testing. We found that dmPFC inhibition did not alter the tendency for a reward-paired cue to instigate instrumental reward-seeking behavior, whereas dmPFC stimulation disrupted the expression of this motivational influence. Neither treatment altered cue-elicited anticipatory activity at the reward-delivery port, indicating that dmPFC stimulation did not lead to more widespread motor suppression. A reporter-only control experiment indicated that our CNO treatment did not have non-specific behavioral effects. Thus, the dmPFC does not mediate the expression of Pavlovian incentive motivation but instead has the capacity to exert pronounced inhibitory control over this process, suggesting that it is involved in adaptively regulating cue-motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briac Halbout
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Collin Hutson
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Kate M. Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sean B. Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- UC Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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14
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Ferrer-Pérez C, Reguilón MD, Miñarro J, Rodríguez-Arias M. Effect of Voluntary Wheel-Running Exercise on the Endocrine and Inflammatory Response to Social Stress: Conditioned Rewarding Effects of Cocaine. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10102373. [PMID: 36289635 PMCID: PMC9598819 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10102373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The present paper evaluates the effect of physical activity on the increase of the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine induced by intermittent social stress and on the neuroinflammatory response that contributes to the enhancement of drug response. For that purpose, three studies were designed in which social stress was induced in different samples of mice through a social-defeat protocol; the mice underwent an increase of physical activity by different modalities of voluntary wheel running (continuous and intermittent access). The results showed that continuous access to running wheels prior to stress enhanced the establishment of cocaine place preference, whereas an intermittent access exerted a protective effect. Wheel running contingent to cocaine administration prevented the development of conditioned preference, and if applied during the extinction of drug memories, it exerted a dual effect depending on the stress background of the animal. Our biological analysis revealed that increased sensitivity to cocaine may be related to the fact that wheel running promotes inflammation though the increase of IL-6 and BDNF levels. Together, these results highlight that physical exercise deeply impacts the organism’s response to stress and cocaine, and these effects should be taken into consideration in the design of a physical intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Ferrer-Pérez
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 44003 Teruel, Spain
| | - Marina D. Reguilón
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - José Miñarro
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Rodríguez-Arias
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
- Correspondence:
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15
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Wassum KM. Amygdala-cortical collaboration in reward learning and decision making. eLife 2022; 11:e80926. [PMID: 36062909 PMCID: PMC9444241 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive reward-related decision making requires accurate prospective consideration of the specific outcome of each option and its current desirability. These mental simulations are informed by stored memories of the associative relationships that exist within an environment. In this review, I discuss recent investigations of the function of circuitry between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) orbitofrontal cortex in the learning and use of associative reward memories. I draw conclusions from data collected using sophisticated behavioral approaches to diagnose the content of appetitive memory in combination with modern circuit dissection tools. I propose that, via their direct bidirectional connections, the BLA and OFC collaborate to help us encode detailed, outcome-specific, state-dependent reward memories and to use those memories to enable the predictions and inferences that support adaptive decision making. Whereas lOFC→BLA projections mediate the encoding of outcome-specific reward memories, mOFC→BLA projections regulate the ability to use these memories to inform reward pursuit decisions. BLA projections to lOFC and mOFC both contribute to using reward memories to guide decision making. The BLA→lOFC pathway mediates the ability to represent the identity of a specific predicted reward and the BLA→mOFC pathway facilitates understanding of the value of predicted events. Thus, I outline a neuronal circuit architecture for reward learning and decision making and provide new testable hypotheses as well as implications for both adaptive and maladaptive decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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16
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Kaźmierczak M, Nicola SM. The Arousal-motor Hypothesis of Dopamine Function: Evidence that Dopamine Facilitates Reward Seeking in Part by Maintaining Arousal. Neuroscience 2022; 499:64-103. [PMID: 35853563 PMCID: PMC9479757 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine facilitates approach to reward via its actions on dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens. For example, blocking either D1 or D2 dopamine receptors in the accumbens reduces the proportion of reward-predictive cues to which rats respond with cued approach. Recent evidence indicates that accumbens dopamine also promotes wakefulness and arousal, but the relationship between dopamine's roles in arousal and reward seeking remains unexplored. Here, we show that the ability of systemic or intra-accumbens injections of the D1 antagonist SCH23390 to reduce cued approach to reward depends on the animal's state of arousal. Handling the animal, a manipulation known to increase arousal, was sufficient to reverse the behavioral effects of the antagonist. In addition, SCH23390 reduced spontaneous locomotion and increased time spent in sleep postures, both consistent with reduced arousal, but also increased time spent immobile in postures inconsistent with sleep. In contrast, the ability of the D2 antagonist haloperidol to reduce cued approach was not reversible by handling. Haloperidol reduced spontaneous locomotion but did not increase sleep postures, instead increasing immobility in non-sleep postures. We place these results in the context of the extensive literature on dopamine's contributions to behavior, and propose the arousal-motor hypothesis. This novel synthesis, which proposes that two main functions of dopamine are to promote arousal and facilitate motor behavior, accounts both for our findings and many previous behavioral observations that have led to disparate and conflicting conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Kaźmierczak
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Forchheimer 111, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Saleem M Nicola
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave, Forchheimer 111, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
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17
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Abstract
The modern obesogenic environment contains an abundance of food cues (e.g., sight, smell of food) as well cues that are associated with food through learning and memory processes. Food cue exposure can lead to food seeking and excessive consumption in otherwise food-sated individuals, and a high level of food cue responsivity is a risk factor for overweight and obesity. Similar food cue responses are observed in experimental rodent models, and these models are therefore useful for mechanistically identifying the neural circuits mediating food cue responsivity. This review draws from both experimental rodent models and human data to characterize the behavioral and biological processes through which food-associated stimuli contribute to overeating and weight gain. Two rodent models are emphasized - cue-potentiated feeding and Pavlovian-instrumental transfer - that provide insight in the neural circuits and peptide systems underlying food cue responsivity. Data from humans are highlighted that reveal physiological, psychological, and neural mechanisms that connect food cue responsivity with overeating and weight gain. The collective literature identifies connections between heightened food cue responsivity and obesity in both rodents and humans, and identifies underlying brain regions (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus) and endocrine systems (ghrelin) that regulate food cue responsivity in both species. These species similarities are encouraging for the possibility of mechanistic rodent model research and further human research leading to novel treatments for excessive food cue responsivity in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott E Kanoski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kerri N Boutelle
- Department of Pediatrics, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, and Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
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18
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Jiang W, Merhar SL, Zeng Z, Zhu Z, Yin W, Zhou Z, Wang L, He L, Vannest J, Lin W. Neural alterations in opioid-exposed infants revealed by edge-centric brain functional networks. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac112. [PMID: 35602654 PMCID: PMC9117006 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Prenatal opioid exposure has been linked to adverse effects spanning multiple neurodevelopmental domains, including cognition, motor development, attention, and vision. However, the neural basis of these abnormalities is largely unknown. A total of 49 infants, including 21 opioid-exposed and 28 controls, were enrolled and underwent MRI (43 ± 6 days old) after birth, including resting state functional MRI. Edge-centric functional networks based on dynamic functional connections were constructed, and machine-learning methods were employed to identify neural features distinguishing opioid-exposed infants from unexposed controls. An accuracy of 73.6% (sensitivity 76.25% and specificity 69.33%) was achieved using 10 times 10-fold cross-validation, which substantially outperformed those obtained using conventional static functional connections (accuracy 56.9%). More importantly, we identified that prenatal opioid exposure preferentially affects inter- rather than intra-network dynamic functional connections, particularly with the visual, subcortical, and default mode networks. Consistent results at the brain regional and connection levels were also observed, where the brain regions and connections associated with visual and higher order cognitive functions played pivotal roles in distinguishing opioid-exposed infants from controls. Our findings support the clinical phenotype of infants exposed to opioids in utero and may potentially explain the higher rates of visual and emotional problems observed in this population. Finally, our findings suggested that edge-centric networks could better capture the neural differences between opioid-exposed infants and controls by abstracting the intrinsic co-fluctuation along edges, which may provide a promising tool for future studies focusing on investigating the effects of prenatal opioid exposure on neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixiong Jiang
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Stephanie L. Merhar
- Perinatal Institute, Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati OH, United States
| | - Zhuohao Zeng
- East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Ziliang Zhu
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Weiyan Yin
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Zhen Zhou
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Li Wang
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Lili He
- Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH, United States
| | - Jennifer Vannest
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH, United States
| | - Weili Lin
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
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19
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Lingawi NW, Berman T, Bounds J, Laurent V. Sensory-Specific Satiety Dissociates General and Specific Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:877720. [PMID: 35493952 PMCID: PMC9051369 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.877720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pavlovian conditioning enables predictive stimuli to control action performance and action selection. The present experiments used sensory-specific satiety to examine the role of outcome value in these two forms of control. Experiment 1 employed a general Pavlovian-instrumental transfer design to show that a stimulus predicting a food outcome energizes the performance of an instrumental action earning another food outcome. This energizing effect was removed when the stimulus-predicted outcome or a novel outcome was devalued by sensory-specific satiety. Experiments 2 and 3 employed a specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer design to demonstrate that a stimulus predicting a particular food outcome promotes the selection of an instrumental action earning the same, but not a different, food outcome. Remarkably, this effect was maintained when all or just one of the stimulus-predicted outcomes were devalued by sensory-specific satiety. These results indicate that satiety alone removes the expression of general PIT. By contrast, satiety or outcome-specific devaluation does not regulate the expression of specific PIT, which is insensitive to changes in outcome value. This dissociation is consistent with the view that general and specific PIT are two separate phenomena driven by distinct psychological mechanisms.
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20
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Sommer S, Münster A, Fehrentz JA, Hauber W. Effects of Motivational Downshifts on Specific Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer in Rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2022; 25:173-184. [PMID: 35043951 PMCID: PMC8929758 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pavlovian stimuli predictive of appetitive outcomes can exert a powerful influence on the selection and initiation of action, a phenomenon termed outcome-selective Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (sPIT). Rodent studies suggest that sPIT is insensitive to motivational downshift induced by outcome devaluation, an effect that is, however, relatively underexplored. METHODS Here we examined in detail the effects of distinct shifts in motivation from hunger to a state of relative satiety on sPIT in rats. RESULTS A motivational downshift by outcome-specific devaluation immediately prior to testing markedly reduced overall lever responding and magazine entries but left intact the sPIT effect. A motivational downshift prior testing by (1) giving ad libitum rather than restricted access to maintenance diet in the home cage for 24 hours or by (2) a systemic blockade of hormone secretagogue receptor subtype 1A receptors to inhibit orexigenic actions of ghrelin both reduced overall lever responding and magazine entries. Moreover, these latter motivational downshifts reduced the sPIT effect; however, the sizes of the sPIT effects were still large. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our rodent findings indicate that major effects of various motivational downshifts are overall inhibition of lever pressing and magazine approach, possibly reflecting reduced general motivation. The observed effects of motivational downshifts on sPIT have implications with regard to the role of general motivating effects in sPIT and to the contribution of Pavlovian-instrumental interactions to excessive food seeking as well as obesity in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Sommer
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Alexandra Münster
- Systems Neurobiology Research Unit, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Jean-Alain Fehrentz
- IBMM, University Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier, France
| | - Wolfgang Hauber
- Systems Neurobiology Research Unit, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany,Correspondence: Wolfgang Hauber Prof. Dr., University of Stuttgart, Systems Neurobiology Research Unit, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany ()
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21
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Volume and Connectivity Differences in Brain Networks Associated with Cognitive Constructs of Binge Eating. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0080-21.2021. [PMID: 35064023 PMCID: PMC8856709 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0080-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) are characterized by episodes of eating large amounts of food while experiencing a loss of control. Recent studies suggest that the underlying causes of BN/BED consist of a complex system of environmental cues, atypical processing of food stimuli, altered behavioral responding, and structural/functional brain differences compared with healthy controls (HC). In this narrative review, we provide an integrative account of the brain networks associated with the three cognitive constructs most integral to BN and BED, namely increased reward sensitivity, decreased cognitive control, and altered negative affect and stress responding. We show altered activity in BED/BN within several brain networks, specifically in the striatum, insula, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and cingulate gyrus. Numerous key nodes in these networks also differ in volume and connectivity compared with HC. We provide suggestions for how this integration may guide future research into these brain networks and cognitive constructs.
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22
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Adolescent Dopamine Neurons Represent Reward Differently during Action and State Guided Learning. J Neurosci 2021; 41:9419-9430. [PMID: 34611024 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1321-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal underpinning of learning cause-and-effect associations in the adolescent brain remains poorly understood. Two fundamental forms of associative learning are Pavlovian (classical) conditioning, where a stimulus is followed by an outcome, and operant (instrumental) conditioning, where outcome is contingent on action execution. Both forms of learning, when associated with a rewarding outcome, rely on midbrain dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN). We find that, in adolescent male rats, reward-guided associative learning is encoded differently by midbrain dopamine neurons in each conditioning paradigm. Whereas simultaneously recorded VTA and SN adult neurons have a similar phasic response to reward delivery during both forms of conditioning, adolescent neurons display a muted reward response during operant but a profoundly larger reward response during Pavlovian conditioning. These results suggest that adolescent neurons assign a different value to reward when it is not gated by action. The learning rate of adolescents and adults during both forms of conditioning was similar, supporting the notion that differences in reward response in each paradigm may be because of differences in motivation and independent of state versus action value learning. Static characteristics of dopamine neurons, such as dopamine cell number and size, were similar in the VTA and SN of both ages, but there were age-related differences in stimulated dopamine release and correlated spike activity, suggesting that differences in reward responsiveness by adolescent dopamine neurons are not because of differences in intrinsic properties of these neurons but engagement of different dopaminergic networks.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Reckless behavior and impulsive decision-making by adolescents suggest that motivated behavioral states are encoded differently by the adolescent brain. Motivated behavior, which is dependent on the function of the dopamine system, follows learning of cause-and-effect associations in the environment. We find that dopamine neurons in adolescents encode reward differently depending on the cause-and-effect relationship of the means to receive that reward. Compared with adults, reward contingent on action led to a muted response, whereas reward that followed a cue but was not gated by action produced an augmented phasic response. These data demonstrate an age-related difference in dopamine neuron response to reward that is not uniform and is guided by processes that differentiate between state and action values.
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23
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Ostlund SB, Marshall AT. Probing the role of reward expectancy in Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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24
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A Translation from Goal-Directed to Habitual Control: the Striatum in Drug Addiction. CURRENT ADDICTION REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40429-021-00392-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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25
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Sias AC, Morse AK, Wang S, Greenfield VY, Goodpaster CM, Wrenn TM, Wikenheiser AM, Holley SM, Cepeda C, Levine MS, Wassum KM. A bidirectional corticoamygdala circuit for the encoding and retrieval of detailed reward memories. eLife 2021; 10:e68617. [PMID: 34142660 PMCID: PMC8266390 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive reward-related decision making often requires accurate and detailed representation of potential available rewards. Environmental reward-predictive stimuli can facilitate these representations, allowing one to infer which specific rewards might be available and choose accordingly. This process relies on encoded relationships between the cues and the sensory-specific details of the rewards they predict. Here, we interrogated the function of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and its interaction with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in the ability to learn such stimulus-outcome associations and use these memories to guide decision making. Using optical recording and inhibition approaches, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning, and the outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) test in male rats, we found that the BLA is robustly activated at the time of stimulus-outcome learning and that this activity is necessary for sensory-specific stimulus-outcome memories to be encoded, so they can subsequently influence reward choices. Direct input from the lOFC was found to support the BLA in this function. Based on prior work, activity in BLA projections back to the lOFC was known to support the use of stimulus-outcome memories to influence decision making. By multiplexing optogenetic and chemogenetic inhibition we performed a serial circuit disconnection and found that the lOFC→BLA and BLA→lOFC pathways form a functional circuit regulating the encoding (lOFC→BLA) and subsequent use (BLA→lOFC) of the stimulus-dependent, sensory-specific reward memories that are critical for adaptive, appetitive decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Sias
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Ashleigh K Morse
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Sherry Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Venuz Y Greenfield
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Caitlin M Goodpaster
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Tyler M Wrenn
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Andrew M Wikenheiser
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Sandra M Holley
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Carlos Cepeda
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Michael S Levine
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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26
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Chen X, Yue J, Luo Y, Huang L, Li B, Wen S. Distinct behavioral traits and associated brain regions in mouse models for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behav Brain Funct 2021; 17:4. [PMID: 34006308 PMCID: PMC8132448 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-021-00177-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disease with heterogeneous behavioral phenotypes, including repetitive behaviors, anxiety, and impairments in cognitive functions. The brain regions related to the behavioral heterogeneity, however, are unknown. METHODS We systematically examined the behavioral phenotypes of three OCD mouse models induced by pharmacological reagents [RU24969, 8-hydroxy-DPAT hydrobromide (8-OH-DPAT), and 1-(3-chlorophenyl) piperazine hydrochloride-99% (MCPP)], and compared the activated brain regions in each model, respectively. RESULTS We found that the mouse models presented distinct OCD-like behavioral traits. RU24969-treated mice exhibited repetitive circling, anxiety, and impairments in recognition memory. 8-OH-DPAT-treated mice exhibited excessive spray-induced grooming as well as impairments in recognition memory. MCPP-treated mice showed only excessive self-grooming. To determine the brain regions related to these distinct behavioral traits, we examined c-fos expression to indicate the neuronal activation in the brain. Our results showed that RU24969-treated mice exhibited increased c-fos expression in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prelimbic cortex (PrL), infralimbic cortex (IL), nucleus accumbens (NAc), hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral division, intermediate part (BSTLD), and interstitial nucleus of the posterior limb of the anterior commissure, lateral part (IPACL), whereas in 8-OH-DPAT-treated mice showed increased c-fos expression in the ACC, PrL, IL, OFC, NAc shell, and hypothalamus. By contrast, MCPP did not induce higher c-fos expression in the cortex than control groups. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that different OCD mouse models exhibited distinct behavioral traits, which may be mediated by the activation of different brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Chen
- Department of Psychology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.52 Meihua West Road, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Jihui Yue
- Department of Psychology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.52 Meihua West Road, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yuchong Luo
- Department of Psychology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.52 Meihua West Road, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Lianyan Huang
- Neuroscience Program, Department of Pathophysiology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510810, China.
| | - Boxing Li
- Neuroscience Program, Department of Physiology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510810, China.
| | - Shenglin Wen
- Department of Psychology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.52 Meihua West Road, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong Province, China.
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27
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Bouton ME, Maren S, McNally GP. BEHAVIORAL AND NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF PAVLOVIAN AND INSTRUMENTAL EXTINCTION LEARNING. Physiol Rev 2021; 101:611-681. [PMID: 32970967 PMCID: PMC8428921 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00016.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This article reviews the behavioral neuroscience of extinction, the phenomenon in which a behavior that has been acquired through Pavlovian or instrumental (operant) learning decreases in strength when the outcome that reinforced it is removed. Behavioral research indicates that neither Pavlovian nor operant extinction depends substantially on erasure of the original learning but instead depends on new inhibitory learning that is primarily expressed in the context in which it is learned, as exemplified by the renewal effect. Although the nature of the inhibition may differ in Pavlovian and operant extinction, in either case the decline in responding may depend on both generalization decrement and the correction of prediction error. At the neural level, Pavlovian extinction requires a tripartite neural circuit involving the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. Synaptic plasticity in the amygdala is essential for extinction learning, and prefrontal cortical inhibition of amygdala neurons encoding fear memories is involved in extinction retrieval. Hippocampal-prefrontal circuits mediate fear relapse phenomena, including renewal. Instrumental extinction involves distinct ensembles in corticostriatal, striatopallidal, and striatohypothalamic circuits as well as their thalamic returns for inhibitory (extinction) and excitatory (renewal and other relapse phenomena) control over operant responding. The field has made significant progress in recent decades, although a fully integrated biobehavioral understanding still awaits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Bouton
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
| | - Gavan P McNally
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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28
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Laurent V, Balleine BW. How predictive learning influences choice: Evidence for a GPCR-based memory process necessary for Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. J Neurochem 2021; 157:1436-1449. [PMID: 33662158 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Predictive learning endows stimuli with the capacity to signal both the sensory-specific and general motivational properties of their associated rewards or outcomes. These two signals can be distinguished behaviorally by their influence on the selection and performance of instrumental actions, respectively. This review focuses on how sensory-specific predictive learning guides choice between actions that earn otherwise equally desirable outcomes. We describe evidence that outcome-specific predictive learning is encoded in the basolateral amygdala and drives the accumulation of delta-opioid receptors on the surface of cholinergic interneurons located in the nucleus accumbens shell. This accumulation constitutes a novel form of cellular memory, not for outcome-specific predictive learning per se but for the selection of, and choice between, future instrumental actions. We describe recent evidence regarding the cascade of events necessary for the formation and expression of this cellular memory and point to open questions for future research into this process. Beyond these mechanistic considerations, the discovery of this new form of memory is consistent with recent evidence suggesting that intracellular rather than synaptic changes can mediate learning-related plasticity to modify brain circuitry to prepare for future significant events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Laurent
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, UNSW SYDNEY, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Bernard W Balleine
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, UNSW SYDNEY, Randwick, NSW, Australia
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Motivational competition and the paraventricular thalamus. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:193-207. [PMID: 33609570 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Although significant progress has been made in understanding the behavioral and brain mechanisms for motivational systems, much less is known about competition between motivational states or motivational conflict (e.g., approach - avoidance conflict). Despite being produced under diverse conditions, behavior during motivational competition has two signatures: bistability and metastability. These signatures reveal the operation of positive feedback mechanisms in behavioral selection. Different neuronal architectures can instantiate this selection to achieve bistability and metastability in behavior, but each relies on circuit-level inhibition to achieve rapid and stable selection between competing tendencies. Paraventricular thalamus (PVT) is identified as critical to this circuit level inhibition, resolving motivational competition via its extensive projections to local inhibitory networks in the ventral striatum and extended amygdala, enabling adaptive responding under motivational conflict.
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Lei K, Kwok C, Hopf FW. Nucleus accumbens shell Orexin-1 receptors are not needed for single-bottle limited daily access alcohol intake in C57BL/6 mice. Alcohol 2020; 89:139-146. [PMID: 32987129 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2020.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Excessive, binge drinking is a major contributor to the great harm and cost of alcohol use disorder. We recently showed, using both limited and intermittent-access two-bottle-choice models, that inhibiting nucleus accumbens shell (Shell) orexin-1-receptors (Ox1Rs) reduces alcohol intake in higher-drinking male C57BL/6 mice (Lei et al., 2019). Other studies implicate Ox1Rs, tested systemically, for several higher-drinking models, including the single-bottle, Rhodes Drinking-in-the-Dark paradigm. Here, we report studies examining whether Shell Ox1Rs contribute to alcohol intake in male mice using a single-bottle Limited Daily Access (LDA) drinking model modified from drinking-in-the-dark paradigms (2-h access starting 3 h into the dark cycle, 5 days per week). In addition, some previous work has suggested possible differences in circuitry for one- versus two-choice behaviors, and thus other mice first drank under a single-bottle schedule, and then an additional water bottle was included 2 days a week starting in week 3. Surprisingly, at the same time we were determining Ox1R importance for two-bottle-choice models, parallel studies found that inhibiting Shell Ox1Rs had no impact on drinking using the single-bottle LDA model, or when a second bottle containing water was added later during drinking. Furthermore, we have related Shell Ox1R regulation of intake to basal consumption, but no such pattern was observed with single-bottle LDA drinking. Thus, unlike our previous work showing the importance of Shell Ox1Rs for male alcohol drinking under several two-bottle-choice models, Shell Ox1Rs were not required under a single-bottle paradigm, even if a second water-containing bottle was later added. These results raise the speculations that different mechanisms could promote intake under single- versus two-bottle access conditions, and that the conditions under which an animal learns to drink can impact circuitry driving future intake.
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Ferrario CR. Why did I eat that? Contributions of individual differences in incentive motivation and nucleus accumbens plasticity to obesity. Physiol Behav 2020; 227:113114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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Shifting motivational states: The effects of nucleus accumbens dopamine and opioid receptor activation on a modified effort-based choice task. Behav Brain Res 2020; 399:112999. [PMID: 33161034 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is critical for regulating the appetitive and consummatory phases of motivated behavior. These experiments examined the effects of dopamine and opioid receptor manipulations within the NAc during an effort-based choice task that allowed for simultaneous assessment of both phases of motivation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received bilateral guide cannulas targeting the NAc core and were tested in 1-hr sessions with free access to rat chow and the choice to work for sugar pellets on a progressive ratio 2 (PR2) reinforcement schedule. Individual groups of rats were tested following stimulation or blockade of NAc D1-like or D2-like receptors, stimulation of μ-, δ-, or κ-opioid receptors, or antagonism of opioid receptors. Behavior was examined under ad libitum conditions and following 23-h food restriction. NAc blockade of the D1-like receptors or stimulation of the D2 receptor reduced break point for earning sugar pellets; D2 receptor stimulation also modestly lowered chow intake. NAc μ-opioid receptor stimulation increased intake of the freely-available chow while simultaneously reducing break point for the sugar pellets. In non-restricted conditions, δ-opioid receptor stimulation increased both food intake and breakpoint. There were no effects of stimulating NAc D1 or κ receptors, nor did blocking D2 or opioid receptors affect task behavior. These data support prior literature linking dopamine to appetitive motivational processes, and suggest that μ- and δ-opioid receptors affect food-directed motivation differentially. Specifically, μ-opioid receptors shifted behavior towards consumption, and δ-opioid receptor enhanced both sugar-seeking and consumption of the pabulum chow when animals were not food restricted.
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33
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Campese VD, Kim IT, Kurpas B, Branigan L, Draus C, LeDoux JE. Motivational factors underlying aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:477-482. [PMID: 33060285 PMCID: PMC7571266 DOI: 10.1101/lm.052316.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
While interest in active avoidance has recently been resurgent, many concerns relating to the nature of this form of learning remain unresolved. By separating stimulus and response acquisition, aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer can be used to measure the effect of avoidance learning on threat processing with more control than typical avoidance procedures. However, the motivational substrates that contribute to the aversive transfer effect have not been thoroughly examined. In three studies using rodents, the impact of a variety of aversive signals on shock-avoidance responding (i.e., two-way shuttling) was evaluated. Fox urine, as well as a tone paired with the delivery of the predator odor were insufficient modulatory stimuli for the avoidance response. Similarly, a signal for the absence of food did not generate appropriate aversive motivation to enhance shuttling. Only conditioned Pavlovian stimuli that had been paired with unconditioned threats were capable of augmenting shock-avoidance responding. This was true whether the signaled outcome was the same (e.g., shock) or different (e.g., klaxon) from the avoidance outcome (i.e., shock). These findings help to characterize the aversive transfer effect and provide a more thorough analysis of its generalization to warning signals for different kinds of threats. This feature of aversive motivation has not been demonstrated using conventional avoidance procedures and could be potentially useful for applying avoidance in treatment settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinn D Campese
- Department of Psychology, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana 47722, USA
| | - Ian T Kim
- Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA.,Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA
| | - Botagoz Kurpas
- Department of Psychology, Kingsborough College, Brooklyn, New York 11235, USA
| | - Lauren Branigan
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA
| | - Cassandra Draus
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA.,Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
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Marshall AT, Munson CN, Maidment NT, Ostlund SB. Reward-predictive cues elicit excessive reward seeking in adolescent rats. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 45:100838. [PMID: 32846387 PMCID: PMC7451619 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Impulsive behavior during adolescence may stem from developmental imbalances between motivational and cognitive-control systems, producing greater urges to pursue reward and weakened capacities to inhibit such actions. Here, we developed a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) protocol to assay rats' ability to suppress cue-motivated reward seeking based on changes in reward expectancy. Traditionally, PIT studies focus on how reward-predictive cues motivate instrumental reward-seeking behavior (lever pressing). However, cues signaling imminent reward delivery also elicit countervailing focal-search responses (food-port entry). We first examined how reward expectancy (cue-reward probability) influences expression of these competing behaviors. Adult male rats increased rates of lever pressing when presented with cues signaling lower probabilities of reward but focused their activity at the food cup on trials with cues that signaled higher probabilities of reward. We then compared adolescent and adult male rats in their responsivity to cues signaling different reward probabilities. In contrast to adults, adolescent rats did not flexibly adjust patterns of responding based on the expected likelihood of reward delivery but increased their rate of lever pressing for both weak and strong cues. These findings indicate that control over cue-motivated behavior is fundamentally dysregulated during adolescence, providing a model for studying neurobiological mechanisms of adolescent impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T Marshall
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
| | - Christy N Munson
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Nigel T Maidment
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sean B Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
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35
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Kemp LJ, Corbit LH. The role of the response-outcome association in the nature of inhibitory Pavlovian-instrumental transfer in rats. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 74:398-412. [PMID: 32976082 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820963049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory stimuli can reduce animals' reward seeking in an outcome-specific manner or outcome-general manner. However, we do not understand the factors that determine which of these effects are produced. To address this, we carried out three experiments which examined whether instrumental training with one or multiple outcomes determined the nature of subsequently observed Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). Rats underwent Pavlovian training to produce inhibitors and excitors for two outcomes using a feature-negative procedure. In Experiment 1, these stimuli were tested for their effects on a single response trained with one of those outcomes in a PIT procedure. Here, stimuli trained as inhibitors and excitors were found to produce outcome-general effects on reward seeking (in addition to an outcome-specific effect for excitors). In Experiment 2, we trained two responses, one for each of the Pavlovian outcomes, and tested the effect of the stimuli on each response individually. This design also produced outcome-general inhibitory and excitatory PIT effects. Experiment 3 followed the procedure of Experiment 2, except for implementation of a shorter Pavlovian training phase and an additional choice test, where both responses were concurrently available. This procedure produced putative inhibitory effects that were also outcome-general. However, outcome-specific excitatory effects were observed, indicating that the general inhibitory results may not be attributable to the duration of Pavlovian training. Overall, this study suggests that variations in the number of response-outcome contingencies experienced by animals do not readily determine the specificity of putative inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay J Kemp
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Laura H Corbit
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Department of Psychology, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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36
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Garcia-Keller C, Smiley C, Monforton C, Melton S, Kalivas PW, Gass J. N-Acetylcysteine treatment during acute stress prevents stress-induced augmentation of addictive drug use and relapse. Addict Biol 2020; 25:e12798. [PMID: 31282090 PMCID: PMC7439767 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Converging epidemiological studies show that a life-threatening event increases the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which carries 30% to 50% comorbidity with substance use disorders (SUDs). Such comorbidity results in greater drug use and poorer treatment outcomes. There is overlap between the enduring synaptic neuroadaptations produced in nucleus accumbens core (NAcore) by acute restraint stress and cocaine self-administration. Because of these coincident neuroadaptations, we hypothesized that an odor paired with acute restraint stress would reinstate drug seeking and chose two mechanistically distinct drugs of abuse to test this hypothesis: alcohol and cocaine. Rats were trained to self-administer either drug beginning 3 weeks after odor pairing with acute stress or sham, and acute restraint stress increased alcohol consumption. Following context extinction training, the stress-paired odor reinstated both alcohol and cocaine seeking, while an unpaired odor had no effect. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) restores drug and stress-induced reductions in glial glutamate transporter-1 and has proven effective at reducing cue-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We administered NAC for 5 days prior to reinstatement testing and abolished the capacity of the stress-paired odor to increase alcohol and cocaine seeking. Importantly, daily NAC given during or just following experiencing acute restraint stress also prevented the capacity of stress-paired odors to reinstate alcohol and cocaine seeking and prevented stress-induced deficits in behavioral flexibility. These data support using daily NAC treatment during or immediately after experiencing a strong acute stress to prevent subsequent conditioned stress responding, in particular relapse and cognitive deficits induced by stress-conditioned stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cora Smiley
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Cara Monforton
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Samantha Melton
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Peter W Kalivas
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- These two authors are equivalent senior authors of this research
| | - Justin Gass
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- These two authors are equivalent senior authors of this research
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37
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Buck SA, Torregrossa MM, Logan RW, Freyberg Z. Roles of dopamine and glutamate co-release in the nucleus accumbens in mediating the actions of drugs of abuse. FEBS J 2020; 288:1462-1474. [PMID: 32702182 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Projections of ventral tegmental area dopamine (DA) neurons to the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens have been increasingly implicated as integral to the behavioral and physiological changes involved in the development of substance use disorders (SUDs). Recently, many of these nucleus accumbens-projecting DA neurons were found to also release the neurotransmitter glutamate. This glutamate co-release from DA neurons is critical in mediating the effect of drugs of abuse on addiction-related behaviors. Potential mechanisms underlying the role(s) of dopamine/glutamate co-release in contributing to SUDs are unclear. Nevertheless, an important clue may relate to glutamate's ability to potentiate loading of DA into synaptic vesicles within terminals in the nucleus accumbens in response to drug-induced elevations in neuronal activity, enabling a more robust release of DA after stimulation. Here, we summarize how drugs of abuse, particularly cocaine, opioids, and alcohol, alter DA release in the nucleus accumbens medial shell, examine the potential role of DA/glutamate co-release in mediating these effects, and discuss future directions for further investigating these mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silas A Buck
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mary M Torregrossa
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ryan W Logan
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Zachary Freyberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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38
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Grill HJ. A Role for GLP-1 in Treating Hyperphagia and Obesity. Endocrinology 2020; 161:bqaa093. [PMID: 32516384 PMCID: PMC7899438 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqaa093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Obesity is a chronic recurring disease whose prevalence has almost tripled over the past 40 years. In individuals with obesity, there is significant increased risk of morbidity and mortality, along with decreased quality of life. Increased obesity prevalence results, at least partly, from the increased global food supply that provides ubiquitous access to tasty, energy-dense foods. These hedonic foods and the nonfood cues that through association become reward predictive cues activate brain appetitive control circuits that drive hyperphagia and weight gain by enhancing food-seeking, motivation, and reward. Behavioral therapy (diet and lifestyle modifications) is the recommended initial treatment for obesity, yet it often fails to achieve meaningful weight loss. Furthermore, those who lose weight regain it over time through biological regulation. The need to effectively treat the pathophysiology of obesity thus centers on biologically based approaches such as bariatric surgery and more recently developed drug therapies. This review highlights neurobiological aspects relevant to obesity causation and treatment by emphasizing the common aspects of the feeding-inhibitory effects of multiple signals. We focus on glucagon like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling as a promising obesity treatment target by discussing the activation of intestinal- and brain-derived GLP-1 and GLP-1R expressing central nervous system circuits resulting from normal eating, bariatric surgery, and GLP-1R agonist drug therapy. Given the increased availability of energy-dense foods and frequent encounters with cues that drive hyperphagia, this review also describes how bariatric surgery and GLP-1R agonist therapies influence food reward and the motivational drive to overeat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harvey J Grill
- Institute of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Graduate Groups for Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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39
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Morse AK, Leung BK, Heath E, Bertran-Gonzalez J, Pepin E, Chieng BC, Balleine BW, Laurent V. Basolateral Amygdala Drives a GPCR-Mediated Striatal Memory Necessary for Predictive Learning to Influence Choice. Neuron 2020; 106:855-869.e8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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40
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Holahan MR, Goheen K. Preadolescent dopamine receptor antagonism increases postadolescent reward-related operant behaviors that may depend on dopamine receptor hypersensitivity. Neurosci Lett 2020; 725:134917. [PMID: 32200030 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.134917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The dopaminergic system has a long history of being associated with reward-related activities but the developmental consequences of blocking dopamine receptor function on reward-based associative learning has been less studied. To this end, male, Long Evans rats were systemically (i.p.) treated with the dopamine receptor (DAr) antagonist, flupenthixol (0.25 mg/kg), or saline, from postnatal day (P)18 - 24 (preadolescence) then trained on an operant conditioning task from P41 - P45 (postadolescent) without drug treatment. The preadolescent flupenthixol group showed elevated active lever responses and locomotor activity during the drug-free test. Another group of rats was given flupenthixol prior to each acquisition session from P41 - 45 which significantly suppressed both active lever presses and locomotor activity. Separate groups of rats were treated with flupenthixol or saline from P18 - 24 then treated with apomorphine or saline on P41 followed by assessment of c-Fos labeling in the nucleus accumbens. Early flupenthixol treatment was associated with more apomorphine-induced c-Fos labeling in the nucleus accumbens shell than the early saline-apomorphine group, indicating a sensitized response. These findings suggest that preadolescent dopamine receptor blockade may lead to a sensitized postadolescent dopaminergic response that underlies enhanced behavioral responses in the presence of rewarding stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Holahan
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Kate Goheen
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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41
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Balleine BW. The Meaning of Behavior: Discriminating Reflex and Volition in the Brain. Neuron 2020; 104:47-62. [PMID: 31600515 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The ability to establish behaviorally what psychological capacity an animal is deploying-to discern accurately what an animal is doing-is key to functional analyses of the brain. Our current understanding of these capacities suggests, however, that this task is complex; there is evidence that multiple capacities are engaged simultaneously and contribute independently to the control of behavior. As such, establishing the contribution of a cell, circuit, or neural system to any one function requires careful dissection of that role from its influence on other functions and, therefore, the careful selection and design of behavioral tasks fit for that purpose. Here I describe recent research that has sought to utilize behavioral tools to investigate the neural bases of instrumental conditioning, particularly the circuits and systems supporting the capacity for goal-directed action, as opposed to conditioned reflexes and habits, and how these sources of action control interact to generate adaptive behavior.
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42
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Correia C, Romieu P, Olmstead MC, Befort K. Can cocaine-induced neuroinflammation explain maladaptive cocaine-associated memories? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 111:69-83. [PMID: 31935376 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Persistent and intrusive memories define a number of psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. In the latter, memory for drug-paired cues plays a critical role in sustaining compulsive drug use as these are potent triggers of relapse. As with many drugs, cocaine-cue associated memory is strengthened across presentations as cues become reliable predictors of drug availability. Recently, the targeting of cocaine-associated memory through disruption of the reconsolidation process has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy; reconsolidation reflects the active process by which memory is re-stabilized after retrieval. In addition, a separate line of work reveals that neuroinflammatory markers, regulated by cocaine intake, play a role in memory processes. Our review brings these two literatures together by summarizing recent findings on cocaine-associated reconsolidation and cocaine-induced neuroinflammation. We discuss the interactions between reconsolidation processes and neuroinflammation following cocaine use, concluding with a new perspective on treatment to decrease risk of relapse to cocaine use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Correia
- Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives (LNCA), Centre de la Recherche Nationale Scientifique, UMR 7364, Faculté de Psychologie, 12 rue Goethe, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pascal Romieu
- Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives (LNCA), Centre de la Recherche Nationale Scientifique, UMR 7364, Faculté de Psychologie, 12 rue Goethe, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mary C Olmstead
- Dept. Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Katia Befort
- Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives (LNCA), Centre de la Recherche Nationale Scientifique, UMR 7364, Faculté de Psychologie, 12 rue Goethe, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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43
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Brain structural differences in monozygotic twins discordant for body mass index. Neuroimage 2019; 201:116006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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44
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Collins AL, Aitken TJ, Huang IW, Shieh C, Greenfield VY, Monbouquette HG, Ostlund SB, Wassum KM. Nucleus Accumbens Cholinergic Interneurons Oppose Cue-Motivated Behavior. Biol Psychiatry 2019; 86:388-396. [PMID: 30955842 PMCID: PMC7003647 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Environmental reward-predictive stimuli provide a major source of motivation for adaptive reward pursuit behavior. This cue-motivated behavior is known to be mediated by the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core. The cholinergic interneurons in the NAc are tonically active and densely arborized and thus well suited to modulate NAc function. However, their causal contribution to adaptive behavior remains unknown. Here we investigated the function of NAc cholinergic interneurons in cue-motivated behavior. METHODS We used chemogenetics, optogenetics, pharmacology, and a translationally analogous Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer behavioral task designed to assess the motivating influence of a reward-predictive cue over reward-seeking actions in male and female rats. RESULTS The data show that NAc cholinergic interneuron activity critically opposes the motivating influence of appetitive cues. Chemogenetic inhibition of NAc cholinergic interneurons augmented cue-motivated behavior. Optical stimulation of acetylcholine release from NAc cholinergic interneurons prevented cues from invigorating reward-seeking behavior, an effect that was mediated by activation of β2-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. CONCLUSIONS NAc cholinergic interneurons provide a critical regulatory influence over adaptive cue-motivated behavior and therefore are a potential therapeutic target for the maladaptive cue-motivated behavior that marks many psychiatric conditions, including addiction and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne L Collins
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Tara J Aitken
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - I-Wen Huang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Christine Shieh
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Venuz Y Greenfield
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Harold G Monbouquette
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Sean B Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
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Hua Y, Li C, Hu J, Wang YY, Liu PL, Gao BY, Chen C, Xu DS, Zhang B, Bai YL. Fluoxetine adjunct to therapeutic exercise promotes motor recovery in rats with cerebral ischemia: Roles of nucleus accumbens. Brain Res Bull 2019; 153:1-7. [PMID: 31369829 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of fluoxetine as an adjunct to therapeutic exercise to improve motor recovery using a rat cerebral ischemic model with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). We hypothesized that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) may be one of the responding areas to fluoxetine where relevant elevations in 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and ΔFosB were associated with motor behavioral recovery. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: rats without intervention; rats that underwent MCAO without exercise or fluoxetine; rats that underwent MCAO treated only with fluoxetine; rats that underwent MCAO treated only with exercise; and rats that underwent MCAO treated with both exercise and fluoxetine. Motor function and motivation were assessed by the fault footsteps test and the forced swimming test. 5-HT level in the bilateral NAc and the expression of 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) and ΔFosB in the ipsilesional (left) NAc were measured. Correlation was explored by Pearson correlation analysis. Our results indicated that either treatment helped improve the grasp dexterity of the affected limb, motor motivation, and resilience to adverse environment in MCAO rats. The dual treatment with fluoxetine and exercise may hasten the recovery process. The dual treatment helped restore the balance of 5-HT level between the bilateral NAc by significantly increasing its level in the ipsilesional side. Either treatment could resume the expression of 5-HT2CR in the ipsilesional side of the NAc close to the normal level, which was correlated with motor recovery. The dual treatment significantly increased the expression of ΔFosB in the ipsilesional side of the NAc, which was correlated with the balance of 5-HT in the bilateral NAc, but not directly with motor recovery. In conclusion, the NAc may play an important role in driving physical motivation, which was possibly related to motor recovery after stroke. Fluoxetine may hasten the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise, possibly via regulating 5-HT and its receptors in the NAc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Hua
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ce Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jian Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Yuan Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Pei-Le Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bei-Yao Gao
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chan Chen
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dong-Sheng Xu
- Rehabilitation Section, Spine Surgery Division of Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of spine and spinal cord injury repair and regeneration (Tongji University), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Shanghai 200065, China
| | - Bei Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Yu-Long Bai
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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46
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Halbout B, Marshall AT, Azimi A, Liljeholm M, Mahler SV, Wassum KM, Ostlund SB. Mesolimbic dopamine projections mediate cue-motivated reward seeking but not reward retrieval in rats. eLife 2019; 8:43551. [PMID: 31107241 PMCID: PMC6548499 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Efficient foraging requires an ability to coordinate discrete reward-seeking and reward-retrieval behaviors. We used pathway-specific chemogenetic inhibition to investigate how rats’ mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine circuits contribute to the expression and modulation of reward seeking and retrieval. Inhibiting ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons disrupted the tendency for reward-paired cues to motivate reward seeking, but spared their ability to increase attempts to retrieve reward. Similar effects were produced by inhibiting dopamine inputs to nucleus accumbens, but not medial prefrontal cortex. Inhibiting dopamine neurons spared the suppressive effect of reward devaluation on reward seeking, an assay of goal-directed behavior. Attempts to retrieve reward persisted after devaluation, indicating they were habitually performed as part of a fixed action sequence. Our findings show that complete bouts of reward seeking and retrieval are behaviorally and neurally dissociable from bouts of reward seeking without retrieval. This dichotomy may prove useful for uncovering mechanisms of maladaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briac Halbout
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Andrew T Marshall
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Ali Azimi
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Mimi Liljeholm
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States.,Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Sean B Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
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Zhou X, Zimmermann K, Xin F, Zhao W, Derckx RT, Sassmannshausen A, Scheele D, Hurlemann R, Weber B, Kendrick KM, Becker B. Cue Reactivity in the Ventral Striatum Characterizes Heavy Cannabis Use, Whereas Reactivity in the Dorsal Striatum Mediates Dependent Use. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2019; 4:751-762. [PMID: 31204249 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal models of addiction suggest that the transition from incentive-driven drug use to habitual and ultimately compulsive drug use is mediated by a shift from ventral to dorsal striatal cue control over drug seeking. Previous studies in human cannabis users reported elevated trait impulsivity and neural cue reactivity in striatal circuits; however, these studies were not able to separate addiction-related from exposure-related adaptations. METHODS To differentiate the adaptive changes, the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined behavioral and neural cue reactivity in dependent (n = 18) and nondependent (n = 20) heavy cannabis users and a nonusing reference group (n = 44). RESULTS Irrespective of dependence status, cannabis users demonstrated elevated trait impulsivity as well as increased ventral striatal reactivity and striatal frontal coupling in response to drug cues. Dependent users selectively exhibited dorsal striatal reactivity and decreased striatal limbic coupling during cue exposure. An exploratory analysis revealed that higher ventral caudate neural cue reactivity was associated with stronger cue-induced arousal and craving in dependent users, whereas this pattern was reversed in nondependent users. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, the current findings suggest that exaggerated responses of the ventral striatal reward system may promote excessive drug use in humans, whereas adaptations in dorsal striatal systems engaged in habit formation may promote the transition to addictive use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Kaeli Zimmermann
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Fei Xin
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Roelinka T Derckx
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Anja Sassmannshausen
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Dirk Scheele
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Rene Hurlemann
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Bernd Weber
- Center for Economics and Neuroscience, Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Department of Neurocognition, Life & Brain Center, Bonn, Germany
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
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Lei K, Kwok C, Darevsky D, Wegner SA, Yu J, Nakayama L, Pedrozo V, Anderson L, Ghotra S, Fouad M, Hopf FW. Nucleus Accumbens Shell Orexin-1 Receptors Are Critical Mediators of Binge Intake in Excessive-Drinking Individuals. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:88. [PMID: 30814925 PMCID: PMC6381036 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive, binge alcohol drinking is a potent and pernicious obstacle to treating alcohol use disorder (AUD), and heavy-drinking humans are responsible for much of the substantial costs and harms of AUD. Thus, identifying key mechanisms that drive intake in higher-drinking individuals may provide important, translationally useful therapeutic interventions. Orexin-1-receptors (Ox1Rs) promote states of high motivation, and studies with systemic Ox1R inhibition suggest a particular role in individuals with higher intake levels. However, little has been known about circuits where Ox1Rs promote pathological intake, especially excessive alcohol consumption. We previously discovered that binge alcohol drinking requires Ox1Rs in medial nucleus accumbens shell (Shell), using two-bottle-choice Drinking-in-the-Dark (2bc-DID) in adult, male C57BL/6 mice. Here, we show that Shell Ox1Rs promoted intake during intermittent-access alcohol drinking as well as 2bc-DID, and that Shell inhibition with muscimol/baclofen also suppressed 2bc-DID intake. Importantly, with this large data set, we were able to demonstrate that Shell Ox1Rs and overall activity were particularly important for driving alcohol consumption in higher-drinking individuals, with little overall impact in moderate drinkers. Shell inhibition results were compared with control data combined from drug treatments that did not reduce intake, including NMDAR or PKC inhibition in Shell, Ox1R inhibition in accumbens core, and systemic inhibition of dopamine-1 receptors; these were used to understand whether more specific Shell Ox1R contributions in higher drinkers might simply result from intrinsic variability in mouse drinking. Ineffectiveness of Shell inhibition in moderate-drinkers was not due to a floor effect, since systemic baclofen reduced alcohol drinking regardless of basal intake levels, without altering concurrent water intake or saccharin consumption. Finally, alcohol intake in the first exposure predicted consumption levels weeks later, suggesting that intake level may be a stable trait in each individual. Together, our studies indicate that Shell Ox1Rs are critical mediators of binge alcohol intake in higher-drinking individuals, with little net contribution to alcohol drinking in more moderate bingers, and that targeting Ox1Rs may substantially reduce AUD-related harms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Lei
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Claudina Kwok
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - David Darevsky
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Scott A Wegner
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - JiHwan Yu
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Lisa Nakayama
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Vincent Pedrozo
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Lexy Anderson
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Shahbaj Ghotra
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Mary Fouad
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Frederic W Hopf
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Group, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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49
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Pleger B. Invasive and Non-invasive Stimulation of the Obese Human Brain. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:884. [PMID: 30555295 PMCID: PMC6281888 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that non-invasive and invasive brain stimulation may reduce food craving and calorie consumption rendering these techniques potential treatment options for obesity. Non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) or repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation (rTMS) are used to modulate activity in superficially located executive control regions, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Modulation of the DLPFC’s activity may alter executive functioning and food reward processing in interconnected dopamine-rich regions such as the striatum or orbitofrontal cortex. Modulation of reward processing can also be achieved by invasive deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the nucleus accumbens. Another target for DBS is the lateral hypothalamic area potentially leading to improved energy expenditure. To date, available evidence is, however, restricted to few exceptional cases of morbid obesity. The vagal nerve plays a crucial role in signaling the homeostatic demand to the brain. Invasive or non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is thus assumed to reduce appetite, rendering VNS another possible treatment option for obesity. Based on currently available evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved VNS for the treatment of obesity. This review summarizes scientific evidence regarding these techniques’ efficacy in modulating food craving and calorie intake. It is time for large controlled clinical trials that are necessary to translate currently available research discoveries into patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burkhard Pleger
- Department of Neurology, BG University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.,BMBF nutriCARD, Center of Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Collaborative Research Centre 1052 "Obesity Mechanisms", University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Collaborative Research Centre 874 "Integration and Representation of Sensory Processes", Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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50
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Radke AK, Kocharian A, Covey DP, Lovinger DM, Cheer JF, Mateo Y, Holmes A. Contributions of nucleus accumbens dopamine to cognitive flexibility. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 50:2023-2035. [PMID: 30218623 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There is a compelling evidence that midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons and their projections to the ventral striatum provide a mechanism for motivating reward-seeking behavior, and for utilizing information about unexpected reward prediction errors (RPEs) to guide behavior based on current, rather than historical, outcomes. When this mechanism is compromised in addictions, it may produce patterns of maladaptive behavior that remain obdurate in the face of contrary information and even adverse consequences. Nonetheless, DAergic contributions to performance on behavioral tasks that rely on the ability to flexibly update stimulus-reward relationships remains incompletly understood. In the current study, we used a discrimination and reversal paradigm to monitor subsecond DA release in mouse NAc core (NAc) using in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). We observed post-choice elevations in phasic NAc DA release; however, increased DA transients were only evident during early reversal when mice made responses at the newly rewarded stimulus. Based on this finding, we used in vivo optogenetic (eNpHR) photosilencing and (Channelrhodopsin2 [ChR2]) photostimulation to assess the effects of manipulating VTA-DAergic fibers in the NAc on reversal performance. Photosilencing the VTA → NAc DAergic pathway during early reversal increased errors, while photostimulation did not demonstrably affect behavior. Taken together, these data provide additional evidence of the importance of NAc DA release as a neural substrate supporting adjustments in learned behavior after a switch in expected stimulus-reward contingencies. These findings have possible implications for furthering understanding the role of DA in persistent, maladaptive decision-making characterizing addictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Radke
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Psychology Department, Miami University, 90 N Patterson Ave, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA.,Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Adrina Kocharian
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dan P Covey
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David M Lovinger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joseph F Cheer
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yolanda Mateo
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
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