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Reinstatement of synaptic plasticity in the aging brain through specific dopamine transporter inhibition. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:7076-7090. [PMID: 34244620 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01214-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Aging-related neurological deficits negatively impact mental health, productivity, and social interactions leading to a pronounced socioeconomic burden. Since declining brain dopamine signaling during aging is associated with the onset of neurological impairments, we produced a selective dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitor to restore endogenous dopamine levels and improve cognitive function. We describe the synthesis and pharmacological profile of (S,S)-CE-158, a highly specific DAT inhibitor, which increases dopamine levels in brain regions associated with cognition. We find both a potentiation of neurotransmission and coincident restoration of dendritic spines in the dorsal hippocampus, indicative of reinstatement of dopamine-induced synaptic plasticity in aging rodents. Treatment with (S,S)-CE-158 significantly improved behavioral flexibility in scopolamine-compromised animals and increased the number of spontaneously active prefrontal cortical neurons, both in young and aging rodents. In addition, (S,S)-CE-158 restored learning and memory recall in aging rats comparable to their young performance in a hippocampus-dependent hole board test. In sum, we present a well-tolerated, highly selective DAT inhibitor that normalizes the age-related decline in cognitive function at a synaptic level through increased dopamine signaling.
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2
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Livingston NR, Hawkins PCT, Gilleen J, Ye R, Valdearenas L, Shergill SS, Mehta MA. Preliminary evidence for the phosphodiesterase type-4 inhibitor, roflumilast, in ameliorating cognitive flexibility deficits in patients with schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol 2021; 35:1099-1110. [PMID: 33908296 PMCID: PMC8435828 DOI: 10.1177/02698811211000778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive flexibility deficits are present in patients with schizophrenia and are strong predictors of functional outcome but, as yet, have no pharmacological treatments. AIMS The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the phosphodiesterase type-4 inhibitor, roflumilast, can improve cognitive flexibility performance and functional brain activity in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS This was a within-subject, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-period crossover study using a version of the Intradimensional/Extradimensional (ID/ED) task, optimised for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in 10 patients with schizophrenia who were scanned after receiving placebo, 100 µg or 250 µg roflumilast for 8 consecutive days. Data from an additional fMRI ID/ED study of 18 healthy participants on placebo was included to contextualise the schizophrenia-related performance and activations. The fMRI analyses included a priori driven region of interest (ROI) analysis of the dorsal frontoparietal attention network. RESULTS Patients on placebo demonstrated broad deficits in task performance compared to the healthy comparison group, accompanied by preserved network activity for solution search, but reduced activity in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and posterior parietal cortex for attentional set-shifting and reduced activity in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for reversal learning. These ROI deficits were ameliorated by 250 µg roflumilast, whereas during solution search 100 µg roflumilast reduced activity in the left orbitofrontal cortex, right DLPFC and bilateral PPC, which was associated with an improvement in formation of attentional sets. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest roflumilast has dose-dependent cognitive enhancing effects on the ID/ED task in patients with schizophrenia, and provides sufficient support for larger studies to test roflumilast's role in improving cognitive flexibility deficits in this clinical population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - James Gilleen
- Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK,Department of Psychosis Studies, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Rong Ye
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lorena Valdearenas
- North Middlesex University Hospital, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Sukhi S Shergill
- Department of Psychosis Studies, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Mitul A Mehta
- Department of Neuroimaging, King’s College London, London, UK,Mitul A Mehta, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK.
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3
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Langova V, Vales K, Horka P, Horacek J. The Role of Zebrafish and Laboratory Rodents in Schizophrenia Research. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:703. [PMID: 33101067 PMCID: PMC7500259 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe disorder characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms, which are still not fully understood. The development of efficient antipsychotics requires animal models of a strong validity, therefore the aims of the article were to summarize the construct, face and predictive validity of schizophrenia models based on rodents and zebrafish, to compare the advantages and disadvantages of these models, and to propose future directions in schizophrenia modeling and indicate when it is reasonable to combine these models. The advantages of rodent models stem primarily from the high homology between rodent and human physiology, neurochemistry, brain morphology and circuitry. The advantages of zebrafish models stem in the high fecundity, fast development and transparency of the embryo. Disadvantages of both models originate in behavioral repertoires not allowing specific symptoms to be modeled, even when the models are combined. Especially modeling the verbal component of certain positive, negative and cognitive symptoms is currently impossible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Langova
- Translational Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Prague, Czechia.,Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Karel Vales
- Translational Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Prague, Czechia
| | - Petra Horka
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jiri Horacek
- Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia.,Brain Electrophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health, Prague, Czechia
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4
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Male rats treated with subchronic PCP show intact olfaction and enhanced interest for a social odour in the olfactory habituation/dishabituation test. Behav Brain Res 2018; 345:13-20. [PMID: 29477413 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The olfactory system participates in many sensory processes, and olfactory endophenotypes appear in a variety of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, depression and schizophrenia. Social withdrawal is a core negative symptom of schizophrenia and animal models have proven to be invaluable for studying the neurobiological mechanisms and cognitive processes behind the formation of social relationships. The subchronic phencyclidine (PCP) rat model is a validated model for negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as impaired sociability. However, the complete range of social behaviour and deficits in the model are still not fully understood. Intact rodent olfaction is essential for a wide range of social behaviour and disrupted olfactory function could have severe effects on social communication and recognition. In order to examine the olfactory ability of male rats treated with subchronic PCP, we conducted an olfactory habituation/dishabituation test including both non-social and social odours. The subchronic PCP-treated rats successfully recognized and discriminated among the odours, indicative of intact olfaction. Interestingly, the subchronic PCP-treated rats showed greater interest for a novel social odour compared to the saline-treated rats and the rationale remains to be elucidated. Our data indicate that subchronic PCP treatment does not disrupt olfactory function in male rats. By ruling out impaired olfaction as cause for the poor social interaction performance in subchronic PCP-treated rats, our data supports the use of NMDA receptor antagonists to model the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
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5
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Pehrson AL, Pedersen CS, Tølbøl KS, Sanchez C. Vortioxetine Treatment Reverses Subchronic PCP Treatment-Induced Cognitive Impairments: A Potential Role for Serotonin Receptor-Mediated Regulation of GABA Neurotransmission. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9:162. [PMID: 29559911 PMCID: PMC5845537 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with cognitive impairments that may contribute to poor functional outcomes. Clinical data suggests that the multimodal antidepressant vortioxetine attenuates some cognitive impairments in MDD patients, but the mechanistic basis for these improvements is unclear. One theory suggests that vortioxetine improves cognition by suppressing γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)ergic neurotransmission, thereby increasing glutamatergic activation. Vortioxetine’s effects on cognition, GABA and glutamate neurotransmission have been supported in separate experiments, but no empirical work has directly connected vortioxetine’s cognitive effects to those on GABA and glutamate neurotransmission. In this paper, we attempt to bridge this gap by evaluating vortioxetine’s effects in the subchronic PCP (subPCP) model, which induces impaired cognitive function and altered GABA and glutamate neurotransmission. We demonstrate that acute or subchronic vortioxetine treatment attenuated subPCP-induced deficits in attentional set shifting (AST) performance, and that the selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron or the 5-HT reuptake inhibitor escitalopram could mimic this effect. Furthermore, acute vortioxetine treatment reversed subPCP-induced object recognition (OR) deficits in rats, while subchronic vortioxetine reversed subPCP-induced Object Recognition and object placement impairments in mice. Finally, subPCP treatment reduced GABAB receptor expression in a manner that was insensitive to vortioxetine treatment, and subchronic vortioxetine treatment alone, but not in combination with subPCP, significantly increased GABA’s affinity for the GABAA receptor. These data suggest that vortioxetine reverses cognitive impairments in a model associated with altered GABA and glutamate neurotransmission, further supporting the hypothesis that vortioxetine’s GABAergic and glutamatergic effects are relevant for cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan L Pehrson
- Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, United States
| | | | | | - Connie Sanchez
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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6
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Tait DS, Bowman EM, Neuwirth LS, Brown VJ. Assessment of intradimensional/extradimensional attentional set-shifting in rats. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 89:72-84. [PMID: 29474818 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The rat intradimensional/extradimensional (ID/ED) task, first described by Birrell and Brown 18 years ago, has become the predominant means by which attentional set-shifting is investigated in rodents: the use of rats in the task has been described in over 135 publications by researchers from nearly 90 universities and pharmaceutical companies. There is variation in the protocols used by different groups, including differences in apparatus, stimuli (both stimulus dimensions and exemplars within), and also the methodology. Nevertheless, most of these variations seem to be of little consequence: there is remarkable similarity in the profile of published data, with consistency of learning rates and in the size and reliability of the set-shifting and reversal 'costs'. However, we suspect that there may be inconsistent data that is unpublished or perhaps 'failed experiments' that may have been caused by unintended deviations from effective protocols. The purpose of this review is to describe our approach and the rationale behind certain aspects of the protocol, including common pitfalls that are encountered when establishing an effective local protocol.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Tait
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Eric M Bowman
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Lorenz S Neuwirth
- Department of Psychology, SUNY Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY, 11568, USA; SUNY Neuroscience Research Institute, Old Westbury, NY, 11568, USA
| | - Verity J Brown
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK
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7
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Liu X, Li J, Guo C, Wang H, Sun Y, Wang H, Su YA, Li K, Si T. Olanzapine Reverses MK-801-Induced Cognitive Deficits and Region-Specific Alterations of NMDA Receptor Subunits. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 11:260. [PMID: 29375333 PMCID: PMC5767175 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction constitutes an essential component in schizophrenia for its early presence in the pathophysiology of the disease and close relatedness to life quality of patients. To develop effective treatment of cognitive deficits, it is important to understand their neurobiological causes and to identify potential therapeutic targets. In this study, adopting repeated MK-801 treatment as an animal model of schizophrenia, we investigated whether antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine and haloperidol, can reverse MK-801-induced cognitive deficits and how the reversal processes recruited proteins involved in glutamate neurotransmission in rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus. We found that low-dose chronic MK-801 treatment impaired object-in-context recognition memory and reversal learning in the Morris water maze, leaving reference memory relatively unaffected, and that these cognitive deficits can be partially reversed by olanzapine, not haloperidol, treatment. At the molecular level, chronic MK-801 treatment resulted in the reduction of multiple N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits in rat mPFC and olanzapine, not haloperidol, treatment restored the levels of GluN1 and phosphorylated GluN2B in this region. Taken together, MK-801-induced cognitive deficits may be associated with region-specific changes in NMDA receptor subunits and the reversal of specific NMDA receptor subunits may underlie the cognition-enhancing effects of olanzapine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Liu
- Institute of Psychology, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China.,The Sixth People's Hospital of Hebei Province, Baoding, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Jitao Li
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Chunmei Guo
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Hongli Wang
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Yaxin Sun
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Han Wang
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Yun-Ai Su
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
| | - Keqing Li
- Institute of Psychology, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China.,The Sixth People's Hospital of Hebei Province, Baoding, China
| | - Tianmei Si
- National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health) and The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
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8
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Pratt JA, Morris B, Dawson N. Deconstructing Schizophrenia: Advances in Preclinical Models for Biomarker Identification. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2018; 40:295-323. [PMID: 29721851 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2018_48] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is considered to develop as a consequence of genetic and environmental factors impacting on brain neural systems and circuits during vulnerable neurodevelopmental periods, thereby resulting in symptoms in early adulthood. Understanding of the impact of schizophrenia risk factors on brain biology and behaviour can help in identifying biologically relevant pathways that are attractive for informing clinical studies and biomarker development. In this chapter, we emphasize the importance of adopting a reciprocal forward and reverse translation approach that is iteratively updated when additional new information is gained, either preclinically or clinically, for offering the greatest opportunity for discovering panels of biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of schizophrenia. Importantly, biomarkers for identifying those at risk may inform early intervention strategies prior to the development of schizophrenia.Given the emerging nature of this approach in the field, this review will highlight recent research of preclinical biomarkers in schizophrenia that show the most promise for informing clinical needs with an emphasis on relevant imaging, electrophysiological, cognitive behavioural and biochemical modalities. The implementation of this reciprocal translational approach is exemplified firstly by the production and characterization of preclinical models based on the glutamate hypofunction hypothesis, genetic and environmental risk factors for schizophrenia (reverse translation), and then the recent clinical recognition of the thalamic reticular thalamus (TRN) as an important locus of brain dysfunction in schizophrenia as informed by preclinical findings (forward translation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith A Pratt
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
| | - Brian Morris
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Neil Dawson
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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Nikiforuk A, Kalaba P, Ilic M, Korz V, Dragačević V, Wackerlig J, Langer T, Höger H, Golebiowska J, Popik P, Lubec G. A Novel Dopamine Transporter Inhibitor CE-123 Improves Cognitive Flexibility and Maintains Impulsivity in Healthy Male Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:222. [PMID: 29230168 PMCID: PMC5711856 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Reduced cognitive abilities are often characterized by an impairment of flexibility, i.e., the ability to switch from learned rules or categories that were important in certain contexts to different new modalities that rule the task. Drugs targeting the dopamine transporter (DAT) are widely used for their potential to enhance cognitive abilities. However, commercially available drugs are of limited specificity for DAT, blocking also noradrenaline and serotonine transporters, that can lead to unwanted side effects in healthy subjects. Therefore, we tested a newly synthetized compound (CE-123) with higher specificity for DAT in male rats in an attentional set-shifting task (ASST), that proves for cognitive flexibility and a 5-choice serial-reaction time task (5-CSRTT) assessing visuospatial attention and impulsivity. Treated rats at a dose of 0.3 and 1.0 but not 0.1 mg/kg bodyweight showed reduced extra-dimensional shifts in the ASST compared to controls indicating increased cognitive flexibility. Rats treated with R-Modafinil, a commercially available DAT inhibitor at a dose of 10 mg/kg bodyweight showed increased premature responses, an indicator of increased impulsivity, during a 10 s but not a 2.5, 5, or 7.5 s intertrial interval when compared to vehicle-treated rats in the 5-CSRTT. This was not found in rats treated with CE-123 at the same dose as for R-Modafinil. Visuospatial attention, except premature responses, did not differ between R-Modafinil and CE-123-treated rats and their respective controls. Thus, CE-123 increased cognitive flexibility with diminished impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Nikiforuk
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Predrag Kalaba
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marija Ilic
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Volker Korz
- Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Vladimir Dragačević
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Judith Wackerlig
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thierry Langer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Harald Höger
- Core Unit of Biomedical Research, Division of Laboratory Animal Science and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Joanna Golebiowska
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Piotr Popik
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Gert Lubec
- Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
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10
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Phencyclidine increased while isolation rearing did not affect progressive ratio responding in rats: Investigating potential models of amotivation in schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res 2017; 364:413-422. [PMID: 29175446 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1% of the global population with heterogeneous symptoms including positive, negative, and cognitive. While treatment for positive symptoms exists, none have been developed to treat negative symptoms. Animal models of schizophrenia are required to test targeted treatments and since patients exhibit reduced effort (breakpoints) for reward in a progressive ratio (PR) task, we examined the PR breakpoints of rats treated with the NMDA receptor antagonist phencyclidine or those reared in isolation - two common manipulations used to induce schizophrenia-relevant behaviors in rodents. METHODS In two cohorts, the PR breakpoint for a palatable food reward was examined in Long Evans rats after: 1) a repeated phencyclidine regimen; 2) A subchronic phencyclidine regimen followed by drug washout; and 3) post-weaning social isolation. RESULTS Rats treated with repeated phencyclidine and those following washout from phencyclidine exhibited higher PR breakpoints than vehicle-treated rats. The breakpoint of isolation reared rats did not differ from those socially reared, despite abnormalities of these rats in other schizophrenia-relevant behaviors. CONCLUSION Despite their common use for modeling other schizophrenia-relevant behaviors neither phencyclidine treatment nor isolation rearing recreated the motivational deficits observed in patients with schizophrenia, as measured by PR breakpoint. Other manipulations, and negative symptom-relevant behaviors, require investigation prior to testing putative therapeutics.
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11
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Delis F, Rosko L, Shroff A, Leonard KE, Thanos PK. Oral haloperidol or olanzapine intake produces distinct and region-specific increase in cannabinoid receptor levels that is prevented by high fat diet. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 79:268-280. [PMID: 28619471 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Clinical studies show higher levels of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1R) in the brain of schizophrenic patients while preclinical studies report a significant functional interaction between dopamine D2 receptors and CB1Rs as well as an upregulation of CB1Rs after antipsychotic treatment. These findings prompted us to study the effects of chronic oral intake of a first and a second generation antipsychotic, haloperidol and olanzapine, on the levels and distribution of CB1Rs in the rat brain. Rats consumed either regular chow or high-fat food and drank water, haloperidol drinking solution (1.5mg/kg), or olanzapine drinking solution (10mg/kg) for four weeks. Motor and cognitive functions were tested at the end of treatment week 3 and upon drug discontinuation. Two days after drug discontinuation, rats were euthanized and brains were processed for in vitro receptor autoradiography. In chow-fed animals, haloperidol and olanzapine increased CB1R levels in the basal ganglia and the hippocampus, in a similar, but not identical pattern. In addition, olanzapine had unique effects in CB1R upregulation in higher order cognitive areas, in the secondary somatosensory cortex, in the visual and auditory cortices and the geniculate nuclei, as well as in the hypothalamus. High fat food consumption prevented antipsychotic-induced increase in CB1R levels in all regions examined, with one exception, the globus pallidus, in which they were higher in haloperidol-treated rats. The results point towards the hypothesis that increased CB1R levels could be a confounding effect of antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia that is circumveneted by high fat feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foteini Delis
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45110, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Lauren Rosko
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Aditya Shroff
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Kenneth E Leonard
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Panayotis K Thanos
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions, Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
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12
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Allen PJ, Jimerson DC, Kanarek RB, Kocsis B. Impaired reversal learning in an animal model of anorexia nervosa. Physiol Behav 2017; 179:313-318. [PMID: 28655555 PMCID: PMC7041414 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinical investigations indicate that anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with impaired cognitive flexibility. Activity-based anorexia (ABA), a rodent behavioral model of AN, is characterized by compulsive wheel running associated with voluntary food restriction and progressive weight loss. The goal of this study was to test whether ABA is associated with impaired cognitive flexibility. METHODS Female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform the attentional set-shifting test (ASST) to assess cognitive flexibility, including capacity for set-shifting and reversal learning. Rats were assigned to ABA or weight-loss paired control (WPC) conditions. Following baseline testing, the ABA group had access to food for 1h/d and access to running wheels 23h/d until 20% weight loss was voluntarily achieved. For the WPC group, running wheels were locked and access to food was restricted to reduce body weight at the same rate as the ABA group. ASST performance was assessed after weight loss, and again following weight recovery. RESULTS Compared to baseline, the ABA group (but not the WPC group) showed a significant decrement in reversal learning at low weight, with return to baseline performance following weight restoration. The other components of ASST were not affected. CONCLUSIONS Impaired reversal learning, indicative of increased perseverative responding, in the ABA model reveals its potential to recapitulate selective components of cortical dysfunction in AN. This finding supports the utility of the ABA model for investigations of the neural mechanisms underlying such deficits. Reversal learning relies on neural circuits involving the orbitofrontal cortex and thus the results implicate orbitofrontal abnormalities in AN-like state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia J. Allen
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center &
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02135 (USA)
| | - David C. Jimerson
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center &
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02135 (USA)
| | - Robin B. Kanarek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155
(USA)
| | - Bernat Kocsis
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center &
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02135 (USA)
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13
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Robbins TW. Cross-species studies of cognition relevant to drug discovery: a translational approach. Br J Pharmacol 2017; 174:3191-3199. [PMID: 28432778 PMCID: PMC5595762 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This review advances the case that bidirectional, cross-species translation of findings from experimental animals to and from humans is an important strategy for drug discovery. Animal models of mental disorders require appropriate behavioural or cognitive outcome variables that can be generalized cross-species. One example is the treatment of impulsive behaviour in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with stimulant drugs. Performance on the stop signal reaction task as an index of impulsivity is improved both in healthy human volunteers and in patients with adult ADHD by stimulant drugs and also by the selective noradrenaline reuptake blocker atomoxetine. Functional neuroimaging evidence suggests a modulation of circuitry including the inferior prefrontal cortex by this drug. Parallel work in rats had shown that atomoxetine improves stop signal performance by affecting possibly homologous regions of the rodent prefrontal cortex. This parallel effect of atomoxetine in rodents and humans could potentially be exploited in other disorders in which impulsivity plays a role, such as stimulant abuse and Parkinson's disease. A contrasting relative lack of involvement of 5-HT mechanisms in the stop signal reaction time task will also be described. Research in humans and experimental animals that demonstrate effects of serotoninergic agents such as the selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor citalopram on probabilistic learning and reversal (upon which atomoxetine has little effect) will also be reviewed, possibly relevant to the treatment of clinical depression, Finally, other promising examples of parallel studies of behavioural effects of CNS-active drugs in animals and humans will also be described. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Pharmacology of Cognition: a Panacea for Neuropsychiatric Disease? To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.19/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- T W Robbins
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience InstituteUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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Sowa-Kućma M, Pańczyszyn-Trzewik P, Misztak P, Jaeschke RR, Sendek K, Styczeń K, Datka W, Koperny M. Vortioxetine: A review of the pharmacology and clinical profile of the novel antidepressant. Pharmacol Rep 2017; 69:595-601. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharep.2017.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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15
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Significance of the nicotinic alpha7 receptor in cognition and antipsychotic-like behavior in the rat. Behav Brain Res 2017; 333:129-134. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Gallant S, Welch L, Martone P, Shalev U. Effects of chronic prenatal MK-801 treatment on object recognition, cognitive flexibility, and drug-induced locomotor activity in juvenile and adult rat offspring. Behav Brain Res 2017; 328:62-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Revised: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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17
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A systematic review comparing sex differences in cognitive function in schizophrenia and in rodent models for schizophrenia, implications for improved therapeutic strategies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 68:979-1000. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Revised: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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18
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Goetghebeur PJ, Swartz JE. True alignment of preclinical and clinical research to enhance success in CNS drug development: a review of the current evidence. J Psychopharmacol 2016; 30:586-94. [PMID: 27147593 DOI: 10.1177/0269881116645269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Central nervous system pharmacological research and development has reached a critical turning point. Patients suffering from disorders afflicting the central nervous system are numerous and command significant attention from the pharmaceutical industry. However, given the numerous failures of promising drugs, many companies are no longer investing in or, indeed, are divesting from this therapeutic area. Central nervous system drug development must change in order to develop effective therapies to treat these patients. Preclinical research is a cornerstone of drug development; however, it is frequently criticised for its lack of predictive validity. Animal models and assays can be shown to be more predictive than reported and, on many occasions, the lack of thorough preclinical testing is potentially to blame for some of the clinical failures. Important factors such as translational aspects, nature of animal models, variances in acute versus chronic dosing, development of add-on therapies and understanding of the full dose-response relationship are too often neglected. Reducing the attrition rate in central nervous system drug development could be achieved by addressing these important questions before novel compounds enter the clinical phase. This review illustrates the relevance of employing these criteria to translational central nervous system research, better to ensure success in developing new drugs in this therapeutic area.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jina E Swartz
- CNS Therapeutic Area Unit, Takeda Development Centre Europe Ltd, London, UK
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19
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The effects of PDE10 inhibition on attentional set-shifting do not depend on the activation of dopamine D1 receptors. Behav Pharmacol 2016; 27:331-8. [DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Nikiforuk A, Kos T, Hołuj M, Potasiewicz A, Popik P. Positive allosteric modulators of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors reverse ketamine-induced schizophrenia-like deficits in rats. Neuropharmacology 2016; 101:389-400. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2015] [Revised: 07/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Wood C, Kohli S, Malcolm E, Allison C, Shoaib M. Subtype-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists can improve cognitive flexibility in an attentional set shifting task. Neuropharmacology 2016; 105:106-113. [PMID: 26772970 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Revised: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are considered to be viable targets to enhance cognition in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Activation of nAChRs with selective nicotinic receptor agonists may provide effective means to pharmacologically treat cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. Cognitive flexibility is one aspect of cognition, which can be assessed in a rodent model of the attentional set-shifting task (ASST). The aim of the present study was two-fold, firstly, to evaluate the efficacy of a series of subtype selective nAChR agonists, such as those that target α7 and α4β2 nAChR subtypes in non-compromised rodents. Secondly, nicotine as a prototypic agonist was evaluated for its effects to restore attentional deficits produced by sub-chronic ketamine exposure in the ASST. Male hooded Lister rats underwent habituation, consisting of a simple odour and medium discrimination with subsequent assessment 24 h later. In experimentally naïve rats, α7 subtype selective agonists, compound-A and SSR180711 along with PNU-120596, an α7 positive allosteric modulator (PAM), were compared against the β2* selective agonist, 5IA-85380. All compounds except for PNU-120596 were observed to significantly improve extra-dimensional (ED) shift performance, nicotine, 5IA-85380 and SSR180711 further enhanced the final reversal (REV3) stage of the task. In another experiment, sub-chronic ketamine treatment produced robust deficits during the ED and the REV3 stages of the discriminations; rodents required significantly more trials to reach criterion during these discriminations. These deficits were attenuated in rodents treated acutely with nicotine (0.1 mg/kg SC) 10 min prior to the ED shift. These results highlight the potential utility of targeting nAChRs to enhance cognitive flexibility, particularly the α7 and β2* receptor subtypes. The improvement with nicotine was much greater in rodents that were impaired following the sub-chronic ketamine exposure suggesting a greater therapeutic opportunity to target nicotinic receptors for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Wood
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Medical School, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Shivali Kohli
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Medical School, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Emma Malcolm
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Medical School, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Claire Allison
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Medical School, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Mohammed Shoaib
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Medical School, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK.
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22
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Janhunen SK, Svärd H, Talpos J, Kumar G, Steckler T, Plath N, Lerdrup L, Ruby T, Haman M, Wyler R, Ballard TM. The subchronic phencyclidine rat model: relevance for the assessment of novel therapeutics for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:4059-83. [PMID: 26070547 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-3954-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Current treatments for schizophrenia have modest, if any, efficacy on cognitive dysfunction, creating a need for novel therapies. Their development requires predictive animal models. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) hypothesis of schizophrenia indicates the use of NMDA antagonists, like subchronic phencyclidine (scPCP) to model cognitive dysfunction in adult animals. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to assess the scPCP model by (1) reviewing published findings of scPCP-induced neurochemical changes and effects on cognitive tasks in adult rats and (2) comparing findings from a multi-site study to determine scPCP effects on standard and touchscreen cognitive tasks. METHODS Across four research sites, the effects of scPCP (typically 5 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days, followed by at least 7-day washout) in adult male Lister Hooded rats were studied on novel object recognition (NOR) with 1-h delay, acquisition and reversal learning in Morris water maze and touchscreen-based visual discrimination. RESULTS Literature findings showed that scPCP impaired attentional set-shifting (ASST) and NOR in several labs and induced a variety of neurochemical changes across different labs. In the multi-site study, scPCP impaired NOR, but not acquisition or reversal learning in touchscreen or water maze. Yet, this treatment regimen induced locomotor hypersensitivity to acute PCP until 13-week post-cessation. CONCLUSIONS The multi-site study confirmed that scPCP impaired NOR and ASST only and demonstrated the reproducibility and usefulness of the touchscreen approach. Our recommendation, prior to testing novel therapeutics in the scPCP model, is to be aware that further work is required to understand the neurochemical changes and specificity of the cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanna K Janhunen
- CNS Research, Research and Development, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Tengstrominkatu 8, P.O. Box 425, 20101, Turku, Finland.
| | - Heta Svärd
- CNS Research, Research and Development, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Tengstrominkatu 8, P.O. Box 425, 20101, Turku, Finland
| | - John Talpos
- Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Thomas Steckler
- Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Niels Plath
- Synaptic Transmission, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500, Valby, Denmark
| | - Linda Lerdrup
- Synaptic Transmission, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500, Valby, Denmark
| | - Trine Ruby
- Synaptic Transmission, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500, Valby, Denmark
| | - Marie Haman
- Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Rare Diseases, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Roger Wyler
- Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Rare Diseases, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Theresa M Ballard
- Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Rare Diseases, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070, Basel, Switzerland
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23
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Lodge D, Mercier MS. Ketamine and phencyclidine: the good, the bad and the unexpected. Br J Pharmacol 2015; 172:4254-76. [PMID: 26075331 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2015] [Revised: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The history of ketamine and phencyclidine from their development as potential clinical anaesthetics through drugs of abuse and animal models of schizophrenia to potential rapidly acting antidepressants is reviewed. The discovery in 1983 of the NMDA receptor antagonist property of ketamine and phencyclidine was a key step to understanding their pharmacology, including their psychotomimetic effects in man. This review describes the historical context and the course of that discovery and its expansion into other hallucinatory drugs. The relevance of these findings to modern hypotheses of schizophrenia and the implications for drug discovery are reviewed. The findings of the rapidly acting antidepressant effects of ketamine in man are discussed in relation to other glutamatergic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Lodge
- Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - M S Mercier
- Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Abstract
The attentional set-shifting task (ASST) is the rat version of the intra-dimensional/extra-dimensional (ID/ED) test and was developed fifteen years ago. Damage to the medial frontal cortex results in a failure to "unlearn" old contingencies, i.e., impairs ED set shifting. As such, the task measures cognitive flexibility that can be compromised both in schizophrenia and depression as well as in animal models of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Popik
- Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Nikiforuk
- Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
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25
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Tse MT, Piantadosi PT, Floresco SB. Prefrontal cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid transmission and cognitive function: drawing links to schizophrenia from preclinical research. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 77:929-39. [PMID: 25442792 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2013] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia is one of the most pervasive and debilitating aspects of the disorder. Among the numerous neural abnormalities that may contribute to schizophrenia symptoms, perturbations in markers for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), particularly within the frontal lobes, are some of the most reliable alterations observed at postmortem examination. However, how prefrontal GABA dysfunction contributes to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia remains unclear. We provide an overview of postmortem GABAergic perturbations in the brain affected by schizophrenia and describe circumstantial evidence linking these alterations to cognitive dysfunction. In addition, we conduct a survey of studies using neurodevelopmental, genetic, and pharmacologic rodent models that induce schizophrenia-like cognitive impairments, highlighting the convergence of these mechanistically distinct approaches to prefrontal GABAergic disruption. We review preclinical studies that have directly targeted prefrontal cortical GABAergic transmission using local application of GABAA receptor antagonists. These studies have provided an important link between GABA transmission and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia because they show that reducing prefrontal inhibitory transmission induces various cognitive, emotional, and dopaminergic abnormalities that resemble aspects of the disorder. These converging clinical and preclinical findings provide strong support for the idea that perturbations in GABA signaling drive certain forms of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Future studies using this approach will yield information to refine further a putative "GABA hypothesis" of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maric T Tse
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Patrick T Piantadosi
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Abstract
Sertindole is an atypical antipsychotic reintroduced into the European market in 2005 after a reevaluation of its risks and benefits, under the agreement that close electrocardiographic screening would be conducted. It has a high affinity for dopamine D2, serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C, and α1 adrenergic receptors. Moreover, sertindole shows modest affinity for H1-histaminergic and muscarinic receptors. The pharmacological properties, clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of sertindole are covered in this article based on a literature review from 1990 to 2014. Given current available findings, sertindole is at least effective as haloperidol, risperidone, and olanzapine on schizophrenia symptoms. Regarding its efficacy on cognitive symptoms, sertindole effect is supported by both preclinical and clinical studies versus haloperidol and olanzapine; however, its role on cognition needs further clarification. Concerning safety and tolerability issues, sertindole is characterized by a low potential to cause sedation and extrapyramidal symptoms, and by an acceptable metabolic profile; nevertheless, cardiac safety remains a major concern, and the electrocardiographic monitoring should be carried out during treatment to substantially reduce cardiovascular risk. In conclusion, although it has an equivalent profile compared to other antipsychotic drugs, sertindole actually remains a second-line choice for schizophrenic patients intolerant to at least one other antipsychotic agent.
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27
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Baker TW, Florczynski MM, Beninger RJ. Differential effects of clozapine, metoclopramide, haloperidol and risperidone on acquisition and performance of operant responding in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:1535-43. [PMID: 25381749 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3789-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2013] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Prior research has not systematically investigated the effects of systemic antipsychotic drugs on operant response acquisition, specifically their behavioural microstructure, reinforcement blunting and relative potency in acquisition compared to performance once operant responding has stabilized. OBJECTIVES This study aims to systematically investigate the effects of systemically administered clozapine, metoclopramide, haloperidol and risperidone during free operant response acquisition and performance. METHODS Following magazine training, food-restricted male Wistar rats lever pressed for food reward in 15 min daily operant conditioning sessions. RESULTS All drugs suppressed operant response acquisition and performance. Risperidone and metoclopramide, but not clozapine or haloperidol, suppressed operant responding more potently during acquisition than performance. The dopamine D2-like receptor antagonists haloperidol and metoclopramide that affect the ventral and dorsal striatum blunted reinforcement and decreased inactive lever presses in acquisition. In contrast, the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and risperidone that affect the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex failed to decrease inactive lever presses during acquisition, suggesting a possible decision-making deficit. Haloperidol decreased active lever pressing over performance days. The drugs did not appear to affect rats' sensitivity to active lever press outcome, even though they suppressed active lever pressing. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that reinforcement impact during operant acquisition is dependent on dopamine D2 receptors while drugs affecting, among other areas, the prefrontal cortex produce a deficit in ability to suppress inactive lever press responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyson W Baker
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, 62 Arch St., Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada
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28
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Young JW, Geyer MA. Developing treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: the challenge of translation. J Psychopharmacol 2015; 29:178-96. [PMID: 25516372 PMCID: PMC4670265 DOI: 10.1177/0269881114555252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a life-long debilitating mental disorder affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. The serendipitous discovery of antipsychotics focused pharmaceutical research on developing a better antipsychotic. Our understanding of the disorder has advanced however, with the knowledge that cognitive enhancers are required for patients in order to improve their everyday lives. While antipsychotics treat psychosis, they do not enhance cognition and hence are not antischizophrenics. Developing pro-cognitive therapeutics has been extremely difficult, however, especially when no approved treatment exists. In lieu of stumbling on an efficacious treatment, developing targeted compounds can be facilitated by understanding the neural mechanisms underlying altered cognitive functioning in patients. Equally importantly, these cognitive domains will need to be measured similarly in animals and humans so that novel targets can be tested prior to conducting expensive clinical trials. To date, the limited similarity of testing across species has resulted in a translational bottleneck. In this review, we emphasize that schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by abnormal cognitive behavior. Quantifying these abnormalities using tasks having cross-species validity would enable the quantification of comparable processes in rodents. This approach would increase the likelihood that the neural substrates underlying relevant behaviors will be conserved across species. Hence, we detail cross-species tasks which can be used to test the effects of manipulations relevant to schizophrenia and putative therapeutics. Such tasks offer the hope of providing a bridge between non-clinical and clinical testing that will eventually lead to treatments developed specifically for patients with deficient cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- JW Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - MA Geyer
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
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29
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Sanchez C, Asin KE, Artigas F. Vortioxetine, a novel antidepressant with multimodal activity: Review of preclinical and clinical data. Pharmacol Ther 2015; 145:43-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2014.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 315] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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30
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Abstract
Attentional set-shifting, as a measure of executive flexibility, has been a staple of investigations into human cognition for over six decades. Mediated by the frontal cortex in mammals, the cognitive processes involved in forming, maintaining and shifting an attentional set are vulnerable to dysfunction arising from a number of human neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases) and other neurological disorders (such as schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Our understanding of these diseases and disorders, and the cognitive impairments induced by them, continues to advance, in tandem with an increasing number of tools at our disposal. In this chapter, we review and compare commonly used attentional set-shifting tasks (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task and Intradimensional/Extradimensional tasks) and their applicability across species. In addition to humans, attentional set-shifting has been observed in a number of other animals, with a substantial body of literature describing performance in monkeys and rodents. We consider the task designs used to investigate attentional set-shifting in these species and the methods used to model human diseases and disorders, and ultimately the comparisons and differences between species-specific tasks, and between performance across species.
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31
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Pedersen CS, Sørensen DB, Parachikova AI, Plath N. PCP-induced deficits in murine nest building activity: Employment of an ethological rodent behavior to mimic negative-like symptoms of schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res 2014; 273:63-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2014] [Revised: 07/10/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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32
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Muscatello MRA, Bruno A, Micali Bellinghieri P, Pandolfo G, Zoccali RA. Sertindole in schizophrenia: efficacy and safety issues. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2014; 15:1943-53. [DOI: 10.1517/14656566.2014.947960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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33
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Redrobe JP, Jørgensen M, Christoffersen CT, Montezinho LP, Bastlund JF, Carnerup M, Bundgaard C, Lerdrup L, Plath N. In vitro and in vivo characterisation of Lu AF64280, a novel, brain penetrant phosphodiesterase (PDE) 2A inhibitor: potential relevance to cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:3151-67. [PMID: 24577516 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3492-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2013] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Here, we present the pharmacological characterisation of Lu AF64280, a novel, selective, brain penetrant phosphodiesterase (PDE) 2A inhibitor, in in vitro/in vivo assays indicative of PDE2A inhibition, and in vivo models/assays relevant to cognitive processing or antipsychotic-like activity. The in vitro selectivity of Lu AF64280 was determined against a panel of PDE enzymes and 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels in the hippocampus were determined using in vivo microdialysis. Lu AF64280 potently inhibited hPDE2A (Ki = 20 nM), 50-fold above moderate inhibition of both hPDE9A (Ki = 1,000 nM) and hPDE10A (Ki = 1,800 nM), and displayed a >250-fold selectivity over all other full-length human recombinant PDE family members (Ki above 5,000 nM). Lu AF64280 (20 mg/kg) significantly increased cGMP levels in the hippocampus (p < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated mice), attenuated sub-chronic phencyclidine-induced deficits in novel object exploration in rats (10 mg/kg, p < 0.001 versus vehicle-treated), blocked early postnatal phencyclidine-induced deficits in the intradimensional/extradimensional shift task in rats (1 and 10 mg/kg, p < 0.001 versus vehicle-treated) and attenuated spontaneous P20-N40 auditory gating deficits in DBA/2 mice (20 mg/kg, p < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated). In contrast, Lu AF64280 failed to attenuate phencyclidine-induced hyperactivity in mice, and was devoid of antipsychotic-like activity in the conditioned avoidance response paradigm in rats, at any dose tested. Lu AF64280 represents a novel tool compound for selective PDE2A inhibition that substantiates a critical role of this enzyme in cognitive processes under normal and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Redrobe
- Neuroscience Research DK, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, Valby, 2500, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Maeda K, Lerdrup L, Sugino H, Akazawa H, Amada N, McQuade RD, Stensbøl TB, Bundgaard C, Arnt J, Kikuchi T. Brexpiprazole II: Antipsychotic-Like and Procognitive Effects of a Novel Serotonin-Dopamine Activity Modulator. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2014; 350:605-14. [DOI: 10.1124/jpet.114.213819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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Gaskin PLR, Alexander SPH, Fone KCF. Neonatal phencyclidine administration and post-weaning social isolation as a dual-hit model of 'schizophrenia-like' behaviour in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:2533-45. [PMID: 24402141 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3424-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder comprising positive, negative and cognitive deficits with a poorly defined neurobiological aetiology; therefore, animal models with greater translational reliability are essential to develop improved therapies. OBJECTIVES This study combines two developmental challenges in rats, neonatal phencyclidine (PCP) injection and subsequent rearing in social isolation from weaning, to attempt to produce more robust behavioural deficits with greater translational relevance to schizophrenia than either challenge alone. METHODS Forty-two male Lister-hooded rat pups received the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP, 10 mg/kg, s.c.), or vehicle on post-natal day (PND) 7, 9 and 11 and were weaned on PND 23 into group housing (saline-treated n = 11 or PCP-treated n = 10) or isolation (saline n = 10 or PCP n = 11). Six weeks post-weaning, novelty- and PCP-induced (3.2 mg/kg) locomotor activity, novel object discrimination, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle and contextual memory in a conditioned emotion response (CER) were recorded. RESULTS Isolation rearing alone significantly elevated baseline locomotor activity and induced visual recognition memory impairment in novel object discrimination. Neonatal PCP treatment did not induce locomotor sensitisation to a subsequent acute PCP injection, but it impaired prepulse inhibition when combined with isolation rearing. CER freezing behaviour was significantly reduced by isolation rearing but an even greater effect occurred when combined with neonatal PCP treatment. CONCLUSIONS Neonatal PCP and isolation rearing both produce behavioural deficits in adult rats, but combined treatment caused a wider range of more severe cognitive impairments, providing a more comprehensive preclinical model to determine the neurobiological aetiology of schizophrenia than either treatment alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip L R Gaskin
- School of Life Sciences, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK
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Evidence that aetiological risk factors for psychiatric disorders cause distinct patterns of cognitive deficits. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 24:879-89. [PMID: 24377755 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2013] [Revised: 11/07/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are associated with neurocognitive symptoms including deficits in attentional set shifting (changing attentional focus from one perceptual dimension to another) and reversal learning (learning a reversed stimulus/outcome contingency). Maternal infection during gestation and chronically flattened glucocorticoid rhythm are aetiological risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We hypothesised that these factors are causative in the neurocognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Here we used maternal immune activation (MIA) as a rat model of maternal infection, and sub-chronic low dose corticosterone treatment as a rat model of flattened glucocorticoid rhythm. For comparison we examined the effects of sub-chronic phencyclidine - a widely used rodent model of schizophrenia pathology. The effects of these three treatments on neurocognition were explored using the attentional set shifting task - a multistage test of executive functions. As expected, phencyclidine treatment selectively impaired set shifting ability. In contrast, MIA caused a marked and selective impairment of reversal learning. Corticosterone treatment impaired reversal learning but in addition also impaired rule abstraction and prevented the animals from forming an attentional set. The reversal learning deficits induced by MIA and corticosterone treatment were due to increases in non-perseverative rather than perseverative errors. Our data indicate that the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may be explained by aetiological factors including maternal infection and glucocorticoid abnormalities and moreover suggest that the particular spectrum of cognitive deficits in individual patients may depend on the specific underlying aetiology of the disorder.
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Scheggia D, Bebensee A, Weinberger DR, Papaleo F. The ultimate intra-/extra-dimensional attentional set-shifting task for mice. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 75:660-70. [PMID: 23810621 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2013] [Revised: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/17/2013] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alterations in executive control and cognitive flexibility, such as attentional set-shifting abilities, are core features of several neuropsychiatric diseases. The most widely used neuropsychological tests for the evaluation of attentional set shifting in humans are the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Intra-/Extra-Dimensional set-shift task (ID/ED). These tasks have proven clinical relevance and have been successfully adapted for monkeys. However, similar tasks currently available for rodents are limited, mainly because of their manual-based testing procedures. The current limitations of rodent attentional set-shifting tasks are hampering translational advances in psychiatric medicine. METHODS To closely mimic the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery ID/ED task in primates, we present the development of a novel operant-based two-chamber ID/ED "Operon" task for mice. RESULTS We show the ability of this novel task to measure attentional set shifting in mice and the effects of genetic and pharmacologic manipulations of dopamine and glutamate. In genetically modified mice with reduced catechol-O-methyltransferase activity there was selective improvement on extradimensional shift abilities and impairment of serial reversal learning. Chronic administration of phencyclidine produced a selective impairment of extradimensional shift while producing a generalized decrease in latency to respond. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate that this novel ID/ED Operon task may be an effective preclinical tool for drug testing and large genetic screening relevant to the study of executive dysfunctions and cognitive symptoms of psychiatric disorders. These findings may help elucidate the biological validity of similar findings in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Scheggia
- Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Audrey Bebensee
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Daniel R Weinberger
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins University Medical Campus; Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neuroscience and the Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Francesco Papaleo
- Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy.
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Brown JW, Rueter LE, Zhang M. Predictive validity of a MK-801-induced cognitive impairment model in mice: implications on the potential limitations and challenges of modeling cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia preclinically. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2014; 49:53-62. [PMID: 24269664 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2013] [Revised: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 11/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) is a major and disabling symptom domain of the disease that is generally unresponsive to current pharmacotherapies. Critically important to the discovery of novel therapeutics for CIAS is the utilization of preclinical models with robust predictive validity. We investigated the predictive validity of MK-801-induced memory impairments in mouse inhibitory avoidance (MK-IA) as a preclinical model for CIAS by investigating compounds that have been tested in humans, including antipsychotics, sodium channel blocker mood stabilizers, and putative cognitive enhancers. The atypical antipsychotic clozapine, as well as risperidone and olanzapine (see Brown et al., 2013), had no effect on MK-801-induced memory impairments. For sodium channel blockers, carbamazepine significantly attenuated memory impairments induced by MK-801, whereas lamotrigine had no effect. Nicotine, donepezil, modafinil, and xanomeline all significantly attenuated MK-801-induced memory impairments, but the magnitude of effects and the dose-responses observed varied across compounds. Clinically, only acute administration of nicotine has demonstrated consistent positive effects on CIAS, while inconsistent results have been reported for lamotrigine, donepezil, and modafinil; atypical antipsychotics produce only moderate improvements at best. A positive clinical signal has been observed with xanomeline, but only in a small pilot trial. The results presented here suggest that the MK-IA model lacks robust predictive validity for CIAS as the model is likely permissive and may indicate false positive signals for compounds and mechanisms that lack clear clinical efficacy for CIAS. Our findings also highlight the potential limitations and challenges of using NMDA receptor antagonists in rodents to model CIAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan W Brown
- Neuroscience Discovery, AbbVie, 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL 60064, United States.
| | - Lynne E Rueter
- Neuroscience Discovery, AbbVie, 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL 60064, United States
| | - Min Zhang
- Neuroscience Discovery, AbbVie, 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago, IL 60064, United States
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Grupe M, Grunnet M, Laursen B, Bastlund JF. Neuropharmacological modulation of the P3-like event-related potential in a rat two-tone auditory discrimination task with modafinil and NS9283, a positive allosteric modulator of α4β2 nAChRs. Neuropharmacology 2013; 79:444-55. [PMID: 24361451 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2013] [Revised: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The P300 (P3) event-related potential (ERP) is a neurophysiological signal believed to reflect cognitive processing of salient cues, and is thus used as a measure of attention and working memory. Additionally, P3 amplitude and latency is altered in neurological diseases and can be pharmacologically modulated. As P3-like ERPs can be recorded in rodents, it may serve as a potential translational biomarker of value for drug discovery. Here we investigated whether a positive allosteric modulator of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, NS9283, and the psychostimulant modafinil could modulate P3-like ERPs in healthy adult rats performing an auditory oddball discrimination task. ERPs were recorded with electroencephalography electrodes implanted into mediodorsal (MD) thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and auditory cortex (AC). P3-like ERPs were detected in all brain regions, displaying larger amplitudes in target trials compared to non-target trials. Administration of modafinil (64 mg/kg) decreased P3-like ERP latency in MD thalamus and AC, whereas NS9283 augmented P3-like ERP amplitude in MD thalamus at 0.3 mg/kg and in AC at 3.0 mg/kg. Additionally, N1 pre-attention peak amplitude in MD thalamus was increased with 0.3 mg/kg NS9283. Neither of the compounds enhanced task performance. Rather, modafinil lowered correct rejections in non-target trials. In summary, our findings reveal pharmacological modulation of the rat P3-like ERP in cortical and subcortical regions by modafinil and NS9283. These findings encourage further exploration of the rat P3-like ERP in order to promote the understanding of its meaning within cognition, as well as its applicability as a translatable biomarker in drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morten Grupe
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Synaptic Transmission 1, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby, Denmark.
| | - Morten Grunnet
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Synaptic Transmission 1, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby, Denmark.
| | - Bettina Laursen
- Synaptic Transmission 1, H. Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby, Denmark; Mech-Sense, Department of Gastroenterology, Aalborg University Hospital, Moelleparkvej 4, 9100 Aalborg, Denmark.
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Measuring the construct of executive control in schizophrenia: Defining and validating translational animal paradigms for discovery research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:2125-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2011] [Revised: 03/20/2012] [Accepted: 04/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Tacrine improves reversal learning in older rats. Neuropharmacology 2013; 73:284-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2012] [Revised: 04/02/2013] [Accepted: 05/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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de Bruin N, van Drimmelen M, Kops M, van Elk J, Wetering MMVD, Schwienbacher I. Effects of risperidone, clozapine and the 5-HT6 antagonist GSK-742457 on PCP-induced deficits in reversal learning in the two-lever operant task in male Sprague Dawley rats. Behav Brain Res 2013; 244:15-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.01.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2012] [Revised: 01/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Innovative solutions to novel drug development in mental health. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:2438-44. [PMID: 23563062 PMCID: PMC3788850 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2012] [Revised: 03/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
New approaches to identifying and validating potential drug targets are essential. A novel drug toolbox and innovative private-public partnerships are required. Translational neuroscience research will enhance understanding of mental health. The training of a new cadre of clinician scientists is a necessary foundation. Neuropsychiatric disorders require holistic, early, effective treatment.
There are many new advances in neuroscience and mental health which should lead to a greater understanding of the neurobiological dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders and new developments for early, effective treatments. To do this, a biomarker approach combining genetic, neuroimaging, cognitive and other biological measures is needed. The aim of this article is to highlight novel approaches for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment development. This article suggests approaches that can be taken in the future including novel mechanisms with preliminary clinical validation to provide a toolbox for mechanistic studies and also examples of translation and back-translation. The review also emphasizes the need for clinician-scientists to be trained in a novel way in order to equip them with the conceptual and experimental techniques required, and emphasizes the need for private-public partnership and pre-competitive knowledge exchange. This should lead the way for important new holistic treatment developments to improve cognition, functional outcome and well-being of people with neuropsychiatric disorders.
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McLean SL, Idris NF, Grayson B, Gendle DF, Mackie C, Lesage AS, Pemberton DJ, Neill JC. PNU-120596, a positive allosteric modulator of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, reverses a sub-chronic phencyclidine-induced cognitive deficit in the attentional set-shifting task in female rats. J Psychopharmacol 2012; 26:1265-70. [PMID: 22182741 DOI: 10.1177/0269881111431747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been highlighted as a target for cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia. Adult female hooded Lister rats received sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) (2 mg/kg) or vehicle i.p. twice daily for 7 days, followed by 7 days' washout. PCP-treated rats then received PNU-120596 (10 mg/kg; s.c.) or saline and were tested in the attentional set-shifting task. Sub-chronic PCP produced a significant cognitive deficit in the extra-dimensional shift (EDS) phase of the task (p < 0.001, compared with vehicle). PNU-120596 significantly improved performance of PCP-treated rats in the EDS phase of the attentional set-shifting task (p < 0.001). In conclusion, these data demonstrate that PNU-120596 improves cognitive dysfunction in our animal model of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, most likely via modulation of α7 nACh receptors.
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Pratt J, Winchester C, Dawson N, Morris B. Advancing schizophrenia drug discovery: optimizing rodent models to bridge the translational gap. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2012; 11:560-79. [DOI: 10.1038/nrd3649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Chase EA, Tait DS, Brown VJ. Lesions of the orbital prefrontal cortex impair the formation of attentional set in rats. Eur J Neurosci 2012; 36:2368-75. [PMID: 22672207 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08141.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In rats, reversal learning impairments are commonly reported after lesions of the orbital prefrontal cortex (OFC), in contrast to the effect of lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex, which impair attentional set-shifting. Comparable dissociations have also been reported in humans, monkeys and mice. However, these two manifestations of behavioural flexibility may share common cognitive processes. The present study tested the hypothesis that lesions of the OFC (an area that integrates expected and actual outcomes to signal which cues in the environment predict reward) would impair the formation of attentional set as well as impairing reversal learning. We compared the performance of lesioned and control rats on two set-shifting tasks. The first task we used, 'the 4ID task', had no reversal stages, but multiple intradimensional acquisitions before the extradimensional shift stage, to assess set-formation as well as set-shifting. The second task was the standard intradimensional/extradimensional '7-stage task', which includes reversal learning stages after each compound acquisition. Compared with controls, lesioned rats were slower to form attentional set on the 4ID task. When they did form a set, they required more trials to complete the extradimensional shift stage. On the 7-stage task, we replicated our previous finding of impaired reversal learning and reduced shift-costs. We interpret these findings as reflecting a single deficit in identifying relevant cues after unexpected outcomes, which supports recent models of OFC function. Our findings challenge the assumption that the contribution of the OFC to behavioural flexibility is limited to reversal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Alexander Chase
- School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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Redrobe JP, Elster L, Frederiksen K, Bundgaard C, de Jong IEM, Smith GP, Bruun AT, Larsen PH, Didriksen M. Negative modulation of GABAA α5 receptors by RO4938581 attenuates discrete sub-chronic and early postnatal phencyclidine (PCP)-induced cognitive deficits in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2012; 221:451-68. [PMID: 22124672 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2593-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2011] [Accepted: 11/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE A growing body of evidence suggests that negative modulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) GABA(A) α5 receptors may be a promising strategy for the treatment of certain facets of cognitive impairment; however, selective modulators of GABA(A) α5 receptors have not yet been tested in "schizophrenia-relevant" cognitive assay/model systems in animals. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to investigate the potential of RO4938581, a negative modulator of GABA(A) α5 receptors, and to attenuate cognitive impairments induced following sub-chronic (sub-PCP) and early postnatal PCP (neo-PCP) administration in the novel object recognition (NOR) and intra-extradimensional shift (ID/ED) paradigms in rats. Complementary in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies were performed to confirm negative modulatory activity of RO4938581 and to investigate animal model validity, concept validity and potential side effect issues, respectively. RESULTS In vitro studies confirmed the reported negative modulatory activity of RO4938581, whilst immunohistochemical analyses revealed significantly reduced parvalbumin-positive cells in the prefrontal cortex of sub-PCP- and neo-PCP-treated rats. RO4938581 (1 mg/kg) ameliorated both sub-PCP- and neo-PCP-induced cognitive deficits in NOR and ID/ED performance, respectively. In contrast, QH-II-066 (1 and 3 mg/kg), a GABA(A) α5 receptor positive modulator, impaired cognitive performance in the NOR task when administered to vehicle-treated animals. Additional studies revealed that both RO4938581 (1 mg/kg) and QH-II-066 (1 and 3 mg/kg) attenuated amphetamine-induced hyperactivity in rats. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these novel findings suggest that negative modulation of GABA(A) α5 receptors may represent an attractive treatment option for the cognitive impairments, and potentially positive symptoms, associated with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Redrobe
- Synaptic Transmission I, Neuroscience Research DK, H Lundbeck A/S, Ottiliavej 9, 2500 Valby, Denmark.
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Wittkampf LC, Arends J, Timmerman L, Lancel M. A review of modafinil and armodafinil as add-on therapy in antipsychotic-treated patients with schizophrenia. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol 2012; 2:115-25. [PMID: 23983964 PMCID: PMC3736916 DOI: 10.1177/2045125312441815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is characterized by reality distortion, psychomotor poverty and cognitive disturbances. These characteristics contribute to a lesser social functioning and lower quality of life in patients with schizophrenia. It has been suggested that modafinil and its isomer armodafinil as an add-on strategy to antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia may improve cognitive functioning, attenuate fatigue, inactiveness and other negative functions as well as weight gain. In this paper we review the literature relevant to the question of whether modafinil and armodafinil are beneficial as add-on therapy in antipsychotic-treated patients with schizophrenia. A total of 15 articles were included in this review; of the 15 articles, 10 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Evidence for the use of modafinil or armodafinil as add-on therapy to antipsychotic drugs to alleviate fatigue, sleepiness and inactivity is inconclusive. One cohort study and one out of two single-dose crossover RCTs in which modafinil addition was studied could demonstrate a positive effect. All five RCTs of modafinil (three RCTs) and armodafinil (two RCTs) addition with a longer study duration could not demonstrate a positive effect. With respect to cognitive disturbances, animal models of cognitive deficits show clear improvements with modafinil. In RCTs with a treatment duration of 4 weeks or more, however, no positive effect could be demonstrated on cognitive functioning with modafinil and armodafinil addition. Yet, four single-dose crossover RCTs of modafinil addition show significant positive effects on executive functioning, verbal memory span, visual memory, working memory, spatial planning, slowing in latency, impulse control and recognition of faces expressing sadness and sadness misattribution in the context of disgust recognition. The addition of modafinil or armodafinil to an antipsychotic regime, despite theoretical and preclinical considerations, has not been proved to enhance cognitive function, attenuate fatigue, enhance activity, improve negative symptoms and reduce weight in patients with schizophrenia.
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Dawson N, Thompson RJ, McVie A, Thomson DM, Morris BJ, Pratt JA. Modafinil reverses phencyclidine-induced deficits in cognitive flexibility, cerebral metabolism, and functional brain connectivity. Schizophr Bull 2012; 38:457-74. [PMID: 20810469 PMCID: PMC3329989 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbq090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In the present study, we employ mathematical modeling (partial least squares regression, PLSR) to elucidate the functional connectivity signatures of discrete brain regions in order to identify the functional networks subserving PCP-induced disruption of distinct cognitive functions and their restoration by the procognitive drug modafinil. METHODS We examine the functional connectivity signatures of discrete brain regions that show overt alterations in metabolism, as measured by semiquantitative 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, in an animal model (subchronic phencyclidine [PCP] treatment), which shows cognitive inflexibility with relevance to the cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia. RESULTS We identify the specific components of functional connectivity that contribute to the rescue of this cognitive inflexibility and to the restoration of overt cerebral metabolism by modafinil. We demonstrate that modafinil reversed both the PCP-induced deficit in the ability to switch attentional set and the PCP-induced hypometabolism in the prefrontal (anterior prelimbic) and retrosplenial cortices. Furthermore, modafinil selectively enhanced metabolism in the medial prelimbic cortex. The functional connectivity signatures of these regions identified a unifying functional subsystem underlying the influence of modafinil on cerebral metabolism and cognitive flexibility that included the nucleus accumbens core and locus coeruleus. In addition, these functional connectivity signatures identified coupling events specific to each brain region, which relate to known anatomical connectivity. CONCLUSIONS These data support clinical evidence that modafinil may alleviate cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and also demonstrate the benefit of applying PLSR modeling to characterize functional brain networks in translational models relevant to central nervous system dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Dawson
- Psychiatric Research Institute of Neuroscience in Glasgow (PsyRING), University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
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