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Luo Q, Kanen JW, Bari A, Skandali N, Langley C, Knudsen GM, Alsiö J, Phillips BU, Sahakian BJ, Cardinal RN, Robbins TW. Comparable roles for serotonin in rats and humans for computations underlying flexible decision-making. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:600-608. [PMID: 37914893 PMCID: PMC10789782 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01762-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Serotonin is critical for adapting behavior flexibly to meet changing environmental demands. Cognitive flexibility is important for successful attainment of goals, as well as for social interactions, and is frequently impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, a unifying mechanistic framework accounting for the role of serotonin in behavioral flexibility has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate common effects of manipulating serotonin function across two species (rats and humans) on latent processes supporting choice behavior during probabilistic reversal learning, using computational modelling. The findings support a role of serotonin in behavioral flexibility and plasticity, indicated, respectively, by increases or decreases in choice repetition ('stickiness') or reinforcement learning rates following manipulations intended to increase or decrease serotonin function. More specifically, the rate at which expected value increased following reward and decreased following punishment (reward and punishment 'learning rates') was greatest after sub-chronic administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram (5 mg/kg for 7 days followed by 10 mg/kg twice a day for 5 days) in rats. Conversely, humans given a single dose of an SSRI (20 mg escitalopram), which can decrease post-synaptic serotonin signalling, and rats that received the neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), which destroys forebrain serotonergic neurons, exhibited decreased reward learning rates. A basic perseverative tendency ('stickiness'), or choice repetition irrespective of the outcome produced, was likewise increased in rats after the 12-day SSRI regimen and decreased after single dose SSRI in humans and 5,7-DHT in rats. These common effects of serotonergic manipulations on rats and humans-identified via computational modelling-suggest an evolutionarily conserved role for serotonin in plasticity and behavioral flexibility and have clinical relevance transdiagnostically for neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Luo
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science and Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China.
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
| | - Jonathan W Kanen
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | | | - Nikolina Skandali
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, CB21 5EF, UK
- NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Christelle Langley
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Gitte Moos Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, the Neuroscience Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Johan Alsiö
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Benjamin U Phillips
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Barbara J Sahakian
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science and Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Rudolf N Cardinal
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, CB21 5EF, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science and Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
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Stupart O, Robbins TW, Dalley JW. "The wrong tools for the right job": a critical meta-analysis of traditional tests to assess behavioural impacts of maternal separation. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:2239-2256. [PMID: 36418564 PMCID: PMC10593619 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06275-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Unconditioned tasks in rodents have been the mainstay of behavioural assessment for decades, but their validity and sensitivity to detect the behavioural consequences of early life stress (ELS) remains contentious and highly variable. OBJECTIVES In the present study, we carried out a meta-analysis to investigate whether persistent behavioural effects, as assessed using unconditioned procedures in rats, are a reliable consequence of early repeated maternal separation, a commonly used procedure in rodents to study ELS. METHODS A literature search identified 100 studies involving maternally separated rats and the following unconditioned procedures: the elevated plus maze (EPM); open field test (OFT); sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swim task (FST). Studies were included for analysis if the separation of offspring from the dam was at least 60 min every day during the pre-weaning period prior to the start of adolescence. RESULTS Our findings show that unconditioned tasks are generally poor at consistently demonstrating differences between control and separated groups with pooled effect sizes that were either small or non-existent (EPM: Hedge's g = - 0.35, p = 0.01, OFT: Hedge's g = - 0.32, p = 0.05, SPT: Hedge's g = - 0.33, p = 0.21, FST: Hedge's g = 0.99, p = 0.0001). Despite considerable procedural variability between studies, heterogeneity statistics were low; indicating the lack of standardization in the maternal separation protocol was the not the cause of these inconsistent effects. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that in general, unconditioned tests of depression and anxiety are not sufficient to reveal the full behavioural repertoire of maternal separation stress should not be relied upon in isolation. We argue that more objective tasks that sensitively detect specific cognitive processes are better suited for translational research on stress-related disorders such as depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Stupart
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jeffrey W Dalley
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
- Department of Psychiatry, Hershel Smith Building for Brain and Mind Sciences, Cambridge, CB2 OSZ, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
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Barnes SA, Dillon DG, Young JW, Thomas ML, Faget L, Yoo JH, Der-Avakian A, Hnasko TS, Geyer MA, Ramanathan DS. Modulation of ventromedial orbitofrontal cortical glutamatergic activity affects the explore-exploit balance and influences value-based decision-making. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:5783-5796. [PMID: 36472411 PMCID: PMC10183731 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The balance between exploration and exploitation is essential for decision-making. The present study investigated the role of ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex (vmOFC) glutamate neurons in mediating value-based decision-making by first using optogenetics to manipulate vmOFC glutamate activity in rats during a probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) task. Rats that received vmOFC activation during informative feedback completed fewer reversals and exhibited reduced reward sensitivity relative to rats. Analysis with a Q-learning computational model revealed that increased vmOFC activity did not affect the learning rate but instead promoted maladaptive exploration. By contrast, vmOFC inhibition increased the number of completed reversals and increased exploitative behavior. In a separate group of animals, calcium activity of vmOFC glutamate neurons was recorded using fiber photometry. Complementing our results above, we found that suppression of vmOFC activity during the latter part of rewarded trials was associated with improved PRL performance, greater win-stay responding and selecting the correct choice on the next trial. These data demonstrate that excessive vmOFC activity during reward feedback disrupted value-based decision-making by increasing the maladaptive exploration of lower-valued options. Our findings support the premise that pharmacological interventions that normalize aberrant vmOFC glutamate activity during reward feedback processing may attenuate deficits in value-based decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Barnes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Department of Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Daniel G Dillon
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02115, United States
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Department of Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Department of Psychology, 1876 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
| | - Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Ji Hoon Yoo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Andre Der-Avakian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92161, United States
| | - Mark A Geyer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Department of Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
| | - Dhakshin S Ramanathan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Department of Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
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Karvelis P, Paulus MP, Diaconescu AO. Individual differences in computational psychiatry: a review of current challenges. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 148:105137. [PMID: 36940888 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Bringing precision to the understanding and treatment of mental disorders requires instruments for studying clinically relevant individual differences. One promising approach is the development of computational assays: integrating computational models with cognitive tasks to infer latent patient-specific disease processes in brain computations. While recent years have seen many methodological advancements in computational modelling and many cross-sectional patient studies, much less attention has been paid to basic psychometric properties (reliability and construct validity) of the computational measures provided by the assays. In this review, we assess the extent of this issue by examining emerging empirical evidence. We find that many computational measures suffer from poor psychometric properties, which poses a risk of invalidating previous findings and undermining ongoing research efforts using computational assays to study individual (and even group) differences. We provide recommendations for how to address these problems and, crucially, embed them within a broader perspective on key developments that are needed for translating computational assays to clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Povilas Karvelis
- Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Martin P Paulus
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA; Oxley College of Health Sciences, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Andreea O Diaconescu
- Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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5
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Meccia J, Lopez J, Bagot RC. Probing the antidepressant potential of psilocybin: integrating insight from human research and animal models towards an understanding of neural circuit mechanisms. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:27-40. [PMID: 36564671 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06297-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Interest in the therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelic compounds including psilocybin has surged in recent years. While human clinical research suggests psilocybin holds promise as a rapid and long-lasting antidepressant, little is known about how its acute mechanisms of action mediate enduring alterations in cognition and behavior. Human neuroimaging studies point to both acute and sustained modulation of functional connectivity in key cortically dependent brain networks. Emerging evidence in preclinical models highlights the importance of psilocybin-induced neuroplasticity and alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Overviewing research in both humans and preclinical models suggests avenues to increase crosstalk between fields. We review how acute modulation of PFC circuits may contribute to long-term structural and functional alterations to mediate antidepressant effects. We highlight the potential for preclinical circuit and behavioral neuroscience approaches to provide basic mechanistic insight into how psilocybin modulates cognitive and affective neural circuits to support further development of psilocybin as a promising new treatment for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Meccia
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr. Penfield, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Joëlle Lopez
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr. Penfield, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Rosemary C Bagot
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr. Penfield, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada. .,Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Montréal, QC, Canada.
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6
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Chase HW, Wilson RC, Waltz JA. Editorial: Computational accounts of reinforcement learning and decision making in psychiatric disorders. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:966369. [PMID: 35958661 PMCID: PMC9358282 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.966369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Henry W Chase
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Robert C Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - James A Waltz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Pizzagalli DA, Roberts AC. Prefrontal cortex and depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:225-246. [PMID: 34341498 PMCID: PMC8617037 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01101-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 173] [Impact Index Per Article: 86.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has emerged as one of the regions most consistently impaired in major depressive disorder (MDD). Although functional and structural PFC abnormalities have been reported in both individuals with current MDD as well as those at increased vulnerability to MDD, this information has not translated into better treatment and prevention strategies. Here, we argue that dissecting depressive phenotypes into biologically more tractable dimensions - negative processing biases, anhedonia, despair-like behavior (learned helplessness) - affords unique opportunities for integrating clinical findings with mechanistic evidence emerging from preclinical models relevant to depression, and thereby promises to improve our understanding of MDD. To this end, we review and integrate clinical and preclinical literature pertinent to these core phenotypes, while emphasizing a systems-level approach, treatment effects, and whether specific PFC abnormalities are causes or consequences of MDD. In addition, we discuss several key issues linked to cross-species translation, including functional brain homology across species, the importance of dissecting neural pathways underlying specific functional domains that can be fruitfully probed across species, and the experimental approaches that best ensure translatability. Future directions and clinical implications of this burgeoning literature are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A Pizzagalli
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School & McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
| | - Angela C Roberts
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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8
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Rutherford LG, Milton AL. Deconstructing and reconstructing behaviour relevant to mental health disorders: The benefits of a psychological approach, with a focus on addiction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 133:104514. [PMID: 34958822 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.104514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
RUTHERFORD, L.G. and Milton, A.L. Deconstructing and reconstructing behaviour relevant to mental health disorders: what can psychology offer? NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV XX(X)XXX-XXX, 2021. - Current treatments for mental health disorders are successful only for some patients, and there is an unmet clinical need for new treatment development. One challenge for treatment development has been how best to model complex human conditions in animals, where mechanism can be more readily studied with a range of neuroscientific techniques. We suggest that an approach to modelling based on associative animal learning theory provides a good framework for deconstructing complex mental health disorders such that they can be studied in animals. These individual simple models can subsequently be used in combination to 'reconstruct' a more complex model of the mental health disorder of interest. Using examples primarily from the field of drug addiction, we explore the 'psychological approach' and suggest that in addition to facilitating translation and backtranslation of tasks between animal models and patients, it is also highly concordant with the concept of triangulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amy L Milton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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9
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Lim TV, Cardinal RN, Bullmore ET, Robbins TW, Ersche KD. Impaired Learning From Negative Feedback in Stimulant Use Disorder: Dopaminergic Modulation. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 24:867-878. [PMID: 34197589 PMCID: PMC8598302 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drug-induced alterations to the dopamine system in stimulant use disorder (SUD) are hypothesized to impair reinforcement learning (RL). Computational modeling enables the investigation of the latent processes of RL in SUD patients, which could elucidate the nature of their impairments. METHODS We investigated RL in 44 SUD patients and 41 healthy control participants using a probabilistic RL task that assesses learning from reward and punishment separately. In an independent sample, we determined the modulatory role of dopamine in RL following a single dose of the dopamine D2/3 receptor antagonist amisulpride (400 mg) and the agonist pramipexole (0.5 mg) in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. We analyzed task performance using computational modelling and hypothesized that RL impairments in SUD patients would be differentially modulated by a dopamine D2/3 receptor antagonist and agonist. RESULTS Computational analyses in both samples revealed significantly reduced learning rates from punishment in SUD patients compared with healthy controls, whilst their reward learning rates were not measurably impaired. In addition, the dopaminergic receptor agents modulated RL parameters differentially in both groups. Both amisulpride and pramipexole impaired RL parameters in healthy participants, but ameliorated learning from punishment in SUD patients. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that RL impairments seen in SUD patients are associated with altered dopamine function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsen Vei Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rudolf N Cardinal
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Edward T Bullmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Karen D Ersche
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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10
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Joue G, Chakroun K, Bayer J, Gläscher J, Zhang L, Fuss J, Hennies N, Sommer T. Sex Differences and Exogenous Estrogen Influence Learning and Brain Responses to Prediction Errors. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:2022-2036. [PMID: 34649284 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal studies show marked sex differences as well as effects of estrogen (E2) in the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic (DA) pathways, which play a critical role in reward processing and reinforcement learning and are also implicated in drug addiction. In this computational pharmacological fMRI study, we investigate the effects of both factors, sex and estrogen, on reinforcement learning and the dopaminergic system in humans; 67 male and 64 naturally cycling female volunteers, the latter in their low-hormone phase, were randomly assigned, double-blind, to take E2 or placebo. They completed a reinforcement learning task in the MRI scanner for which we have previously shown reward prediction error (RPE)-related activity to be dopaminergic. We found RPE-related brain activity to be enhanced in women compared with men and to a greater extent when E2 levels were elevated in both sexes. However, both factors, female sex and E2, slowed adaptation to RPEs (smaller learning rate). This discrepancy of larger RPE-related activity yet smaller learning rates can be explained by organizational sex differences and activational effects of circulating E2, which both affect DA release differently to DA receptor binding capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Joue
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Karima Chakroun
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Janine Bayer
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jan Gläscher
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lei Zhang
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Fuss
- Institute for Sex Research, Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nora Hennies
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Sommer
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
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12
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Cabeza L, Ramadan B, Giustiniani J, Houdayer C, Pellequer Y, Gabriel D, Fauconnet S, Haffen E, Risold PY, Fellmann D, Belin D, Peterschmitt Y. Chronic exposure to glucocorticoids induces suboptimal decision-making in mice. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 46:56-67. [PMID: 33531260 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.01.094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Anxio-depressive symptoms as well as severe cognitive dysfunction including aberrant decision-making (DM) are documented in neuropsychiatric patients with hypercortisolaemia. Yet, the influence of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis on DM processes remains poorly understood. As a tractable mean to approach this human condition, adult male C57BL/6JRj mice were chronically treated with corticosterone (CORT) prior to behavioural, physiological and neurobiological evaluation. The behavioural data indicate that chronic CORT delays the acquisition of contingencies required to orient responding towards optimal DM performance in a mouse Gambling Task (mGT). Specifically, CORT-treated animals show a longer exploration and a delayed onset of the optimal DM performance. Remarkably, the proportion of individuals performing suboptimally in the mGT is increased in the CORT condition. This variability seems to be better accounted for by variations in sensitivity to negative rather than to positive outcome. Besides, CORT-treated animals perform worse than control animals in a spatial working memory (WM) paradigm and in a motor learning task. Finally, Western blotting neurobiological analyses show that chronic CORT downregulates glucocorticoid receptor expression in the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC). Besides, corticotropin-releasing factor signalling in the mPFC of CORT individuals negatively correlates with their DM performance. Collectively, this study describes how chronic exposure to glucocorticoids induces suboptimal DM under uncertainty in a mGT, hampers WM and motor learning processes, thus affecting specific emotional, motor, cognitive and neurobiological endophenotypic dimensions relevant for precision medicine in biological psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Cabeza
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.
| | - Bahrie Ramadan
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Julie Giustiniani
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France; Clinical Psychiatry, Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, Besançon, France; Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, CIC-INSERM-1431, Besançon, France
| | - Christophe Houdayer
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Yann Pellequer
- PEPITE EA-4267, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Damien Gabriel
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France; Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, CIC-INSERM-1431, Besançon, France
| | - Sylvie Fauconnet
- Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, CIC-INSERM-1431, Besançon, France; Laboratoire de Carcinogenèse associée aux HPV EA-3181, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France; Urologie, andrologie et transplantation rénale, Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, Besançon, France
| | - Emmanuel Haffen
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France; Clinical Psychiatry, Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, Besançon, France; Hôpital Universitaire CHRU, CIC-INSERM-1431, Besançon, France
| | - Pierre-Yves Risold
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Dominique Fellmann
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - David Belin
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Yvan Peterschmitt
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cliniques EA-481, Université de Bourgogne - Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuyan Liu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Campus Charité Mitte), Berlin, Germany
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research & Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, England
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Campus Charité Mitte), Berlin, Germany
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Aguirre CG, Stolyarova A, Das K, Kolli S, Marty V, Ray L, Spigelman I, Izquierdo A. Sex-dependent effects of chronic intermittent voluntary alcohol consumption on attentional, not motivational, measures during probabilistic learning and reversal. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234729. [PMID: 32555668 PMCID: PMC7302450 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Forced alcohol (ethanol, EtOH) exposure has been shown to cause significant impairments on reversal learning, a widely-used assay of cognitive flexibility, specifically on fully-predictive, deterministic versions of this task. However, previous studies have not adequately considered voluntary EtOH consumption and sex effects on probabilistic reversal learning. The present study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. Methods Male and female Long-Evans rats underwent either 10 weeks of voluntary intermittent 20% EtOH access or water only (H2O) access. Rats were then pretrained to initiate trials and learn stimulus-reward associations via touchscreen response, and subsequently required to select between two visual stimuli, rewarded with probability 0.70 or 0.30. In the final phase, reinforcement contingencies were reversed. Results We found significant sex differences on several EtOH-drinking variables, with females reaching a higher maximum EtOH consumption, exhibiting more high-drinking days, and escalating their EtOH at a quicker rate compared to males. During early abstinence, EtOH drinkers (and particularly EtOH-drinking females) made more initiation omissions and were slower to initiate trials than H2O drinking controls, especially during pretraining. A similar pattern in trial initiations was also observed in discrimination, but not in reversal learning. EtOH drinking rats were unaffected in their reward collection and stimulus response times, indicating intact motivation and motor responding. Although there were sex differences in discrimination and reversal phases, performance improved over time. We also observed sex-independent drinking group differences in win-stay and lose-shift strategies specific to the reversal phase. Conclusions Females exhibit increased vulnerability to EtOH effects in early learning: there were sex-dependent EtOH effects on attentional measures during pretraining and discrimination phases. We also found sex-independent EtOH effects on exploration strategies during reversal. Future studies should aim to uncover the neural mechanisms for changes in attention and exploration in both acute and prolonged EtOH withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia G. Aguirre
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AI); (CGA)
| | - Alexandra Stolyarova
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Kanak Das
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Saisriya Kolli
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Vincent Marty
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- School of Dentistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States America
| | - Lara Ray
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Addictions, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Igor Spigelman
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- School of Dentistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States America
| | - Alicia Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Addictions, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AI); (CGA)
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Flagel SB, Gordon JA, Paulus MP. Editorial: bridging the gap with computational and translational psychopharmacology. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:2291-2294. [PMID: 31289883 PMCID: PMC7491194 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05320-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shelly B. Flagel
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0720, USA
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