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Floresco S, Roberts A, Robinson E, Pizzagalli DA. Preclinical animal models and assays of neuropsychiatric disorders: Old problems and New Vistas - introduction to the special issue. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:187-190. [PMID: 38504048 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01180-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Preclinical research is an essential aspect of biomedical science that aids in clarifying the pathophysiology of underlying illness and devising new treatments. This special issues brings together original research and review papers that pertain to the development of novel models and behavioral assays of symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders, which may help to refine preclinical studies and to improve their translatability to the human condition.
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Dunn BR, Olguin SL, Davies S, Pavlik NG, Brigman JL, Hamilton D, Savage DD, Maxwell JR. Sex-specific alterations in cognitive control following moderate prenatal alcohol exposure and transient systemic hypoxia ischemia in the rat. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 48:640-652. [PMID: 38302722 PMCID: PMC11015983 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) continues to be a worldwide problem. Affected offspring display impaired neurodevelopment, including difficulties with executive control. Although PAE has also been associated with decreased blood flow to fetuses, the relationship between PAE and altered blood flow is not well understood. METHODS We used preclinical models of PAE, transient systemic hypoxia ischemia (TSHI), and PAE + TSHI combined to assess the effects on neurodevelopmental outcomes using translationally relevant touchscreen operant platform testing. Twenty-eight Long-Evans (Blue Spruce, Strain HsdBlu:LE) dams were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: Saccharin Control (Sham), 5% Ethanol (PAE), TSHI, or 5% Ethanol and TSHI (PAE + TSHI). Dams consumed either saccharin or 5% ethanol during gestation. TSHI was induced on Embryonic Day 19 (E19) during an open laparotomy where the uterine arteries were transiently occluded for 1 h. Pups were born normally and, after weaning, were separated by sex. A total of 80 offspring, 40 males and 40 females, were tested on the 5-Choice Continuous Performance paradigm (5C-CPT). RESULTS Female offspring were significantly impacted by TSHI, but not PAE, with an increase in false alarms and a decrease in hit rates, omissions, accuracy, and correct choice latencies. In contrast, male offspring were mildly affected by PAE, but not TSHI, showing decreases in premature responses and increases in accuracy. No significant interactions between PAE and TSHI were detected on any measure. CONCLUSION Transient systemic hypoxia ischemia impaired performance on the 5C-CPT in females, leading to a bias toward stimulus responsivity regardless of stimulus type. In contrast, TSHI did not affect male offspring, and only slight effects of PAE were seen. Together, these data suggest that TSHI in females may cause alterations in cortical structures that override alterations caused by moderate PAE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke R. Dunn
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Sarah L. Olguin
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Suzy Davies
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Nathaniel G. Pavlik
- Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Jonathan L. Brigman
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Derek Hamilton
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Daniel D. Savage
- Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Jessie R. Maxwell
- Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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Young JW. Development of cross-species translational paradigms for psychiatric research in the Research Domain Criteria era. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 148:105119. [PMID: 36889561 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
The past 30 years of IBNS has included research attempting to treat the cognitive and behavioral deficits observed in people with psychiatric conditions. Early work utilized drugs identified from tests thought to be cognition-relevant, however the high failure rate crossing the translational-species barrier led to focus on developing valid cross-species translational tests. The face, predictive, and neurobiological validities used to assess animal models of psychiatry can be used to validate these tests. Clinical sensitivity is another important aspect however, for if the clinical population targeted for treatment does not exhibit task deficits, then why develop treatments? This review covers some work validating cross-species translational tests and suggests future directions. Also covered is the contribution IBNS made to fostering such research and my role in IBNS, making it more available to all including fostering mentor/mentee programs plus spearheading diversity and inclusivity initiatives. All science needs support and IBNS has supported research recreating the behavioral abnormalities that define psychiatric conditions with the aim to improve the lives of people with such conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
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Patrono E, Hrůzova K, Svoboda J, Stuchlík A. The role of optogenetic stimulations of parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the prefrontal cortex and the ventral hippocampus on an acute MK-801 model of schizophrenia-like cognitive inflexibility. Schizophr Res 2023; 252:198-205. [PMID: 36657364 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.12.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia research has increased in recent decades and focused more on its neural basis. Decision-making and cognitive flexibility are the main cognitive functions that are impaired and considered schizophrenia endophenotypes. Cognitive impairment was recently connected with altered functions of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDAR) glutamatergic receptors, which increased cortical activity. Selective NMDAR antagonists, such as MK-801, have been used to model cognitive inflexibility in schizophrenia. Decreased GABAergic inhibitory activity has been shown elsewhere with enhanced cortical activity. This imbalance in the excitatory/inhibitory may reduce the entrainment of prefrontal gamma and hippocampal theta rhythms and result in gamma/theta band de-synchronization. The current study established an acute MK-801 administration model of schizophrenia-like cognitive inflexibility in rats and used the attentional set-shifting task in which rats learned to switch/reverse the relevant rule. During the task, we used in vivo optogenetic stimulations of parvalbumin-positive interneurons at specific light pulses in the prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus. The first experiments showed that acute dizocilpine in rats produced schizophrenia-like cognitive inflexibility. The second set of experiments demonstrated that specific optogenetic stimulation at specific frequencies of parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus rescued the cognitive flexibility rats that received acute MK-801. These findings advance our knowledge of the pivotal role of parvalbumin interneurons in schizophrenia-like cognitive impairment and may guide further research on this severe psychiatric disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Patrono
- Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska, 1830, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
| | - Karolina Hrůzova
- Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska, 1830, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Ruská 87, 100 00, Prague 10, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Svoboda
- Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska, 1830, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Stuchlík
- Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska, 1830, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic
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Translational cognitive systems: focus on attention. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:529-539. [PMID: 36408755 DOI: 10.1042/etls20220009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction, particularly attentional impairment, is a core feature of many psychiatric disorders, yet is inadequately addressed by current treatments. Development of targeted therapeutics for the remediation of attentional deficits requires knowledge of underlying neurocircuit, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that cannot be directly assayed in the clinic. This level of detail can only be acquired by testing animals in cross-species translatable attentional paradigms, in combination with preclinical neuroscience techniques. The 5-choice continuous performance test (5C-CPT) and rodent continuous performance test (rCPT) represent the current state of the art of preclinical assessment of the most commonly studied subtype of attention: sustained attention, or vigilance. These tasks present animals with continuous streams of target stimuli to which they must respond (attention), in addition to non-target stimuli from which they must withhold responses (behavioral inhibition). The 5C-CPT and rCPT utilize the same measures as gold-standard clinical continuous performance tests and predict clinical efficacy of known pro-attentional drugs. They also engage common brain regions across species, although efforts to definitively establish neurophysiological construct validity are ongoing. The validity of these tasks as translational vigilance assessments enables their use in characterizing the neuropathology underlying attentional deficits of animal models of psychiatric disease, and in determining therapeutic potential of drugs ahead of clinical testing. Here, we briefly review the development and validation of such tests of attentional functioning, as well as the data they have generated pertaining to inattention, disinhibition, and impulsivity in psychiatric disorders.
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Adolescent nicotine potentiates the inhibitory effect of raclopride, a D2R antagonist, on phencyclidine-sensitized psychotic-like behavior in mice. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2022; 456:116282. [DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2022.116282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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