Genetically related rats with differences in hippocampal uptake of norepinephrine and maze performance

Patterns of motor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats compared to Wistar Kyoto rats

BACKGROUND

Increased motor activity is a defining characteristic of patients with ADHD, and spontaneously hypertensive rats have been suggested to be an animal model of this disorder. In the present study, we wanted to use linear and non-linear methods to explore differences in motor activity patterns in SHR/NCrl rats compared to Wistar Kyoto (WKY/NHsd) rats.

METHODS

A total number of 42 rats (23 SHR/NCrl and 19 WKY/NHsd, male and female) were tested. At PND 51, the animals' movements were video-recorded during an operant test procedure that lasted 90 min. Total activity level and velocity (mean and maximum), standard deviation (SD) and root mean square successive differences (RMSSD) were calculated. In addition, we used Fourier analysis, autocorrelations and two measures of complexity to characterize the time series; sample entropy and symbolic dynamics.

RESULTS

The SHR/NCrl rats showed increased total activity levels in addition to increased mean and maximum velocity of movements. The variability measures, SD and RMSSD, were markedly lower in the SHR/NCrl compared to the WKY/NHsd rats. At the same time, the SHR/NCrl rats displayed a higher complexity of the time series, particularly with regard to the total activity level as evidenced by analyses of sample entropy and symbolic dynamics. Autocorrelation analyses also showed differences between the two strains. In the Fourier analysis, the SHR/NCrl rats had an increased variance in the high frequency part of the spectrum, corresponding to the time period of 9-17 s.

CONCLUSION

The findings show that in addition to increased total activity and velocity of movement, the organization of behavior is different in SHR/NCrl relative to WKY/NHsd controls. Compared to controls, behavioral variability is reduced in SHR/NCrl at an aggregate level, and, concomitantly, more complex and unpredictable from moment-to-moment. These finding emphasize the importance of the measures and methods used when characterizing behavioral variability. If valid for ADHD, the results indicate that decreased behavioral variability can co-exist with increased behavioral complexity, thus representing a challenge to current theories of variability in ADHD.

[11C]NS8880, a promising PET radiotracer targeting the norepinephrine transporter

INTRODUCTION

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) is still hindered by the availability of useful PET imaging probes. The present study describes the radiosynthesis and pre-clinical evaluation of a new compound, exo-3-(6-methoxypyridin-2-yloxy)-8-H-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane (NS8880), targeting NET. NS8880 has an in vitro binding profile comparable to desipramine and is structurally not related to reboxetine.

METHODS

Labeling of NS8880 with [(11)C] was achieved by a non-conventional technique: substitution of pyridinyl fluorine with [(11)C]methanolate in a Boc-protected precursor. The isolated [(11)C]NS8880 was evaluated pre-clinically both in a pig model (PET scanning) and in a rat model (μPET scanning) and compared to (S,S)-[(11)C]-O-methylreboxetine ([(11)C]MeNER).

RESULTS

The radiolabeling technique yielded [(11)C]NS8880 in low (<10%) but still useful yields with high purity. The PET in vivo evaluation in pig and rat revealed a rapid brain uptake of [(11)C]NS8880 and fast obtaining of equilibrium. Highest binding was observed in thalamic and hypothalamic regions. Pretreatment with desipramine efficiently reduced binding of [(11)C]NS8880.

CONCLUSION

Based on the pre-clinical results obtained so far [(11)C]NS8880 displays promising properties for PET imaging of NET.

Intrastrain differences in seizure susceptibility, pharmacological response and basal neurochemistry of Wistar rats

Reliable well-characterised animal models of seizures are necessary in order to better understand the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms as well as to screen potential anticonvulsant drugs. We currently use the focal pilocarpine model as an acute limbic seizure model. Due to breeding problems at the vendor, and apparent changes in pilocarpine-induced seizure susceptibility, we were forced to change breeding locations and vendors over a period of 2 years. Male Wistar rats were either purchased from two breeding locations of Charles River Laboratories (France and Germany), or obtained from Harlan Laboratories (The Netherlands). In the present retrospective study we evaluated the impact of these vendor changes on ketamine dosing to establish anaesthesia, on pilocarpine-induced seizure susceptibility, and on basal extracellular hippocampal noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, gamma-amino butyric acid, and glutamate levels of all pilocarpine-treated rats included in our studies. Significant differences were present in all of the parameters analyzed. This study clearly illustrates that intrastrain differences do exist from one vendor/breeding location to another, or even between rats from the same breeding location.

Dissociation between spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats in baseline performance and methylphenidate response on measures of attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity in a Visual Stimulus Position Discrimination Task

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is a widely accepted rodent model of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and methylphenidate (MP) is a central nervous system stimulant that has been shown to have a dose-related positive effect on attention task performance in humans with ADHD. The current study was undertaken to compare SHR to its typical control strain, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, on the performance of a Visual Stimulus Position Discrimination Task (VSPDT) as well as of the responsiveness of the two rat strains to MP treatment. The rats were initially trained on the VSPDT, in which a light cue was presented randomly at three different cue-light intervals (1s, 300ms and 100ms) over one of two levers, and presses on the lever corresponding to the light cue were reinforced with a food pellet. Once rats reached stable performance, the treatment phase of the study began, during which they received daily intraperitoneal (IP) injections of saline, 2mg/kg, 5mg/kg, and 10mg/kg of MP in a randomized order immediately prior to being tested on the VSPDT. Baseline performance accuracy on the VSPDT did not differ between the groups. Furthermore, a striking strain dissociation was evident in the response of the two strains to treatment; VSPDT performance was substantially disrupted by the 5 and 10mg/kg dose in the WKY rats but only mildly in the SHR rats. Response omissions were also increased only in WKY rats. Finally, both strains had increased locomotor activity in the operant chamber following MP treatment. These findings point to an important difference in response tendency to MP in the two strains that supports a view that a critical difference between these strains may suggest neurochemical and neuroadaptive differences associated with the behavioral impairments of ADHD.

Behavioral variability, elimination of responses, and delay-of-reinforcement gradients in SHR and WKY rats

Background

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that is cross-situational, persistent, and produces social and academic impairment. Research has shown that reinforcement processes are altered in ADHD. The dynamic developmental theory has suggested that a steepened delay-of-reinforcement gradient and deficient extinction of behavior produce behavioral symptoms of ADHD and increased behavioral variability.

Method

The present study investigated behavioral variability and elimination of non-target responses during acquisition in an animal model of ADHD, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), using Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats as controls. The study also aimed at providing a novel approach to measuring delay-of-reinforcement gradients in the SHR and the WKY strains. The animals were tested in a modified operant chamber presenting 20 response alternatives. Nose pokes in a target hole produced water according to fixed interval (FI) schedules of reinforcement, while nose pokes in the remaining 19 holes either had no consequences or produced a sound or a short flickering of the houselight. The stimulus-producing holes were included to test whether light and sound act as sensory reinforcers in SHR.

Data from the first six sessions testing FI 1 s were used for calculation of the initial distribution of responses. Additionally, Euclidean distance (measured from the center of each hole to the center of the target hole) and entropy (a measure of variability) were also calculated.

Delay-of-reinforcement gradients were calculated across sessions by dividing the fixed interval into epochs and determining how much reinforcement of responses in one epoch contributed to responding in the next interval.

Results

Over the initial six sessions, behavior became clustered around the target hole. There was greater initial variability in SHR behavior, and slower elimination of inefficient responses compared to the WKY. There was little or no differential use of the stimulus-producing holes by either strain. For SHR, the reach of reinforcement (the delay-of-reinforcement gradient) was restricted to the preceding one second, whereas for WKY it extended about four times as far.

Conclusion

The present findings support previous studies showing increased behavioral variability in SHR relative to WKY controls. A possibly related phenomenon may be the slowed elimination of non-operant nose pokes in SHR observed in the present study. The findings provide support for a steepened delay-of-reinforcement gradient in SHR as suggested in the dynamic developmental theory of ADHD. Altered reinforcement processes characterized by a steeper and shorter delay-of-reinforcement gradient may define an ADHD endophenotype.

Stem cells in the umbilical cord

Stem cells are the next frontier in medicine. Stem cells are thought to have great therapeutic and biotechnological potential. This will not only to replace damaged or dysfunctional cells, but also rescue them and/or deliver therapeutic proteins after they have been engineered to do so. Currently, ethical and scientific issues surround both embryonic and fetal stem cells and hinder their widespread implementation. In contrast, stem cells recovered postnatally from the umbilical cord, including the umbilical cord blood cells, amnion/placenta, umbilical cord vein, or umbilical cord matrix cells, are a readily available and inexpensive source of cells that are capable of forming many different cell types (i.e., they are "multipotent"). This review will focus on the umbilical cord-derived stem cells and compare those cells with adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Role of anxiety levels in memory performance of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) show behavioural differences when compared to their strain-matched controls. These differences include decreased anxiety-like behaviour in SHR, while both improved performance and behavioural deficits have been reported in learning/memory studies. Considering that alterations in anxiety levels during the training session can modify retention performance in animal models of memory, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of anxiety levels in the performance of SHR rats in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PM-DAT), in which memory and anxiety are evaluated simultaneously. Adult (5-month-old) and young (45-day-old) SHR and normotensive Wistar rats (NWR) were treated with chlordiazepoxide (CDZ) or saline. Thirty minutes later, rats were submitted to the PM-DAT training session. After 24 h, the test session was performed. The results showed that: (1) adult SHR showed lower anxiety levels compared to adult NWR; (2) adult SHR and NWR, as well as young NWR, showed significant retention of the task, while young SHR showed impaired performance; (3) 5.0 mg/kg CDZ decreased anxiety levels in adult NWR and young and adult SHR; (4) 5.0 mg/kg CDZ impaired retention in adult SHR and NWR and increased retention in young SHR. Our data suggest an important role of anxiety levels in the performance of SHR in a plus-maze discriminative avoidance task.

[11C]-NS 4194 versus [11C]-DASB for PET imaging of serotonin transporters in living porcine brain

In vitro, the novel diazabicyclononane NS 4194 has several thousand-fold selectivity for blocking the transport into rat brain synaptosomes of [(3)H]-serotonin in comparison to [(3)H]-dopamine or [(3)H]-noradrenaline. We have prepared [(11)C]-NS 4194 in order to test its properties for PET imaging of brain serotonin transporters in comparison with the well-documented tracer [(11)C]-DASB. Both compounds had rapid clearance from blood to brain of living pigs. The apparent equilibrium distribution volumes in cerebellum were 35 ml g(-1) for [(11)C]-NS 4194 and 11 ml g(-1) for [(11)C]-DASB. Pretreatment of pigs with citalopram did not reduce the uptake of either tracer in cerebellum, validating the use of that tissue as a nonbinding reference tissue for kinetic analysis of specific binding. The binding potential (pB) calculated for [(11)C]-NS 4194 using arterial input models was close to 0.5 in the telencephalon, and was 60% displaced by citalopram. However, the reference tissue method of Lammertsma was unsuited to calculate pB for this tracer, apparently due to its excessive nonspecific binding. In contrast to the relatively homogeneous binding of [(11)C]-NS 4194, the pB of [(11)C]-DASB ranged from 0.6 in frontal cortex to 2 in the mesencephalon when calculated by the method of Lammertsma. Parametric maps of the pB of [(11)C]-DASB showed a pattern consistent with the known distribution of serotonin transporters in pig brain in vitro, and there was a uniform displacement of 80% of the specific binding after citalopram treatment in vivo. In conclusion, [(11)C]-DASB is in several respects superior to [(11)C]-NS 4194 for the detection of serotonin uptake sites by PET.

Arterial hypertension and brain damage--evidence from animal models (review)

Hypertension is an important risk factor for cerebrovascular disease including stroke and has also a role in the development of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and vascular dementia (VaD). Research on pathophysiology and treatment of hypertensive brain damage may benefit from the availability of animal models. This paper has reviewed the main animal models of hypertension in which brain damage is documented. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) represent the animal model more largely used. In these rats cerebrovascular changes, brain atrophy, loss of nerve cells in cerebrocortical areas, and glial reaction were documented. Several changes observed in SHR are similar to those found by in vivo imaging studies in essential hypertensives. It is documented that brain gets benefit from lowering abnormally elevated blood pressure and that reduction of hypertension protects brain from stroke and probably reduces the incidence of VaD. The influence of anti-hypertensive treatment on brain structure and function in animal models of hypertension is reviewed. Among classes of drugs investigated, dihydropyridine-type Ca2+ antagonists were those with a most documented protective effect on hypertensive brain damage. Limits and perspectives in the use of animal models for assessing brain damage caused by hypertension and protection from it are discussed.

Dahl salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats: examination of learning and memory performance, blood pressure, and the expression of central nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Substantial human and animal data suggest a correlation between hypertension and memory impairment that may appear prior to overt manifestations of cerebrovascular pathology. It is unclear, however, whether hypertension plays a causal role in these memory deficits, whether hypertension and cognitive impairment are each based in family history and not interdependent, or whether a combination of these factors is important. The purpose of this study was to assess whether deficits in memory performance and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were present in Dahl salt-sensitive rats (as observed previously in spontaneously hypertensive rats) and whether the presence of hypertension per se (induced with an 8% Na(+) diet) contributed to the deficits. Memory was assessed in a passive avoidance task, an eight-arm radial arm maze and in a water maze task, and nicotinic receptors were measured via quantitative receptor autoradiography utilizing [125I]alpha-bungarotoxin and [3H]epibatidine. Salt-sensitive rats exhibited impaired performance in both spatial learning tasks, but not the passive avoidance task, compared to controls (salt-resistant strain) and they exhibited reductions in nicotinic receptors labeled by [125I]alpha-bungarotoxin but not [3H]epibatidine in some brain regions, including some areas important for memory (e.g. the hippocampus and amygdala). In the radial arm maze, the degree of memory impairment and in binding studies the reduced expression of nicotinic receptors each failed to correlate with the highest blood pressures, and the salt-sensitive animals were impaired relative to controls whether or not the high Na(+) diet was administered. In contrast, higher blood pressures did correlate with inferior task performance in the water maze. These findings may suggest that the genetics of the subjects were critical for performance when appetitive drives were involved, but diet (and perhaps hypertension) were key to performance when memory did not involve appetitive drives or mechanisms. Overall, the data obtained from Dahl rats appear to support the role of family history (selective breeding in rats) as underlying the reductions in central nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, whereas both family history and hypertension may contribute to poor cognitive performance.

Deficits in spatial learning and nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors in older, spontaneously hypertensive rats

Spontaneously hypertensive rats are often used as models of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and to investigate the effects of hypertension on cognitive function. Along with the wide variety of cardiovascular anomalies, these animals as young adults also exhibit deficits in memory and attention and central nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor sites. These findings may have particular significance since nicotinic receptors appear to be involved in the regulation of cerebral circulation and mnemonic function. Furthermore, a lack of high affinity nicotinic receptors (in knockout mice) has also been shown to accelerate both the structural and cognitive degeneration associated with age, findings that may be especially relevant to age-related memory disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease where large deficits in nicotinic receptors are observed. Since spontaneously hypertensive rats appear to be both memory-impaired and deficient in nicotinic receptors at a young age (compared to the non-hypertensive phenotype, Wistar-Kyoto rats), we were interested to learn if these conditions were exacerbated in older animals with particular interest in specific nicotinic receptor subtypes in memory areas of the brain. Spatial learning was assessed in 15-month-old subjects of each phenotype (i.e. hypertensive and non-hypertensive) using a two-phase water maze paradigm, and nicotinic receptors were measured via autoradiography with [125I]-alpha-bungarotoxin and [3H]-epibatidine. In the water maze, both groups learned to locate a hidden platform as indicated by progressively shorter latencies across training days, however, Wistar-Kyoto rats were more efficient in both phases. While the number of both bungarotoxin and epibatidine binding sites was lower in the hypertensive rats across several brain regions, in the case of epibatidine binding, the magnitude of the difference and the number of areas affected was generally greater and included areas important for spatial learning (e.g. frontal and entorhinal cortex). In a direct comparison between 3-month-old and 15-month-old rats of each phenotype, epibatidine sites were markedly reduced by age (i.e. by greater than 50% in some cases) across multiple brain regions in both groups, although Wistar-Kyoto rats appeared to be more substantially affected by age. These data further support the use of the spontaneously hypertensive rat as model for studying learning-impairment and reduced central nicotinic receptors and also indicate that these characteristics persist and (in the case of high affinity nicotinic receptor cites) worsen with age.

Separation-induced body weight loss, impairment in alternation behavior, and autonomic tone: effects of tyrosine

We have investigated the effects of tyrosine on alternation behavior and hippocampal adrenergic and cholinergic tone in a model of self-induced weight loss caused by separation stress. Separation decreased body weight in mice (P < .001) and spontaneous alternations in the T-maze (P < .001). This impairment was associated with depletion of both norepinephrine (NE, P < .001) and dopamine (P < .01) while increasing MHPG (P < .05) and the ratio of MHPG/NE (P < .05). Increasing tyrosine availability restored performance to control levels (P < .001) and repleted dopamine (P < .05) and presumably also NE (indicated by increases in both MHPG, P < .001, and MHPG/NE, P < .05). Stress increased adrenergic alpha(2)-receptor density (P < .001) without changing its K(d) and the B(max) and K(d) of beta-receptors, suggesting that it decreased NE transmission through action on alpha(2)-receptors. The balance between beta- and alpha(2)-receptors appeared to be related to alternation behavior as shown by the decrease (P < .01) and increase (P < .05) in their ratios induced by stress and tyrosine, respectively. With regard to cholinergic tone, separation stress increased M1 receptor density (P < .05) and its mRNA signal (P < .001). Tyrosine further increased M1 receptor density of stressed mice (P < .05). Tyrosine might be a potential therapy for cognitive and mood problems associated with the maintenance of a reduced body weight in the treatment of obesity and in the extreme case of anorexia nervosa.

Strain-dependent neurochemical and neuroendocrine effects of desipramine, but not fluoxetine or imipramine, in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats

Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats differ in their emotional responses to stress and antidepressant administration. We have analysed different neurochemical and psychoneuroendocrine responses to repeated pretreatments with fluoxetine, imipramine or desipramine (10 mg/kg p.o. daily for 4 weeks) in SHRs and WKY rats exposed to a daily 2-h restraint episode for the last 5 days of antidepressant administration. Following a 24-h wash-out period, WKY rats displayed higher plasma antidepressant and antidepressant metabolite levels than SHRs. Fluoxetine pretreatment decreased [(3)H]citalopram binding at midbrain serotonin (5-HT) transporters, whereas tricyclic and/or fluoxetine decreased [(3)H]ketanserin binding at cortical 5-HT(2A) receptors, [(3)H]CGP-12177 binding at cortical ss-adrenoceptors, and [(3)H]nisoxetine binding at midbrain noradrenaline (NA) transporters in both strains. None of the antidepressants affected [(3)H]8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin binding at hippocampal 5-HT(1A) receptors. In WKY rats, repeated restraint triggered a desipramine-sensitive 140% increase in hypothalamus [(3)H]nisoxetine binding; moreover, plasma adrenocorticotropin-releasing hormone responses to a 5-min open field test were amplified by prior repeated restraint in both strains, but desipramine prevented such an amplification in WKY rats only. However, neither elevated plus-maze nor open field behaviors of SHRs and WKY rats were affected by desipramine pretreatment. Thus, the SHR and WKY rat strains may prove useful in understanding how genetic differences in noradrenergic responses to repeated stress and desipramine treatment impact on adaptive processes.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: characteristics, interventions and models

An epidemiological study of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) suggests that the prevalence may be two to three times higher than the figure of 3-5% often cited. In addition, the data suggest that both underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis occur frequently. Rodent animal models of ADHD, like the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) and other rat models such as those with chemical and radiation-induced brain lesions and cerebellar stunting, and the Coloboma mouse model exhibit clear similarities with several aspects of the human disorder and should prove useful in studying specific traits. Operant behavioral tasks that model learning, short-term memory and simple discriminations are sensitive to ADHD and methylphenidate has been shown to normalize ADHD performance in a short-term memory task. Recent findings challenge not only the current postulate that response inhibition is a unique deficit in ADHD, but also the concepts of ADHD and its treatment, which presume intact perceptual abilities. Time perception deficits may account, in part, for the excessive variability in motor response times on speeded reaction time tasks, motor control problems and motor clumsiness associated with ADHD. The Multimodality Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA) provided data suggesting that pharmacological interventions that included systematic and frequent follow-up with parents and teachers, with or without psychosocial interventions, are superior to psychosocial interventions or standard community care alone. Additionally, the MTA was one of the first studies to demonstrate benefits of multimodal and pharmacological interventions lasting longer than 1 year. Imaging studies have demonstrated differences in brain areas in children with ADHD: anterior corpus callosum, right anterior white matter, and cerebellar volumes are all decreased in children with ADHD and there is less brain asymmetry in ADHD subjects. Additionally, functional imaging studies, coupled with pharmacological manipulations, suggest decreased blood flow and energy utilization in prefrontal cortex and striatum and the dysregulation of catecholamine systems in persons with ADHD.

Uptake and distribution of a new SSRI, NS2381, studied by PET in living porcine brain

This study tests the utility of a new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), [11C]NS2381 {(+/-)-(8-[11C]methyl-3-(4-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oc t-2-ene)}, as positron-emitting radioligand for labelling serotonin (5-HT) reuptake sites in living brain. Studies of monoamine uptake were carried out initially in vitro using rat brain synaptosomes. They showed that NS2381 and its precursor NS2435 are selective inhibitors of serotonin (5-HT) uptake. Then, studies were carried out in vivo on the uptake and distribution of [11C]NS2381 in living porcine brain. They showed that the radiotracer accumulates readily in brain, and binds reversibly in regions rich in serotonin uptake sites (e.g. raphe, basal ganglia and thalamus). In addition, [11C]NS2381 was displaced from brain tissue by the potent SSRI citalopram. The enantiomers of [11C]NS2381 were, in general, found to be similar to the racemate in terms of their uptake and distribution in living pig brain. Thus, [11C]NS2381 fulfilled several criteria of a PET radioligand for studying 5-HT uptake sites in the living brain.

Stress and emotionality: a multidimensional and genetic approach

The use of behavioural tests aiming to assess the psychological components of stress in animals has led to divergent and sometimes arbitrary interpretations of animal behaviour. This paper presents a critical evaluation of behavioural methods currently used to investigate stress and emotionality. One of its main goals is to demonstrate, through experimental evidence, that emotionality may no longer be seen as a unidimensional construct. Accordingly, following a discussion about concepts, we propose a multiple-testing approach, paralleled by factor analyses, as a tool to dissociate and study the different dimensions of emotionality. Within this multidimensional context, genetic studies (illustrated here by different rat models) are shown to be particularly useful to investigate the neurobiology of stress/emotionality. A genetic approach can be used (i) to broaden and dissect the variability of responses within and between populations and (ii) to search for the molecular bases (i.e. genes and gene products) which underlie such a variability.

Behavioral variability in SHR and WKY rats as a function of rearing environment and reinforcement contingency

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) may model aspects of human attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For example, just as responses by children with ADHD tend to be variable, so too SHRs often respond more variably than do Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats. The present study asked whether behavioral variability in the SHR strain is influenced by rearing environment, a question related to hypotheses concerning the etiology of human ADHD. Some rats from each strain were reared in an enriched environment (housed socially), and others were reared in an impoverished environment (housed in isolation). Four groups--enriched SHR, impoverished SHR, enriched WKY, and impoverished WKY--were studied under two reinforcement contingencies, one in which reinforcement was independent of response variability and the other in which reinforcement depended upon high variability. The main finding was that rearing environment did not influence response variability (enriched and impoverished subjects responded similarly throughout). However, rearing environment affected body weight (enriched subjects weighted more than impoverished subjects) and response rate (impoverished subjects generally responded faster than enriched subjects). In addition, SHRs tended to respond variably throughout the experiment, whereas WKYs were more sensitive to the variability contingencies. Thus, behavioral variability was affected by genetic strain and by reinforcement contingency but not by the environment in which the subjects were reared.

Different effects of amphetamine on reinforced variations versus repetitions in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) may serve as an animal model of human attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We compared performances of SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto normotensive controls rats (WKY) in two experiments. When rewarded for varying sequences of responses across two manipulanda, the SHRs were more likely to vary than the WKYs. On the other hand, when rewarded for repetitions of a small number of sequences, the WKYs were more likely to learn to repeat. Both of these results confirm previous findings. Injecting 0.75 mg/kg d-amphetamine facilitated learning by SHRs to repeat the required sequences, with amphetamine-injected SHRs learning as rapidly as saline-injected, control WKYs. On the other hand, amphetamine tended to increase variability in both strains when high levels of variations were required for reward, and to decrease it in both strains when low levels of variability were required. Thus, amphetamine may have different effects on reinforced repetitions vs. reinforced variations.

Wistar-Kyoto rats in the Morris water maze: impaired working memory and hyper-reactivity to stress

Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were tested as a potential animal model for memory dysfunction. These animals were reported to be highly reactive to stress and this was associated with findings of alterations in their hippocampal cholinergic activity. Since hippocampal cholinergic hypofunction is often associated with deficits in memory processes, untreated WKY rats were tested here in a working memory task in the Morris water maze. Animals were tested for five daily sessions, with two identical trials per day, and their performance was compared to that of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Results show that WKY rats failed to improve their performance both from day to day and within the two trials each day. This suggests impaired memory capabilities of WKY rats and may support their use as an animal model of memory dysfunction. However, because of their increased tendency to float, speed of performance was also reduced in WKY compared to SD rats. This difference may be associated with their increased reactivity to stress. The combination of memory dysfunction and stress hyper-reactivity seen in WKY rats may be used to study the association between these two functions, particularly the possible interaction between memory and depression.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) readily learn to vary but not repeat instrumental responses

When spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wystar-Kyoto normotensive control rats (WKY) were rewarded in a 12-arm radial maze (Experiment 1), the SHRs varied their arm choices more, making fewer repetition errors than the WKYs. Similarly when rewards depended on variable sequences of responses on two levers in an operant chamber (Experiment 2), SHRs' sequences were more variable than those of WKYs. A requirement for response variability was then combined with a requirement to repeat selected responses in the radial maze (Experiment 3) and operant chamber (Experiment 4). WKYs learned to repeat more readily than the SHRs, whereas SHRs varied more readily. Thus, when subjects had to repeat responses, SHRs were at a disadvantage, but when variability was adaptive, SHRs excelled. The high variability of SHRs, together with their difficulty in learning to repeat, may have parallels in children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH).

Regional differences in brain norepinephrine and dopamine uptake kinetics in inbred rat strains with hypertension and/or hyperactivity

High-affinity uptake of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) were determined in synaptosomes of brain regions from four genetically related inbred rat strains, all derived from the Wistar-Kyoto rat: SHR, WKY, WKHA and WKHT strains. SHRs express hypertension and hyperactivity, WKHAs express hyperactivity alone, WKHTs express hypertension alone, and WKYs are neither hypertensive nor hyperactive. Significant increases in NE uptake, primarily in Vmax, in cerebral cortical areas and the cerebellum, were associated with the hypertensive trait. Significant increases in DA uptake Vmax in the frontal cortex were associated with the inheritance of hyperactivity among these strains. A limited study in SHRs indicated that DA uptake in the frontal cortex increased with age, and that males did not differ from females. No changes in DA uptake in the neostriatum were found with respect to either strain, or age or sex. These findings revealed changes in brain catecholamine neuronal function that are of relevance to both hypertension and hyperactivity. This was made possible by the availability of WKHA and WKHT, in addition to WKYs, as appropriate controls for the SHR.

Age, sex and strain differences in activity and habituation in SHR and WKY rats

The highly inbred strain of Wistar-Kyoto spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and its normotensive, genetic control (WKY) were examined with respect to strain differences in spontaneous activity scores in a novel environment (small activity cage) and in ability to habituate to that environment. These behaviors were examined in experimentally naive rats, 197 SHR and WKY, males and females, at varying ages from 4 to 56 weeks, in order to determine whether there are sex and age differences in addition to the well-known strain differences in these behaviors. Total activity scores, determined in a 15 min test in the activity cage, were higher in SHR than WKY rats; females were significantly more active than males in either strain, and activity scores varied significantly with age both within strains and between strains. Ability to habituate to the test cage was determined by repeating the 15 min activity test at hourly intervals for three additional trials on the same day. The results indicate that the SHR, males and females and at all ages tested, habituate poorly if at all to the test cage as compared with WKY rats. Moreover, despite the variability of baseline activity scores (first trial) observed across ages, sexes and strains, the habituation patterns of either strain remained relatively fixed throughout the first year of life.