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Sustained inhibitory transmission but dysfunctional dopamine D2 receptor signaling in dorsal striatal subregions following protracted abstinence from amphetamine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 218:173421. [PMID: 35718112 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral sensitization to amphetamine is a complex phenomenon that engages several neurotransmitter systems and brain regions. While dysregulated signaling in the mesolimbic dopamine system repeatedly has been linked to behavioral sensitization, later research has implicated dorsal striatal circuits and GABAergic neurotransmission in contributing to behavioral transformation elicited by amphetamine. The aim of this study was thus to determine if repeated amphetamine exposure followed by abstinence would alter inhibitory neurotransmission in dorsal striatal subregions. To this end, male Wistar rats received amphetamine (2.0 mg/kg) in an intermittent manner for a total of five days. Behavioral sensitization to amphetamine was measured in locomotor-activity boxes, while neuroadaptations were recorded in the dorsolateral (DLS) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS) using ex vivo electrophysiology at different timepoints of amphetamine abstinence (2 weeks, 4-5 weeks, 10-11 weeks). Data show that repeated drug-exposure produces behavioral sensitization to the locomotor-stimulatory properties of amphetamine, which sustains for at least ten weeks. Electrophysiological recordings demonstrated a long-lasting suppression of evoked population spikes in both striatal subregions. Furthermore, following ten weeks of abstinence, the responsiveness to a dopamine D2 receptor agonist was significantly impaired in brain slices from rats previously receiving amphetamine. However, neither the frequency nor the amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory currents was affected by treatment at any of the time points analyzed. In conclusion, passive administration of amphetamine initiates long-lasting neuroadaptations in brain regions associated with goal-directed behavior and habitual performance, but these transformations do not appear to be driven by changes in GABAergic neurotransmission.
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Lee AH, Brandon CL, Wang J, Frost WN. An Argument for Amphetamine-Induced Hallucinations in an Invertebrate. Front Physiol 2018; 9:730. [PMID: 29988540 PMCID: PMC6026665 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Hallucinations – compelling perceptions of stimuli that aren’t really there – occur in many psychiatric and neurological disorders, and are triggered by certain drugs of abuse. Despite their clinical importance, the neuronal mechanisms giving rise to hallucinations are poorly understood, in large part due to the absence of animal models in which they can be induced, confirmed to be endogenously generated, and objectively analyzed. In humans, amphetamine (AMPH) and related psychostimulants taken in large or repeated doses can induce hallucinations. Here we present evidence for such phenomena in the marine mollusk Tritonia diomedea. Animals injected with AMPH were found to sporadically launch spontaneous escape swims in the absence of eliciting stimuli. Deafferented isolated brains exposed to AMPH, where real stimuli could play no role, generated sporadic, spontaneous swim motor programs. A neurophysiological search of the swim network traced the origin of these drug-induced spontaneous motor programs to spontaneous bursts of firing in the S-cells, the CNS afferent neurons that normally inform the animal of skin contact with its predators and trigger the animal’s escape swim. Further investigation identified AMPH-induced enhanced excitability and plateau potential properties in the S-cells. Taken together, these observations support an argument that Tritonia’s spontaneous AMPH-induced swims are triggered by false perceptions of predator contact – i.e., hallucinations—and illuminate potential cellular mechanisms for such phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne H Lee
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Cindy L Brandon
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Jean Wang
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
| | - William N Frost
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
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Coffey KR, Nader M, West MO. Single body parts are processed by individual neurons in the mouse dorsolateral striatum. Brain Res 2016; 1636:200-207. [PMID: 26827625 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Interest in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) has generated numerous scientific studies of its neuropathologies, as well as its roles in normal sensorimotor integration and learning. Studies are informed by knowledge of DLS functional organization, the guiding principle being its somatotopic afferent projections from primary somatosensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices. The potential to connect behaviorally relevant function to detailed structure is elevated by mouse models, which have access to extensive genetic neuroscience tool kits. Remaining to be demonstrated, however, is whether the correspondence between S1/M1 corticostriatal terminal distributions and the physiological properties of DLS neurons demonstrated in rats and non-human primates exists in mice. Given that the terminal distribution of S1/M1 projections to the DLS in mice is similar to that in rats, we studied whether firing rates (FRs) of DLS neurons in awake, behaving mice are related to activity of individual body parts. MSNs exhibited robust, selective increases in FR during movement or somatosensory stimulation of single body parts. Properties of MSNs, including baseline FRs, locations, responsiveness to stimulation, and proportions of responsive neurons were similar to properties observed in rats. Future studies can be informed by the present demonstration that the mouse lateral striatum functions as a somatic sensorimotor sector of the striatum and appears to be a homolog of the primate putamen, as demonstrated in rats (Carelli and West, 1991).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Coffey
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
| | - Miles Nader
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
| | - Mark O West
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States.
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Coffey KR, Barker DJ, Gayliard N, Kulik JM, Pawlak AP, Stamos JP, West MO. Electrophysiological evidence of alterations to the nucleus accumbens and dorsolateral striatum during chronic cocaine self-administration. Eur J Neurosci 2015; 41:1538-52. [PMID: 25952463 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
As drug use becomes chronic, aberrant striatal processing contributes to the development of perseverative drug-taking behaviors. Two particular portions of the striatum, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS), are known to undergo neurobiological changes from acute to chronic drug use. However, little is known about the exact progression of changes in functional striatal processing as drug intake persists. We sampled single-unit activity in the NAc and DLS throughout 24 daily sessions of chronic long-access cocaine self-administration, and longitudinally tracked firing rates (FR) specifically during the operant response, an upward vertical head movement. A total of 103 neurons were held longitudinally and immunohistochemically localised to either NAc Medial Shell (n = 29), NAc Core (n = 30), or DLS (n = 54). We modeled changes representative of each category as a whole. Results demonstrated that FRs of DLS Head Movement neurons were significantly increased relative to baseline during all sessions, while FRs of DLS Uncategorised neurons were significantly reduced relative to baseline during all sessions. NAc Shell neurons' FRs were also significantly decreased relative to baseline during all sessions while FRs of NAc Core neurons were reduced relative to baseline only during training days 1-18 but were not significantly reduced on the remaining sessions (19-24). The data suggest that all striatal subregions show changes in FR during the operant response relative to baseline, but longitudinal changes in response firing patterns were observed only in the NAc Core, suggesting that this region is particularly susceptible to plastic changes induced by abused drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Coffey
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - David J Barker
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Nick Gayliard
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Julianna M Kulik
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Anthony P Pawlak
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Joshua P Stamos
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Mark O West
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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Mabrouk OS, Dripps IJ, Ramani S, Chang C, Han JL, Rice KC, Jutkiewicz EM. Automated touch screen device for recording complex rodent behaviors. J Neurosci Methods 2014; 233:129-36. [PMID: 24952323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Revised: 05/01/2014] [Accepted: 05/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Monitoring mouse behavior is a critical step in the development of modern pharmacotherapies. NEW METHOD Here we describe the application of a novel method that utilizes a touch display computer (tablet) and software to detect, record, and report fine motor behaviors. A consumer-grade tablet device is placed in the bottom of a specially made acrylic cage allowing the animal to walk on the device (MouseTrapp). We describe its application in open field (for general locomotor studies) which measures step lengths and velocity. The device can perform light-dark (anxiety) tests by illuminating half of the screen and keeping the other half darkened. A divider is built into the lid of the device allowing the animal free access to either side. RESULTS Treating mice with amphetamine and the delta opioid peptide receptor agonist SNC80 stimulated locomotor activity on the device. Amphetamine increased step velocity but not step length during its peak effect (40-70min after treatment), thus indicating detection of subtle amphetamine-induced effects. Animals showed a preference (74% of time spent) for the darkened half compared to the illuminated side. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD Animals were videotaped within the chamber to compare quadrant crosses to detect motion on the device. The slope, duration and magnitude of quadrant crosses tightly correlated with overall locomotor activity as detected by MouseTrapp. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that modern touch display devices such as MouseTrapp will be an important step toward automation of behavioral analyses for characterizing phenotypes and drug effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- O S Mabrouk
- Neurolytical LLC, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Pharmacology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - I J Dripps
- Department of Pharmacology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - S Ramani
- Department of Pharmacology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - C Chang
- Department of Pharmacology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - J L Han
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - K C Rice
- Chemical Biology Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - E M Jutkiewicz
- Department of Pharmacology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
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Barker DJ, Root DH, Coffey KR, Ma S, West MO. A procedure for implanting organized arrays of microwires for single-unit recordings in awake, behaving animals. J Vis Exp 2014:e51004. [PMID: 24561332 DOI: 10.3791/51004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In vivo electrophysiological recordings in the awake, behaving animal provide a powerful method for understanding neural signaling at the single-cell level. The technique allows experimenters to examine temporally and regionally specific firing patterns in order to correlate recorded action potentials with ongoing behavior. Moreover, single-unit recordings can be combined with a plethora of other techniques in order to produce comprehensive explanations of neural function. In this article, we describe the anesthesia and preparation for microwire implantation. Subsequently, we enumerate the necessary equipment and surgical steps to accurately insert a microwire array into a target structure. Lastly, we briefly describe the equipment used to record from each individual electrode in the array. The fixed microwire arrays described are well-suited for chronic implantation and allow for longitudinal recordings of neural data in almost any behavioral preparation. We discuss tracing electrode tracks to triangulate microwire positions as well as ways to combine microwire implantation with immunohistochemical techniques in order to increase the anatomical specificity of recorded results.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Barker
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
| | - David H Root
- Neuronal Networks Section, Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse
| | - Kevin R Coffey
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey;
| | - Sisi Ma
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
| | - Mark O West
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
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