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Jovita-Farias C, Follett ME, Dias-Junior BC, Serra YA, Kisaki ND, Barros-Santos T, de Jesus NMS, Rodrigues IRS, Macedo LEL, Malpezzi-Marinho ELA, Oliveira-Lima AJ, Marinho EAV, Rowlett JK, Berro LF. Individual differences in the effects of midazolam on anxiety-like behavior, learning, reward, and choice behavior in male mice. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1122568. [PMID: 36937711 PMCID: PMC10021295 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1122568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The aim of the present study was to investigate the behavioral effects of the benzodiazepine midazolam in male mice, in models of anxiolysis, learning, and abuse-related effects. Methods In a first set of experiments, male Swiss mice were submitted to the training session of a discriminative avoidance (DA) task on the elevated plus maze to evaluate anxiety-like behavior and learning after vehicle or midazolam (1, 2 or 5 mg/kg, i.g.) administration. The same animals were submitted to a conditioned place preference (CPP) protocol with midazolam (1, 2 or 5 mg/kg, i.g.). In a second experiment, outbred (Swiss) and inbred (C57BL/6) male mice were submitted to a two-bottle choice (TBC) oral midazolam drinking procedure. Animals were exposed to one sucrose bottle and one midazolam (0.008, 0.016 or 0.032 mg/ml) plus sucrose bottle. Results Midazolam (1 and 2 mg/kg) induced anxiolytic-like effects, and all doses of midazolam prevented animals from learning to avoid the aversive closed arm during the DA training session. Assessment of midazolam reward via the CPP procedure and choice via the TBC procedure showed notable variability. A 2-step cluster analysis for the CPP data showed that midazolam data were well-fitted to 2 separate clusters (preference vs. aversion), albeit with the majority of mice showing preference (75%). Correlational and regression analyses showed no relationship between midazolam reward and anxiolytic-like effects (time spent in the open arms in the DA test) or learning/memory. Two-step cluster analysis of the TBC data also demonstrated that, regardless of strain, mice overall fell into two clusters identified as midazolam-preferring or midazolam-avoiding groups. Both midazolam preference and avoidance were concentration-dependent in a subset of mice. Discussion Our findings show that midazolam preference is a multifactorial behavior, and is not dependent solely on the emergence of therapeutic (anxiolytic-like) effects, learning impairments, or on genetic factors (inbred vs. outbred animals).
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Affiliation(s)
- Caio Jovita-Farias
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Meagan E. Follett
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Behaim C. Dias-Junior
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Yasmim A. Serra
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Natali D. Kisaki
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Thaísa Barros-Santos
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | | | - Isa R. S. Rodrigues
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Larissa E. L. Macedo
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - James K. Rowlett
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Lais F. Berro
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
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Effects of 5-HT 2C, 5-HT 1A receptor challenges and modafinil on the initiation and persistence of gambling behaviours. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:1745-1756. [PMID: 32123974 PMCID: PMC7239826 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05496-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Problematic patterns of gambling are characterised by loss of control and persistent gambling often to recover losses. However, little is known about the mechanisms that mediate initial choices to begin gambling and then continue to gamble in the face of losing outcomes. OBJECTIVES These experiments first assessed gambling and loss-chasing performance under different win/lose probabilities in C57Bl/6 mice, and then investigated the effects of antagonism of 5-HT2CR with SB242084, 5-HT1AR agonism with 8-OH-DPAT and modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancer. RESULTS As seen in humans and other species, mice demonstrated the expected patterns of behaviour as the odds for winning were altered increasing gambling and loss-chasing when winning was more likely. SB242084 decreased the likelihood to initially gamble, but had no effects on subsequent gambling choices in the face of repeated losses. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT had no effects on choosing to gamble in the first place, but once started 8-OH-DPAT increased gambling choices in a dose-sensitive manner. Modafinil effects were different to the serotonergic drugs in both decreasing the propensity to initiate gambling and chase losses. CONCLUSIONS We present evidence for dissociable effects of systemic drug administration on different aspects of gambling behaviour. These data extend and reinforce the importance of serotonergic mechanisms in mediating discrete components of gambling behaviour. They further demonstrate the ability of modafinil to reduce gambling behaviour. Our work using a novel mouse paradigm may be of utility in modelling the complex psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of gambling problems, including the analysis of genetic and environmental factors.
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Shanmugasundaram B, Korz V, Fendt M, Braun K, Lubec G. Differential effects of wake promoting drug modafinil in aversive learning paradigms. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:220. [PMID: 26347629 PMCID: PMC4541287 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Modafinil (MO) an inhibitor of the dopamine transporter was initially approved to treat narcolepsy, a sleep related disorder in humans. One interesting “side-effect” of this drug, which emerged from preclinical and clinical studies, is the facilitation of cognitive performance. So far, this was primarily shown in appetitive learning paradigms, but it is yet unclear whether MO exerts a more general cognitive enhancement effect. Thus, the aim of the present study in rats was to extend these findings by testing the effects of MO in two aversive paradigms, Pavlovian fear conditioning (FC) and the operant two-way active avoidance (TWA) learning paradigms. We discovered a differential, task-dependent effect of MO. In the FC paradigm MO treated rats showed a dose-dependent enhancement of fear memory compared to vehicle treated rats, indicated by increased context-related freezing. Cue related fear memory remained unaffected. In the TWA paradigm MO induced a significant decrease of avoidance responses compared to vehicle treated animals, while the number of escape reactions during the acquisition of the TWA task remained unaffected. These findings expand the knowledge in the regulation of cognitive abilities and may contribute to the understanding of the contraindicative effects of MO in anxiety related mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Volker Korz
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Fendt
- Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Braun
- Department of Zoology/Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Gert Lubec
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although the cognitive-enhancing abilities after modafinil have been demonstrated, its effects on memory consolidation remain overlooked. We investigated the effects of repeated modafinil administration on consolidation of a discriminative avoidance task. METHODS Mice were trained in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task. After training, mice received intraperitonial modafinil (doses of 32, 64 or 128 mg/kg). Animals were treated for more 9 consecutive days; 30 min after the last injection, testing was performed. In addition, the effects of 32 mg/kg modafinil on consolidation at different time points were examined. RESULTS The smaller dose of modafinil (32 mg/kg) impaired memory consolidation, without modifying anxiety or locomotion. Still, modafinil post-training administration at 1 or 2 h impaired memory persistence. CONCLUSIONS Modafinil impaired memory consolidation in a dose- and time-dependent fashion.
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Garcia KO, Ornellas FLM, Martin PKM, Patti CL, Mello LE, Frussa-Filho R, Han SW, Longo BM. Therapeutic effects of the transplantation of VEGF overexpressing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in the hippocampus of murine model of Alzheimer's disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2014; 6:30. [PMID: 24639647 PMCID: PMC3945612 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2013] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is clinically characterized by progressive memory loss, behavioral and learning dysfunction and cognitive deficits, such as alterations in social interactions. The major pathological features of AD are the formation of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles together with neuronal and vascular damage. The double transgenic mouse model of AD (2xTg-AD) with the APPswe/PS1dE9 mutations shows characteristics that are similar to those observed in AD patients, including social memory impairment, senile plaque formation and vascular deficits. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), when transplanted into the brain, produce positive effects by reducing amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition in transgenic amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilins1 (PS1) mice. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), exhibits neuroprotective effects against the excitotoxicity implicated in the AD neurodegeneration. The present study investigates the effects of MSCs overexpressing VEGF in hippocampal neovascularization, cognitive dysfunction and senile plaques present in 2xTg-AD transgenic mice. MSC were transfected with vascular endothelial growth factor cloned in uP vector under control of modified CMV promoter (uP-VEGF) vector, by electroporation and expanded at the 14th passage. 2xTg-AD animals at 6, 9 and 12 months old were transplanted with MSC-VEGF or MSC. The animals were tested for behavioral tasks to access locomotion, novelty exploration, learning and memory, and their brains were analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for vascularization and Aβ plaques. MSC-VEGF treatment favored the neovascularization and diminished senile plaques in hippocampal specific layers. Consequently, the treatment was able to provide behavioral benefits and reduce cognitive deficits by recovering the innate interest to novelty and counteracting memory deficits present in these AD transgenic animals. Therefore, this study has important therapeutic implications for the vascular damage in the neurodegeneration promoted by AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina O Garcia
- Neurofisiologia, Depto. Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Felipe L M Ornellas
- Neurofisiologia, Depto. Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Camilla L Patti
- Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luiz E Mello
- Neurofisiologia, Depto. Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Sang W Han
- Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Beatriz M Longo
- Neurofisiologia, Depto. Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
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Garcia VA, Souza de Freitas B, Busato SB, D'avila Portal BC, Piazza FC, Schröder N. Differential effects of modafinil on memory in naïve and memory-impaired rats. Neuropharmacology 2013; 75:304-11. [PMID: 23958446 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.07.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Revised: 07/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug and has been approved for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea. Modafinil was shown to improve learning and memory in rodents, and to reverse memory deficits induced by sleep deprivation or stress. However, depending on the memory paradigm used, modafinil might also impair memory. We aimed to investigate the effects of modafinil on memory consolidation and retrieval for object recognition and inhibitory avoidance in naïve adult rats. We also investigated whether acute or chronic administration of modafinil would reverse memory deficits induced by iron overload, a model of memory impairment related to neurodegenerative disorders. Adult naïve rats received modafinil (0.0, 0.75, 7.5 or 75 mg/kg) either immediately after training or 1 h prior to testing in object recognition or inhibitory avoidance. Iron-treated rats received modafinil immediately after training in object recognition. In order to investigate the effects of chronic modafinil, iron-treated rats received daily injections of modafinil for 17 days, and 24 h later they were trained in object recognition or inhibitory avoidance. Acute modafinil does not affect memory consolidation or retrieval in naive rats. A single injection of modafinil at the highest dose was able to recover recognition memory in iron-treated rats. Chronic modafinil completely recovered iron-induced recognition memory and emotional memory deficits. Additional preclinical and clinical studies are necessary in order to support the applicability of modafinil in recovering memory impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Athaíde Garcia
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), 90035-003 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Betânia Souza de Freitas
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Stefano Boemler Busato
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Bernardo Chaves D'avila Portal
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Francisco Correa Piazza
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Nadja Schröder
- Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), 90035-003 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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