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Gross ME, Elliott JC, Schooler JW. Why creatives don't find the oddball odd: Neural and psychological evidence for atypical salience processing. Brain Cogn 2024; 178:106178. [PMID: 38823196 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Creativity has previously been linked with various attentional phenomena, including unfocused or broad attention. Although this has typically been interpreted through an executive functioning framework, such phenomena may also arise from atypical incentive salience processing. Across two studies, we examine this hypothesis both neurally and psychologically. First we examine the relationship between figural creativity and event-related potentials during an audio-visual oddball task, finding that rater creativity of drawings is associated with a diminished P300 response at midline electrodes, while abstractness and elaborateness of the drawings is associated with an altered distribution of the P300 over posterior electrodes. These findings support the notion that creativity may involve an atypical attribution of salience to prominent information. We further explore the incentive salience hypothesis by examining relationships between creativity and a psychological indicator of incentive salience captured by participants' ratings of enjoyment (liking) and their motivation to pursue (wanting) diverse real world rewards, as well as their positive spontaneous thoughts about those rewards. Here we find enhanced motivation to pursue activities as well as a reduced relationship between the overall tendency to enjoy rewards and the tendency to pursue them. Collectively, these findings indicate that creativity may be associated with atypical allocation of attentional and motivational resources to novel and rewarding information, potentially allowing more types of information access to attentional resources and motivating more diverse behaviors. We discuss the possibility that salience attribution in creatives may be less dependent on task-relevance or hedonic pleasure, and suggest that atypical salience attribution may represent a trait-like feature of creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine E Gross
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
| | - James C Elliott
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
| | - Jonathan W Schooler
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
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2
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González-Barriga F, Orduña V. Incentive-salience attribution is attenuated in spontaneously hypertensive rats, an animal model of ADHD. Behav Processes 2024; 220:105068. [PMID: 38889852 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) have been extensively studied as an animal model of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) because they show some of the defining features of that disorder, like some forms of impulsivity and hyperactivity. However, other characteristics of the disorder, like a deficit in motivation, have been scarcely studied in the SHR strain. In the present report, we studied in 45 SHR and 45 Wistar rats as a comparison group, the capacity of attribution of incentive salience to a stimulus predictor of reinforcement, which has become a central concept in the study of motivation. We employed the Pavlovian Conditioned-Approach (PCA) task, in which a lever is presented 8 s before a pellet is delivered. The attribution of incentive salience is indicated by responses to the lever, in contrast to the absence of attribution of incentive salience, which is indicated by entrances to the pellet receptacle. For quantifying the attribution of incentive salience, we employed the PCA index, which integrates three related variables for each type of response, lever presses and entrances to the feeder: 1) the number of responses, 2) the latency to the first response, and 3) the probability that at least one response occurred during the presence of the lever. SHR showed lower levels of PCA, suggesting a deficit in the attribution of incentive salience to the lever. This finding replicates the results reported by previous research that compared SHR's performance in the PCA task against that of Sprague-Dawley rats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vladimir Orduña
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
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3
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Bowdring MA, McCarthy DM, Fairbairn CE, Prochaska JJ. Non-alcoholic beverage consumption among US adults who consume alcohol. Addiction 2024; 119:1080-1089. [PMID: 38403280 DOI: 10.1111/add.16452] [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: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Non-alcoholic beverages (NABs) that mimic alcohol without inducing intoxication, such as non-alcoholic beers, non-alcoholic wines and spirit-free drinks, are increasing in popularity. It is unknown whether NABs help to mitigate or stimulate alcohol use. The present study aimed to describe NAB consumption practices among US adults consuming alcohol, characterize who is likely to consume NABs and examine whether NAB use influences desire for and perceived consumption of alcohol. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS The survey study used data collected June-July 2023 from an on-line convenience sample. The first survey (n = 1906) assessed frequency of NAB consumption among US adults who consume alcohol. A second more detailed survey on use patterns was conducted with 466 respondents who reported past-year NAB consumption, of whom 153 (32.83%) screened positive on the CAGE questionnaire for alcohol use disorder (AUD). SETTING This study took place in the United States. MEASUREMENTS NAB consumption measures included type of NAB consumed, frequency, quantity, first consumption age, consumption reasons, consumption contexts and perceived effect on desire for and consumption of alcohol. Alcohol use measures included frequency, quantity and first consumption age. FINDINGS Past-year NAB use was endorsed by 28.44% of respondents (61.70% ever used). Non-alcoholic liquor/'mocktails' were the most common NAB type consumed (83.69%). Compared with respondents without AUD, those who screened positive for AUD were significantly more likely to consume NABs in an effort to decrease or abstain from drinking alcohol [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.24-5.58] and 67.97% endorsed less alcohol consumption (3.23% endorsed more) due to their NAB use. NAB consumption frequency and quantity were significantly positively predicted by alcohol consumption frequency (AOR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.17-1.83) and quantity (β = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.15-0.35), respectively. CONCLUSION Adults who consume alcohol and screen positive for alcohol use disorder report drinking non-alcoholic beverages as a harm reduction strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly A Bowdring
- Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Denis M McCarthy
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MI, USA
| | - Catharine E Fairbairn
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel Street, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Judith J Prochaska
- Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
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4
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Joyner KJ, Patrick CJ, Morris DH, McCarthy DM, Bartholow BD. Variants of the P3 event-related potential operate as indicators of distinct mechanisms contributing to problematic alcohol use. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024:10.1038/s41386-024-01874-7. [PMID: 38734817 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01874-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Considerable research has linked relative reduction in the amplitude of the P3 event-related potential (ERP) during cognitive task performance (i.e., Target-P3) with increased risk of alcohol-related problems. A separate literature indicates that a relative increase in the amplitude of the P3 elicited by cues signaling alcohol availability (i.e., ACR-P3) also is associated with alcohol use and problems. To date, no research has integrated these seemingly discrepant findings. Here, we aimed to demonstrate that P3 amplitudes elicited in different task contexts reflect distinct domains of functioning relevant to problematic alcohol involvement (PAI), and therefore can inform heterogeneity in the etiology of PAI. 156 emerging adults (61% women; 88% White/Non-Hispanic) completed a mental rotation task and a picture-viewing task while ERPs were recorded. Participants also completed questionnaire measures of trait disinhibition, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems. Findings from regression analyses indicated that (a) Target-P3 was negatively associated and ACR-P3 was positively associated with a PAI latent variable; (b) the two P3s accounted for unique variance in PAI, beyond that accounted for by recent drinking; and (c) the association between Target-P3 and PAI-but not ACR-P3 and PAI-was statistically mediated by trait disinhibition. The present findings highlight the unique contributions of distinct functional domains associated with disinhibition and incentive salience in the etiology of PAI. Moreover, findings are consistent with a nuanced understanding of the P3 ERP, whereby its specific meaning varies according to the task context in which it is elicited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keanan J Joyner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - David H Morris
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Denis M McCarthy
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Bruce D Bartholow
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
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King CP, Chitre AS, Leal-Gutiérrez JD, Tripi JA, Hughson AR, Horvath AP, Lamparelli AC, George A, Martin C, Pierre CLS, Sanches T, Bimschleger HV, Gao J, Cheng R, Nguyen KM, Holl KL, Polesskaya O, Ishiwari K, Chen H, Woods LCS, Palmer AA, Robinson TE, Flagel SB, Meyer PJ. Genomic Loci Influencing Cue-Reactivity in Heterogeneous Stock Rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.13.584852. [PMID: 38559127 PMCID: PMC10980002 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.13.584852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Addiction vulnerability is associated with the tendency to attribute incentive salience to reward predictive cues; both addiction and the attribution of incentive salience are influenced by environmental and genetic factors. To characterize the genetic contributions to incentive salience attribution, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a cohort of 1,645 genetically diverse heterogeneous stock (HS) rats. We tested HS rats in a Pavlovian conditioned approach task, in which we characterized the individual responses to food-associated stimuli ("cues"). Rats exhibited either cue-directed "sign-tracking" behavior or food-cup directed "goal-tracking" behavior. We then used the conditioned reinforcement procedure to determine whether rats would perform a novel operant response for unrewarded presentations of the cue. We found that these measures were moderately heritable (SNP heritability, h2 = .189-.215). GWAS identified 14 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 11 of the 12 traits we examined. Interval sizes of these QTLs varied widely. 7 traits shared a QTL on chromosome 1 that contained a few genes (e.g. Tenm4, Mir708) that have been associated with substance use disorders and other mental health traits in humans. Other candidate genes (e.g. Wnt11, Pak1) in this region had coding variants and expression-QTLs in mesocorticolimbic regions of the brain. We also conducted a Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) on other behavioral measures in HS rats and found that regions containing QTLs on chromosome 1 were also associated with nicotine self-administration in a separate cohort of HS rats. These results provide a starting point for the molecular genetic dissection of incentive salience and provide further support for a relationship between attribution of incentive salience and drug abuse-related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P. King
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA
- Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, USA
| | - Apurva S. Chitre
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | | | - Jordan A. Tripi
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA
| | - Alesa R. Hughson
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Aidan P. Horvath
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | | | - Anthony George
- Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, USA
| | - Connor Martin
- Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, USA
| | | | - Thiago Sanches
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | | | - Jianjun Gao
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Riyan Cheng
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Khai-Minh Nguyen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Katie L. Holl
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA
| | - Oksana Polesskaya
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Keita Ishiwari
- Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo USA
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science and Toxicology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, USA
| | - Leah C. Solberg Woods
- Department of Internal Medicine, Molecular Medicine, Center on Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA
| | - Abraham A. Palmer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | | | - Shelly B. Flagel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Paul J. Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA
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6
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Cherkasova MV, Clark L, Barton JJS, Stoessl AJ, Winstanley CA. Risk-promoting effects of reward-paired cues in human sign- and goal-trackers. Behav Brain Res 2024; 461:114865. [PMID: 38220058 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Animal research suggests trait-like individual variation in the degree of incentive salience attribution to reward-predictive cues, defined phenotypically as sign-tracking (high) and goal-tracking (low incentive salience attribution). While these phenotypes have been linked to addiction features in rodents, their translational validity is less clear. Here, we examined whether sign- and goal-tracking in healthy human volunteers modulates the effects of reward-paired cues on decision making. Sign-tracking was measured in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm as the amount of eye gaze fixation on the reward-predictive cue versus the location of impending reward delivery. In Study 1 (Cherkasova et al., 2018), participants were randomly assigned to perform a binary choice task in which rewards were either accompanied (cued, n = 63) or unaccompanied (uncued, n = 68) by money images and casino jingles. In Study 2, participants (n = 58) performed cued and uncued versions of the task in a within-subjects design. Across both studies, cues promoted riskier choice. Sign-tracking was not associated with risky choice in either study. Goal-tracking rather than sign-tracking was significantly associated with greater risk-promoting effects of cues in Study 1 but not in Study 2, although the direction of findings was consistent across both studies. These findings are at odds with the notion of sign-trackers being preferentially susceptible to the influence of reward cues on behavior and point to the role of mechanisms besides incentive salience in mediating such influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariya V Cherkasova
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
| | - Luke Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - A Jon Stoessl
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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7
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Dinu LM, Georgescu AL, Singh SN, Byrom NC, Overton PG, Singer BF, Dommett EJ. Sign-tracking and goal-tracking in humans: Utilising eye-tracking in clinical and non-clinical populations. Behav Brain Res 2024; 461:114846. [PMID: 38184207 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Pavlovian conditioning, learned behaviour varies according to the perceived value of environmental cues. For goal-trackers (GT), the cue merely predicts a reward, whilst for sign-trackers (ST), the cue holds incentive value. The sign-tracking/goal-tracking model is well-validated in animals, but translational work is lacking. Despite the model's relevance to several conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we are unaware of any studies that have examined the model in clinical populations. METHODS The current study used an eye-tracking Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to identify ST and GT in non-clinical (N = 54) and ADHD (N = 57) participants. Eye movements were recorded whilst performing the task. Dwell time was measured for two areas of interest: sign (i.e., cue) and goal (i.e., reward), and an eye-gaze index (EGI) was computed based on the dwell time sign-to-goal ratio. Higher EGI values indicate sign-tracking behaviour. ST and GT were determined using median and tertiary split approaches in both samples. RESULTS Despite greater propensity for sign-tracking in those with ADHD, there was no significant difference between groups. The oculomotor conditioned response was reward-specific (CS+) and present, at least partly, from the start of the task indicating dispositional and learned components. There were no differences in externalising behaviours between ST and GT for either sample. CONCLUSIONS Sign-tracking is associated with CS+ trials only. There may be both dispositional and learned components to sign-tracking, potentially more common in those with ADHD. This holds translational potential for understanding individual differences in reward-learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa-Maria Dinu
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Alexandra-Livia Georgescu
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Samriddhi N Singh
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Nicola C Byrom
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Paul G Overton
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Cathedral Court, Sheffield S1 2LT, UK
| | - Bryan F Singer
- School of Psychology, Sussex Addiction Research & Intervention Centre, Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Eleanor J Dommett
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
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Przybysz KR, Ramirez LA, Pitock JR, Starr EM, Yang H, Glover EJ. A translational rodent model of individual differences in sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 48:516-529. [PMID: 38303664 PMCID: PMC10939790 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A strong relationship exists between individual sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol and risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Despite this, our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the subjective response to ethanol is limited. A major contributor to this lack of knowledge is the absence of preclinical models that enable exploration of this individual variability such as is possible in studies of humans. METHODS Adult male and female Long-Evans rats were trained to associate a novel tastant (saccharin) with acute exposure to either saline or ethanol (1.5 g/kg or 2.0 g/kg i.p.) over three conditioning days using a standard conditioned taste aversion (CTA) procedure. Variability in sensitivity to ethanol-induced CTA was phenotypically characterized using a median split across the populations studied. RESULTS When examining group averages, both male and female rats exposed to saccharin paired with either dose of ethanol exhibited lower saccharin intake relative to saline controls indicative of ethanol-induced CTA. Examination of individual data revealed a bimodal distribution of responses uncovering two distinct phenotypes present in both sexes. CTA-sensitive rats exhibited a rapid and progressive reduction in saccharin intake with each successive ethanol pairing. In contrast, saccharin intake was unchanged or maintained after an initial decrease from baseline levels in CTA-resistant rats. While CTA magnitude was similar between male and female CTA-sensitive rats, among CTA-resistant animals females were more resistant to the development of ethanol-induced CTA than males. Phenotypic differences were not driven by differences in baseline saccharin intake. CONCLUSIONS These data parallel work in humans by revealing individual differences in sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol that emerge immediately after initial exposure to ethanol in both sexes. This model can be used in future studies to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms that confer risk for AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn R Przybysz
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lindsey A Ramirez
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Joseph R Pitock
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - E Margaret Starr
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Hyerim Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Glover
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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9
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Kohen CB, Cofresí RU, Piasecki TM, Bartholow BD. Predictive utility of the P3 event-related potential (ERP) response to alcohol cues for ecologically assessed alcohol craving and use. Addict Biol 2024; 29:e13368. [PMID: 38380714 PMCID: PMC10882185 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Neural measures of alcohol cue incentive salience have been associated with retrospective reports of riskier alcohol use behaviour and subjective response profiles. This study tested whether the P3 event-related potential (ERP) elicited by alcohol-related cues (ACR-P3) can forecast alcohol use and craving during real-world drinking episodes. Participants (N = 262; Mage = 19.53; 56% female) completed a laboratory task in which they viewed images of everyday objects (Neutral), non-alcohol drinks (NonAlc) and alcohol beverages (Alc) while EEG was recorded and then completed a 21-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol in which they recorded alcohol craving and consumption. Anthropometrics were used to derive estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) throughout drinking episodes. Multilevel modelling indicated positive associations between P3 amplitudes elicited by all stimuli and within-episode alcohol use measures (e.g., eBAC, cumulative drinks). Focal follow-up analyses indicated a positive association between AlcP3 amplitude and eBAC within episodes: Larger AlcP3 was associated with a steeper rise in eBAC. This association was robust to controlling for the association between NonAlcP3 and eBAC. AlcP3 also was positively associated with episode-level measures (e.g., max drinks, max eBAC). There were no associations between any P3 variables and EMA-based craving measures. Thus, individual differences in neural measures of alcohol cue incentive salience appear to predict the speed and intensity of alcohol consumption but not reports of craving during real-world alcohol use episodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey B. Kohen
- Department of Psychological SciencesUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouriUSA
| | - Roberto U. Cofresí
- Department of Psychological SciencesUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouriUSA
| | - Thomas M. Piasecki
- Department of Medicine and Center for Tobacco Research and InterventionUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWisconsinUSA
| | - Bruce D. Bartholow
- Department of Psychological SciencesUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouriUSA
- Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesUniversity of IowaIowa CityIowaUSA
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10
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Kennedy BL, Camara AM, Tran DMD. You eye what you eat: BMI, consumption patterns, and dieting status predict temporal attentional bias to food-associated images. Appetite 2024; 192:107095. [PMID: 37890529 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
People know that overconsumption of high-fat high-sugar (HFHS) foods have negative consequences for physical and cognitive wellbeing but continue to consume these foods in excess, leading to recent proposals to model obesity as an addiction disorder. The current experiment tested, in a large undergraduate sample (N = 306), the hypothesis that obesity and overconsumption is linked with an oversensitivity to rewards that drives attentional biases towards foods and food-associated cues. Using a modified emotion-induced blindness task with food-related distractors, we examined the extent to which attentional biases to images of HFHS foods were accounted for by BMI, HFHS food intake, self-reported hunger, time since last meal, diet status, food preferences, and attentional control. We also examined whether the same individual differences predicted attentional priority to cues that have a learned association with HFHS foods (i.e., images of food logos). Contrary to our predictions, higher BMI predicted less attentional priority for images of food and food logos. At the same time, increased consumption of HFHS foods predicted increased attentional priority for food images, whereas dieting predicted increased attentional priority for food logo images. Our results suggest that different people may preferentially attend to food versus food logo imagery based on their relationships with food. More broadly, our results support the theoretical perspective that attentional biases to food-associated stimuli can be affected by various competing, state-related factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briana L Kennedy
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Andrew M Camara
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Dominic M D Tran
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
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11
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Olsen CM, Glaeser BL, Szabo A, Raff H, Everson CA. The effects of sleep restriction during abstinence on oxycodone seeking: Sex-dependent moderating effects of behavioral and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis-related phenotypes. Physiol Behav 2023; 272:114372. [PMID: 37805135 PMCID: PMC10841994 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
During opioid use and abstinence, sleep disturbances are common and are thought to exacerbate drug craving. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that sleep restriction during abstinence from oxycodone self-administration would increase drug seeking during extinction and footshock reinstatement tests. We also performed behavioral phenotyping to determine if individual variation in responses to stressors and/or pain are associated with oxycodone seeking during abstinence, as stress, pain and sleep disturbance are often co-occurring phenomena. Sleep restriction during abstinence did not have selective effects on oxycodone seeking for either sex in extinction and footshock reinstatement tests. Some phenotypes were associated with drug seeking; these associations differed by sex and type of drug seeking assessment. In female rats, pain-related phenotypes were related to high levels of drug seeking during the initial extinction session. In male rats, lower anxiety-like behavior in the open field was associated with greater drug seeking, although this effect was lost when correcting for oxycodone intake. Adrenal sensitivity prior to oxycodone exposure was positively associated with footshock reinstatement in females. This work identifies sex-dependent relationships between HPA axis function and opioid seeking, indicating that HPA axis function could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of opioid use disorder, with tailored approaches based on sex. Sleep disturbance during abstinence did not appear to be a major contributing factor to opioid seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Olsen
- Departments of Pharmacology & Toxicology and Neurosurgery, Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
| | - Breanna L Glaeser
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology and Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Aniko Szabo
- Division of Biostatistics, Institute for Health & Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Hershel Raff
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine), Surgery, and Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; Endocrine Research Laboratory, Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, Advocate Aurora Research Institute, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Carol A Everson
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine) and Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
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12
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Rosenthal A, Chen K, Beck A, Romanczuk-Seiferth N. Modifying Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer by approach avoidance training in healthy subjects: a proof of concept study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10074. [PMID: 37344561 PMCID: PMC10284857 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37083-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The modulation of instrumental action by conditioned Pavlovian cues is hypothesized to play a role in the emergence and maintenance of maladaptive behavior. The Pavlovian to Instrumental transfer task (PIT) is designed to examine the magnitude of the influence of cues on behavior and we aim to manipulate the motivational value of Pavlovian cues to reduce their effect on instrumental responding. To this end, we utilized a joystick-based modification of approach and avoidance propensities that has shown success in clinical populations. To examine changes in PIT, we subjected 35 healthy participants to a series of experimental procedures: (1) Instrumental training was followed by (2) Pavlovian conditioning of neutral stimuli that were associated with monetary reward or loss. (3) In a subsequent joystick task, approach and avoidance tendencies toward conditioned cues were assessed. (4) In a transfer test, the PIT effect as the impact of conditioned cues on instrumental behavior was measured. (5) The explicit knowledge of cue-reward contingencies was assessed in a forced-choice phase. (6, 7) systematic joystick training was followed by a posttest (8) the transfer task and forced-choice test were repeated. We found no effect of training on approach-avoidance propensities in the context of this proof of concept study. A higher response rate towards negative stimuli during PIT after systematic training compared to sham training was seen. On the other hand, we saw an increased PIT effect after sham training. These results contribute to the understanding of the strength of the influence of cues on instrumental behavior. Our findings further stress the importance of context, instructions and operationalization of instrumental behavior in the framework of transfer effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Rosenthal
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences|CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Ke Chen
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences|CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anne Beck
- Faculty of Health, Health and Medical University, Campus Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Nina Romanczuk-Seiferth
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences|CCM, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Przybysz KR, Ramirez LA, Pitock JR, Starr EM, Yang H, Glover EJ. A translational rodent model of individual differences in sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.08.544209. [PMID: 37333122 PMCID: PMC10274910 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.08.544209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Background A strong relationship exists between individual sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol and risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Despite this, our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying subjective response to ethanol is relatively poor. A major contributor to this is the absence of preclinical models that enable exploration of this individual variability similar to studies performed in humans. Methods Adult male and female Long-Evans rats were trained to associate a novel tastant (saccharin) with acute exposure to either saline or ethanol (1.5 g/kg or 2.0 g/kg i.p.) over three conditioning days using a standard conditioned taste aversion (CTA) procedure. Variability in sensitivity to ethanol-induced CTA was phenotypically characterized using a median split across the populations studied. Results When examining group averages, both male and female rats that had saccharin paired with either dose of ethanol exhibited reduced saccharin intake relative to saline controls of ethanol-induced CTA. Examination of individual data revealed a bimodal distribution of responses uncovering two distinct phenotypes present in both sexes. CTA-sensitive rats exhibited a rapid and progressive reduction in saccharin intake with each successive ethanol pairing. In contrast, saccharin intake was unchanged or maintained after an initial decrease from baseline levels in CTA-resistant rats. While CTA magnitude was similar between male and female CTA-sensitive rats, CTA-resistant females were more resistant to the development of ethanol-induced CTA than their male counterparts. Phenotypic differences were not driven by differences in baseline saccharin intake. CTA sensitivity correlated with behavioral signs of intoxication in only a subset of rats. Conclusions These data parallel work in humans by revealing individual differences in sensitivity to the aversive properties of ethanol that emerge immediately after initial exposure to ethanol in both sexes. This model can be leveraged in future studies to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms that confer risk for AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn R Przybysz
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lindsey A Ramirez
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joseph R Pitock
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - E Margaret Starr
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Hyerim Yang
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Glover
- Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Chellian R, Behnood-Rod A, Bruijnzeel AW. Development of Dependence in Smokers and Rodents With Voluntary Nicotine Intake: Similarities and Differences. Nicotine Tob Res 2023; 25:1229-1240. [PMID: 36482774 PMCID: PMC10256892 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntac280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Smoking and vaping throughout adolescence and early adulthood lead to nicotine dependence. Nicotine withdrawal is associated with somatic and affective withdrawal symptoms that contribute to smoking and relapse. Affective nicotine withdrawal symptoms in humans include craving for cigarettes, depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and cognitive deficits. METHODS Herein, we review clinical studies that investigated nicotine dependence in people who smoke or vape. We also discuss studies that investigated the development of dependence in animals with oral nicotine intake, nicotine aerosol self-administration, and intravenous nicotine self-administration. RESULTS Clinical studies report that adolescents who smoke daily develop nicotine dependence before those who smoke infrequently, but ultimately all smokers become dependent in adulthood. Preclinical studies indicate that rats that self-administer nicotine also become dependent. Rats that self-administer nicotine display somatic withdrawal signs and affective withdrawal signs, including increased anxiety and depressive-like behavior, cognitive deficits, and allodynia. Most nicotine withdrawal signs were observed in rodents with daily (7 days/week) or intermittent long access (23-hour) to nicotine. Clinical smoking studies report symptoms of nicotine dependence in adolescents of both sexes, but virtually all preclinical nicotine self-administration studies have been done with adult male rats. CONCLUSIONS The role of sex and age in the development of dependence in nicotine self-administration studies remains under-investigated. However, the role of sex and age in nicotine withdrawal has been thoroughly evaluated in studies in which nicotine was administered noncontingently. We discuss the need for volitional nicotine self-administration studies that explore the gradual development of dependence during adolescence and adulthood in rodents of both sexes. IMPLICATIONS The reviewed clinical studies investigated the development of nicotine dependence in male and female adolescent and young adult smokers and vapers. These studies indicate that most adolescent smokers and vapers gradually become nicotine dependent. Preclinical studies with rodents show that nicotine intake in widely used self-administration models also leads to dependence. However, almost all animal studies that investigated the development of nicotine dependence have been conducted with adult male rats. To better model smoking and vaping, it is important that nicotine intake in rats or mice starts during adolescence and that both sexes are included.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Azin Behnood-Rod
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Adriaan W Bruijnzeel
- Corresponding Author: Adriaan Bruijnzeel, PhD, University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, 1149 Newell Dr., Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA. Telephone: 352-294-4931; Fax: 352-392-9887; E-mail:
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15
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Gyawali U, Martin DA, Sun F, Li Y, Calu D. Dopamine in the dorsal bed nucleus of stria terminalis signals Pavlovian sign-tracking and reward violations. eLife 2023; 12:e81980. [PMID: 37232554 PMCID: PMC10219648 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Midbrain and striatal dopamine signals have been extremely well characterized over the past several decades, yet novel dopamine signals and functions in reward learning and motivation continue to emerge. A similar characterization of real-time sub-second dopamine signals in areas outside of the striatum has been limited. Recent advances in fluorescent sensor technology and fiber photometry permit the measurement of dopamine binding correlates, which can divulge basic functions of dopamine signaling in non-striatal dopamine terminal regions, like the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dBNST). Here, we record GRABDA signals in the dBNST during a Pavlovian lever autoshaping task. We observe greater Pavlovian cue-evoked dBNST GRABDA signals in sign-tracking (ST) compared to goal-tracking/intermediate (GT/INT) rats and the magnitude of cue-evoked dBNST GRABDA signals decreases immediately following reinforcer-specific satiety. When we deliver unexpected rewards or omit expected rewards, we find that dBNST dopamine signals encode bidirectional reward prediction errors in GT/INT rats, but only positive prediction errors in ST rats. Since sign- and goal-tracking approach strategies are associated with distinct drug relapse vulnerabilities, we examined the effects of experimenter-administered fentanyl on dBNST dopamine associative encoding. Systemic fentanyl injections do not disrupt cue discrimination but generally potentiate dBNST dopamine signals. These results reveal multiple dBNST dopamine correlates of learning and motivation that depend on the Pavlovian approach strategy employed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utsav Gyawali
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
| | - David A Martin
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Fangmiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Donna Calu
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
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16
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Hess EM, Kassel SN, Simandl G, Raddatz N, Maunze B, Hurley MM, Grzybowski M, Klotz J, Geurts A, Liu QS, Choi S, Twining RC, Baker DA. Genetic Disruption of System xc-Mediated Glutamate Release from Astrocytes Increases Negative-Outcome Behaviors While Preserving Basic Brain Function in Rat. J Neurosci 2023; 43:2349-2361. [PMID: 36788029 PMCID: PMC10072291 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1525-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The importance of neuronal glutamate to synaptic transmission throughout the brain illustrates the immense therapeutic potential and safety risks of targeting this system. Astrocytes also release glutamate, the clinical relevance of which is unknown as the range of brain functions reliant on signaling from these cells hasn't been fully established. Here, we investigated system xc- (Sxc), which is a glutamate release mechanism with an in vivo rodent expression pattern that is restricted to astrocytes. As most animals do not express Sxc, we first compared the expression and sequence of the obligatory Sxc subunit xCT among major classes of vertebrate species. We found xCT to be ubiquitously expressed and under significant negative selective pressure. Hence, Sxc likely confers important advantages to vertebrate brain function that may promote biological fitness. Next, we assessed brain function in male genetically modified rats (MSxc) created to eliminate Sxc activity. Unlike other glutamatergic mechanisms, eliminating Sxc activity was not lethal and didn't alter growth patterns, telemetry measures of basic health, locomotor activity, or behaviors reliant on simple learning. However, MSxc rats exhibited deficits in tasks used to assess cognitive behavioral control. In a pavlovian conditioned approach, MSxc rats approached a food-predicted cue more frequently than WT rats, even when this response was punished. In attentional set shifting, MSxc rats displayed cognitive inflexibility because of an increased frequency of perseverative errors. MSxc rats also displayed heightened cocaine-primed drug seeking. Hence, a loss of Sxc-activity appears to weaken control over nonreinforced or negative-outcome behaviors without altering basic brain function.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Glutamate is essential to synaptic activity throughout the brain, which illustrates immense therapeutic potential and risk. Notably, glutamatergic mechanisms are expressed by most types of brain cells. Hence, glutamate likely encodes multiple forms of intercellular signaling. Here, we hypothesized that the selective manipulation of astrocyte to neuron signaling would alter cognition without producing widespread brain impairments. First, we eliminated activity of the astrocytic glutamate release mechanism, Sxc, in rat. This impaired cognitive flexibility and increased expression of perseverative, maladaptive behaviors. Notably, eliminating Sxc activity did not alter metrics of health or noncognitive brain function. These data add to recent evidence that the brain expresses cognition-specific molecular mechanisms that could lead to highly precise, safe medications for impaired cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Hess
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Sara N Kassel
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Gregory Simandl
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Nicholas Raddatz
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Brian Maunze
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Matthew M Hurley
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | | | | | | | - Qing-Song Liu
- Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
| | - SuJean Choi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - Robert C Twining
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
| | - David A Baker
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
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17
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Colaizzi JM, Flagel SB, Gearhardt AN, Borowitz MA, Kuplicki R, Zotev V, Clark G, Coronado J, Abbott T, Paulus MP. The propensity to sign-track is associated with externalizing behavior and distinct patterns of reward-related brain activation in youth. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4402. [PMID: 36928057 PMCID: PMC10020483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30906-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Externalizing behaviors in childhood often predict impulse control disorders in adulthood; however, the underlying bio-behavioral risk factors are incompletely understood. In animals, the propensity to sign-track, or the degree to which incentive motivational value is attributed to reward cues, is associated with externalizing-type behaviors and deficits in executive control. Using a Pavlovian conditioned approach paradigm, we quantified sign-tracking in 40 healthy 9-12-year-olds. We also measured parent-reported externalizing behaviors and anticipatory neural activations to outcome-predicting cues using the monetary incentive delay fMRI task. Sign-tracking was associated with attentional and inhibitory control deficits and the degree of amygdala, but not cortical, activation during reward anticipation. These findings support the hypothesis that youth with a propensity to sign-track are prone to externalizing tendencies, with an over-reliance on subcortical cue-reactive brain systems. This research highlights sign-tracking as a promising experimental approach delineating the behavioral and neural circuitry of individuals at risk for externalizing disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna M Colaizzi
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - Shelly B Flagel
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 205 Zina Pitcher Pl, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Ashley N Gearhardt
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Michelle A Borowitz
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Rayus Kuplicki
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Vadim Zotev
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Grace Clark
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Jennifer Coronado
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Talia Abbott
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Martin P Paulus
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S Yale Ave, Tulsa, OK, USA
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18
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Musial MPM, Beck A, Rosenthal A, Charlet K, Bach P, Kiefer F, Vollstädt-Klein S, Walter H, Heinz A, Rothkirch M. Reward Processing in Alcohol-Dependent Patients and First-Degree Relatives: Functional Brain Activity During Anticipation of Monetary Gains and Losses. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:546-557. [PMID: 35863919 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.05.024] [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: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND According to the reward deficiency syndrome and allostatic hypotheses, hyposensitivity of mesocorticolimbic regions to non-alcohol-related stimuli predisposes to dependence or is long-lastingly enhanced by chronic substance use. To date, no study has directly compared mesocorticolimbic brain activity during non-drug reward anticipation between alcohol-dependent, at risk, and healthy subjects. METHODS Seventy-five abstinent alcohol-dependent human subjects (mean abstinence duration 957.66 days), 62 healthy first-degree relatives of alcohol-dependent individuals, and 76 healthy control subjects without family history of alcohol dependence performed a monetary incentive delay task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data of the anticipation phase were analyzed, during which visual cues predicted that fast response to a target would result in monetary gain, avoidance of monetary loss, or a neutral outcome. RESULTS During gain anticipation, there were no significant group differences. During loss anticipation, abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects showed lower activity in the left anterior insula compared with healthy control subjects without family history of alcohol dependence only (Montreal Neurological Institute [MNI] -25 19 -5; t206 = 4.17, familywise error corrected p = .009). However, this effect was no longer significant when age was included as a covariate. There were no group differences between abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects and healthy first-degree relatives or between healthy first-degree relatives and healthy control subjects during loss anticipation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Neither the neural reward deficiency syndrome nor the allostatic hypotheses are supported by the results. Future studies should investigate whether the incentive salience hypothesis allows for more accurate predictions regarding mesocorticolimbic brain activity of subjects with alcohol dependence and healthy individuals during reward and loss anticipation and further examine the neural substrates underlying a predisposition to dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena P M Musial
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Anne Beck
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany; Health and Medical University, Campus Potsdam, Faculty of Health, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Annika Rosenthal
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katrin Charlet
- Section on Clinical Genomics and Experimental Therapeutics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Patrick Bach
- Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Falk Kiefer
- Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sabine Vollstädt-Klein
- Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; Mannheim Center for Translational Neurosciences, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marcus Rothkirch
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Berlin, Germany
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19
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Collins V, Bornhoft KN, Wolff A, Sinha S, Saunders BT. Hierarchical cue control of cocaine seeking in the face of cost. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:461-476. [PMID: 36069951 PMCID: PMC10131580 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06218-1] [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: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Addiction is characterized by intermittent drug seeking despite rising costs. This behavior is heavily influenced by environmental stimuli that signal drug availability and reinforce drug seeking. OBJECTIVE To establish the relationship between three key aspects of human drug use in rats: the intermittent, binge nature of drug intake, the motivational conflict of drug seeking in the face of escalating negative costs, and the ability of different drug cues to interact to modulate relapse. METHODS Male and female rats were trained to self-administer cocaine on an intermittent access schedule, where brief drug-availability states were signaled by a shift in the ambient lighting of the environment, and cocaine infusions were signaled by a separate proximal discrete cue. Rats then went through a conflict procedure, where foot shock intensity associated with cocaine seeking was escalated until intake was suppressed. We then completed relapse tests where the drug-delivery cue was noncontingently presented alone, or in the context of dynamic drug-availability state transitions. RESULTS Intermittent access spurred psychomotor sensitization and binge-like cocaine intake. The intensity of binge-like drug taking during training was predictive of later drug seeking despite escalating costs during conflict. In relapse tests, the ability of a proximal discrete drug cue to trigger relapse was gated by the presence of a global cue signaling drug-availability state transitions. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the pattern of drug intake plays a role in many features of addiction, including modifying an individual's willingness to endure high costs associated with drug seeking. Furthermore, our studies indicate that drug-related sensory information can be hierarchically organized to exert a dynamic modulating influence on drug-seeking motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Val Collins
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kaisa N Bornhoft
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Amy Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sonal Sinha
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Benjamin T Saunders
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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20
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ERP and attachment dimensions as predictors of seeking care or food comfort in stressful situations. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3170. [PMID: 36823203 PMCID: PMC9950445 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29493-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to test the association of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) response and attachment dimensions in the choice of care/food pictures and its reaction time (RT) in threatening versus neutral conditions. Fifty-two participants (38 females, Mage 22.62) responded to the ECR questionnaire and were exposed to adequate visual stimuli, during EEG recording. Results showed that threatening stimuli increase the choice of care, decrease RT, and increase LPP magnitude in centro-parietal areas (Cpz, Pz, P3 and P4). Food choice was lower, with increased RT. Furthermore, larger LPP magnitude in centro-parietal cluster was associated with increased RT in the choice of care. Considering the dimensions of attachment, in threatening conditions, while anxiety was not associated with RT and care/food choice, avoidance was associated with an increase in care choice and RT. In conclusion, the specific association of increased RT in care choice with high LPP magnitude centro-parietal cluster may be explained in terms of a functional interference of these areas in the choice of care, but not of food. Further, we postulate that the increased RT of avoidant individuals may reflect a more articulated choice process.
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Soares-Cunha C, Heinsbroek JA. Ventral pallidal regulation of motivated behaviors and reinforcement. Front Neural Circuits 2023; 17:1086053. [PMID: 36817646 PMCID: PMC9932340 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1086053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The interconnected nuclei of the ventral basal ganglia have long been identified as key regulators of motivated behavior, and dysfunction of this circuit is strongly implicated in mood and substance use disorders. The ventral pallidum (VP) is a central node of the ventral basal ganglia, and recent studies have revealed complex VP cellular heterogeneity and cell- and circuit-specific regulation of reward, aversion, motivation, and drug-seeking behaviors. Although the VP is canonically considered a relay and output structure for this circuit, emerging data indicate that the VP is a central hub in an extensive network for reward processing and the regulation of motivation that extends beyond classically defined basal ganglia borders. VP neurons respond temporally faster and show more advanced reward coding and prediction error processing than neurons in the upstream nucleus accumbens, and regulate the activity of the ventral mesencephalon dopamine system. This review will summarize recent findings in the literature and provide an update on the complex cellular heterogeneity and cell- and circuit-specific regulation of motivated behaviors and reinforcement by the VP with a specific focus on mood and substance use disorders. In addition, we will discuss mechanisms by which stress and drug exposure alter the functioning of the VP and produce susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders. Lastly, we will outline unanswered questions and identify future directions for studies necessary to further clarify the central role of VP neurons in the regulation of motivated behaviors. Significance: Research in the last decade has revealed a complex cell- and circuit-specific role for the VP in reward processing and the regulation of motivated behaviors. Novel insights obtained using cell- and circuit-specific interrogation strategies have led to a major shift in our understanding of this region. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the VP in which we integrate novel findings with the existing literature and highlight the emerging role of the VP as a linchpin of the neural systems that regulate motivation, reward, and aversion. In addition, we discuss the dysfunction of the VP in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Soares-Cunha
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Jasper A. Heinsbroek
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
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22
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Jameson AN, Siemann JK, Melchior J, Calipari ES, McMahon DG, Grueter BA. Photoperiod Impacts Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Dynamics. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0361-22.2023. [PMID: 36781229 PMCID: PMC9937087 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0361-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Circadian photoperiod, or day length, changes with the seasons and influences behavior to allow animals to adapt to their environment. Photoperiod is also associated with seasonal rhythms of affective state, as evidenced by seasonality of several neuropsychiatric disorders. Interestingly, seasonality tends to be more prevalent in women for affective disorders such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (BD). However, the underlying neurobiological processes contributing to sex-linked seasonality of affective behaviors are largely unknown. Mesolimbic dopamine input to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) contributes to the regulation of affective state and behaviors. Additionally, sex differences in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway are well established. Therefore, we hypothesize that photoperiod may drive differential modulation of NAc dopamine in males and females. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) to explore whether photoperiod can modulate subsecond dopamine signaling dynamics in the NAc core of male and female mice raised in seasonally relevant photoperiods. We found that photoperiod modulates dopamine signaling in the NAc core, and that this effect is sex-specific to females. Both release and uptake of dopamine were enhanced in the NAc core of female mice raised in long, summer-like photoperiods, whereas we did not find photoperiodic effects on NAc core dopamine in males. These findings uncover a potential neural circuit basis for sex-linked seasonality in affective behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis N Jameson
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
| | - Justin K Siemann
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
| | - James Melchior
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
| | - Erin S Calipari
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
| | - Douglas G McMahon
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
| | - Brad A Grueter
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232
- Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232
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23
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Kohen CB, Cofresí RU, Bartholow BD, Piasecki TM. Alcohol craving in the natural environment: Moderating roles of cue exposure, drinking, and alcohol sensitivity. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2023; 31:57-71. [PMID: 35025586 PMCID: PMC9276840 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Effects of cue exposure and alcohol consumption (e.g., priming doses) on craving for alcohol have been examined in largely separate literature, limiting what is known about their potential interaction. Individuals with low alcohol sensitivity, a known risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD), exhibit stronger cue-elicited craving than their higher-sensitivity (HS) peers in both laboratory and real-world contexts. Here, underage drinkers (N = 155) completed a 21-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol in which they recorded exposure to alcohol cues and levels of craving during both nondrinking and postdrinking moments. Multilevel modeling detected a significant interaction of cue exposure and postdrinking status on craving. Cue-induced craving was increased in postdrinking moments compared to nondrinking moments. Contrary to prediction, cue-elicited increase in craving during nondrinking moments was stronger in participants reporting higher sensitivity to alcohol. In the presence of cues, lower sensitivity was robustly related to craving intensity in the postdrinking state but unrelated to craving during nondrinking moments. Craving during drinking episodes in the natural environment is magnified by the presence of alcohol cues, potentially contributing to the maintenance or acceleration of drinking episodes. Moreover, lower-sensitivity drinkers may be particularly susceptible to the combined effects of cue exposure and postdrinking status on alcohol craving. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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Continuous cholinergic-dopaminergic updating in the nucleus accumbens underlies approaches to reward-predicting cues. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7924. [PMID: 36564387 PMCID: PMC9789106 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35601-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to learn Pavlovian associations from environmental cues predicting positive outcomes is critical for survival, motivating adaptive behaviours. This cued-motivated behaviour depends on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). NAc output activity mediated by spiny projecting neurons (SPNs) is regulated by dopamine, but also by cholinergic interneurons (CINs), which can release acetylcholine and glutamate via the activity of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) or the vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT3), respectively. Here we investigated behavioural and neurochemical changes in mice performing a touchscreen Pavlovian approach task by recording dopamine, acetylcholine, and calcium dynamics from D1- and D2-SPNs using fibre photometry in control, VAChT or VGLUT3 mutant mice to understand how these signals cooperate in the service of approach behaviours toward reward-predicting cues. We reveal that NAc acetylcholine-dopaminergic signalling is continuously updated to regulate striatal output underlying the acquisition of Pavlovian approach learning toward reward-predicting cues.
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Basal Forebrain Chemogenetic Inhibition Converts the Attentional Control Mode of Goal-Trackers to That of Sign-Trackers. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0418-22.2022. [PMID: 36635246 PMCID: PMC9794377 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0418-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sign tracking versus goal tracking in rats indicate vulnerability and resistance, respectively, to Pavlovian cue-evoked addictive drug taking and relapse. Here, we tested hypotheses predicting that the opponent cognitive-behavioral styles indexed by sign tracking versus goal tracking include variations in attentional performance which differentially depend on basal forebrain projection systems. Pavlovian Conditioned Approach (PCA) testing was used to identify male and female sign-trackers (STs) and goal-trackers (GTs), as well as rats with an intermediate phenotype (INTs). Upon reaching asymptotic performance in an operant task requiring the detection of visual signals (hits) as well as the reporting of signal absence for 40 min per session, GTs scored more hits than STs, and hit rates across all phenotypes correlated with PCA scores. STs missed relatively more signals than GTs specifically during the last 15 min of a session. Chemogenetic inhibition of the basal forebrain decreased hit rates in GTs but was without effect in STs. Moreover, the decrease in hits in GTs manifested solely during the last 15 min of a session. Transfection efficacy in the horizontal limb of the diagonal band (HDB), but not substantia innominate (SI) or nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM), predicted the behavioral efficacy of chemogenetic inhibition in GTs. Furthermore, the total subregional transfection space, not transfection of just cholinergic neurons, correlated with performance effects. These results indicate that the cognitive-behavioral phenotype indexed by goal tracking, but not sign tracking, depends on activation of the basal forebrain-frontal cortical projection system and associated biases toward top-down or model-based performance.
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26
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Zhang JL, Zhou N, Song KR, Zou BW, Xu LX, Fu Y, Geng XM, Wang ZL, Li X, Potenza MN, Nan Y, Zhang JT. Neural activations to loss anticipation mediates the association between difficulties in emotion regulation and screen media activities among early adolescent youth: A moderating role for depression. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101186. [PMID: 36516611 PMCID: PMC9764194 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Screen media activities (SMAs; e.g., watching videos, playing videogames) have become increasingly prevalent among youth as ways to alleviate or escape from negative emotional states. However, neural mechanisms underlying these processes in youth are incompletely understood. METHOD Seventy-nine youth aged 11-15 years completed a monetary incentive delay task during fMRI scanning. Neural correlates of reward/loss processing and their associations with SMAs were explored. Next, brain activations during reward/loss processing in regions implicated in the processing of emotions were examined as potential mediating factors between difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) and engagement in SMAs. Finally, a moderated mediation model tested the effects of depressive symptoms in such relationships. RESULT The emotional components associated with SMAs in reward/loss processing included activations in the left anterior insula (AI) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during anticipation of working to avoid losses. Activations in both the AI and DLPFC mediated the relationship between DER and SMAs. Moreover, depressive symptoms moderated the relationship between AI activation in response to loss anticipation and SMAs. CONCLUSION The current findings suggest that DER link to SMAs through loss-related brain activations implicated in the processing of emotions and motivational avoidance, particularly in youth with greater levels of depressive symptoms. The findings suggest the importance of enhancing emotion-regulation tendencies/abilities in youth and, in particular, their regulatory responses to negative emotional situations in order to guide moderate engagement in SMAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Lin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Zhou
- Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macau, China
| | - Kun-Ru Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bo-Wen Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lin-Xuan Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Min Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zi-Liang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Marc N Potenza
- Department of Psychiatry and Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yun Nan
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Jin-Tao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
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Pearce AL, Fuchs BA, Keller KL. The role of reinforcement learning and value-based decision-making frameworks in understanding food choice and eating behaviors. Front Nutr 2022; 9:1021868. [PMID: 36483928 PMCID: PMC9722736 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1021868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The obesogenic food environment includes easy access to highly-palatable, energy-dense, "ultra-processed" foods that are heavily marketed to consumers; therefore, it is critical to understand the neurocognitive processes the underlie overeating in response to environmental food-cues (e.g., food images, food branding/advertisements). Eating habits are learned through reinforcement, which is the process through which environmental food cues become valued and influence behavior. This process is supported by multiple behavioral control systems (e.g., Pavlovian, Habitual, Goal-Directed). Therefore, using neurocognitive frameworks for reinforcement learning and value-based decision-making can improve our understanding of food-choice and eating behaviors. Specifically, the role of reinforcement learning in eating behaviors was considered using the frameworks of (1) Sign-versus Goal-Tracking Phenotypes; (2) Model-Free versus Model-Based; and (3) the Utility or Value-Based Model. The sign-and goal-tracking phenotypes may contribute a mechanistic insight on the role of food-cue incentive salience in two prevailing models of overconsumption-the Extended Behavioral Susceptibility Theory and the Reactivity to Embedded Food Cues in Advertising Model. Similarly, the model-free versus model-based framework may contribute insight to the Extended Behavioral Susceptibility Theory and the Healthy Food Promotion Model. Finally, the value-based model provides a framework for understanding how all three learning systems are integrated to influence food choice. Together, these frameworks can provide mechanistic insight to existing models of food choice and overconsumption and may contribute to the development of future prevention and treatment efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaina L. Pearce
- Social Science Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Bari A. Fuchs
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Kathleen L. Keller
- Social Science Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Department of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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28
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Zalachoras I, Ramos-Fernández E, Hollis F, Trovo L, Rodrigues J, Strasser A, Zanoletti O, Steiner P, Preitner N, Xin L, Astori S, Sandi C. Glutathione in the nucleus accumbens regulates motivation to exert reward-incentivized effort. eLife 2022; 11:77791. [DOI: 10.7554/elife.77791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence is implicating mitochondrial function and metabolism in the nucleus accumbens in motivated performance. However, the brain is vulnerable to excessive oxidative insults resulting from neurometabolic processes, and whether antioxidant levels in the nucleus accumbens contribute to motivated performance is not known. Here, we identify a critical role for glutathione (GSH), the most important endogenous antioxidant in the brain, in motivation. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at ultra-high field in both male humans and rodent populations, we establish that higher accumbal GSH levels are highly predictive of better, and particularly, steady performance over time in effort-related tasks. Causality was established in in vivo experiments in rats that, first, showed that downregulating GSH levels through micro-injections of the GSH synthesis inhibitor buthionine sulfoximine in the nucleus accumbens impaired effort-based reward-incentivized performance. In addition, systemic treatment with the GSH precursor N-acetyl-cysteine increased accumbal GSH levels in rats and led to improved performance, potentially mediated by a cell-type-specific shift in glutamatergic inputs to accumbal medium spiny neurons. Our data indicate a close association between accumbal GSH levels and an individual’s capacity to exert reward-incentivized effort over time. They also suggest that improvement of accumbal antioxidant function may be a feasible approach to boost motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Zalachoras
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Eva Ramos-Fernández
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Fiona Hollis
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
| | - Laura Trovo
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Nestlé Research, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-chez-les-Blanc
| | - João Rodrigues
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Alina Strasser
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Olivia Zanoletti
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Pascal Steiner
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Nestlé Research, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-chez-les-Blanc
| | - Nicolas Preitner
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Nestlé Research, Société des Produits Nestlé SA, Vers-chez-les-Blanc
| | - Lijing Xin
- Animal Imaging and Technology Core (AIT), Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), EPFL
| | - Simone Astori
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
| | - Carmen Sandi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics (LGC), Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
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29
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Martin DA, Keefer SE, Calu DJ. Investigating discriminative stimulus modulation of opioid seeking after conflict-induced abstinence in sign- and goal-tracking rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:3223-3236. [PMID: 35971032 PMCID: PMC10500549 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06204-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Discriminative stimuli (DS) are cues that predict reward availability. DS are resistant to extinction and motivate drug seeking even after long periods of abstinence. Previous studies have demonstrated that sign-tracking (ST) and goal-tracking (GT) differences in Pavlovian approach predict distinct cue-modulated vulnerabilities to cocaine reinstatement. GT rats show heightened reinstatement to contextual and DS, while ST rats show heightened reinstatement to discrete stimuli. Here we examine whether DS modulate reinstatement after electric barrier-induced abstinence and whether tracking-related relapse vulnerabilities generalize to opioid relapse. OBJECTIVES We examine whether DS-modulated reinstatement to fentanyl seeking persists in the presence of reduced adverse consequences after electric barrier-induced abstinence. We also examine whether tracking differences predict the magnitude of DS-modulated reinstatement of fentanyl seeking after electric barrier-induced abstinence. METHODS We used Pavlovian lever autoshaping (PLA) training to determine sign-, goal-, and intermediate tracking groups in male and female Sprague Dawley rats. We then trained rats in a DS model of intermittent fentanyl self-administration, and extinguished drug seeking by imposing an electric barrier of increasing intensity. We then measured the level of DS-modulated reinstatement in the presence of a reduced electric barrier intensity. RESULTS We report that DS strongly modulate fentanyl seeking after electric barrier-induced abstinence. DS-modulation of fentanyl acquisition, electric barrier-induced abstinence, and reinstatement was similar for sign- and goal-tracking groups. CONCLUSIONS Discriminative stimuli powerfully motivate opioid seeking, despite continued aversive consequences. Pavlovian approach differences do not predict the level of DS-modulated reinstatement to fentanyl seeking after conflict-induced abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Martin
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Sara E Keefer
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Donna J Calu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
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30
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Bosulu J, Allaire MA, Tremblay-Grénier L, Luo Y, Eickhoff S, Hétu S. "Wanting" versus "needing" related value: An fMRI meta-analysis. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e32713. [PMID: 36000558 PMCID: PMC9480935 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Consumption and its excesses are sometimes explained by imbalance of need or lack of control over "wanting." "Wanting" assigns value to cues that predict rewards, whereas "needing" assigns value to biologically significant stimuli that one is deprived of. Here we aimed at studying how the brain activation patterns related to value of "wanted" stimuli differs from that of "needed" stimuli using activation likelihood estimation neuroimaging meta-analysis approaches. We used the perception of a cue predicting a reward for "wanting" related value and the perception of food stimuli in a hungry state as a model for "needing" related value. We carried out separate, contrasts, and conjunction meta-analyses to identify differences and similarities between "wanting" and "needing" values. Our overall results for "wanting" related value show consistent activation of the ventral tegmental area, striatum, and pallidum, regions that both activate behavior and direct choice, while for "needing" related value, we found an overall consistent activation of the middle insula and to some extent the caudal-ventral putamen, regions that only direct choice. Our study suggests that wanting has more control on consumption and behavioral activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juvenal Bosulu
- Faculté Des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | | | | | - Yi Luo
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Simon Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sébastien Hétu
- Faculté Des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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31
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Bollen Z, Field M, Billaux P, Maurage P. Attentional bias in alcohol drinkers: A systematic review of its link with consumption variables. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104703. [PMID: 35643118 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD), attentional bias refers to the preferential allocation of attentional resources toward alcohol-related cues. Dominant models consider that this bias plays a key role in the emergence and maintenance of SAUD. We evaluate the available experimental support for this assumption through a systematic literature review, providing a critical synthesis of studies exploring the links between alcohol consumption and attentional bias. Using PRISMA guidelines, we explored three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus) and extracted 95 papers. We assessed their methodological quality and categorized them based on the population targeted, namely patients with SAUD or subclinical populations with various drinking patterns. We also classified papers according to the measures used (i.e., behavioral or eye-tracking measures). Overall, subclinical populations present an alcohol-related bias, but many studies in SAUD did not find such bias, nor approach/avoidance patterns. Moreover, attentional bias fluctuates alongside motivational states rather than according to alcohol use severity, which questions its stability. We provide recommendations to develop further theoretical knowledge and overcome methodological shortcomings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoé Bollen
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Matt Field
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Pauline Billaux
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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32
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King CP, Meyer PJ. The incentive amplifying effects of nicotine: Roles in alcohol seeking and consumption. ADVANCES IN PHARMACOLOGY (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) 2022; 93:171-218. [PMID: 35341566 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apha.2021.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Nicotine has a unique profile among drugs of abuse. To the noninitiated user, nicotine has powerful aversive effects and its relatively weak euphorigenic effects undergo rapid tolerance. Despite this, nicotine is commonly abused despite negative heath consequences, and nicotine users have enormous difficulty quitting. Further, nicotine is one of the most commonly co-abused substances, in that it is often taken in combination with other drugs. One explanation of this polydrug use is that nicotine has multiple appetitive and consummatory conditioning effects. For example, nicotine is a reinforcement enhancer in that it can potently increase the incentive value of other stimuli, including those surrounding drugs of abuse such as alcohol. In addition, nicotine also has a unique profile of neurobiological effects that alter regulation of alcohol intake and interoception. This review discusses the psychological and biological mechanisms surrounding nicotine's appetitive conditioning and consummatory effects, particularly its interactions with alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P King
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States; Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Paul J Meyer
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States.
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Genetic characterization of outbred Sprague Dawley rats and utility for genome-wide association studies. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010234. [PMID: 35639796 PMCID: PMC9187121 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sprague Dawley (SD) rats are among the most widely used outbred laboratory rat populations. Despite this, the genetic characteristics of SD rats have not been clearly described, and SD rats are rarely used for experiments aimed at exploring genotype-phenotype relationships. In order to use SD rats to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS), we collected behavioral data from 4,625 SD rats that were predominantly obtained from two commercial vendors, Charles River Laboratories and Harlan Sprague Dawley Inc. Using double-digest genotyping-by-sequencing (ddGBS), we obtained dense, high-quality genotypes at 291,438 SNPs across 4,061 rats. This genetic data allowed us to characterize the variation present in Charles River vs. Harlan SD rats. We found that the two populations are highly diverged (FST > 0.4). Furthermore, even for rats obtained from the same vendor, there was strong population structure across breeding facilities and even between rooms at the same facility. We performed multiple separate GWAS by fitting a linear mixed model that accounted for population structure and using meta-analysis to jointly analyze all cohorts. Our study examined Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) behavior, which assesses the propensity for rats to attribute incentive salience to reward-associated cues. We identified 46 significant associations for the various metrics used to define PavCA. The surprising degree of population structure among SD rats from different sources has important implications for their use in both genetic and non-genetic studies. Outbred Sprague Dawley rats are among the most commonly used rats for neuroscience, physiology and pharmacological research; in the year 2020, 4,188 publications contained the keyword “Sprague Dawley”. Rats identified as “Sprague Dawley” are sold by several commercial vendors, including Charles River Laboratories and Harlan Sprague Dawley Inc. (now Envigo). Despite their widespread use, little is known about the genetic diversity of SD. We genotyped more than 4,000 SD rats, which we used for a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and to characterize genetic differences between SD rats from Charles River Laboratories and Harlan. Our analysis revealed extensive population structure both between and within vendors. The GWAS for Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) identified a number of genome-wide significant loci for that complex behavioral trait. Our results demonstrate that, despite sharing an identical name, SD rats that are obtained from different vendors are very different. Future studies should carefully define the exact source of SD rats being used and may exploit their genetic diversity for genetic studies of complex traits.
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Cofresí RU, Kohen CB, Motschman CA, Wiers RW, Piasecki TM, Bartholow BD. Behavioral response bias and event-related brain potentials implicate elevated incentive salience attribution to alcohol cues in emerging adults with lower sensitivity to alcohol. Addiction 2022; 117:892-904. [PMID: 34697852 PMCID: PMC8904297 DOI: 10.1111/add.15728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
AIMS This study used a behavioral approach-avoidance task including images of alcoholic beverages to test whether low sensitivity to alcohol (LS) is a phenotypical marker of a dispositional propensity to attribute bottom-up incentive value to naturally conditioned alcohol cues. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Experimental study with a measured individual difference variable at a university psychology laboratory in Missouri, MO, USA. Participants were 178 emerging adults (aged 18-20 years) varying in self-reported sensitivity to alcohol's acute effects. MEASUREMENTS Participants completed the alcohol approach-avoidance task while behavior (response time; RT) and the electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. Stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) provided indices of integrated (top-down and bottom-up) stimulus incentive value (P3 amplitude) and conflict between top-down task demands and bottom-up response propensities (N450 amplitude). FINDINGS Linear mixed models showed faster RT for 'alcohol-approach' relative to 'alcohol-avoid' trials for lower-sensitivity (LS) [meanD ± standard errorD (MD ± SED ) = 29.51 ± 9.74 ms, t(328) = 3.03, P = 0.003] but not higher-sensitivity (HS) individuals (MD ± SED = 2.27 ± 9.33 ms, t(328) = 0.243, P = 0.808). There was enhanced N450 amplitude (response conflict) for alcohol-avoid relative to alcohol-approach trials for LS participants (MD ± SED = 0.811 ± 0.198 μV, Z = 4.108, P < 0.001) and enhanced N450 amplitude for alcohol-approach relative to alcohol-avoid for HS participants (MD ± SED = 0.419 ± 0.188 μV, Z = 2.235, P = 0.025). There was also enhanced P3 amplitude for alcohol-approach relative to alcohol-avoid for LS (MD ± SED = 0.825 ± 0.204 μV, Z = 4.045, P < 0.001) but not HS (MD ± SED = 0.013 ± 0.194 μV, Z = 0.068, P = 0.946). CONCLUSIONS Findings from a human laboratory study appear to support the notion that low sensitivity to alcohol indexes a propensity to attribute bottom-up incentive value to naturally conditioned alcohol cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto U. Cofresí
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri,Corresponding author: Roberto Cofresí, University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO, 65211. Phone: 469-323-0181
| | - Casey B. Kohen
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
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Song M, Takahashi YK, Burton AC, Roesch MR, Schoenbaum G, Niv Y, Langdon AJ. Minimal cross-trial generalization in learning the representation of an odor-guided choice task. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009897. [PMID: 35333867 PMCID: PMC8986096 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is no single way to represent a task. Indeed, despite experiencing the same task events and contingencies, different subjects may form distinct task representations. As experimenters, we often assume that subjects represent the task as we envision it. However, such a representation cannot be taken for granted, especially in animal experiments where we cannot deliver explicit instruction regarding the structure of the task. Here, we tested how rats represent an odor-guided choice task in which two odor cues indicated which of two responses would lead to reward, whereas a third odor indicated free choice among the two responses. A parsimonious task representation would allow animals to learn from the forced trials what is the better option to choose in the free-choice trials. However, animals may not necessarily generalize across odors in this way. We fit reinforcement-learning models that use different task representations to trial-by-trial choice behavior of individual rats performing this task, and quantified the degree to which each animal used the more parsimonious representation, generalizing across trial types. Model comparison revealed that most rats did not acquire this representation despite extensive experience. Our results demonstrate the importance of formally testing possible task representations that can afford the observed behavior, rather than assuming that animals’ task representations abide by the generative task structure that governs the experimental design. To study how animals learn and make decisions, scientists design experiments, train animals to perform them, and observe how they behave. During this process, an important but rarely asked question is how animals understand the experiment. Merely through observing animals’ behavior in a task, it is often hard to determine if they understand the task in the same way as the experimenter expects. Assuming that animals represent tasks differently than they actually do may lead to incorrect interpretations of behavioral or neural results. Here, we compared different possible representations for a simple reward-learning task in terms of how well these alternative models explain animal’s choice behavior. We found that rats did not represent the task in the most parsimonious way, thereby failing to learn from forced-choice trials what rewards are available on free-choice trials, despite extensive training on the task. These results caution against simply assuming that animals’ understanding of a task corresponds to the way the task was designed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyu Song
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MS); (AJL)
| | - Yuji K. Takahashi
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Amanda C. Burton
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Matthew R. Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Yael Niv
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Angela J. Langdon
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MS); (AJL)
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Cofresí RU, Piasecki TM, Bartholow BD, Schachtman TR. Enhanced conditioned "liking" of novel visual cues paired with alcohol or non-alcohol beverage container images among individuals at higher risk for alcohol use disorder. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:3567-3578. [PMID: 36094618 PMCID: PMC9464611 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06231-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE This study used an evaluative conditioning (EC) procedure to assess the affective properties of a CS for ingested drug reward in humans. Specifically, the study tested whether the evaluative response ("liking"/"disliking") to an arbitrary visual stimulus ("CS2," e.g., a purple hexagon) could be changed through pairings with an alcohol or non-alcohol beverage cue ("CS1," e.g., a full wine glass, a juice box), which is ostensibly a conditioned visual predictive stimulus for alcohol or non-alcohol liquid reward, respectively. METHODS Participants (N = 369, 18-23 years, 66% female, 79% white, 21% reporting no alcohol use ever or in the past year) received 24 CS1 pairings with each CS2. CS2 and CS1 evaluations were assessed pre- and post-conditioning. RESULTS Alcohol and non-alcohol CS2 "liking" correlated with alcohol use. "Liking" of the alcohol but not non-alcohol CS1 also correlated with alcohol use. Alcohol CS1 "liking" also correlated with alcohol and non-alcohol CS2 'liking," whereas non-alcohol CS1 'liking" correlated with non-alcohol but not alcohol CS2 "liking." CONCLUSIONS Taken together, findings support the idea that drug-related visual stimuli acquire appetitive (hedonic and/or incentive) properties as a function of individual differences in drug use, which entail individual differences in exposure to the conditioning effects of addictive substances like alcohol. Findings also suggest a link between drug use and the propensity to attribute affective/motivational significance to reward-predictive cues in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto U. Cofresí
- grid.134936.a0000 0001 2162 3504Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
| | - Thomas M. Piasecki
- grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention and Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA
| | - Bruce D. Bartholow
- grid.134936.a0000 0001 2162 3504Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
| | - Todd R. Schachtman
- grid.134936.a0000 0001 2162 3504Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA
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From skinner box to daily life: Sign-tracker phenotype co-segregates with impulsivity, compulsivity, and addiction tendencies in humans. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:1358-1369. [PMID: 35672650 PMCID: PMC9622514 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01014-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Pavlovian conditioning holds the potential to incentivize environmental cues, leading to approach behavior toward them, even outside our awareness. Animal models suggest that this is particularly true for the so-called sign-tracker (ST) phenotype, which is considered to reflect a predisposition toward developing addiction-related behaviours. Despite its potential clinical relevance, few studies have demonstrated the translational validity of this model, likely due to difficulties in studying Pavlovian processes in humans. To fill this gap, we combined an ecological momentary assessment with ambulatory peripheral autonomic monitoring to test the hypothesis that traits associated with ST in preclinical studies would be associated with attribution of high incentive salience to reward-related cues. Several times for 2 days, participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of several preselected ecological rewards (e.g., coffee) and the preceding cues (the smell of coffee) while their electrocardiogram was recorded. While no absolute difference in subjective and physiological measures of motivational approach to daily cues compared with rewards emerged, individuals with high levels of impulsivity, obsessive-compulsive, and addiction-prone behaviors rated as more attractive and showed a greater increase in sympathetic arousal to cues versus rewards. The opposite pattern emerged for those with low levels in those dispositional traits, who responded more (both subjectively and physiologically) to rewards compared with their preceding cues. This study represents an attempt to answer the call to parcel complex behaviors into smaller constructs, improving the early detection of those who are vulnerable to develop psychopathological disorders, particularly in the domain of impulse control such as addiction.
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Quantifying the instrumental and noninstrumental underpinnings of Pavlovian responding with the Price equation. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 29:1295-1306. [PMID: 34918283 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-02047-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The Price equation is a mathematical expression of selectionist and non-selectionist pressures on biological, cultural, and behavioral change. We use it here to specify instrumental and noninstrumental behaviors as they arise within the context of the Pavlovian autoshaping procedure, for rats trained under reward certainty and reward uncertainty. The point of departure for this endeavor is that some portion of autoshaped behavior referred to as goal-tracking appears instrumental-a function of resource attainment (the individual approaches the location where the unconditioned stimulus is to be delivered). By contrast, some other portion of autoshaped behavior referred to as sign-tracking is noninstrumental-irrelevant to making contact with the to-be-delivered unconditioned stimulus. A Price equation model is proposed that unifies our understanding of Pavlovian autoshaping behavior by isolating operant and respondent influences on goal-tracking (instrumental) and sign-tracking (noninstrumental) behavior.
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Fernandez-Leon JA, Engelke DS, Aquino-Miranda G, Goodson A, Rasheed MN, Do Monte FH. Neural correlates and determinants of approach-avoidance conflict in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. eLife 2021; 10:74950. [PMID: 34913438 PMCID: PMC8853658 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The recollection of environmental cues associated with threat or reward allows animals to select the most appropriate behavioral responses. Neurons in the prelimbic (PL) cortex respond to both threat- and reward-associated cues. However, it remains unknown whether PL regulates threat-avoidance vs. reward-approaching responses when an animals’ decision depends on previously associated memories. Using a conflict model in which male Long–Evans rats retrieve memories of shock- and food-paired cues, we observed two distinct phenotypes during conflict: (1) rats that continued to press a lever for food (Pressers) and (2) rats that exhibited a complete suppression in food seeking (Non-pressers). Single-unit recordings revealed that increased risk-taking behavior in Pressers is associated with persistent food-cue responses in PL, and reduced spontaneous activity in PL glutamatergic (PLGLUT) neurons during conflict. Activating PLGLUT neurons in Pressers attenuated food-seeking responses in a neutral context, whereas inhibiting PLGLUT neurons in Non-pressers reduced defensive responses and increased food approaching during conflict. Our results establish a causal role for PLGLUT neurons in mediating individual variability in memory-based risky decision-making by regulating threat-avoidance vs. reward-approach behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Douglas S Engelke
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | - Guillermo Aquino-Miranda
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | | | - Maria N Rasheed
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | - Fabricio H Do Monte
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
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Gómez-A A, Dannenhoffer CA, Elton A, Lee SH, Ban W, Shih YYI, Boettiger CA, Robinson DL. Altered Cortico-Subcortical Network After Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Mediates Behavioral Deficits in Flexible Decision-Making. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:778884. [PMID: 34912227 PMCID: PMC8666507 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.778884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral flexibility, the ability to modify behavior according to changing conditions, is essential to optimize decision-making. Deficits in behavioral flexibility that persist into adulthood are one consequence of adolescent alcohol exposure, and another is decreased functional connectivity in brain structures involved in decision-making; however, a link between these two outcomes has not been established. We assessed effects of adolescent alcohol and sex on both Pavlovian and instrumental behaviors and resting-state functional connectivity MRI in adult animals to determine associations between behavioral flexibility and resting-state functional connectivity. Alcohol exposure impaired attentional set reversals and decreased functional connectivity among cortical and subcortical regions-of-interest that underlie flexible behavior. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that adolescent alcohol-induced reductions in functional connectivity within a subnetwork of affected brain regions statistically mediated errors committed during reversal learning. These results provide a novel link between persistent reductions in brain functional connectivity and deficits in behavioral flexibility resulting from adolescent alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Gómez-A
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Carol A. Dannenhoffer
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Amanda Elton
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Sung-Ho Lee
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Woomi Ban
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Yen-Yu Ian Shih
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Charlotte A. Boettiger
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Donita L. Robinson
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Delgado-Rodríguez R, Versace F, Hernández-Rivero I, Guerra P, Fernández-Santaella MC, Miccoli L. Food addiction symptoms are related to neuroaffective responses to preferred binge food and erotic cues. Appetite 2021; 168:105687. [PMID: 34509546 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that some individuals succumb to maladaptive eating behaviors because, like those with addiction, they attribute high incentive salience to food-associated cues. Here, we tested whether women that attribute high incentive salience to food-associated cues report high food addiction symptomatology. In 76 college women, we assessed self-reported food addiction symptoms using the Yale Food Addiction Scale and we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs, a direct measure of brain activity) to preferred food, erotic, unpleasant, and neutral images. We used the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP, a component of the ERPs) as an index of the incentive salience attributed to the images. Using a multivariate classification algorithm (k-means cluster analysis), we identified two neuroaffective reactivity profiles that have been previously associated with individual differences in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to cues and with differences in vulnerability to addictive behaviors. Results showed that women with elevated LPP responses to preferred food cues relative to erotic images report higher food addiction symptoms than women with low LPP responses to preferred food cues relative to other motivationally relevant stimuli. These results support the hypothesis that individual differences in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to food cues play an important role in modulating food addiction symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francesco Versace
- Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Isabel Hernández-Rivero
- Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), (University of Granada), Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - Pedro Guerra
- Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), (University of Granada), Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - M Carmen Fernández-Santaella
- Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), (University of Granada), Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - Laura Miccoli
- Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), (University of Granada), Campus de Cartuja s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
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Angelyn H, Loney GC, Meyer PJ. Nicotine Enhances Goal-Tracking in Ethanol and Food Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Paradigms. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:561766. [PMID: 34483813 PMCID: PMC8416423 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.561766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationale Nicotine promotes alcohol intake through pharmacological and behavioral interactions. As an example of the latter, nicotine can facilitate approach toward food- and alcohol-associated stimuli ("sign-tracking") in lever-Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) paradigms. However, we recently reported that nicotine can also enhance approach toward locations of reward delivery ("goal-tracking") triggered by ethanol-predictive stimuli when the location of ethanol delivery is non-static (i.e., a retractable sipper bottle). Objective To determine whether the non-static nature of the reward location could have biased the development of goal-tracking in our previous study (Loney et al., 2019); we assessed the effect of nicotine in a lever-PavCA paradigm wherein the location of ethanol delivery was static (i.e., a stationary liquid receptacle). Then, to determine whether nicotine's enhancement of goal-tracking is unique to ethanol-predictive stimuli, we assessed the effect of systemic nicotine on approach triggered by food-predictive stimuli in a lever-PavCA paradigm. Methods Long-Evans rats were used in two PavCA experiments wherein a lever predicted the receipt of ethanol (15% vol/vol; experiment 1) or food (experiment 2) into a stationary receptacle. Prior to testing, rats were administered nicotine (0.4 mg/kg subcutaneously) or saline systemically. Results In both experiments, nicotine increased measures of goal-tracking, but not sign-tracking. Conclusion Nicotine can facilitate approach to reward locations without facilitating approach to reward-predictive stimuli. As such, conceptualization of the mechanisms by which nicotine affects behavior must be expanded to explain an enhancement of goal-tracking by nicotine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailley Angelyn
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Gregory C Loney
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Paul J Meyer
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
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Flagel SB, Robinson TE, Sarter M. Comment on Pohorala et al.: Sign-tracking as a predictor of addiction vulnerability. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:2661-2664. [PMID: 34308488 PMCID: PMC9248762 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05927-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shelly B Flagel
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Terry E Robinson
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Martin Sarter
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Sequeira-Cordero A, Brenes JC. Time-dependent changes in striatal monoamine levels and gene expression following single and repeated amphetamine administration in rats. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 904:174148. [PMID: 33961872 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
As drug addiction may result from pathological usurpations of learning and memory's neural mechanisms, we focused on the amphetamine-induced time-dependent neurochemical changes associated with neural plasticity. We used juvenile rats as the risk for drug abuse is higher during adolescence. Experiment 1 served to define the appropriate amphetamine dose and the neurochemical effects of a single administration. In experiment 2, rats received seven amphetamine or saline injections in the open-field test throughout a twelve-day period. We measured the mRNA levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), its tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), the microRNA-132, the Rho GTPase-activating protein 32 (p250GAP), the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and monoamines and amino-acids contents in the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal striatum 45, 90, and 180 min after the last injection. We found that amphetamine changed gene expression only at certain time points and in a dose and region-dependent manner. Repeated but not single administrations upregulated accumbal and striatal BDNF (180 min) and striatal pri-miR-132 (90 min) expression, while downregulated accumbal CREB levels (90 min). As only some drug users develop addiction, we compared brain parameters between low and high amphetamine responders. Prone subjects characterized by having reduced striatal 5-HT metabolism, higher accumbal BDNF and TrkB expression, and lower levels of CREB in the dorsal striatum and p250GAP in both regions. Thus, individual differences in drug-induced changes in neurotransmission and gene expression in nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways may underlie the plasticity adaptations associated with behavioral sensitization to amphetamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Sequeira-Cordero
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica.
| | - Juan C Brenes
- Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica.
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Pohořalá V, Enkel T, Bartsch D, Spanagel R, Bernardi RE. Sign- and goal-tracking score does not correlate with addiction-like behavior following prolonged cocaine self-administration. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:2335-2346. [PMID: 33950271 PMCID: PMC8292273 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05858-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE In classical conditioning, sign-tracking reflects behavior directed toward a conditioned stimulus (CS) in expectation of a reward (unconditioned stimulus, US); in contrast, goal-tracking describes behavior directed toward the location of delivery of a US. As cues previously paired with drugs of abuse promote drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior in both animals and humans and thus contribute to the severity of substance abuse, sign-tracking may represent a maladaptive cue-focused behavior that may increase addiction vulnerability as compared to goal-tracking. Recent studies do, in fact, support this possibility. Previous work in this area has focused primarily on paradigms using relatively limited exposure to drug rather than extended drug intake. OBJECTIVES Here, we used the DSM-IV-based 3-criteria (3-CRIT) model and examined whether a relationship exists between sign- or goal-tracking phenotypes and the prevalence of criteria associated with addiction-like behavior following extended cocaine self-administration as measured in this model. METHODS Forty-six male Sprague Dawley rats underwent a Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) procedure and were characterized along a continuum as goal-trackers (GTs), intermediates (INTs), or sign-trackers (STs). The animals were subsequently trained to intravenous self-administer cocaine during 45 self-administration (SA) sessions and characterized for the 3 criteria outlined in the model: persistence of drug-seeking, motivation for cocaine-taking, and resistance to punishment. RESULTS We performed correlational analyses on the traits measured, finding no relationships between PCA score and addiction-like characteristics measured using the 3-CRIT model of addiction. However, STs showed significantly greater resistance to punishment than GTs. CONCLUSIONS Phenotyping along a continuum of PCA scores may not be a valid predictor for identifying vulnerability to the addiction-like behaviors examined using the 3-CRIT model. However, PCA phenotype may predict a single feature of the 3-CRIT model, resistance to punishment, among those rats classified as either STs or GTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Pohořalá
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Thomas Enkel
- Department of Molecular Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Dusan Bartsch
- Department of Molecular Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Rainer Spanagel
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Rick E Bernardi
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.
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Fleming KA, Cofresí RU, Bartholow BD. Transfer of incentive salience from a first-order alcohol cue to a novel second-order alcohol cue among individuals at risk for alcohol use disorder: electrophysiological evidence. Addiction 2021; 116:1734-1746. [PMID: 33338310 PMCID: PMC8172423 DOI: 10.1111/add.15380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS In susceptible individuals, cues associated with drug use are theorized to take on incentive-motivational properties, including the ability to reinforce higher-order, drug-related associative learning. This study aimed to test this prediction among people varying in risk for alcohol use disorder. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Repeated-measures experiment with a measured individual difference variable at a University psychology laboratory in Missouri, USA. One hundred and six young adults (96 contributed complete data) were pre-selected to represent the upper and lower quartiles of self-reported sensitivity to alcohol's acute effects. MEASUREMENTS Participants completed a second-order Pavlovian conditioning paradigm in which an initially neutral visual cue (second-order conditional stimulus; CS2 ) predicted onset of an olfactory cue (first-order conditional stimulus; CS1 ). Olfactory cues were isolated from alcoholic beverages, sweets and non-comestible substances, each presumed to have a natural history of first-order conditioning. Event-related potential responses to the CS2 across its conditioning and extinction, and to the CS1 , provided neurophysiological indices of incentive salience (IS). FINDINGS The IS of the alcohol CS1 was higher among participants low in alcohol sensitivity (LS), relative to their higher-sensitivity (HS) peers. The IS of the CS2 paired with the alcohol CS1 increased across the CS2 conditioning phase among LS but not HS participants. Also, LS (but not HS) individuals also experienced increases in alcohol craving following alcohol CS1 exposure, and this change was correlated with increases in the IS of the CS2 paired with the alcohol CS1 . CONCLUSIONS Alcoholic beverage odor, a proximal cue for alcohol consumption, appears to reinforce conditioning of neurophysiological responses to a novel cue among low alcohol sensitivity (LS) individuals but not high alcohol sensitivity individuals, providing the first evidence that the LS phenotype may be associated with differences in the conditioned reinforcing properties of alcohol-related cues. These findings support the idea that the LS phenotype may increase alcohol use disorder risk via susceptibility to incentive salience sensitization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A. Fleming
- Psychiatric and Behavioral Health Institute, Allegheny Health Network
- Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine
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Warlow SM, Berridge KC. Incentive motivation: 'wanting' roles of central amygdala circuitry. Behav Brain Res 2021; 411:113376. [PMID: 34023307 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) mediates positively-valenced reward motivation as well as negatively-valenced fear. Optogenetic or neurochemical stimulation of CeA circuitry can generate intense incentive motivation to pursue and consume a paired natural food, sex, or addictive drug reward, and even create maladaptive 'wanting what hurts' such as attraction to a shock rod. Evidence indicates CeA stimulations selectively amplify incentive motivation ('wanting') but not hedonic impact ('liking') of the same reward. Further, valence flips can occur for CeA contributions to motivational salience. That is, CeA stimulation can promote either incentive motivation or fearful motivation, even in the same individual, depending on situation. These findings may carry implications for understanding CeA roles in neuropsychiatric disorders involving aberrant motivational salience, ranging from addiction to paranoia and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley M Warlow
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Kent C Berridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Spaccasassi C, Frigione I, Maravita A. Bliss in and Out of the Body: The (Extra)Corporeal Space Is Impervious to Social Pleasant Touch. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11020225. [PMID: 33673297 PMCID: PMC7917648 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Slow, gentle stimulation of hairy skin is generally accompanied by hedonic sensations. This phenomenon, also known as (positive) affective touch, is likely to be the basis of affiliative interactions with conspecifics by promoting inter-individual bindings. Previous studies on healthy humans have demonstrated that affective touch can remarkably impact behavior. For instance, by administering the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) paradigm, the embodiment of a fake hand enhances after a slow, affective touch compared to a fast, neutral touch. However, results coming from this area are not univocal. In addition, there are no clues in the existing literature on the relationship between affective touch and the space around our body. To overcome these lacks, we carried out two separate experiments where participants underwent a RHI paradigm (Experiment 1) and a Visuo-Tactile Interaction task (Experiment 2), designed to tap into body representation and peripersonal space processing, respectively. In both experiments, an affective touch (CT-optimal, 3 cm/s) and neutral touch (CT-suboptimal, 18 cm/s) were delivered by the experimenter on the dorsal side of participants’ hand through a “skin to skin” contact. In Experiment 1, we did not find any modulation of body representation—not at behavioral nor at a physiological level—by affective touch. In Experiment 2, no visuo-tactile spatial modulation emerged depending upon the pleasantness of the touch received. These null findings are interpreted in the light of the current scientific context where the real nature of affective touch is often misguided, and they offer the possibility to pave the way for understanding the real effects of affective touch on body/space representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Spaccasassi
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, ‘Alma Mater Studiorum’, Department of Psychology, Cesena Campus, Bologna University, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Ivana Frigione
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy; (I.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Angelo Maravita
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy; (I.F.); (A.M.)
- Milan Centre for Neurosciences, 20126 Milano, Italy
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Michaelsen MM, Esch T. Motivation and reward mechanisms in health behavior change processes. Brain Res 2021; 1757:147309. [PMID: 33524377 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
With increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic diseases worldwide, understanding health behavior change and the development of successful interventions to support lifestyle modification is gaining increasing interest among politicians, scientists, therapists and patients alike. A number of health behavior change theories have been developed aiming at explaining health behavior change and understanding the domains that make change more likely. Until now, only few studies have taken into account automatic, implicit or non-cognitive aspects of behavior, including emotion and positive affect. Recent progress in the neuroscience of motivation and reward systems can provide further insights into the relevance of such domains. In this integrative review, we present a description of the possible motivation and reward systems (approach/wanting = pleasure; aversion/avoiding = relief; assertion/non-wanting = quiescence) involved in behavior change. Therefore, based on established theories encompassing both initiation and maintenance of behavior change, we create a flexible seven-stage behavior change process with three engagement phases (non-engagement, motivational engagement, executive engagement) and relate the motivation and reward systems to each of these stages. We propose that either appetitive (preferably) or aversive motivational salience is activated during motivational engagement, that learning leads to continued behavior and that assertive salience prevails when the new behavior has become habitual. We discuss under which circumstances these mechanisms and reward-motivation pathways are likely to occur and address potential shortcomings of our proposed theoretical framework. We highlight implications for future interventions aiming at lifestyle modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren M Michaelsen
- Institute for Integrative Health Care and Health Promotion, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 44, 58455 Witten, Germany.
| | - Tobias Esch
- Institute for Integrative Health Care and Health Promotion, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 44, 58455 Witten, Germany.
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Social isolation enhances cued-reinstatement of sucrose and nicotine seeking, but this is reversed by a return to social housing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2422. [PMID: 33510269 PMCID: PMC7843648 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81966-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Physical or perceived (i.e. loneliness) social isolation is increasing in Western cultures. Unfortunately, social isolation is associated with a range of negative physical and mental health outcomes, including increased incidence of obesity and smoking. Here we monitored the impact of social isolation on a range of physical measures, and then tested whether social isolation in adult rats changes how reward-related stimuli motivate sucrose- or nicotine-seeking. Socially isolated rats showed elevated baseline CORT, gained significantly less weight across the study, were more active in response to a novel or familiar environment. Isolated rats also acquired nose-poking for a food pellet more rapidly, and showed increased susceptibility to cue-, but not reward-induced reinstatement. Notably, these effects are partially mitigated by a return to group housing, suggesting that they are not necessarily permanent, and that a return to a social setting can quickly reverse any deficits or changes associated with social isolation. This study advances our understanding of altered reward-processing in socially isolated individuals and reiterates the importance of socialisation in the treatment of disorders such as overeating and addiction.
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