1
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Hernandez CM, McCuiston MA, Davis K, Halls Y, Carcamo Dal Zotto JP, Jackson NL, Dobrunz LE, King PH, McMahon LL. In a circuit necessary for cognition and emotional affect, Alzheimer's-like pathology associates with neuroinflammation, cognitive and motivational deficits in the young adult TgF344-AD rat. Brain Behav Immun Health 2024; 39:100798. [PMID: 39022628 PMCID: PMC11253229 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
In addition to extracellular amyloid plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tau tangles, and inflammation, cognitive and emotional affect perturbations are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The cognitive and emotional domains impaired by AD include several forms of decision making (such as intertemporal choice), blunted motivation (increased apathy), and impaired executive function (such as working memory and cognitive flexibility). However, the interaction between these domains of the mind and their supporting neurobiological substrates at prodromal stages of AD, or whether these interactions can be predictive of AD severity (individual variability), remain unclear. In this study, we employed a battery of cognitive and emotional tests in the young adult (5-7 mo) transgenic Fisher-344 AD (TgF344-AD; TgAD) rat model of AD. We also assessed whether markers of inflammation or AD-like pathology in the prelimbic cortex (PrL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), or nucleus accumbens (NAc), all structures that directly support the aforementioned behaviors, were predictive of behavioral deficits. We found TgAD rats displayed maladaptive decision making, greater apathy, and impaired working memory that was indeed predicted by AD-like pathology in the relevant brain structures, even at an early age. Moreover, we report that the BLA is an early epicenter of inflammation, and notably, AD-like pathology in the PrL, BLA, and NAc was predictive of BLA inflammation. These results suggest that operant-based battery testing may be sensitive enough to determine pathology trajectories, including neuroinflammation, from early stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caesar M. Hernandez
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - Macy A. McCuiston
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Kristian Davis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Yolanda Halls
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Juan Pablo Carcamo Dal Zotto
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Nateka L. Jackson
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, USA
| | - Lynn E. Dobrunz
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - Peter H. King
- Department of Neurology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
- Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Lori L. McMahon
- Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, USA
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2
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Erfanian Abdoust M, Froböse MI, Schnitzler A, Schreivogel E, Jocham G. Dopamine and acetylcholine have distinct roles in delay- and effort-based decision-making in humans. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002714. [PMID: 38995982 PMCID: PMC11268711 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
In everyday life, we encounter situations that require tradeoffs between potential rewards and associated costs, such as time and (physical) effort. The literature indicates a prominent role for dopamine in discounting of both delay and effort, with mixed findings for delay discounting in humans. Moreover, the reciprocal antagonistic interaction between dopaminergic and cholinergic transmission in the striatum suggests a potential opponent role of acetylcholine in these processes. We found opposing effects of dopamine D2 (haloperidol) and acetylcholine M1 receptor (biperiden) antagonism on specific components of effort-based decision-making in healthy humans: haloperidol decreased, whereas biperiden increased the willingness to exert physical effort. In contrast, delay discounting was reduced under haloperidol, but not affected by biperiden. Together, our data suggest that dopamine, acting at D2 receptors, modulates both effort and delay discounting, while acetylcholine, acting at M1 receptors, appears to exert a more specific influence on effort discounting only.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mani Erfanian Abdoust
- Biological Psychology of Decision Making, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Monja Isabel Froböse
- Biological Psychology of Decision Making, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Schreivogel
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Gerhard Jocham
- Biological Psychology of Decision Making, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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3
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Wu F, Zhang W, Ji W, Zhang Y, Jiang F, Li G, Hu Y, Wei X, Wang H, Wang SYA, Manza P, Tomasi D, Volkow ND, Gao X, Wang GJ, Zhang Y. Stimulant medications in children with ADHD normalize the structure of brain regions associated with attention and reward. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1330-1340. [PMID: 38409281 PMCID: PMC11224385 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01831-4] [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: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Children with ADHD show abnormal brain function and structure. Neuroimaging studies found that stimulant medications may improve brain structural abnormalities in children with ADHD. However, prior studies on this topic were conducted with relatively small sample sizes and wide age ranges and showed inconsistent results. In this cross-sectional study, we employed latent class analysis and linear mixed-effects models to estimate the impact of stimulant medications using demographic, clinical measures, and brain structure in a large and diverse sample of children aged 9-11 from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. We studied 273 children with low ADHD symptoms and received stimulant medication (Stim Low-ADHD), 1002 children with high ADHD symptoms and received no medications (No-Med ADHD), and 5378 typically developing controls (TDC). After controlling for the covariates, compared to Stim Low-ADHD and TDC, No-Med ADHD showed lower cortical thickness in the right insula (INS, d = 0.340, PFDR = 0.003) and subcortical volume in the left nucleus accumbens (NAc, d = 0.371, PFDR = 0.003), indicating that high ADHD symptoms were associated with structural abnormalities in these brain regions. In addition, there was no difference in brain structural measures between Stim Low-ADHD and TDC children, suggesting that the stimulant effects improved both ADHD symptoms and ADHD-associated brain structural abnormalities. These findings together suggested that children with ADHD appear to have structural abnormalities in brain regions associated with saliency and reward processing, and treatment with stimulant medications not only improve the ADHD symptoms but also normalized these brain structural abnormalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Wu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Wenchao Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Weibin Ji
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Yaqi Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Fukun Jiang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Guanya Li
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Yang Hu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China
| | - Xiaorong Wei
- Kindergarten affiliated to Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Haoyi Wang
- College of Westa, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Szu-Yung Ariel Wang
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Peter Manza
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Dardo Tomasi
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Nora D Volkow
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Xinbo Gao
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Image Cognition, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, 400065, China
- Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence, Guangyang Bay Laboratory, Chongqing, 400064, China
| | - Gene-Jack Wang
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Yi Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University & Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China.
- International Joint Research Center for Advanced Medical Imaging and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment & Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, China.
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4
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Bergamini G, Durkin S, Steiner MA. Selective orexin 1 receptor antagonism does not affect effort-based responding for sucrose reward in rats. J Psychopharmacol 2024; 38:305-308. [PMID: 38327032 DOI: 10.1177/02698811241229523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
In rodents, orexin neuropeptides regulate motivation and reward-seeking via orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) signaling in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. This role is clearly established for rewards inherent to drugs of abuse but less so for natural rewards. Reported effects of the selective OX1R antagonist (SO1RA) SB-334867 on motivation for palatable food are ambiguous. In our experimental conditions neither SB-334867, nor two additional, structurally different SO1RAs, ACT-335827 and the clinical development candidate nivasorexant, affected effort-based responding for sucrose in rats. The positive control lisdexamfetamine, approved for psychiatric disorders associated with altered reward sensitivity such as binge eating disorder, increased effort-based responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Bergamini
- CNS Pharmacology, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Allschwil, Switzerland
| | - Sean Durkin
- CNS Pharmacology, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Allschwil, Switzerland
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5
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Erfanian Abdoust M, Knecht S, Husain M, Le Heron C, Jocham G, Studer B. Effort-based decision making and motivational deficits in stroke patients. Brain Cogn 2024; 175:106123. [PMID: 38183905 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.106123] [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: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Motivational deficits in patients recovering from stroke are common and can reduce active participation in rehabilitation and thereby impede functional recovery. We investigated whether stroke patients with clinically reduced drive, initiation, and endurance during functional rehabilitative training (n = 30) display systematic alterations in effort-based decision making compared to age, sex, and severity-matched stroke patients (n = 30) whose drive appeared unaffected. Notably, the two groups did not differ in self-reported ratings of apathy and depression. However, on an effort-based decision-making task, stroke patients with clinically apparent drive impairment showed intact willingness to accept effort for reward, but were more likely to fail to execute the required effort compared to patients without apparent drive impairments. In other words, the decision behavioural assessment revealed that stroke patients that displayed reduced drive, initiation, and endurance during inpatient neurorehabilitation failed to persist in goal-directed effort production, even over very short periods. These findings indicate that reduced drive during rehabilitative therapy in post-stroke patients is not due to a diminished motivation to invest physical effort, but instead is related to a reduced persistence with effortful behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mani Erfanian Abdoust
- Biological Psychology of Decision Making, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Mauritius Hospital Meerbusch, Meerbusch, Germany.
| | - Stefan Knecht
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Masud Husain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Division of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Campbell Le Heron
- Department of Medicine, University of Otago (Christchurch), New Zealand; New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Gerhard Jocham
- Biological Psychology of Decision Making, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Bettina Studer
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany; Mauritius Hospital Meerbusch, Meerbusch, Germany
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6
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Fetcho RN, Parekh PK, Chou J, Kenwood M, Chalençon L, Estrin DJ, Johnson M, Liston C. A stress-sensitive frontostriatal circuit supporting effortful reward-seeking behavior. Neuron 2024; 112:473-487.e4. [PMID: 37963470 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Effort valuation-a process for selecting actions based on the anticipated value of rewarding outcomes and expectations about the work required to obtain them-plays a fundamental role in decision-making. Effort valuation is disrupted in chronic stress states and is supported by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but the circuit-level mechanisms by which the ACC regulates effort-based decision-making are unclear. Here, we show that ACC neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (ACC-NAc) play a critical role in effort valuation behavior in mice. Activity in ACC-NAc cells integrates both reward- and effort-related information, encoding a reward-related signal that scales with effort requirements and is necessary for supporting future effortful decisions. Chronic corticosterone exposure reduces motivation, suppresses effortful reward-seeking, and disrupts ACC-NAc signals. Together, our results delineate a stress-sensitive ACC-NAc circuit that supports effortful reward-seeking behavior by integrating reward and effort signals and reinforcing effort allocation in the service of maximizing reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N Fetcho
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Puja K Parekh
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Jolin Chou
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Margaux Kenwood
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Laura Chalençon
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - David J Estrin
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Megan Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Conor Liston
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10021, USA.
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7
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Beas S, Khan I, Gao C, Loewinger G, Macdonald E, Bashford A, Rodriguez-Gonzalez S, Pereira F, Penzo MA. Dissociable encoding of motivated behavior by parallel thalamo-striatal projections. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.07.548113. [PMID: 37781624 PMCID: PMC10541145 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.07.548113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The successful pursuit of goals requires the coordinated execution and termination of actions that lead to positive outcomes. This process is thought to rely on motivational states that are guided by internal drivers, such as hunger or fear. However, the mechanisms by which the brain tracks motivational states to shape instrumental actions are not fully understood. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is a midline thalamic nucleus that shapes motivated behaviors via its projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc)1-8 and monitors internal state via interoceptive inputs from the hypothalamus and brainstem3,9-14. Recent studies indicate that the PVT can be subdivided into two major neuronal subpopulations, namely PVTD2(+) and PVTD2(-), which differ in genetic identity, functionality, and anatomical connectivity to other brain regions, including the NAc4,15,16. In this study, we used fiber photometry to investigate the in vivo dynamics of these two distinct PVT neuronal types in mice performing a reward foraging-like behavioral task. We discovered that PVTD2(+) and PVTD2(-) neurons encode the execution and termination of goal-oriented actions, respectively. Furthermore, activity in the PVTD2(+) neuronal population mirrored motivation parameters such as vigor and satiety. Similarly, PVTD2(-) neurons, also mirrored some of these parameters but to a much lesser extent. Importantly, these features were largely preserved when activity in PVT projections to the NAc was selectively assessed. Collectively, our results highlight the existence of two parallel thalamo-striatal projections that participate in the dynamic regulation of goal pursuits and provide insight into the mechanisms by which the brain tracks motivational states to shape instrumental actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Beas
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Isbah Khan
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Claire Gao
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Gabriel Loewinger
- Machine Learning Team, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Emma Macdonald
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alison Bashford
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Francisco Pereira
- Machine Learning Team, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mario A. Penzo
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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8
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Lopez-Cruz L, Phillips BU, Hailwood JM, Saksida LM, Heath CJ, Bussey TJ. Refining the study of decision-making in animals: differential effects of d-amphetamine and haloperidol in a novel touchscreen-automated Rearing-Effort Discounting (RED) task and the Fixed-Ratio Effort Discounting (FRED) task. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:422-432. [PMID: 37644210 PMCID: PMC10724152 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01707-z] [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: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Effort-based decision-making is impaired in multiple psychopathologies leading to significant impacts on the daily life of patients. Preclinical studies of this important transdiagnostic symptom in rodents are hampered, however, by limitations present in currently available decision-making tests, including the presence of delayed reinforcement and off-target cognitive demands. Such possible confounding factors can complicate the interpretation of results in terms of decision-making per se. In this study we addressed this problem using a novel touchscreen Rearing-Effort Discounting (RED) task in which mice choose between two single-touch responses: rearing up to touch an increasingly higher positioned stimulus to obtain a High Reward (HR) or touching a lower stimulus to obtain a Low Reward (LR). To explore the putative advantages of this new approach, RED was compared with a touchscreen version of the well-studied Fixed Ratio-based Effort Discounting (FRED) task, in which multiple touches are required to obtain an HR, and a single response is required to obtain an LR. Results from dopaminergic (haloperidol and d-amphetamine), behavioral (changes in the order of effort demand; fixed-ratio schedule in FRED or response height in RED), and dietary manipulations (reward devaluation by pre-feeding) were consistent with the presence of variables that may complicate interpretation of conventional decision-making tasks, and demonstrate how RED appears to minimize such variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Lopez-Cruz
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.
| | - Benjamin U Phillips
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jonathan M Hailwood
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Robarts Research Institute and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Christopher J Heath
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Robarts Research Institute and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada
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9
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Daumas L, Zory R, Junquera-Badilla I, Ferrandez M, Ettore E, Robert P, Sacco G, Manera V, Ramanoël S. How does apathy impact exploration-exploitation decision-making in older patients with neurocognitive disorders? NPJ AGING 2023; 9:25. [PMID: 37903801 PMCID: PMC10616174 DOI: 10.1038/s41514-023-00121-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Apathy is a pervasive clinical syndrome in neurocognitive disorders, characterized by a quantitative reduction in goal-directed behaviors. The brain structures involved in the physiopathology of apathy have also been connected to the brain structures involved in probabilistic reward learning in the exploration-exploitation dilemma. This dilemma in question involves the challenge of selecting between a familiar option with a more predictable outcome, and another option whose outcome is uncertain and may yield potentially greater rewards compared to the known option. The aim of this study was to combine experimental procedures and computational modeling to examine whether, in older adults with mild neurocognitive disorders, apathy affects performance in the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Through using a four-armed bandit reinforcement-learning task, we showed that apathetic older adults explored more and performed worse than non-apathetic subjects. Moreover, the mental flexibility assessed by the Trail-making test-B was negatively associated with the percentage of exploration. These results suggest that apathy is characterized by an increased explorative behavior and inefficient decision-making, possibly due to weak mental flexibility to switch toward the exploitation of the more rewarding options. Apathetic participants also took longer to make a choice and failed more often to respond in the allotted time, which could reflect the difficulties in action initiation and selection. In conclusion, the present results suggest that apathy in participants with neurocognitive disorders is associated with specific disturbances in the exploration-exploitation trade-off and sheds light on the disturbances in reward processing in patients with apathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyne Daumas
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France.
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France.
| | - Raphaël Zory
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | | | - Marion Ferrandez
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
| | - Eric Ettore
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Philippe Robert
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Guillaume Sacco
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR CONFLUENCES, 49000, Angers, France
| | - Valeria Manera
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Stephen Ramanoël
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, 17 rue Moreau, 75012, Paris, France
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10
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Fedushko S, Molodetska K, Syerov Y. Analytical method to improve the decision-making criteria approach in managing digital social channels. Heliyon 2023; 9:e16828. [PMID: 37346365 PMCID: PMC10279835 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This study explores the decision-making process involved in managing digital communities in the digital social channel ecosystem, specifically in the context of antagonistic digital communication and harmful content dissemination. The rise of digital communities in social media has changed the way people interact with each other, form communities, and participate in social activities. However, these interactions can also lead to conflicts, and the dissemination of harmful content can pose a risk to users' information security. This research proposes a method to mitigate these issues and optimize efficacy while minimizing potential hazards. The proposed method is based on the analysis of the information situation in the management of digital communities under conditions of complete uncertainty, antagonistic behaviour, and partial uncertainty. The study examines the decision-making process involved in antagonistic interaction among users of digital social channels. The methods proposed in this research were implemented to prevent the adverse consequences of community conflicts and the dissemination of potential risks to the security of users' information through prompt and efficacious decision-making. The proposed strategy optimizes efficacy through the implementation of the Wald criteria while minimizing potential hazards by adhering to the Savage criteria. Additionally, the Hurwitz criteria, which presents a balanced approach incorporating both the maximum and minimum criteria, was also employed. The methods were tested within the online community present on the social media platform, Facebook social networks, and the results demonstrate that the suggested technique improves the effectiveness and validity of managers' decisions in digital communities. The study also highlights the use of social networks and the virtual sphere as tools for hybrid warfare on the internet, which can be effective. Effective community management is necessary to mitigate the negative effects of online interactions, and the proposed method offers a valuable tool for managers to make informed decisions and prevent adverse consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solomiia Fedushko
- Social Communication and Information Activity Department, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine
- Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, 820 05, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Kateryna Molodetska
- Department of Computer Technologies and Systems Modeling, Polissia National University, Staryi Blvd., 7, Zhytomyr, 10008, Ukraine
| | - Yuriy Syerov
- Social Communication and Information Activity Department, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine
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11
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Purcell JR, Brown JW, Tullar RL, Bloomer BF, Kim DJ, Moussa-Tooks AB, Dolan-Bennett K, Bangert BM, Wisner KM, Lundin NB, O'Donnell BF, Hetrick WP. Insular and Striatal Correlates of Uncertain Risky Reward Pursuit in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:726-737. [PMID: 36869757 PMCID: PMC10154703 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Risk-taking in specific contexts can be beneficial, leading to rewarding outcomes. Schizophrenia is associated with disadvantageous decision-making, as subjects pursue uncertain risky rewards less than controls. However, it is unclear whether this behavior is associated with more risk sensitivity or less reward incentivization. Matching on demographics and intelligence quotient (IQ), we determined whether risk-taking was more associated with brain activation in regions affiliated with risk evaluation or reward processing. STUDY DESIGN Subjects (30 schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, 30 controls) completed a modified, fMRI Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Brain activation was modeled during decisions to pursue risky rewards and parametrically modeled according to risk level. STUDY RESULTS The schizophrenia group exhibited less risky-reward pursuit despite previous adverse outcomes (Average Explosions; F(1,59) = 4.06, P = .048) but the comparable point at which risk-taking was volitionally discontinued (Adjusted Pumps; F(1,59) = 2.65, P = .11). Less activation was found in schizophrenia via whole brain and region of interest (ROI) analyses in the right (F(1,59) = 14.91, P < 0.001) and left (F(1,59) = 16.34, P < 0.001) nucleus accumbens (NAcc) during decisions to pursue rewards relative to riskiness. Risk-taking correlated with IQ in schizophrenia, but not controls. Path analyses of average ROI activation revealed less statistically determined influence of anterior insula upon dorsal anterior cingulate bilaterally (left: χ2 = 12.73, P < .001; right: χ2 = 9.54, P = .002) during risky reward pursuit in schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS NAcc activation in schizophrenia varied less according to the relative riskiness of uncertain rewards compared to controls, suggesting aberrations in reward processing. The lack of activation differences in other regions suggests similar risk evaluation. Less insular influence on the anterior cingulate may relate to attenuated salience attribution or inability for risk-related brain region collaboration to sufficiently perceive situational risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Purcell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Joshua W Brown
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Rachel L Tullar
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Bess F Bloomer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Dae-Jin Kim
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Alexandra B Moussa-Tooks
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Katherine Dolan-Bennett
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Science, Washington University, St. Louise, MO, USA
| | - Brianna M Bangert
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Krista M Wisner
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Nancy B Lundin
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Brian F O'Donnell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - William P Hetrick
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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12
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Sun X, Liu M, Xu X, Shi C, Zhang L, Yao Z, Chen J, Wang Q. Accumbal adenosine A 2A receptor inactivation biases for large and costly rewards in the effort- but not delay-based decision making. Neuropharmacology 2023; 222:109273. [PMID: 36252615 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The cost-benefit decision-making (CBDM) is critical to normal human activity and a diminished willingness to expend effort to obtain rewards is a prevalent/noted characteristic of neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease. Numerous studies have identified nucleus accumbens (NAc) as an important locus for CBDM control but their neuromodulatory and behavioral mechanisms remain largely under-explored. Adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs), which are highly concentrated in the striatopallidal neurons, can integrate glutamate and dopamine signals for controlling effort-related choice behaviors. While the involvement of A2ARs in effort-based decision making is well documented, the role of other decision variables (reward discrimination) in effort-based decision making and the role of A2AR in delay-based decision making are less clear. In this study, we have developed a well-controlled CBDM behavioral paradigm to manipulate effort/cost and reward independently or in combination, allowing a dissection of four behavioral elements: effort-based CBDM (E-CBDM), delay-based CBDM (D-CBDM), reward discrimination (RD), effort discrimination (ED), and determined the effect of genetic knockdown (KD) of NAc A2AR on the four behavioral elements. We found that A2AR KD in NAc increased the choice for larger, more costly reward in the E-CBDM, but not D-CBDM. Furthermore, this high-effort/high-reward bias was attributable to the increased willingness to engage in effort but not the effect of discrimination of reward magnitude. Our findings substantiate an important role of the NAc A2AR in control of E-CBDM and support that pharmacologically targeting NAc A2ARs would be a useful strategy for treating the aberrant effort-based decision making in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoting Sun
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Min Liu
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Xinyu Xu
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Chennan Shi
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Liping Zhang
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Zhimo Yao
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Jiangfan Chen
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
| | - Qin Wang
- Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and Eye-Brain Research Center, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Vision Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
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13
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Critical review of RDoC approaches to the study of motivation with animal models: effort valuation/willingness to work. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:515-528. [PMID: 36218385 DOI: 10.1042/etls20220008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The NIMH research domain criteria (RDoC) approach was instigated to refocus mental health research on the neural circuits that mediate psychological functions, with the idea that this would foster an understanding of the neural basis of specific psychiatric dysfunctions (i.e. 'symptoms and circuits') and ultimately facilitate treatment. As a general idea, this attempt to go beyond traditional diagnostic categories and focus on neural circuit dysfunctions related to specific symptoms spanning multiple disorders has many advantages. For example, motivational dysfunctions are present in multiple disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and other conditions. A critical aspect of motivation is effort valuation/willingness to work, and several clinical studies have identified alterations in effort-based decision making in various patient groups. In parallel, formal animal models focusing on the exertion of effort and effort-based decision making have been developed. This paper reviews the literature on models of effort-based motivational function in the context of a discussion of the RDoC approach, with an emphasis on the dissociable nature of distinct aspects of motivation. For example, conditions associated with depression and schizophrenia blunt the selection of high-effort activities as measured by several tasks in animal models (e.g. lever pressing, barrier climbing, wheel running). Nevertheless, these manipulations also leave fundamental aspects of hedonic reactivity, food motivation, and reinforcement intact. This pattern of effects demonstrates that the general emphasis of the RDoC on the specificity of the neural circuits mediating behavioral pathologies, and the dissociative nature of these dysfunctions, is a valid concept. Nevertheless, the specific placement of effort-related processes as simply a 'sub-construct' of 'reward processing' is empirically and conceptually problematic. Thus, while the RDoC is an excellent general framework for new ways to approach research and therapeutics, it still needs further refinement.
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14
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Pérez-Calzada M, Zamora-Arevalo O. Effects of reinforcement during the intertrial interval on temporal discrimination: Location version with rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:956175. [PMID: 36248027 PMCID: PMC9561882 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.956175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Different studies on temporal control of behavior have focused on making modifications to experimental tasks by introducing disruptors to know how these manipulations modify temporal control. The aim of this study was to produce changes in temporal discrimination in a temporal bisection task by using a disruptor associated with motivation, which consisted in delivering reinforcement during the intertrial interval (RITI). Four Wistar rats and a pair of duration 2s−8s were used. There were two types of sessions: baseline generalization, where the disruptor was not applied, and RITI generalization, where the disruptive manipulation was applied. The analysis of results consisted of comparing psychophysical parameters, Signal Detection Theory indices, and latencies to start trials of baseline sessions and disruption sessions. The results showed a change in the point of subjective equality, a change in the psychophysical function, an increasing trend in the latencies to start trials on RITI disruption, and no change in the Signal Detection Theory indices. The results highlight the importance of incorporating motivational explanations to theories of temporal control in non-human organisms.
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15
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Morris L, O'Callaghan C, Le Heron C. Disordered Decision Making: A Cognitive Framework for Apathy and Impulsivity in Huntington's Disease. Mov Disord 2022; 37:1149-1163. [PMID: 35491758 PMCID: PMC9322688 DOI: 10.1002/mds.29013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
A caregiver's all‐too‐familiar narrative ‐ “He doesn't think through what he does, but mostly he does nothing.” Apathy and impulsivity, debilitating and poorly understood, commonly co‐occur in Huntington's disease (HD). HD is a neurodegenerative disease with manifestations bridging clinical neurology and psychiatry. In addition to movement and cognitive symptoms, neurobehavioral disturbances, particularly apathy and impulsivity, are prevalent features of HD, occurring early in the disease course, often worsening with disease progression, and substantially reducing quality of life. Treatments remain limited, in part because of limited mechanistic understanding of these behavioral disturbances. However, emerging work within the field of decision‐making neuroscience and beyond points to common neurobiological mechanisms underpinning these seemingly disparate problems. These insights bridge the gap between underlying disease pathology and clinical phenotype, offering new treatment strategies, novel behavioral and physiological biomarkers of HD, and deeper understanding of human behavior. In this review, we apply the neurobiological framework of cost‐benefit decision making to the problems of apathy and impulsivity in HD. Through this decision‐making lens, we develop a mechanistic model that elucidates the occurrence of these behavioral disturbances and points to potential treatment strategies and crucial research priorities. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee‐Anne Morris
- Department of Medicine University of Otago Christchurch New Zealand
- New Zealand Brain Research Institute Christchurch New Zealand
| | - Claire O'Callaghan
- Brain and Mind Centre and School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Campbell Le Heron
- Department of Medicine University of Otago Christchurch New Zealand
- New Zealand Brain Research Institute Christchurch New Zealand
- Department of Neurology Canterbury District Health Board Christchurch New Zealand
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16
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Desrochers SS, Spring MG, Nautiyal KM. A Role for Serotonin in Modulating Opposing Drive and Brake Circuits of Impulsivity. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:791749. [PMID: 35250501 PMCID: PMC8892181 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.791749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Impulsivity generally refers to a deficit in inhibition, with a focus on understanding the neural circuits which constitute the “brake” on actions and gratification. It is likely that increased impulsivity can arise not only from reduced inhibition, but also from a heightened or exaggerated excitatory “drive.” For example, an action which has more vigor, or is fueled by either increased incentive salience or a stronger action-outcome association, may be harder to inhibit. From this perspective, this review focuses on impulse control as a competition over behavioral output between an initially learned response-reward outcome association, and a subsequently acquired opposing inhibitory association. Our goal is to present a synthesis of research from humans and animal models that supports this dual-systems approach to understanding the behavioral and neural substrates that contribute to impulsivity, with a focus on the neuromodulatory role of serotonin. We review evidence for the role of serotonin signaling in mediating the balance of the “drive” and “brake” circuits. Additionally, we consider parallels of these competing instrumental systems in impulsivity within classical conditioning processes (e.g., extinction) in order to point us to potential behavioral and neural mechanisms that may modulate the competing instrumental associations. Finally, we consider how the balance of these competing associations might contribute to, or be extracted from, our experimental assessments of impulsivity. A careful understanding of the underlying behavioral and circuit level contributions to impulsivity is important for understanding the pathogenesis of increased impulsivity present in a number of psychiatric disorders. Pathological levels of impulsivity in such disorders are likely subserved by deficits in the balance of motivational and inhibitory processes.
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17
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Salamone J, Ecevitoglu A, Carratala-Ros C, Presby R, Edelstein G, Fleeher R, Rotolo R, Meka N, Srinath S, Masthay JC, Correa M. Complexities and Paradoxes in Understanding the Role of Dopamine in Incentive Motivation and Instrumental Action: Exertion of Effort vs. Anhedonia. Brain Res Bull 2022; 182:57-66. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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18
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André N, Gastinger S, Rébillard A. Chronic Fatigue in Cancer, Brain Connectivity and Reluctance to Engage in Physical Activity: A Mini-Review. Front Oncol 2022; 11:774347. [PMID: 34988017 PMCID: PMC8721035 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.774347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A large amount of evidence shows that after a cancer diagnosis, patients significantly reduce their level of physical activity. Usually, this reduction is attributed to cancer-related fatigue. However, to our knowledge, no study has clearly demonstrated that fatigue alters effort-based decision-making in cancer. This mini-review aimed to provide evidence that chronic fatigue in cancer patients causes changes in brain connectivity that impact effort-based decision-making. Indeed, three patterns of activation to compensate for dysfunctional networks have been reported: greater variability in the executive network and hyperactivation in the executive network, which account for less efficient and costly processes in the frontal cortex, and reduced deactivation in the default mode network. Nevertheless, these activation patterns are also observed with other factors, such as anticipatory stressors (worry, rumination or sleep loss), that might also cause reluctance to engage in physical activity. Effort-based decision-making involving weighing costs against benefits and physical activity interventions should increase immediate benefits to facilitate engagement in effortful activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie André
- Research Centre on Cognition and Learning (UMR CNRS 7295), University of Poitiers, Sport Sciences Faculty, Poitiers, France.,Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société (USR CNRS 3565), Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Steven Gastinger
- M2S-EA7470, University of Rennes, Rennes, France.,APCoSS - Institut de Formation en Education Physique et en Sport (IFEPSA), UCO Angers, Angers, France
| | - Amélie Rébillard
- M2S-EA7470, University of Rennes, Rennes, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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19
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Gabriel CJ, Zeidler Z, Jin B, Guo C, Goodpaster CM, Kashay AQ, Wu A, Delaney M, Cheung J, DiFazio LE, Sharpe MJ, Aharoni D, Wilke SA, DeNardo LA. BehaviorDEPOT is a simple, flexible tool for automated behavioral detection based on markerless pose tracking. eLife 2022; 11:74314. [PMID: 35997072 PMCID: PMC9398447 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantitative descriptions of animal behavior are essential to study the neural substrates of cognitive and emotional processes. Analyses of naturalistic behaviors are often performed by hand or with expensive, inflexible commercial software. Recently, machine learning methods for markerless pose estimation enabled automated tracking of freely moving animals, including in labs with limited coding expertise. However, classifying specific behaviors based on pose data requires additional computational analyses and remains a significant challenge for many groups. We developed BehaviorDEPOT (DEcoding behavior based on POsitional Tracking), a simple, flexible software program that can detect behavior from video timeseries and can analyze the results of experimental assays. BehaviorDEPOT calculates kinematic and postural statistics from keypoint tracking data and creates heuristics that reliably detect behaviors. It requires no programming experience and is applicable to a wide range of behaviors and experimental designs. We provide several hard-coded heuristics. Our freezing detection heuristic achieves above 90% accuracy in videos of mice and rats, including those wearing tethered head-mounts. BehaviorDEPOT also helps researchers develop their own heuristics and incorporate them into the software's graphical interface. Behavioral data is stored framewise for easy alignment with neural data. We demonstrate the immediate utility and flexibility of BehaviorDEPOT using popular assays including fear conditioning, decision-making in a T-maze, open field, elevated plus maze, and novel object exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Gabriel
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States,UCLA Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Zachary Zeidler
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Benita Jin
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States,UCLA Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology Program, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Changliang Guo
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Caitlin M Goodpaster
- UCLA Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Adrienne Q Kashay
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Anna Wu
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Molly Delaney
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Jovian Cheung
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Lauren E DiFazio
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Daniel Aharoni
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Scott A Wilke
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Laura A DeNardo
- Department of Physiology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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20
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Zhang C, Zhu H, Ni Z, Xin Q, Zhou T, Wu R, Gao G, Gao Z, Ma H, Li H, He M, Zhang J, Cheng H, Hu H. Dynamics of a disinhibitory prefrontal microcircuit in controlling social competition. Neuron 2021; 110:516-531.e6. [PMID: 34793692 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Social competition plays a pivotal role in determining individuals' social status. While the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is essential in regulating social competition, it remains unclear how information is processed within its local networks. Here, by applying optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations in a dominance tube test, we reveal that, in accordance with pyramidal (PYR) neuron activation, excitation of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) or inhibition of the parvalbumin (PV) interneurons induces winning. The winning behavior is associated with sequential calcium activities initiated by VIP and followed by PYR and PV neurons. Using miniature two-photon microscopic (MTPM) and optrode recordings in awake mice, we show that VIP stimulation directly leads to a two-phased activity pattern of both PYR and PV neurons-rapid suppression followed by activation. The delayed activation of PV implies an embedded feedback tuning. This disinhibitory VIP-PV-PYR motif forms the core of a dmPFC microcircuit to control social competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoyi Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Hong Zhu
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China.
| | - Zheyi Ni
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Qiuhong Xin
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Tingting Zhou
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Runlong Wu
- Research Unit of Mitochondria in Brain Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, PKU-Nanjing Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanjing 211500, China
| | - Guangping Gao
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Zhihua Gao
- Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Huan Ma
- Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Haohong Li
- Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Miao He
- Institutes of Brain Science, Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jue Zhang
- Research Unit of Mitochondria in Brain Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, PKU-Nanjing Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanjing 211500, China
| | - Heping Cheng
- Research Unit of Mitochondria in Brain Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, PKU-Nanjing Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanjing 211500, China
| | - Hailan Hu
- Department of Psychiatry of First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, The MOE Frontier Research Center of Brain & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; Center for Brian Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou 510515, China; Research Units of Brain Mechanisms Underlying Emotion and Emotion Disorders, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100730, China; Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Chuanqi Research and Development Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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21
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The sooner the better: clinical and neural correlates of impulsive choice in Tourette disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:560. [PMID: 34732691 PMCID: PMC8566507 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01691-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Reward sensitivity has been suggested as one of the central pathophysiological mechanisms in Tourette disorder. However, the subjective valuation of a reward by introduction of delay has received little attention in Tourette disorder, even though it has been suggested as a trans-diagnostic feature of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. We aimed to assess delay discounting in Tourette disorder and to identify its brain functional correlates. We evaluated delayed discounting and its brain functional correlates in a large group of 54 Tourette disorder patients and 31 healthy controls using a data-driven approach. We identified a subgroup of 29 patients with steeper reward discounting, characterised by a higher burden of impulse-control disorders and a higher level of general impulsivity compared to patients with normal behavioural performance or to controls. Reward discounting was underpinned by resting-state activity of a network comprising the orbito-frontal, cingulate, pre-supplementary motor area, temporal and insular cortices, as well as ventral striatum and hippocampus. Within this network, (i) lower connectivity of pre-supplementary motor area with ventral striatum predicted a higher impulsivity and a steeper reward discounting and (ii) a greater connectivity of pre-supplementary motor area with anterior insular cortex predicted steeper reward discounting and more severe tics. Overall, our results highlight the heterogeneity of the delayed reward processing in Tourette disorder, with steeper reward discounting being a marker of burden in impulsivity and impulse control disorders, and the pre-supplementary motor area being a hub region for the delay discounting, impulsivity and tic severity.
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22
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Lopez-Gamundi P, Yao YW, Chong TTJ, Heekeren HR, Mas-Herrero E, Marco-Pallarés J. The neural basis of effort valuation: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:1275-1287. [PMID: 34710515 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Choosing how much effort to expend is critical for everyday decisions. While several neuroimaging studies have examined effort-based decision-making, results have been highly heterogeneous, leaving unclear which brain regions process effort-related costs and integrate them with rewards. We conducted two meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging data to examine consistent neural correlates of effort demands (23 studies, 15 maps, 549 participants) and net value (15 studies, 11 maps, 428 participants). The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) scaled positively with pure effort demand, whereas the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) showed the opposite effect. Moreover, regions that have been previously implicated in value integration in other cost domains, such as the vmPFC and ventral striatum, were consistently involved in signaling net value. The opposite response patterns of the pre-SMA and vmPFC imply that they are differentially involved in the representation of effort costs and value integration. These findings provide conclusive evidence that the vmPFC is a central node for net value computation and reveal potential brain targets to treat motivation-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Lopez-Gamundi
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), C/ Feixa Llarga, s/n - Pavelló de Govern - Edifici Modular, 08907 Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
| | - Yuan-Wei Yao
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14159, Germany; Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, 10117, Germany.
| | - Trevor T-J Chong
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Hauke R Heekeren
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14159, Germany; Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, 10117, Germany
| | - Ernest Mas-Herrero
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), C/ Feixa Llarga, s/n - Pavelló de Govern - Edifici Modular, 08907 Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Josep Marco-Pallarés
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), C/ Feixa Llarga, s/n - Pavelló de Govern - Edifici Modular, 08907 Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
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23
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Smith KR, Jansen E, Thapaliya G, Aghababian AH, Chen L, Sadler JR, Carnell S. The influence of COVID-19-related stress on food motivation. Appetite 2021; 163:105233. [PMID: 33819527 PMCID: PMC9190771 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures to reduce its transmission have increased stress. Stress is associated with alterations in eating behavior which may be partly driven by effects on food-related motivation. To investigate effects of COVID-related stress on food motivation, we recruited adults (N = 429; 272 F, 157 M) to complete an online survey via Amazon MTurk in May 2020. Current COVID-related stress, retrospective pre-COVID stress, and motivation in relation to individualized preferred foods from five categories (sweet snacks, fruit, savory snacks, vegetables, and fast food) were assessed. Food motivation measures included willingness to wait, willingness to expend low effort [finger taps], willingness to expend high effort [jumping jacks], and willingness to pay for hypothetical delivery of the food item. Food motivation for each food type was assessed using a novel instrument designed for brief assessment of multiple aspects of food motivation across multiple food types. Participants were willing to pay the most for fast food followed by sweet snacks, and willing to wait longer for sweet snacks relative to other food types. While fast food and sweets also generated the most willingness to expend high and low effort, willingness to expend low effort for fruit was similar to that for fast food and sweets, and willingness to expend high effort for fruit was comparable to that for fast food. Participants were least willing to pay or expend low effort for vegetables. Higher COVID-related stress levels were associated with willingness to expend more effort and pay more for food items. These data collected during the pandemic demonstrate that highly processed and sweet foods have high motivating value across multiple measures of motivation, and COVID-related stress increases food motivation across food categories. Interventions to mitigate stress and target the link between stress and overeating may help to limit the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly R Smith
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Elena Jansen
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gita Thapaliya
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Anahys H Aghababian
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Liuyi Chen
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jennifer R Sadler
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Susan Carnell
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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24
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Obesity and dietary fat influence dopamine neurotransmission: exploring the convergence of metabolic state, physiological stress, and inflammation on dopaminergic control of food intake. Nutr Res Rev 2021; 35:236-251. [PMID: 34184629 DOI: 10.1017/s0954422421000196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to explore how metabolic changes induced by diets high in saturated fat (HFD) affect nucleus accumbens (NAc) dopamine neurotransmission and food intake, and to explore how stress and inflammation influence this process. Recent evidence linked diet-induced obesity and HFD with reduced dopamine release and reuptake. Altered dopamine neurotransmission could disrupt satiety circuits between NAc dopamine terminals and projections to the hypothalamus. The NAc directs learning and motivated behaviours based on homeostatic needs and psychological states. Therefore, impaired dopaminergic responses to palatable food could contribute to weight gain by disrupting responses to food cues or stress, which impacts type and quantity of food consumed. Specifically, saturated fat promotes neuronal resistance to anorectic hormones and activation of immune cells that release proinflammatory cytokines. Insulin has been shown to regulate dopamine neurotransmission by enhancing satiety, but less is known about effects of diet-induced stress. Therefore, changes to dopamine signalling due to HFD warrant further examination to characterise crosstalk of cytokines with endocrine and neurotransmitter signals. A HFD promotes a proinflammatory environment that may disrupt neuronal endocrine function and dopamine signalling that could be exacerbated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and κ-opioid receptor stress systems. Together, these adaptive changes may dysregulate eating by changing NAc dopamine during hedonic versus homeostatic food intake. This could drive palatable food cravings during energy restriction and hinder weight loss. Understanding links between HFD and dopamine neurotransmission will inform treatment strategies for diet-induced obesity and identify molecular candidates for targeted therapeutics.
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25
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Sosa JLR, Buonomano D, Izquierdo A. The orbitofrontal cortex in temporal cognition. Behav Neurosci 2021; 135:154-164. [PMID: 34060872 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
One of the most important factors in decision-making is estimating the value of available options. Subregions of the prefrontal cortex, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), have been deemed essential for this process. Value computations require a complex integration across numerous dimensions, including, reward magnitude, effort, internal state, and time. The importance of the temporal dimension is well illustrated by temporal discounting tasks, in which subjects select between smaller-sooner versus larger-later rewards. The specific role of OFC in telling time and integrating temporal information into decision-making remains unclear. Based on the current literature, in this review we reevaluate current theories of OFC function, accounting for the influence of time. Incorporating temporal information into value estimation and decision-making requires distinct, yet interrelated, forms of temporal information including the ability to tell time, represent time, create temporal expectations, and the ability to use this information for optimal decision-making in a wide range of tasks, including temporal discounting and wagering. We use the term "temporal cognition" to refer to the integrated use of these different aspects of temporal information. We suggest that the OFC may be a critical site for the integration of reward magnitude and delay, and thus important for temporal cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dean Buonomano
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles
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26
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Pastor V, Medina JH. Medial prefrontal cortical control of reward- and aversion-based behavioral output: Bottom-up modulation. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 53:3039-3062. [PMID: 33660363 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
How does the brain guide our actions? This is a complex issue, where the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a crucial role. The mPFC is essential for cognitive flexibility and decision making. These functions are related to reward- and aversion-based learning, which ultimately drive behavior. Though, cortical projections and modulatory systems that may regulate those processes in the mPFC are less understood. How does the mPFC regulate approach-avoidance behavior in the case of conflicting aversive and appetitive stimuli? This is likely dependent on the bottom-up neuromodulation of the mPFC projection neurons. In this review, we integrate behavioral-, pharmacological-, and viral-based circuit manipulation data showing the involvement of mPFC dopaminergic, noradrenergic, cholinergic, and serotoninergic inputs in reward and aversion processing. Given that an incorrect balance of reward and aversion value could be a key problem in mental diseases such as substance use disorders, we discuss outstanding questions for future research on the role of mPFC modulation in reward and aversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Pastor
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jorge Horacio Medina
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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27
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a significant public health problem. Understanding the behavioral and personal factors that influence risk and incidence of SRC is critically important for appropriate care and management. Sensation-seeking and impulsivity have been posited to be two such factors that may be significantly associated with SRC. We performed a focused review of recent evidence of the relationships between sensation-seeking and impulsivity in athletes with SRC. RECENT FINDINGS While the research is relatively limited, extant findings demonstrate a significant relationship between sensation-seeking and contact sport participation and risk of prior and future SRC. Impulsivity appears to be common among athletes competing in high contact sports and may contribute to neural and functional brain changes following SRC; however, causal relationships between impulsivity, contact sport participation, and SRC have not been demonstrated. Both sensation-seeking and impulsivity are significantly associated with SRC in collegiate athletes. Interventions designed to ameliorate high levels of these constructs may prove to be beneficial avenues to reducing SRC risk and improving patient care and outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer W Liebel
- Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Michigan Concussion Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Katherine A M Edwards
- Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Steven P Broglio
- Michigan Concussion Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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28
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Çavdaroğlu B, Riaz S, Yeung EHL, Lee ACH, Ito R. The ventral hippocampus is necessary for cue-elicited, but not outcome driven approach-avoidance conflict decisions: a novel operant choice decision-making task. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46:632-642. [PMID: 33154580 PMCID: PMC8027851 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-00898-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Approach-avoidance conflict is induced when an organism encounters a stimulus that carries both positive and negative attributes. Accumulating evidence implicates the ventral hippocampus (VH) in the detection and resolution of approach-avoidance conflict, largely on the basis of maze-based tasks assaying innate and conditioned responses to situations of conflict. However, its role in discrete trial approach-avoidance decision-making has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we designed a novel cued operant conflict decision-making task in which rats were required to choose and respond for a low reward option or high reward option paired with varying shock intensities on a differential reinforcement of low rates of responding schedule. Post training, the VH was chemogenetically inhibited while animals performed the task with the usual outcomes delivered, and with the presentation of cues associated with the reward vs. conflict options only (extinction condition). We found that VH inhibition led to an avoidance of the conflict option and longer latency to choose this option when decision-making was being made on the basis of cues alone with no outcomes. Consistent with these findings, VH-inhibited animals spent more time in the central component of the elevated plus maze (EPM), indicating a potential deficit in decision-making under innate forms of approach-avoidance conflict. Taken together, these findings implicate the VH in cue-driven approach-avoidance decisions in the face of motivational conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilgehan Çavdaroğlu
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Sadia Riaz
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Elton H. L. Yeung
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Andy C. H. Lee
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Rutsuko Ito
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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29
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Presby RE, Rotolo RA, Hurley EM, Ferrigno SM, Murphy CE, McMullen HP, Desai PA, Zorda EM, Kuperwasser FB, Carratala-Ros C, Correa M, Salamone JD. Sex differences in lever pressing and running wheel tasks of effort-based choice behavior in rats: Suppression of high effort activity by the serotonin transport inhibitor fluoxetine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2021; 202:173115. [PMID: 33493546 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Selective serotonin transport (SERT) inhibitors such as fluoxetine are the most commonly prescribed treatments for depression. Although efficacious for many symptoms of depression, motivational impairments such as psychomotor retardation, anergia, fatigue and amotivation are relatively resistant to treatment with SERT inhibitors, and these drugs have been reported to exacerbate motivational deficits in some people. In order to study motivational dysfunctions in animal models, procedures have been developed to measure effort-related decision making, which offer animals a choice between high effort actions leading to highly valued reinforcers, or low effort/low reward options. In the present studies, male and female rats were tested on two different tests of effort-based choice: a fixed ratio 5 (FR5)/chow feeding choice procedure and a running wheel (RW)/chow feeding choice task. The baseline pattern of choice differed across tasks for males and females, with males pressing the lever more than females on the operant task, and females running more than males on the RW task. Administration of the SERT inhibitor and antidepressant fluoxetine suppressed the higher effort activity on each task (lever pressing and wheel running) in both males and females. The serotonin receptor mediating the suppressive effects of fluoxetine is uncertain, because serotonin antagonists with different patterns of receptor selectivity failed to reverse the effects of fluoxetine. Nevertheless, these studies uncovered important sex differences, and demonstrated that the suppressive effects of fluoxetine on high effort activities are not limited to tasks involving food reinforced behavior or appetite suppressive effects. It is possible that this line of research will contribute to an understanding of the neurochemical factors regulating selection of voluntary physical activity vs. sedentary behaviors, which could be relevant for understanding the role of physical activity in psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose E Presby
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Renee A Rotolo
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Erin M Hurley
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Sarah M Ferrigno
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Cayla E Murphy
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Haley P McMullen
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Pranally A Desai
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Emma M Zorda
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Felicita B Kuperwasser
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA
| | - Carla Carratala-Ros
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA; Area de Psicobiologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - Merce Correa
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA; Area de Psicobiologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain
| | - John D Salamone
- Behavioral Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1020, USA.
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30
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Leenaars CH, Van der Mierden S, Joosten RN, Van der Weide MA, Schirris M, Dematteis M, Meijboom FL, Feenstra MG, Bleich A. Risk-Based Decision Making: A Systematic Scoping Review of Animal Models and a Pilot Study on the Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Rats. Clocks Sleep 2021; 3:31-52. [PMID: 33498259 PMCID: PMC7838799 DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep3010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals, including humans, frequently make decisions involving risk or uncertainty. Different strategies in these decisions can be advantageous depending the circumstances. Short sleep duration seems to be associated with more risky decisions in humans. Animal models for risk-based decision making can increase mechanistic understanding, but very little data is available concerning the effects of sleep. We combined primary- and meta-research to explore the relationship between sleep and risk-based decision making in animals. Our first objective was to create an overview of the available animal models for risky decision making. We performed a systematic scoping review. Our searches in Pubmed and Psychinfo retrieved 712 references, of which 235 were included. Animal models for risk-based decision making have been described for rodents, non-human primates, birds, pigs and honey-bees. We discuss task designs and model validity. Our second objective was to apply this knowledge and perform a pilot study on the effect of sleep deprivation. We trained and tested male Wistar rats on a probability discounting task; a “safe” lever always resulted in 1 reward, a “risky” lever resulted in 4 or no rewards. Rats adapted their preferences to variations in reward probabilities (p < 0.001), but 12 h of sleep deprivation during the light phase did not clearly alter risk preference (p = 0.21).
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathalijn H.C. Leenaars
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (S.V.d.M.); (A.B.)
- Department for Health Evidence (Section HTA), SYRCLE, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6600 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Unit Animals in Science and Society, Population Health Sciences, Utrecht University, 3500 Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-511-532-1368
| | - Stevie Van der Mierden
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (S.V.d.M.); (A.B.)
- Department for Health Evidence (Section HTA), SYRCLE, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6600 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ruud N.J.M.A. Joosten
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (R.N.J.M.A.J.); (M.A.V.d.W.); (M.S.); (M.G.P.F.)
| | - Marnix A. Van der Weide
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (R.N.J.M.A.J.); (M.A.V.d.W.); (M.S.); (M.G.P.F.)
| | - Mischa Schirris
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (R.N.J.M.A.J.); (M.A.V.d.W.); (M.S.); (M.G.P.F.)
| | - Maurice Dematteis
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Grenobles Alpes University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Grenoble Alpes University, 38400 Grenoble, France;
| | - Franck L.B. Meijboom
- Unit Animals in Science and Society, Population Health Sciences, Utrecht University, 3500 Utrecht, The Netherlands;
| | - Matthijs G.P. Feenstra
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (R.N.J.M.A.J.); (M.A.V.d.W.); (M.S.); (M.G.P.F.)
| | - André Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (S.V.d.M.); (A.B.)
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31
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Using pharmacological manipulations to study the role of dopamine in human reward functioning: A review of studies in healthy adults. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 120:123-158. [PMID: 33202256 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) plays a key role in reward processing and is implicated in psychological disorders such as depression, substance use, and schizophrenia. The role of DA in reward processing is an area of highly active research. One approach to this question is drug challenge studies with drugs known to alter DA function. These studies provide good experimental control and can be performed in parallel in laboratory animals and humans. This review aimed to summarize results of studies using pharmacological manipulations of DA in healthy adults. 'Reward' is a complex process, so we separated 'phases' of reward, including anticipation, evaluation of cost and benefits of upcoming reward, execution of actions to obtain reward, pleasure in response to receiving a reward, and reward learning. Results indicated that i) DAergic drugs have different effects on different phases of reward; ii) the relationship between DA and reward functioning appears unlikely to be linear; iii) our ability to detect the effects of DAergic drugs varies depending on whether subjective, behavioral, imaging measures are used.
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Shifting motivational states: The effects of nucleus accumbens dopamine and opioid receptor activation on a modified effort-based choice task. Behav Brain Res 2020; 399:112999. [PMID: 33161034 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is critical for regulating the appetitive and consummatory phases of motivated behavior. These experiments examined the effects of dopamine and opioid receptor manipulations within the NAc during an effort-based choice task that allowed for simultaneous assessment of both phases of motivation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received bilateral guide cannulas targeting the NAc core and were tested in 1-hr sessions with free access to rat chow and the choice to work for sugar pellets on a progressive ratio 2 (PR2) reinforcement schedule. Individual groups of rats were tested following stimulation or blockade of NAc D1-like or D2-like receptors, stimulation of μ-, δ-, or κ-opioid receptors, or antagonism of opioid receptors. Behavior was examined under ad libitum conditions and following 23-h food restriction. NAc blockade of the D1-like receptors or stimulation of the D2 receptor reduced break point for earning sugar pellets; D2 receptor stimulation also modestly lowered chow intake. NAc μ-opioid receptor stimulation increased intake of the freely-available chow while simultaneously reducing break point for the sugar pellets. In non-restricted conditions, δ-opioid receptor stimulation increased both food intake and breakpoint. There were no effects of stimulating NAc D1 or κ receptors, nor did blocking D2 or opioid receptors affect task behavior. These data support prior literature linking dopamine to appetitive motivational processes, and suggest that μ- and δ-opioid receptors affect food-directed motivation differentially. Specifically, μ-opioid receptors shifted behavior towards consumption, and δ-opioid receptor enhanced both sugar-seeking and consumption of the pabulum chow when animals were not food restricted.
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Rotolo RA, Kalaba P, Dragacevic V, Presby RE, Neri J, Robertson E, Yang JH, Correa M, Bakulev V, Volkova NN, Pifl C, Lubec G, Salamone JD. Behavioral and dopamine transporter binding properties of the modafinil analog (S, S)-CE-158: reversal of the motivational effects of tetrabenazine and enhancement of progressive ratio responding. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:3459-3470. [PMID: 32770257 PMCID: PMC7572767 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05625-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Atypical dopamine (DA) transport blockers such as modafinil and its analogs may be useful for treating motivational symptoms of depression and other disorders. Previous research has shown that the DA depleting agent tetrabenazine can reliably induce motivational deficits in rats, as evidenced by a shift towards a low-effort bias in effort-based choice tasks. This is consistent with human studies showing that people with major depression show a bias towards low-effort activities. OBJECTIVES Recent studies demonstrated that the atypical DA transport (DAT) inhibitor (S)-CE-123 reversed tetrabenazine-induced motivational deficits, increased progressive ratio (PROG) lever pressing, and increased extracellular DA in the nucleus accumbens. In the present studies, a recently synthesized modafinil analog, (S, S)-CE-158, was assessed in a series of neurochemical and behavioral studies in rats. RESULTS (S, S)-CE-158 demonstrated the ability to reverse the effort-related effects of tetrabenazine and increase selection of high-effort PROG lever pressing in rats tested on PROG/chow feeding choice task. (S, S)-CE-158 showed a high selectivity for inhibiting DAT compared with other monoamine transporters, and systemic administration of (S, S)-CE-158 increased extracellular DA in the nucleus accumbens during the behaviorally active time course, which is consistent with the effects of (S)-CE-123 and other DAT inhibitors that enhance high-effort responding. CONCLUSIONS These studies provide an initial neurochemical characterization of a novel atypical DAT inhibitor, and demonstrate that this compound is active in models of effort-related choice. This research could contribute to the development of novel compounds for the treatment of motivational dysfunctions in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renee A. Rotolo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Predrag Kalaba
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria,Department of Neuroproteomics, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Vladimir Dragacevic
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Rose E. Presby
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Julia Neri
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Emily Robertson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Jen-Hau Yang
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Merce Correa
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA,Àrea de Psicobiologia, Campus de Riu Sec, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castelló, Spain
| | - Vasiliy Bakulev
- Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, 19 Mira St., Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia
| | - Natalia N. Volkova
- Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, 19 Mira St., Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia
| | - Christian Pifl
- Centre for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gert Lubec
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - John D. Salamone
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA,Corresponding authors: John D. Salamone () and Gert Lubec ()
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Chang WC, Westbrook A, Strauss GP, Chu AOK, Chong CSY, Siu CMW, Chan SKW, Lee EHM, Hui CLM, Suen YM, Lo TL, Chen EYH. Abnormal cognitive effort allocation and its association with amotivation in first-episode psychosis. Psychol Med 2020; 50:2599-2609. [PMID: 31576787 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719002769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abnormal effort-based decision-making represents a potential mechanism underlying motivational deficits (amotivation) in psychotic disorders. Previous research identified effort allocation impairment in chronic schizophrenia and focused mostly on physical effort modality. No study has investigated cognitive effort allocation in first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHOD Cognitive effort allocation was examined in 40 FEP patients and 44 demographically-matched healthy controls, using Cognitive Effort-Discounting (COGED) paradigm which quantified participants' willingness to expend cognitive effort in terms of explicit, continuous discounting of monetary rewards based on parametrically-varied cognitive demands (levels N of N-back task). Relationship between reward-discounting and amotivation was investigated. Group differences in reward-magnitude and effort-cost sensitivity, and differential associations of these sensitivity indices with amotivation were explored. RESULTS Patients displayed significantly greater reward-discounting than controls. In particular, such discounting was most pronounced in patients with high levels of amotivation even when N-back performance and reward base amount were taken into consideration. Moreover, patients exhibited reduced reward-benefit sensitivity and effort-cost sensitivity relative to controls, and that decreased sensitivity to reward-benefit but not effort-cost was correlated with diminished motivation. Reward-discounting and sensitivity indices were generally unrelated to other symptom dimensions, antipsychotic dose and cognitive deficits. CONCLUSION This study provides the first evidence of cognitive effort-based decision-making impairment in FEP, and indicates that decreased effort expenditure is associated with amotivation. Our findings further suggest that abnormal effort allocation and amotivation might primarily be related to blunted reward valuation. Prospective research is required to clarify the utility of effort-based measures in predicting amotivation and functional outcome in FEP.
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Affiliation(s)
- W C Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - A Westbrook
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistics, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI02906, USA
| | - G P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA30602, USA
| | - A O K Chu
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - C S Y Chong
- Department of Psychiatry, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong
| | - C M W Siu
- Department of Psychiatry, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong
| | - S K W Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - E H M Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - C L M Hui
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Y M Suen
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - T L Lo
- Department of Psychiatry, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong
| | - E Y H Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Bailey MR, Chun E, Schipani E, Balsam PD, Simpson EH. Dissociating the effects of dopamine D2 receptors on effort-based versus value-based decision making using a novel behavioral approach. Behav Neurosci 2020; 134:101-118. [PMID: 32175760 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Cost-benefit decision making is essential for organisms to adapt to their ever-changing environment. Most studies of cost-benefit decision making involve choice conditions in which effort and value are varied simultaneously. This prevents identification of the aspects of cost-benefit decision making that are affected by experimental manipulations. We developed operant assays to isolate the individual impacts of effort and value manipulations on cost-benefit decision making. In the concurrent effort choice (CEC) task, mice choose between exerting two distinct types of effort: the number of responses and the duration of a response, to earn the same reward. By parametrically varying response cost, psychometric functions are obtained that reflect how the two types of effort scale against one another. Direct manipulations of effort shift the functions. Because reward value is held constant in this task, differences in scaling of the two response types must be related to the effort manipulations. In the concurrent value choice (CVC) task, mice make the same type of response to earn rewards of different value (e.g., pellets vs. sucrose solutions). Here the effort required to earn one reward type is parametrically varied to obtain the psychometric function that scales the value of the two rewards into the number of responses subjects will pay to earn one reward over the other. Direct value manipulations shift these functions. We tested the effect of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, haloperidol, on performance in the CEC and CVC assays and found that D2R signaling is important for effort-based, but not value-based decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Fatahi Z, Ghorbani A, Ismail Zibaii M, Haghparast A. Neural synchronization between the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices during effort-based decision making. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 175:107320. [PMID: 33010385 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Optimal decision making reflects the ability to choose the most advantageous option for various alternatives so that the anterior cingulate cortex is an important area involved in effort-based decision making. The current study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity between the ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during effort-based decision-making. A T-maze decision-making task with different rewards (large vs. small reward) and costs (high vs. low effort) was used, and simultaneously, local field potentials (LFP) from the ACC and OFC were also recorded in male Wistar rats. During the effort-based decision making, when the animals preferred the higher over, the lower reward, neural synchronization was observed in theta/low beta (4-20 Hz) frequency bands between both of the areas. Also, neural synchronization was not significant when the animals chose a lower reward. High gamma (80-100 Hz) synchrony between the areas was also observed; however, it was not dependent on the animal's decision. In this regard, the present findings revealed that neural synchronization and functional connectivity between the ACC and OFC in the low-frequency range (theta/low beta) is essential during the effort-based decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Fatahi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ahmad Ghorbani
- Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
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Hernandez CM, Orsini C, Wheeler AR, Ten Eyck TW, Betzhold SM, Labiste CC, Wright NG, Setlow B, Bizon JL. Testicular hormones mediate robust sex differences in impulsive choice in rats. eLife 2020; 9:58604. [PMID: 32985975 PMCID: PMC7521924 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Impairments in choosing optimally between immediate and delayed rewards are associated with numerous psychiatric disorders. Such ‘intertemporal’ choice is influenced by genetic and experiential factors; however, the contributions of biological sex are understudied and data to date are largely inconclusive. Rats were used to determine how sex and gonadal hormones influence choices between small, immediate and large, delayed rewards. Females showed markedly greater preference than males for small, immediate over large, delayed rewards (greater impulsive choice). This difference was neither due to differences in food motivation or reward magnitude perception, nor was it affected by estrous cycle. Ovariectomies did not affect choice in females, whereas orchiectomies increased impulsive choice in males. These data show that male rats exhibit less impulsive choice than females and that this difference is at least partly maintained by testicular hormones. These differences in impulsive choice could be linked to gender differences across multiple neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caesar M Hernandez
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Caitlin Orsini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Alexa-Rae Wheeler
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Tyler W Ten Eyck
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Sara M Betzhold
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Chase C Labiste
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Noelle G Wright
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Barry Setlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Jennifer L Bizon
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
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Rotolo RA, Presby RE, Tracy O, Asar S, Yang JH, Correa M, Murray F, Salamone JD. The novel atypical dopamine transport inhibitor CT-005404 has pro-motivational effects in neurochemical and inflammatory models of effort-based dysfunctions related to psychopathology. Neuropharmacology 2020; 183:108325. [PMID: 32956676 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Depressed individuals suffer from effort-related motivational symptoms such as anergia and fatigue, which are resistant to treatment with many common antidepressants. While drugs that block dopamine transport (DAT) reportedly have positive motivational effects, DAT inhibitors such as cocaine and amphetamines produce undesirable side effects. Thus, there is a need to develop and characterize novel atypical DAT inhibitors with unique and selective binding profiles. Rodent effort-based choice tasks provide useful models of motivational dysfunctions. With these tasks, animals choose between a high-effort instrumental action leading to highly valued reinforcement vs. a low effort/low reward option. The present studies focused on the initial characterization of a novel atypical DAT inhibitor, CT-005404, which binds to DAT with high selectivity relative to serotonin and norepinephrine transport, and produces long-term elevations of extracellular DA. CT-005404 was assessed for its ability to attenuate the effort-related motivational effects of the DA depleting agent tetrabenazine and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) using a fixed ratio 5/chow feeding choice test. Tetrabenazine (1.0 mg/kg i.p.) shifted choice behavior, decreasing lever pressing and increasing chow intake. IL-1β (4.0 μg/kg i.p.) also decreased lever pressing. CT-005404 was co-administered (7.5-30.0 mg/kg p.o.) with either tetrabenazine or IL-1β, and the 15.0 and 30.0 mg/kg doses significantly reversed the effects of tetrabenazine and IL-1β. CT-005404 administered alone produced a dose-related increase in lever pressing in rats tested on a progressive ratio/chow feeding choice task. Atypical DAT inhibitors such as CT-005404 offer potential as a new avenue for drug treatment of motivational dysfunctions in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renee A Rotolo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA
| | - Rose E Presby
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA
| | - Olivia Tracy
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA
| | - Sokaina Asar
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA
| | - Jen-Hau Yang
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA
| | - Merce Correa
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA; Àrea de Psicobiologia, Campus de Riu Sec, Universitat Jaume I, 12071, Castelló, Spain
| | - Fraser Murray
- Chronos Therapeutics, The Magdalen Centre, Oxford Science Park, Oxford, OX4 4GA, UK
| | - John D Salamone
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06261-1020, USA.
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Studer B, Geniole SN, Becker ML, Eisenegger C, Knecht S. Inducing illusory control ensures persistence when rewards fade and when others outperform us. Psychon Bull Rev 2020; 27:809-818. [PMID: 32424621 PMCID: PMC7399668 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-020-01745-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Persisting even when the rewards of continued effort are fading is essential for achieving long-term goals, skills, and good health, alike. Yet, we often quit when things get hard. Here, we tested whether augmenting the feeling of control through external measures increases persistence under such discouraging circumstances. In two laboratory experiments, we first induced illusory control by manipulating the base-rate of positive outcomes and then tested the effect of this elevation of participants' perceived control upon their persistence under diminishing returns and in a competition against a stronger opponent. Induced illusory control significantly enhanced people's persistence in both of these motivationally challenging situations. Our findings demonstrate that motivation is dependent upon perceived, rather than objective, control, and reveal that this can be leveraged to counteract quitting behavior when things get hard, for instance in rehabilitation, physical activity interventions, or other training settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Studer
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Mauritius Hospital Meerbusch, Meerbusch, Germany.
| | - Shawn N Geniole
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Social-Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Canada
| | - Maike L Becker
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Eisenegger
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Knecht
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Mauritius Hospital Meerbusch, Meerbusch, Germany
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Behavioral and brain- transcriptomic synchronization between the two opponents of a fighting pair of the fish Betta splendens. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008831. [PMID: 32555673 PMCID: PMC7299326 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Conspecific male animals fight for resources such as food and mating opportunities but typically stop fighting after assessing their relative fighting abilities to avoid serious injuries. Physiologically, how the fighting behavior is controlled remains unknown. Using the fighting fish Betta splendens, we studied behavioral and brain-transcriptomic changes during the fight between the two opponents. At the behavioral level, surface-breathing, and biting/striking occurred only during intervals between mouth-locking. Eventually, the behaviors of the two opponents became synchronized, with each pair showing a unique behavioral pattern. At the physiological level, we examined the expression patterns of 23,306 brain transcripts using RNA-sequencing data from brains of fighting pairs after a 20-min (D20) and a 60-min (D60) fight. The two opponents in each D60 fighting pair showed a strong gene expression correlation, whereas those in D20 fighting pairs showed a weak correlation. Moreover, each fighting pair in the D60 group showed pair-specific gene expression patterns in a grade of membership analysis (GoM) and were grouped as a pair in the heatmap clustering. The observed pair-specific individualization in brain-transcriptomic synchronization (PIBS) suggested that this synchronization provides a physiological basis for the behavioral synchronization. An analysis using the synchronized genes in fighting pairs of the D60 group found genes enriched for ion transport, synaptic function, and learning and memory. Brain-transcriptomic synchronization could be a general phenomenon and may provide a new cornerstone with which to investigate coordinating and sustaining social interactions between two interacting partners of vertebrates. Agonistic encounters induce changes in the brain and behavior, but their underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. The fighting fish Betta splendens are small freshwater fish that are well known for their aggressiveness and are widely used to study aggression. Here, by measuring aggressive behavior displays (bite/strike/surface-breathing) between two opponents during fighting, we demonstrate that the two opponents in each fighting pair showed similar fighting configurations by influencing each other. In addition, we compared brain gene expression between opponents and showed synchronization of gene expression within a fighting pair, leading to pair-specific synchronization in genes associated with ion transport, synapse function, and learning and memory. This study presents the possibility that similar behaviors in pairs of animals under similar conditions may trigger synchronizing waves of transcription between the individuals, providing a hint to support the idea that fighting behaviors contain cooperative aspects at the molecular level.
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41
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Freeland CM, Knes AS, Robinson MJF. Translating concepts of risk and loss in rodent models of gambling and the limitations for clinical applications. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2020; 31:76-82. [PMID: 32864399 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Gambling involves placing something of value at risk in exchange for the opportunity to potentially gain something of greater value in return. A variety of gambling paradigms have been designed to study the maladaptive decision-making that underlies problematic gambling. Central to these gambling models are the definitions of "risk" and "loss", especially when translating the results from rodent studies to clinical applications. Risk and loss are not mutually exclusive but rather share some overlap. With careful interpretation and consideration of the limitations of these behavioral paradigms, results from rodent models may provide insights into the neurobiology of risky decision-making that leads to problematic gambling in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Freeland
- Neuroscience & Behavior Program, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA.,Department of Biology, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Avenue, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA
| | - A S Knes
- Neuroscience & Behavior Program, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA.,Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, 207 High Street, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA
| | - M J F Robinson
- Neuroscience & Behavior Program, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA.,Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, 207 High Street, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA
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Ducrocq F, Walle R, Contini A, Oummadi A, Caraballo B, van der Veldt S, Boyer ML, Aby F, Tolentino-Cortez T, Helbling JC, Martine L, Grégoire S, Cabaret S, Vancassel S, Layé S, Kang JX, Fioramonti X, Berdeaux O, Barreda-Gómez G, Masson E, Ferreira G, Ma DWL, Bosch-Bouju C, De Smedt-Peyrusse V, Trifilieff P. Causal Link between n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Deficiency and Motivation Deficits. Cell Metab 2020; 31:755-772.e7. [PMID: 32142670 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Reward-processing impairment is a common symptomatic dimension of several psychiatric disorders. However, whether the underlying pathological mechanisms are common is unknown. Herein, we asked if the decrease in the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) lipid species, consistently described in these pathologies, could underlie reward-processing deficits. We show that reduced n-3 PUFA biostatus in mice leads to selective motivational impairments. Electrophysiological recordings revealed increased collateral inhibition of dopamine D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) onto dopamine D1 receptor-expressing MSNs in the nucleus accumbens, a main brain region for the modulation of motivation. Strikingly, transgenically preventing n-3 PUFA deficiency selectively in D2-expressing neurons normalizes MSN collateral inhibition and enhances motivation. These results constitute the first demonstration of a causal link between a behavioral deficit and n-3 PUFA decrease in a discrete neuronal population and suggest that lower n-3 PUFA biostatus in psychopathologies could participate in the etiology of reward-related symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Ducrocq
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France.
| | - Roman Walle
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Andrea Contini
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Asma Oummadi
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Baptiste Caraballo
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Marie-Lou Boyer
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Frank Aby
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | | | | | - Lucy Martine
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Stéphane Grégoire
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Stéphanie Cabaret
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Sylvie Vancassel
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Sophie Layé
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Jing Xuan Kang
- Laboratory for Lipid Medicine and Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Xavier Fioramonti
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Olivier Berdeaux
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | | | - Elodie Masson
- Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Guillaume Ferreira
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - David W L Ma
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
| | | | | | - Pierre Trifilieff
- Université Bordeaux, INRAE, Bordeaux INP, NutriNeuro, 33000, Bordeaux, France.
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Effort-based decision making varies by smoking status. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:1081-1090. [PMID: 31900525 PMCID: PMC7125005 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05437-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE A reduced willingness to perform effort based on the magnitude and probability of potential rewards has been associated with diminished dopamine function and may be relevant to chronic drug use. OBJECTIVES Here, we investigated the influence of smoking status on effort-based decisions. We hypothesized that smokers would make fewer high-effort selections than ex-smokers and never-smokers. METHODS Current smokers (n = 25), ex-smokers (≥ 1 year quit, n = 23), and never-smokers (n = 19) completed the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task in which participants select between low-effort and high-effort options to receive monetary rewards at varying levels of reward magnitude, probability and expected value. RESULTS Overall, participants selected more high-effort options as potential reward magnitude and expected value increased. Smokers did not make fewer high-effort selections overall, but smokers were less sensitive to the changes in magnitude, probability, and expected value compared to never-smokers. Smokers were also less sensitive to the changes in probability and expected value, but not magnitude, compared to ex-smokers. Among smokers and ex-smokers, less nicotine dependence was associated with an increased likelihood of high-effort selections. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate the relevance of smoking status to effort-based decisions and suggest that smokers have diminished sensitivity to nondrug reward value. Among ex-smokers, greater pre-existing sensitivity to reward value may have been conducive to smoking cessation, or sensitivity was improved by smoking cessation. Future prospective studies can investigate whether effort-related decision making is predictive of smoking initiation or cessation success. IMPLICATIONS Willingness to perform effort to achieve a goal and sensitivity to changes in reward value are important aspects of motivation. These results showed that smokers have decreased sensitivity to changes in effort-related reward probability and expected value compared to ex-smokers and never-smokers. Potentially, improved sensitivity to rewards among ex-smokers may be a cause or consequence of smoking cessation. These findings may help explain why some smokers are able to achieve long-term abstinence.
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Complementary Control over Habits and Behavioral Vigor by Phasic Activity in the Dorsolateral Striatum. J Neurosci 2020; 40:2139-2153. [PMID: 31969469 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1313-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite clear evidence linking the basal ganglia to the control of outcome insensitivity (i.e., habit) and behavioral vigor (i.e., its behavioral speed/fluidity), it remains unclear whether or how these functions relate to one another. Here, using male Long-Evans rats in response-based and cue-based maze-running tasks, we demonstrate that phasic dorsolateral striatum (DLS) activity occurring at the onset of a learned behavior regulates how vigorous and habitual it is. In a response-based task, brief optogenetic excitation at the onset of runs decreased run duration and the occurrence of deliberative behaviors, whereas midrun stimulation carried little effect. Outcome devaluation showed these runs to be habitual. DLS inhibition at run start did not produce robust effects on behavior until after outcome devaluation. At that time, when the DLS was plausibly most critically required for performance (i.e., habitual), inhibition reduced performance vigor measures and caused a dramatic loss of habitual responding (i.e., animals quit the task). In a second cue-based "beacon" task requiring behavior initiation at the start of the run and again in the middle of the run, DLS excitation at both time points could improve the vigor of runs. Postdevaluation testing showed behavior on the beacon task to be habitual as well. This pattern of results suggests that one role for phasic DLS activity at behavior initiation is to promote the execution of the behavior in a vigorous and habitual fashion by a diverse set of measures.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our research expands the literature twofold. First, we find that features of a habitual behavior that are typically studied separately (i.e., maze response performance, deliberation movements, running vigor, and outcome insensitivity) are quite closely linked together. Second, efforts have been made to understand "what" the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) does for habitual behavior, and our research provides a key set of results showing "when" it is important (i.e., at behavior initiation). By showing such dramatic control over habits by DLS activity in a phasic time window, plausible real-world applications could involve more informed DLS perturbations to curb intractably problematic habits.
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Puryear CB, Brooks J, Tan L, Smith K, Li Y, Cunningham J, Todtenkopf MS, Dean RL, Sanchez C. Opioid receptor modulation of neural circuits in depression: What can be learned from preclinical data? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:658-678. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Pharmacological studies of effort-related decision making using mouse touchscreen procedures: effects of dopamine antagonism do not resemble reinforcer devaluation by removal of food restriction. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:33-43. [PMID: 31392358 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05343-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Effort-based decision-making tasks offer animals choices between preferred reinforcers that require high effort to obtain vs. low effort/low reward options. The neural mechanisms of effort-based choice are widely studied in rats, and evidence indicates that mesolimbic dopamine (DA) and related neural systems play a key role. Fewer studies of effort-based choice have been performed in mice. OBJECTIVES The present studies used touchscreen operant procedures (Bussey-Saksida boxes) to assess effort-based choice in mice. METHODS CD1 mice were assessed on a concurrent fixed ratio 1 panel pressing/choice procedure. Mice were allowed to choose between rearing to press an elevated panel on the touchscreen for a preferred food (strawberry milkshake) vs. consuming a concurrently available less preferred alternative (high carbohydrate pellets). RESULTS The DA D2 antagonist haloperidol (0.05-0.15 mg/kg IP) produced a dose-related decrease in panel pressing. Intake of food pellets was not reduced by haloperidol, and in fact, there was a significant quadratic trend, indicating a tendency for pellet intake to increase at low/moderate doses. In contrast, reinforcer devaluation by removing food restriction substantially decreased both panel pressing and pellet intake. In free-feeding choice tests, mice strongly preferred milkshake vs. pellets. Haloperidol did not affect food intake or preference. CONCLUSION Haloperidol reduced the tendency to work for food, but this reduction was not due to decreases in primary food motivation or preference. Mouse touchscreen procedures demonstrate effects of haloperidol that are similar but not identical to those shown in rats. These rodent studies may be relevant for understanding motivational dysfunctions in humans.
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A bio-inspired model of behavior considering decision-making and planning, spatial attention and basic motor commands processes. COGN SYST RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2019.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Dopamine-Dependent Loss Aversion during Effort-Based Decision-Making. J Neurosci 2019; 40:661-670. [PMID: 31727795 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1760-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
From psychology to economics, there has been substantial interest in how costs (e.g., delay, risk) are represented asymmetrically during decision-making when attempting to gain reward or avoid punishment. For example, in decision-making under risk, individuals show a tendency to prefer to avoid punishment rather than to acquire the equivalent reward (loss aversion). Although the cost of physical effort has recently received significant attention, it remains unclear whether loss aversion exists during effort-based decision-making. On the one hand, loss aversion may be hardwired due to asymmetric evolutionary pressure on losses and gains and therefore exists across decision-making contexts. On the other hand, distinct brain regions are involved with different decision costs, making it questionable whether similar asymmetries exist. Here, we demonstrate that young healthy human participants (females, 16; males, 6) exhibit loss aversion during effort-based decision-making by exerting more physical effort to avoid punishment than to gain a same-size reward. Next, we show that medicated Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (females, 9; males, 9) show a reduction in loss aversion compared with age-matched control subjects (females, 11; males, 9). Behavioral and computational analysis revealed that people with PD exerted similar physical effort in return for a reward but were less willing to produce effort to avoid punishment. Therefore, loss aversion is present during effort-based decision-making and can be modulated by altered dopaminergic state. This finding could have important implications for our understanding of clinical disorders that show a reduced willingness to exert effort in the pursuit of reward.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Loss aversion-preferring to avoid punishment rather than to acquire equivalent reward-is an important concept in decision-making under risk. However, little is known about whether loss aversion also exists during decisions where the cost is physical effort. This is surprising given that motor cost shapes human behavior, and a reduced willingness to exert effort is a characteristic of many clinical disorders. Here, we show that healthy human individuals exert more effort to minimize punishment than to maximize reward (loss aversion). We also demonstrate that medicated Parkinson's disease patients exert similar effort to gain reward but less effort to avoid punishment when compared with healthy age-matched control subjects. This indicates that dopamine-dependent loss aversion is crucial for explaining effort-based decision-making.
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Vonder Haar C, Martens KM, Bashir A, McInnes KA, Cheng WH, Cheung H, Stukas S, Barron C, Ladner T, Welch KA, Cripton PA, Winstanley CA, Wellington CL. Repetitive closed-head impact model of engineered rotational acceleration (CHIMERA) injury in rats increases impulsivity, decreases dopaminergic innervation in the olfactory tubercle and generates white matter inflammation, tau phosphorylation and degeneration. Exp Neurol 2019; 317:87-99. [DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2019.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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Tu BX, Wang LF, Zhong XL, Hu ZL, Cao WY, Cui YH, Li SJ, Zou GJ, Liu Y, Zhou SF, Zhang WJ, Su JZ, Yan XX, Li F, Li CQ. Acute restraint stress alters food-foraging behavior in rats: Taking the easier Way while suffered. Brain Res Bull 2019; 149:184-193. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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