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Inactivation of the Basolateral Amygdala to Insular Cortex Pathway Makes Sign-Tracking Sensitive to Outcome Devaluation. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0156-22.2022. [PMID: 36127135 PMCID: PMC9522321 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0156-22.2022] [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: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Goal-tracking (GT) rats are sensitive to Pavlovian outcome devaluation while sign-tracking (ST) rats are devaluation insensitive. During outcome devaluation, GT rats flexibly modify responding to cues based on the current value of the associated outcome. However, ST rats rigidly respond to cues regardless of the current outcome value. Prior work demonstrated disconnection of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and anterior insular cortex (aIC) decreased both GT and ST behaviors. Given the role of these regions in appetitive motivation and behavioral flexibility, we predicted that disrupting BLA to aIC pathway during outcome devaluation would reduce flexibility in GT rats and reduce rigid appetitive motivation in ST rats. We inhibited the BLA to aIC pathway by infusing inhibitory DREADDs (hM4Di-mcherry) or control (mCherry) virus into the BLA and implanted cannulae into the aIC to inhibit BLA terminals using intracranial injections of clozapine N-oxide (CNO). After training, we used a within-subject satiety-induced outcome devaluation procedure in which we sated rats on training pellets (devalued condition) or homecage chow (valued condition). All rats received bilateral CNO infusions into the aIC before brief nonreinforced test sessions. Contrary to our hypothesis, BLA-IC inhibition did not interfere with devaluation sensitivity in GT rats but did make ST behaviors sensitive to devaluation. Intermediate rats showed the opposite effect, showing rigid responding to cues with BLA-aIC pathway inactivation. Together, these results demonstrate BLA-IC projections mediate tracking-specific Pavlovian devaluation sensitivity and highlights the importance of considering individual differences in Pavlovian approach when evaluating circuitry contributions to behavioral flexibility.
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Woon EP, Butkovich LM, Peluso AA, Elbasheir A, Taylor K, Gourley SL. Medial orbitofrontal neurotrophin systems integrate hippocampal input into outcome-specific value representations. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111334. [PMID: 36103822 PMCID: PMC9799221 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In everyday life, we mentally represent possible consequences of our behaviors and integrate specific outcome values into existing knowledge to inform decisions. The medial orbitofrontal cortex (MO) is necessary to adapt behaviors when outcomes are not immediately available-when they and their values need to be envisioned. Nevertheless, neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. We find that the neuroplasticity-associated neurotrophin receptor tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) is necessary for mice to integrate outcome-specific value information into choice behavior. This function appears attributable to memory updating (and not retrieval) and the stabilization of dendritic spines on excitatory MO neurons, which led us to investigate inputs to the MO. Ventral hippocampal (vHC)-to-MO projections appear conditionally necessary for value updating, involved in long-term aversion-based value memory updating. Furthermore, vHC-MO-mediated control of choice is TrkB dependent. Altogether, we reveal a vHC-MO connection by which specific value memories are updated, and we position TrkB within this functional circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen P Woon
- Graduate Training Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Laura M Butkovich
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Arianna A Peluso
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Aziz Elbasheir
- Graduate Training Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Kian Taylor
- Graduate Training Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Shannon L Gourley
- Graduate Training Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Monfils MH, Lee HJ, Cofresí RU, Gonzales RA. Friend recollections, and a collection of collaborations with Nadia. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:954906. [PMID: 35967900 PMCID: PMC9372569 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.954906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In this selective review article, we showcase our collaborations with our colleague, Dr. Nadia Chaudhri. Dr. Chaudhri was an esteemed colleague and researcher who contributed greatly to our understanding of Pavlovian alcohol conditioning. From 2014 to 2019, we collaborated with Nadia. Here, we reflect on our friendship, the work we did together, and the continued impact on the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-H. Monfils
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Marie-H. Monfils,
| | - Hongjoo J. Lee
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Roberto U. Cofresí
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Rueben A. Gonzales
- College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
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Pribut HJ, Sciarillo XA, Roesch MR. Insula lesions reduce stimulus-driven control of behavior during odor-guided decision-making and autoshaping. Brain Res 2022; 1785:147885. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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de Landeta AB, Pereyra M, Miranda M, Bekinschtein P, Medina JH, Katche C. Functional connectivity of anterior retrosplenial cortex in object recognition memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 186:107544. [PMID: 34737148 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recognition memory can rely on three components: "what", "where" and "when". Recently we demonstrated that the anterior retrosplenial cortex (aRSC), like the perirhinal cortex (PRH) and unlike the hippocampus (HP), is required for consolidation of the "what" component. Here, we aimed at studying which brain structures interact with the aRSC to process object recognition (OR) memory in rats. We studied the interaction of six brain structures that are connected to the aRSC during OR memory processing: PRH, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anteromedial thalamic nuclei (AM), medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsal HP (dHP). We previously described the role of the PRH and dHP, so we first studied the participation of the mPFC, AM, MEC and ACC in OR memory consolidation by bilateral microinfusions of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol. We observed an impairment in OR long-term memory (LTM) when inactivating the mPFC, the AM and the MEC, but not the ACC. Then, we studied the functional connections by unilateral inactivation of the aRSC and each one of the six structures in the same (ipsilateral) or the opposite (contralateral) hemisphere. Our results showed an amnesic LTM effect in rats with ipsilateral inactivations of aRSC-PRH, aRSC-mPFC, aRSC-AM, or aRSC-MEC. On the other hand, we observed memory impairment when aRSC-ACC were inactivated in opposite hemispheres, and no effect when the aRSC-dHP connection was inactivated. Thus, our ipsilateral inactivation findings reveal that the aRSC and, at least one brain region required in OR LTM processing are essential to consolidate OR memory. In conclusion, our results show that several cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic pathways are important for OR memory consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Belén de Landeta
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. E. De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magdalena Pereyra
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. E. De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magdalena Miranda
- Laboratorio de Memoria y Cognición Molecular, Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional, CONICET-Fundación INECO-Universidad Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pedro Bekinschtein
- Laboratorio de Memoria y Cognición Molecular, Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional, CONICET-Fundación INECO-Universidad Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jorge H Medina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. E. De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cynthia Katche
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. E. De Robertis" (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Better living through understanding the insula: Why subregions can make all the difference. Neuropharmacology 2021; 198:108765. [PMID: 34461066 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Insula function is considered critical for many motivated behaviors, with proposed functions ranging from attention, behavioral control, emotional regulation, goal-directed and aversion-resistant responding. Further, the insula is implicated in many neuropsychiatric conditions including substance abuse. More recently, multiple insula subregions have been distinguished based on anatomy, connectivity, and functional contributions. Generally, posterior insula is thought to encode more somatosensory inputs, which integrate with limbic/emotional information in middle insula, that in turn integrate with cognitive processes in anterior insula. Together, these regions provide rapid interoceptive information about the current or predicted situation, facilitating autonomic recruitment and quick, flexible action. Here, we seek to create a robust foundation from which to understand potential subregion differences, and provide direction for future studies. We address subregion differences across humans and rodents, so that the latter's mechanistic interventions can best mesh with clinical relevance of human conditions. We first consider the insula's suggested roles in humans, then compare subregional studies, and finally describe rodent work. One primary goal is to encourage precision in describing insula subregions, since imprecision (e.g. including both posterior and anterior studies when describing insula work) does a disservice to a larger understanding of insula contributions. Additionally, we note that specific task details can greatly impact recruitment of various subregions, requiring care and nuance in design and interpretation of studies. Nonetheless, the central ethological importance of the insula makes continued research to uncover mechanistic, mood, and behavioral contributions of paramount importance and interest. This article is part of the special Issue on 'Neurocircuitry Modulating Drug and Alcohol Abuse'.
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Garceau C, Samaha AN, Cordahi T, Servonnet A, Khoo SYS. Metabotropic group II glutamate receptors in the basolateral amygdala mediate cue-triggered increases in incentive motivation. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:2905-2917. [PMID: 34223950 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05907-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Reward-associated cues can trigger incentive motivation for reward and invigorate reward-seeking behaviour via Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). Glutamate signaling within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) modulates cue-triggered increases in incentive motivation. However, the role of BLA metabotropic group II glutamate (mGlu2/3) receptors is largely unknown. OBJECTIVES In Experiment 1, we characterized cue-triggered increases in incentive motivation for water reward using the PIT paradigm. In Experiment 2, we assessed the influence of intra-BLA microinjections of the mGlu2/3 receptor agonist LY379268 on this effect. METHODS Water-restricted male Sprague-Dawley rats learned to press a lever for water. Separately, they learned to associate one of two auditory cues with free water. On test days, rats could lever press under extinction conditions (no water), with intermittent, non-contingent CS+ and CS- presentations. In Experiment 1, rats were tested under baseline conditions. In Experiment 2, rats received intra-BLA microinjections of LY379268 (0, 3 and 6 [Formula: see text]g/hemisphere) before testing. RESULTS Across experiments, CS+, but not CS-, presentations increased water-associated lever pressing during testing, even though responding was reinforced neither by water nor the CS+. Intra-BLA LY379268 abolished both CS+ potentiated pressing on the water-associated lever and CS+ evoked conditioned approach to the site of water delivery. LY379268 did not influence locomotion or instrumental and Pavlovian response rates during intervals between CS presentations or during the CS-, indicating no motor effects. CONCLUSIONS mGlu2/3 receptor activity in the BLA mediates cue-triggered potentiation of incentive motivation for reward, suppressing both cue-induced increases in instrumental pursuit of the reward and anticipatory approach behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Garceau
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Anne-Noël Samaha
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada. .,CNS Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada.
| | - Thomas Cordahi
- Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Alice Servonnet
- Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Shaun Yon-Seng Khoo
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada
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McCool BA. Ethanol modulation of cortico-basolateral amygdala circuits: Neurophysiology and behavior. Neuropharmacology 2021; 197:108750. [PMID: 34371080 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This review highlights literature relating the anatomy, physiology, and behavioral contributions by projections between rodent prefrontal cortical areas and the basolateral amygdala. These projections are robustly modulated by both environmental experience and exposure to drugs of abuse including ethanol. Recent literature relating optogenetic and chemogenetic dissection of these circuits within behavior both compliments and occasionally challenges roles defined by more traditional pharmacological or lesion-based approaches. In particular, cortico-amygdala circuits help control both aversive and reward-seeking. Exposure to pathology-producing environments or abused drugs dysregulates the relative 'balance' of these outcomes. Modern circuit-based approaches have also shown that overlapping populations of neurons within a given brain region frequently govern both aversion and reward-seeking. In addition, these circuits often dramatically influence 'local' cortical or basolateral amygdala excitatory or inhibitory circuits. Our understanding of these neurobiological processes, particularly in relation to ethanol research, has just begun and represents a significant opportunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A McCool
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
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Abstract
Abstract
Purpose of Review
Current theories of alcohol use disorders (AUD) highlight the importance of Pavlovian and instrumental learning processes mainly based on preclinical animal studies. Here, we summarize available evidence for alterations of those processes in human participants with AUD with a focus on habitual versus goal-directed instrumental learning, Pavlovian conditioning, and Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigms.
Recent Findings
The balance between habitual and goal-directed control in AUD participants has been studied using outcome devaluation or sequential decision-making procedures, which have found some evidence of reduced goal-directed/model-based control, but little evidence for stronger habitual responding. The employed Pavlovian learning and PIT paradigms have shown considerable differences regarding experimental procedures, e.g., alcohol-related or conventional reinforcers or stimuli.
Summary
While studies of basic learning processes in human participants with AUD support a role of Pavlovian and instrumental learning mechanisms in the development and maintenance of drug addiction, current studies are characterized by large variability regarding methodology, sample characteristics, and results, and translation from animal paradigms to human research remains challenging. Longitudinal approaches with reliable and ecologically valid paradigms of Pavlovian and instrumental processes, including alcohol-related cues and outcomes, are warranted and should be combined with state-of-the-art imaging techniques, computational approaches, and ecological momentary assessment methods.
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da Silva SP, Williams AM. Translations in Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing: Autoshaping of Learner Vocalizations. Perspect Behav Sci 2020; 43:57-103. [PMID: 32440645 PMCID: PMC7198677 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-019-00228-9] [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: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) is a procedure used by behavior analysis practitioners that capitalizes on respondent conditioning processes to elicit vocalizations. These procedures usually are implemented only after other, more customary methods (e.g., standard echoic training via modeling) have been exhausted. Unfortunately, SSP itself has mixed research support, probably because certain as-yet-unidentified procedural variations are more effective than others. Even when SSP produces (or increases) vocalizations, its effects can be short-lived. Although specific features of SSP differ across published accounts, fundamental characteristics include presentation of a vocal stimulus proximal with presentation of a preferred item. In the present article, we draw parallels between SSP procedures and autoshaping, review factors shown to affect autoshaping, and interpret autoshaping research for suggested SSP tests and applications. We then call for extended use and reporting of SSP in behavior-analytic treatments. Finally, three bridges created by this article are identified: basic-applied, respondent-operant, and behavior analysis with other sciences.
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Overt Attention toward Appetitive Cues Enhances Their Subjective Value, Independent of Orbitofrontal Cortex Activity. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0230-19.2019. [PMID: 31554663 PMCID: PMC6825958 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0230-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural representations of value underlie many behaviors that are crucial for survival. Previously, we found that value representations in primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) are modulated by attention, specifically, by overt shifts of gaze toward or away from reward-associated visual cues (McGinty et al., 2016). Here, we investigate the influence of overt attention on behavior by asking how gaze shifts correlate with reward anticipatory responses and whether activity in OFC mediates this correlation. Macaque monkeys viewed pavlovian conditioned appetitive cues on a visual display, while the fraction of time they spent looking toward or away from the cues was measured using an eye tracker. Also measured during cue presentation were the reward anticipation, indicated by conditioned licking responses (CRs), and single-neuron activity in OFC. In general, gaze allocation predicted subsequent licking responses: the longer the monkeys spent looking at a cue at a given time point in a trial, the more likely they were to produce an anticipatory CR later in that trial, as if the subjective value of the cue were increased. To address neural mechanisms, mediation analysis measured the extent to which the gaze–CR correlation could be statistically explained by the concurrently recorded firing of OFC neurons. The resulting mediation effects were indistinguishable from chance. Therefore, while overt attention may increase the subjective value of reward-associated cues (as revealed by anticipatory behaviors), the underlying mechanism remains unknown, as does the functional significance of gaze-driven modulation of OFC value signals.
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Alcohol-associated antecedent stimuli elicit alcohol seeking in non-dependent rats and may activate the insula. Alcohol 2019; 76:91-102. [PMID: 30612041 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 07/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol self-administration produces brain and behavior adaptations that facilitate a progressive loss of control over drinking and contribute to relapse. One possible adaptation is the ability of antecedent environmental stimuli that are consistently paired with alcohol to trigger alcohol-seeking behaviors. We previously modeled this adaptation in rats using a Pavlovian conditioning procedure in which illumination of a houselight preceded the presentation of a sipper tube that produced unsweetened alcohol when licked. However, in our previous work we did not demonstrate whether this adaptation represented a consequence of repeated exposure to alcohol or the houselight, or whether it was the consequence of associative learning and memory. Thus, in the present study, we tested the associative basis of alcohol seeking in response to houselight illumination in our task using adult male rats that were not food- or water-deprived and were not dependent on alcohol. Separate groups of rats received houselight illumination that was explicitly paired or unpaired with presentation of the retractable sipper that provided access to unsweetened alcohol. Our primary dependent variable was appetitive alcohol-directed behavior: the frequency of movement toward and interaction with the hole in the wall of the chamber through which the sipper was presented during the period of houselight illumination trial before each sipper presentation. However, we also analyzed consummatory sipper licking behavior and blood ethanol concentration in the same rats. Finally, we explored the brain basis of cue-elicited alcohol seeking using c-Fos immunohistochemistry. Our findings confirmed the associative basis of cue-elicited alcohol seeking in our paradigm and mapped these onto the insular cortex, suggesting a role for this brain region in early stages of brain and behavior adaptation to regular alcohol use.
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Campbell EJ, Flanagan JPM, Walker LC, Hill MKRI, Marchant NJ, Lawrence AJ. Anterior Insular Cortex is Critical for the Propensity to Relapse Following Punishment-Imposed Abstinence of Alcohol Seeking. J Neurosci 2019; 39:1077-1087. [PMID: 30509960 PMCID: PMC6363928 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1596-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Revised: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans with alcohol use disorder typically abstain because of the negative consequences associated with excessive drinking, and exposure to contexts previously associated with alcohol use can trigger relapse. We used a rat model that captures a characteristic of this human condition: namely voluntary abstinence from alcohol use because of contingent punishment. There is substantial variability in the propensity to relapse following extended periods of abstinence, and this is a critical feature preventing the successful treatment of alcohol use disorder. Here we examined relapse following acute or prolonged abstinence. In male alcohol preferring P rats, we found an increased propensity to relapse in Context B, the punishment context after prolonged abstinence. Next, we found that neither alcohol intake history nor the motivational strength of alcohol predicted the propensity to relapse. We next examined the putative circuitry of context-induced relapse to alcohol seeking following prolonged abstinence using Fos as a marker of neuronal activation. The anterior insular cortex (AI) was the only brain region examined where Fos expression correlated with alcohol seeking behavior in Context B after prolonged abstinence. Finally, we used local infusion of GABAA and GABAB receptor agonists (muscimol + baclofen) to show a causal role of the AI in context-induced relapse in Context B, the punishment context after prolonged abstinence. Our results show that there is substantial individual variability in the propensity to relapse in the punishment-associated context after prolonged abstinence, and this is mediated by activity in the AI.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A key feature of alcohol use disorder is that sufferers show an enduring propensity to relapse throughout their lifetime. Relapse typically occurs despite the knowledge of adverse consequences including health complications or relationship breakdowns. Here we use a recently developed rodent model that recapitulates this behavior. After an extended period of abstinence, relapse propensity is markedly increased in the "adverse consequence" environment, akin to humans with alcohol use disorder relapsing in the face of adversity. From a circuitry perspective, we demonstrate a causal role of the anterior insular cortex in relapse to alcohol seeking after extended abstinence following punishment imposed voluntary cessation of alcohol use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin J Campbell
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia,
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
| | - Jeremy P M Flanagan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
| | - Leigh C Walker
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
| | - Mitchell K R I Hill
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
| | - Nathan J Marchant
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1081 HZ, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew J Lawrence
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia,
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, and
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