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Peralta-Vallejo N, Güell-Falgueras P, Cañete T, Sampedro-Viana D, Río-Álamos C, Oliveras I, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Schizophrenia-relevant social, attentional and cognitive traits in female RHA vs. RLA rats: Effects of neonatal handling. Behav Brain Res 2024; 459:114762. [PMID: 37977340 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114762] [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: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The Roman high- (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rats were bidirectionally selected and bred for, respectively, their rapid vs. extremely poor acquisition in the two-way active avoidance task. Consistent between-strain neurobehavioural differences have been found in anxiety- and stress-linked traits, as well as in schizophrenia-related phenotypes. RLAs display enhanced anxious- and stress-related phenotypes, whereas RHA rats show impulsivity, hyperactivity and attention/cognition-related impairments. Many of these typical behavioural phenotypes have been reported to be positively modulated by environmental treatments such as neonatal handling (NH). However, most studies on the Roman rat strains have been carried out in males. Thus, the present study for the first time focused on the joint evaluation of differences in novel object exploration (NOE), social interaction (SI), prepulse inhibition of the startle response (PPI), and cognitive performance and flexibility in various spatial tasks (using the Morris water maze, MWM) in females of both Roman rat strains. We also aimed at evaluating the long-lasting effects of NH treatment on the RHA vs. RLA profiles in these tests/tasks. Results show that anxiety-related behavior, as measured by the NOE test and self-grooming in the SI test, was increased in RLA rats, and dramatically reduced by NH. In the SI test RLA rats displayed diminished social interaction, which was rescued by NH. RHA females exhibited a deficit of PPI, which was not affected by NH. Spatial tasks in the MWM showed impairments of working memory, reference learning/memory and spatial reversal learning (i.e., cognitive flexibility) in RHA females. Spatial reference learning and cognitive flexibility (i.e., reversal task) showed some improvement in rats (mainly in RHAs) that had received NH during the first three weeks of life. With the exception of the SI test, the pattern of differences between female RHA vs. RLA profiles was overall consistent with what has previously been found in males of both strains, and NH treatment was able to enduringly improve some emotion-related and (spatial) cognitive outcomes in both strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Peralta-Vallejo
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pau Güell-Falgueras
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Sampedro-Viana
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristóbal Río-Álamos
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Ignasi Oliveras
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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Sønderstrup M, Batiuk MY, Mantas P, Tapias-Espinosa C, Oliveras I, Cañete T, Sampedro-Viana D, Brudek T, Rydbirk R, Khodosevich K, Fernandez-Teruel A, Elfving B, Aznar S. A maturational shift in the frontal cortex synaptic transcriptional landscape underlies schizophrenia-relevant behavioural traits: A congenital rat model. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2023; 74:32-46. [PMID: 37263043 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2023.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Disruption of brain development early in life may underlie the neurobiology behind schizophrenia. We have reported more immature synaptic spines in the frontal cortex (FC) of adult Roman High-Avoidance (RHA-I) rats, a behavioural model displaying schizophrenia-like traits. Here, we performed a whole transcriptome analysis in the FC of 4 months old male RHA-I (n=8) and its counterpart, the Roman Low-Avoidance (RLA-I) (n=8). We identified 203 significant genes with overrepresentation of genes involved in synaptic function. Next, we performed a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for genes co-expressed during neurodevelopment. Gene networks were obtained by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of a transcriptomic dataset containing human FC during lifespan (n=269). Out of thirty-one functional gene networks, six were significantly enriched in the RHA-I. These were differentially regulated during infancy and enriched in biological ontologies related to myelination, synaptic function, and immune response. We validated differential gene expression in a new cohort of adolescent (<=2 months old) and young-adult (>=3 months old) RHA-I and RLA-I rats. The results confirmed overexpression of Gsn, Nt5cd1, Ppp1r1b, and Slc9a3r1 in young-adult RHA-I, while Cables1, a regulator of Cdk5 phosphorylation in actin regulation and involved in synaptic plasticity and maturation, was significantly downregulated in adolescent RHA-I. This age-related expression change was also observed for presynaptic components Snap25 and Snap29. Our results show a different maturational expression profile of synaptic components in the RHA-I strain, supporting a shift in FC maturation underlying schizophrenia-like behavioural traits and adding construct validity to this strain as a neurodevelopmental model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Sønderstrup
- Centre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark; Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Mykhailo Y Batiuk
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Panagiotis Mantas
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark
| | - Carles Tapias-Espinosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignasi Oliveras
- Centre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark; Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Sampedro-Viana
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tomasz Brudek
- Centre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark; Center for Translational Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Rasmus Rydbirk
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Konstantin Khodosevich
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Alberto Fernandez-Teruel
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Betina Elfving
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Susana Aznar
- Centre for Neuroscience and Stereology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark; Center for Translational Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg, Denmark.
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Oliveras I, Tapias-Espinosa C, Río-Álamos C, Sampedro-Viana D, Cañete T, Sánchez-González A, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Prepulse inhibition deficits in inbred and outbred rats and between-strain differences in startle habituation do not depend on startle reactivity levels. Behav Processes 2022; 197:104618. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Fernández-Teruel A, Oliveras I, Cañete T, Rio-Álamos C, Tapias-Espinosa C, Sampedro-Viana D, Sánchez-González A, Sanna F, Torrubia R, González-Maeso J, Driscoll P, Morón I, Torres C, Aznar S, Tobeña A, Corda MG, Giorgi O. Neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental profiles of a heuristic genetic model of differential schizophrenia- and addiction-relevant features: The RHA vs. RLA rats. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:597-617. [PMID: 34571119 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The Roman High- (RHA) and Low-(RLA) avoidance rat lines/strains were generated through bidirectional selective breeding for rapid (RHA) vs. extremely poor (RLA) two-way active avoidance acquisition. Compared with RLAs and other rat strains/stocks, RHAs are characterized by increased impulsivity, deficits in social behavior, novelty-induced hyper-locomotion, impaired attentional/cognitive abilities, vulnerability to psychostimulant sensitization and drug addiction. RHA rats also exhibit decreased function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus, increased functional activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system and a dramatic deficit of central metabotropic glutamate-2 (mGlu2) receptors (due to a stop codon mutation at cysteine 407 in Grm2 -cys407*-), along with increased density of 5-HT2A receptors in the PFC, alterations of several synaptic markers and increased density of pyramidal "thin" (immature) dendrític spines in the PFC. These characteristics suggest an immature brain of RHA rats, and are reminiscent of schizophrenia features like hypofrontality and disruption of the excitation/inhibition cortical balance. RHA rats represent a promising heuristic model of neurodevelopmental schizophrenia-relevant features and comorbidity with drug addiction vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Ignasi Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Carles Tapias-Espinosa
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Sampedro-Viana
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Sánchez-González
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesco Sanna
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy
| | - Rafael Torrubia
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier González-Maeso
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | | | - Ignacio Morón
- Department of Psychobiology and Centre of Investigation of Mind, Brain, and Behaviour (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain
| | - Carmen Torres
- Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, 23071, Jaén, Spain.
| | - Susana Aznar
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg Copenhagen University Hospital, 2400, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Maria G Corda
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy.
| | - Osvaldo Giorgi
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy.
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Sampedro-Viana D, Cañete T, Sanna F, Soley B, Giorgi O, Corda MG, Torrecilla P, Oliveras I, Tapias-Espinosa C, Río-Álamos C, Sánchez-González A, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Decreased social interaction in the RHA rat model of schizophrenia-relevant features: Modulation by neonatal handling. Behav Processes 2021; 188:104397. [PMID: 33887361 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The Roman-Low (RLA) and High-Avoidance (RHA) rat strains have been bidirectionally selected and bred, respectively, for extremely poor vs. rapid acquisition of the two-way active avoidance task. Over 50 years of selective breeding have led to two strains displaying many differential specific phenotypes. While RLAs display anxious-related behaviours, RHA rats show impulsivity, and schizophrenia-like positive and cognitive symptoms or phenotypes. Neonatal handling (NH) is an environmental treatment with long-lasting anxiolytic-like and anti-stress effects. NH also reduces symptoms related to schizophrenia, such as pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) impairment and latent inhibition (LI) deficits, and improves spatial working memory and cognitive flexibility. The present work was aimed at exploring whether RHAs also display negative schizophrenia-like symptoms (or phenotypes), such as lowered preference for social interaction (i.e. asociality), and whether NH would reduce these deficits. To this aim, we evaluated naïve inbred RHA and RLA rats in a social interaction (SI) test after either long- or short-term habituation to the testing set up (studies 1-2). In Study 3 we tested untreated and NH-treated RHA and RLA rats in novel object exploration (NOE) and SI tests. Compared with RHAs, RLA rats displayed increased anxiety-related behaviours in the NOE (i.e. higher behavioural inhibition, lesser exploration of the novel object) and SI (i.e. higher levels of self-grooming) tests which were dramatically reduced by NH treatment, thus supporting the long-lasting anxiolytic-like effect of NH. Remarkably, RHA rats showed decreased social preference in the SI test compared with RLAs, evidencing that RHAs would present a relative asociality, which is thought to model some negative symptomatology (i.e. social withdrawal) of schizophrenia. NH increased absolute levels of social behaviour in both strains, but with a more marked effect in RHA rats, especially in the first 5 min of the SI test. Thus, it is hypothesized that, apart from its effects on anxiety-related behaviours, NH might have long-lasting positive effects on behavioural and neurobiological processes that are impaired in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sampedro-Viana
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesco Sanna
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy
| | - Bernat Soley
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Osvaldo Giorgi
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy
| | - Maria G Corda
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), University of Cagliari, Italy
| | - Pilar Torrecilla
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignasi Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Tapias-Espinosa
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Ana Sánchez-González
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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6
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Sánchez-González A, Thougaard E, Tapias-Espinosa C, Cañete T, Sampedro-Viana D, Saunders JM, Toneatti R, Tobeña A, Gónzalez-Maeso J, Aznar S, Fernández-Teruel A. Increased thin-spine density in frontal cortex pyramidal neurons in a genetic rat model of schizophrenia-relevant features. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 44:79-91. [PMID: 33485732 PMCID: PMC7902438 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The cellular mechanisms altered during brain wiring leading to cognitive disturbances in neurodevelopmental disorders remain unknown. We have previously reported altered cortical expression of neurodevelopmentally regulated synaptic markers in a genetic animal model of schizophrenia-relevant behavioral features, the Roman-High Avoidance rat strain (RHA-I). To further explore this phenotype, we looked at dendritic spines in cortical pyramidal neurons, as changes in spine density and morphology are one of the main processes taking place during adolescence. An HSV-viral vector carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) was injected into the frontal cortex (FC) of a group of 11 RHA-I and 12 Roman-Low Avoidance (RLA-I) male rats. GFP labeled dendrites from pyramidal cells were 3D reconstructed and number and types of spines quantified. We observed an increased spine density in the RHA-I, corresponding to a larger fraction of immature thin spines, with no differences in stubby and mushroom spines. Glia cells, parvalbumin (PV) and somatostatin (SST) interneurons and surrounding perineuronal net (PNN) density are known to participate in FC and pyramidal neuron dendritic spine maturation. We determined by stereological-based quantification a significantly higher number of GFAP-positive astrocytes in the FC of the RHA-I strain, with no difference in microglia (Iba1-positive cells). The number of inhibitory PV, SST interneurons or PNN density, on the contrary, was unchanged. Results support our belief that the RHA-I strain presents a more immature FC, with some structural features like those observed during adolescence, adding construct validity to this strain as a genetic behavioral model of neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sánchez-González
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - E Thougaard
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg Copenhagen University Hospital, 2400 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - C Tapias-Espinosa
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - T Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Sampedro-Viana
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J M Saunders
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - R Toneatti
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - A Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Gónzalez-Maeso
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - S Aznar
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg Copenhagen University Hospital, 2400 Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Center for Translational Research, Bispebjerg Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - A Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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Fernández-Teruel A, Tobeña A. Revisiting the role of anxiety in the initial acquisition of two-way active avoidance: pharmacological, behavioural and neuroanatomical convergence. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:739-758. [PMID: 32916193 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Two-way active avoidance (TWAA) acquisition constitutes a particular case of approach -avoidance conflict for laboratory rodents. The present article reviews behavioural, psychopharmacological and neuroanatomical evidence accumulated along more than fifty years that provides strong support to the contention that anxiety is critical in the transition from CS (conditioned stimulus)-induced freezing to escape/avoidance responses during the initial stages of TWAA acquisition. Thus, anxiolytic drugs of different types accelerate avoidance acquisition, anxiogenic drugs impair it, and avoidance during these initial acquisition stages is negatively associated with other typical measures of anxiety. In addition behavioural and developmental treatments that reduce or increase anxiety/stress respectively facilitate or impair TWAA acquisition. Finally, evidence for the regulation of TWAA acquisition by septo-hippocampal and amygdala-related mechanisms is discussed. Collectively, the reviewed evidence gives support to the initial acquisition of TWAA as a paradigm with considerable predictive and (in particular) construct validity as an approach-avoidance conflict-based rodent anxiety model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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Differential expression of synaptic markers regulated during neurodevelopment in a rat model of schizophrenia-like behavior. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 95:109669. [PMID: 31228641 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.109669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. Recent reports relate synaptic alterations with disease etiology. The inbred Roman High- (RHA-I) and Low- (RLA-I) Avoidance rat strains are a congenital neurobehavioral model, with the RHA-I displaying schizophrenia-related behaviors and serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) and metabotropic glutamate 2 (mGlu2) receptor alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We performed a comprehensive characterization of the RHA-I/RLA-I rats by real-time qPCR and Western blotting for 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, mGlu2, dopamine 1 and dopamine 2 receptors (DRD1 and DRD2), AMPA receptor subunits Gria1, Gria2 and NMDA receptor subunits Grin1, Grin2a and Grin2b, as well as pre- and post-synaptic components in PFC and hippocampus (HIP). Besides corroborating decreased mGlu2 (Grm2) expression, we found increased mRNA levels for Snap25, Synaptophysin (Syp), Homer1 and Neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) in the PFC of the RHA-I and decreased expression of Vamp1, and Snapin in the HIP. We also showed alterations in Vamp1, Grin2b, Syp, Snap25 and Nrg1 at protein levels. mRNA levels of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) were increased in the PFC of the RHA-I rats, with no differences in the HIP, while BDNF protein levels were decreased in PFC and increased in HIP. To investigate the temporal dynamics of these synaptic markers during neurodevelopment, we made use of the open source BrainCloud™ dataset, and found that SYP, GRIN2B, NRG1, HOMER1, DRD1 and BDNF expression is upregulated in PFC during childhood and adolescence, suggesting a more immature neurobiological endophenotype in the RHA-I strain.
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Sánchez-González A, Oliveras I, Río-Álamos C, Piludu MA, Gerbolés C, Tapias-Espinosa C, Tobeña A, Aznar S, Fernández-Teruel A. Dissociation between schizophrenia-relevant behavioral profiles and volumetric brain measures after long-lasting social isolation in Roman rats. Neurosci Res 2019; 155:43-55. [PMID: 31306676 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2019.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Social isolation rearing of rodents is an environmental manipulation known to induce or potentiate psychotic-like symptoms and attentional and cognitive impairments relevant for schizophrenia. When subjected to a 28-week isolation rearing treatment, the Roman high-avoidance (RHA-I) rats display the common behavioral social isolation syndrome, with prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits, hyperactivity, increased anxiety responses and learning/memory impairments when compared to their low-avoidance (RLA-I) counterparts. These results add face validity to the RHA-I rats as an animal model for schizophrenia-relevant behavioral and cognitive profiles and confirm previous results. The aim here was to further investigate the neuroanatomical effects of the isolation rearing, estimated through volume differences in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), dorsal striatum (dSt) and hippocampus (HPC). Results showed a global increase in volume in the mPFC in the isolated rats of both strains, as well as strain effects (RLA > RHA) in the three brain regions. These unexpected but robust results, might have unveiled some kind of compensatory mechanisms due to the particularly long-lasting isolation rearing period, much longer than those commonly used in the literature (which usually range from 4 to 12 weeks).
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sánchez-González
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - I Oliveras
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - C Río-Álamos
- Dept. Psychology, School of Medicine, Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - M A Piludu
- Dept. of Life and Environmental Sciences, Section of Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - C Gerbolés
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - C Tapias-Espinosa
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Tobeña
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - S Aznar
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - A Fernández-Teruel
- Dept. Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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Giorgi O, Corda MG, Fernández-Teruel A. A Genetic Model of Impulsivity, Vulnerability to Drug Abuse and Schizophrenia-Relevant Symptoms With Translational Potential: The Roman High- vs. Low-Avoidance Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:145. [PMID: 31333426 PMCID: PMC6624787 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The bidirectional selective breeding of Roman high- (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rats for respectively rapid vs. poor acquisition of active avoidant behavior has generated two lines/strains that differ markedly in terms of emotional reactivity, with RHA rats being less fearful than their RLA counterparts. Many other behavioral traits have been segregated along the selection procedure; thus, compared with their RLA counterparts, RHA rats behave as proactive copers in the face of aversive conditions, display a robust sensation/novelty seeking (SNS) profile, and show high impulsivity and an innate preference for natural and drug rewards. Impulsivity is a multifaceted behavioral trait and is generally defined as a tendency to express actions that are poorly conceived, premature, highly risky or inappropriate to the situation, that frequently lead to unpleasant consequences. High levels of impulsivity are associated with several neuropsychiatric conditions including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and drug addiction. Herein, we review the behavioral and neurochemical differences between RHA and RLA rats and survey evidence that RHA rats represent a valid genetic model, with face, construct, and predictive validity, to investigate the neural underpinnings of behavioral disinhibition, novelty seeking, impulsivity, vulnerability to drug addiction as well as deficits in attentional processes, cognitive impairments and other schizophrenia-relevant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osvaldo Giorgi
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Maria G Corda
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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11
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Río-Álamos C, Piludu MA, Gerbolés C, Barroso D, Oliveras I, Sánchez-González A, Cañete T, Tapias-Espinosa C, Sampedro-Viana D, Torrubia R, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Volumetric brain differences between the Roman rat strains: Neonatal handling effects, sensorimotor gating and working memory. Behav Brain Res 2019; 361:74-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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12
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Tapias-Espinosa C, Río-Álamos C, Sampedro-Viana D, Gerbolés C, Oliveras I, Sánchez-González A, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Increased exploratory activity in rats with deficient sensorimotor gating: a study of schizophrenia-relevant symptoms with genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS and Roman rat strains. Behav Processes 2018; 151:96-103. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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13
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Esnal A, Sánchez-González A, Río-Álamos C, Oliveras I, Cañete T, Blázquez G, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Prepulse inhibition and latent inhibition deficits in Roman high-avoidance vs. Roman low-avoidance rats: Modeling schizophrenia-related features. Physiol Behav 2016; 163:267-273. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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14
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Oliveras I, Sánchez-González A, Piludu MA, Gerboles C, Río-Álamos C, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Divergent effects of isolation rearing on prepulse inhibition, activity, anxiety and hippocampal-dependent memory in Roman high- and low-avoidance rats: A putative model of schizophrenia-relevant features. Behav Brain Res 2016; 314:6-15. [PMID: 27478139 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.07.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Social isolation of rats induces a constellation of behavioral alterations known as "isolation syndrome" that are consistent with some of the positive and cognitive symptoms observed in schizophrenic patients. In the present study we have assessed whether isolation rearing of inbred Roman high-avoidance (RHA-I) and Roman low-avoidance (RLA-I) strains can lead to the appearance of some of the key features of the "isolation syndrome", such as prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits, increased anxious behavior, hyperactivity and memory/learning impairments. Compared to RLA-I rats, the results show that isolation rearing (IR) in RHA-I rats has a more profound impact, as they exhibit isolation-induced PPI deficits, increased anxiety, hyperactivity and long-term reference memory deficits, while isolated RLA-I rats only exhibit deficits in a spatial working memory task. These results give further support to the validity of RHA-I rats as a genetically-based model of schizophrenia relevant-symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignasi Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Ana Sánchez-González
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria Antonietta Piludu
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Section of Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Cristina Gerboles
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristóbal Río-Álamos
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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15
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Río-Ȧlamos C, Oliveras I, Cañete T, Blázquez G, Martínez-Membrives E, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Neonatal handling decreases unconditioned anxiety, conditioned fear, and improves two-way avoidance acquisition: a study with the inbred Roman high (RHA-I)- and low-avoidance (RLA-I) rats of both sexes. Front Behav Neurosci 2015. [PMID: 26217201 PMCID: PMC4498386 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study evaluated the long-lasting effects of neonatal handling (NH; administered during the first 21 days of life) on unlearned and learned anxiety-related responses in inbred Roman High- (RHA-I) and Low-avoidance (RLA-I) rats. To this aim, untreated and neonatally-handled RHA-I and RLA-I rats of both sexes were tested in the following tests/tasks: a novel object exploration (NOE) test, the elevated zero maze (ZM) test, a “baseline acoustic startle” (BAS) test, a “context-conditioned fear” (CCF) test and the acquisition of two-way active—shuttle box—avoidance (SHAV). RLA-I rats showed higher unconditioned (novel object exploration test -“NOE”-, elevated zero maze test -“ZM”-, BAS), and conditioned (CCF, SHAV) anxiety. NH increased exploration of the novel object in the NOE test as well as exploration of the open sections of the ZM test in both rat strains and sexes, although the effects were relatively more marked in the (high anxious) RLA-I strain and in females. NH did not affect BAS, but reduced CCF in both strains and sexes, and improved shuttle box avoidance acquisition especially in RLA-I (and particularly in females) and in female RHA-I rats. These are completely novel findings, which indicate that even some genetically-based anxiety/fear-related phenotypes can be significantly modulated by previous environmental experiences such as the NH manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristóbal Río-Ȧlamos
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignasi Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gloria Blázquez
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Martínez-Membrives
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
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16
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Oliveras I, Río-Álamos C, Cañete T, Blázquez G, Martínez-Membrives E, Giorgi O, Corda MG, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Prepulse inhibition predicts spatial working memory performance in the inbred Roman high- and low-avoidance rats and in genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rats: relevance for studying pre-attentive and cognitive anomalies in schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:213. [PMID: 26347624 PMCID: PMC4539526 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal models of schizophrenia-relevant symptoms are increasingly important for progress in our understanding of the neurobiological basis of the disorder and for discovering novel and more specific treatments. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) and working memory, which are impaired in schizophrenic patients, are among the symptoms/processes modeled in those animal analogs. We have evaluated whether a genetically-selected rat model, the Roman high-avoidance inbred strain (RHA-I), displays PPI deficits as compared with its Roman low-avoidance (RLA-I) counterpart and the genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rat stock. We have investigated whether PPI deficits predict spatial working memory impairments (in the Morris water maze; MWM) in these three rat types (Experiment 1), as well as in a separate sample of NIH-HS rats stratified according to their extreme (High, Medium, Low) PPI scores (Experiment 2). The results from Experiment 1 show that RHA-I rats display PPI and spatial working memory deficits compared to both RLA-I and NIH-HS rats. Likewise, in Experiment 2, "Low-PPI" NIH-HS rats present significantly impaired working memory with respect to "Medium-PPI" and "High-PPI" NIH-HS subgroups. Further support to these results comes from correlational, factorial, and multiple regression analyses, which reveal that PPI is positively associated with spatial working memory performance. Conversely, cued learning in the MWM was not associated with PPI. Thus, using genetically-selected and genetically heterogeneous rats, the present study shows, for the first time, that PPI is a positive predictor of performance in a spatial working memory task. These results may have translational value for schizophrenia symptom research in humans, as they suggest that either by psychogenetic selection or by focusing on extreme PPI scores from a genetically heterogeneous rat stock, it is possible to detect a useful (perhaps "at risk") phenotype to study cognitive anomalies linked to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignasi Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Ignasi Oliveras and Alberto Fernández-Teruel, Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain ;
| | - Cristóbal Río-Álamos
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Toni Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Gloria Blázquez
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Martínez-Membrives
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Osvaldo Giorgi
- Section of Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of CagliariCagliari, Italy
| | - Maria G. Corda
- Section of Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Nutraceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of CagliariCagliari, Italy
| | - Adolf Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Ignasi Oliveras and Alberto Fernández-Teruel, Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain ;
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