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Role of hippocampal NF-κB and GluN2B in the memory acquisition impairment of experiences gathered prior to cocaine administration in rats. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20033. [PMID: 34625609 PMCID: PMC8501066 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99448-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cocaine can induce severe neurobehavioral changes, among others, the ones involved in learning and memory processes. It is known that during drug consumption, cocaine-associated memory and learning processes take place. However, much less is known about the effects of this drug upon the mechanisms involved in forgetting.The present report focuses on the mechanisms by which cocaine affects memory consolidation of experiences acquired prior to drug administration. We also study the involvement of hippocampus in these processes, with special interest on the role of Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor 2B (GluN2B), and their relationship with other proteins, such as cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB). For this purpose, we developed a rat experimental model of chronic cocaine administration in which spatial memory and the expression or activity of several proteins in the hippocampus were assessed after 36 days of drug administration. We report an impairment in memory acquisition of experiences gathered prior to cocaine administration, associated to an increase in GluN2B expression in the hippocampus. We also demonstrate a decrease in NF-κB activity, as well as in the expression of the active form of CREB, confirming the role of these transcription factors in the cocaine-induced memory impairment.
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García-Pardo MP, De la Rubia Ortí JE, Aguilar Calpe MA. Differential effects of MDMA and cocaine on inhibitory avoidance and object recognition tests in rodents. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 146:1-11. [PMID: 29081371 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Revised: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Drug addiction continues being a major public problem faced by modern societies with different social, health and legal consequences for the consumers. Consumption of psychostimulants, like cocaine or MDMA (known as ecstasy) are highly prevalent and cognitive and memory impairments have been related with the abuse of these drugs. AIM The aim of this work was to review the most important data of the literature in the last 10 years about the effects of cocaine and MDMA on inhibitory avoidance and object recognition tests in rodents. DEVELOPMENT The object recognition and the inhibitory avoidance tests are popular procedures used to assess different types of memory. We compare the effects of cocaine and MDMA administration in these tests, taking in consideration different factors such as the period of life development of the animals (prenatal, adolescence and adult age), the presence of polydrug consumption or the role of environmental variables. Brain structures involved in the effects of cocaine and MDMA on memory are also described. CONCLUSIONS Cocaine and MDMA induced similar impairing effects on the object recognition test during critical periods of lifetime or after abstinence of prolonged consumption in adulthood. Deficits of inhibitory avoidance memory are observed only in adult rodents exposed to MDMA. Psychostimulant abuse is a potential factor to induce memory impairments and could facilitate the development of future neurodegenerative disorders.
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Fole A, Miguéns M, Morales L, González-Martín C, Ambrosio E, Del Olmo N. Lewis and Fischer 344 rats as a model for genetic differences in spatial learning and memory: Cocaine effects. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 76:49-57. [PMID: 28263897 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Lewis (LEW) and Fischer 344 (F344) rats are considered a model of genetic vulnerability to drug addiction. We previously showed important differences in spatial learning and memory between them, but in contrast with previous experiments demonstrating cocaine-induced enhanced learning in Morris water maze (MWM) highly demanding tasks, the eight-arm radial maze (RAM) performance was not modified either in LEW or F344 rats after chronic cocaine treatment. In the present work, chronically cocaine-treated LEW and F344 adult rats have been evaluated in learning and memory performance using the Y-maze, two RAM protocols that differ in difficulty, and a reversal protocol that tests cognitive flexibility. After one of the RAM protocols, we quantified dendritic spine density in hippocampal CA1 neurons and compared it to animals treated with cocaine but not submitted to RAM. LEW cocaine treated rats showed a better performance in the Y maze than their saline counterparts, an effect that was not evident in the F344 strain. F344 rats significantly took more time to learn the RAM task and made a greater number of errors than LEW animals in both protocols tested, whereas cocaine treatment induced deleterious effects in learning and memory in the highly difficult protocol. Moreover, hippocampal spine density was cocaine-modulated in LEW animals whereas no effects were found in F344 rats. We propose that differences in addictive-like behavior between LEW and F344 rats could be related to differences in hippocampal learning and memory processes that could be on the basis of individual vulnerability to cocaine addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Fole
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Spain
| | - Miguel Miguéns
- Departamento de Psicología Básica I, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain
| | - Lidia Morales
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Spain
| | - Carmen González-Martín
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Spain
| | - Emilio Ambrosio
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain
| | - Nuria Del Olmo
- Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y de la Salud, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Spain.
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Fole A, Martin M, Morales L, Del Olmo N. Effects of chronic cocaine treatment during adolescence in Lewis and Fischer-344 rats: Novel location recognition impairment and changes in synaptic plasticity in adulthood. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2015; 123:179-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Revised: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Tau GZ, Marsh R, Wang Z, Torres-Sanchez T, Graniello B, Hao X, Xu D, Packard MG, Duan Y, Kangarlu A, Martinez D, Peterson BS. Neural correlates of reward-based spatial learning in persons with cocaine dependence. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:545-55. [PMID: 23917430 PMCID: PMC3895231 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2012] [Revised: 07/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/08/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Dysfunctional learning systems are thought to be central to the pathogenesis of and impair recovery from addictions. The functioning of the brain circuits for episodic memory or learning that support goal-directed behavior has not been studied previously in persons with cocaine dependence (CD). Thirteen abstinent CD and 13 healthy participants underwent MRI scanning while performing a task that requires the use of spatial cues to navigate a virtual-reality environment and find monetary rewards, allowing the functional assessment of the brain systems for spatial learning, a form of episodic memory. Whereas both groups performed similarly on the reward-based spatial learning task, we identified disturbances in brain regions involved in learning and reward in CD participants. In particular, CD was associated with impaired functioning of medial temporal lobe (MTL), a brain region that is crucial for spatial learning (and episodic memory) with concomitant recruitment of striatum (which normally participates in stimulus-response, or habit, learning), and prefrontal cortex. CD was also associated with enhanced sensitivity of the ventral striatum to unexpected rewards but not to expected rewards earned during spatial learning. We provide evidence that spatial learning in CD is characterized by disturbances in functioning of an MTL-based system for episodic memory and a striatum-based system for stimulus-response learning and reward. We have found additional abnormalities in distributed cortical regions. Consistent with findings from animal studies, we provide the first evidence in humans describing the disruptive effects of cocaine on the coordinated functioning of multiple neural systems for learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Z Tau
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rachel Marsh
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zhishun Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tania Torres-Sanchez
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Barbara Graniello
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xuejun Hao
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dongrong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark G Packard
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Yunsuo Duan
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alayar Kangarlu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Diana Martinez
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Division on Substance Abuse, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bradley S Peterson
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
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Miguéns M, Kastanauskaite A, Coria SM, Selvas A, Ballesteros-Yañez I, DeFelipe J, Ambrosio E. The effects of cocaine self-administration on dendritic spine density in the rat hippocampus are dependent on genetic background. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 25:56-65. [PMID: 23966583 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to cocaine induces modifications to neurons in the brain regions involved in addiction. Hence, we evaluated cocaine-induced changes in the hippocampal CA1 field in Fischer 344 (F344) and Lewis (LEW) rats, 2 strains that have been widely used to study genetic predisposition to drug addiction, by combining intracellular Lucifer yellow injection with confocal microscopy reconstruction of labeled neurons. Specifically, we examined the effects of cocaine self-administration on the structure, size, and branching complexity of the apical dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons. In addition, we quantified spine density in the collaterals of the apical dendritic arbors of these neurons. We found differences between these strains in several morphological parameters. For example, CA1 apical dendrites were more branched and complex in LEW than in F344 rats, while the spine density in the collateral dendrites of the apical dendritic arbors was greater in F344 rats. Interestingly, cocaine self-administration in LEW rats augmented the spine density, an effect that was not observed in the F344 strain. These results reveal significant structural differences in CA1 pyramidal cells between these strains and indicate that cocaine self-administration has a distinct effect on neuron morphology in the hippocampus of rats with different genetic backgrounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Miguéns
- Departamento de Psicología Básica I, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), C/ Juan del Rosal n° 10, Madrid 28040, Spain Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
| | - Asta Kastanauskaite
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
| | - Santiago M Coria
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, UNED, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Abraham Selvas
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, UNED, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | | | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid 28002, Spain and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain
| | - Emilio Ambrosio
- Departamento de Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, UNED, Madrid 28040, Spain
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Iñiguez SD, Charntikov S, Baella SA, Herbert MS, Bolaños-Guzmán CA, Crawford CA. Post-training cocaine exposure facilitates spatial memory consolidation in C57BL/6 mice. Hippocampus 2011; 22:802-13. [PMID: 21542053 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/25/2011] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we examined the ability of post-training injections of cocaine to facilitate spatial memory performance using the Morris water maze (MWM). We also investigated the role that hippocampal protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK) signaling may play in cocaine-mediated spatial memory consolidation processes. Male and female C57BL/6 mice were first trained in a MWM task (eight consecutive trials) then injected with cocaine (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, or 20 mg/kg), and memory for the platform location was retested after a 24 h delay. Cocaine had a dose-dependent effect on spatial memory performance because only the mice receiving 2.5 mg/kg cocaine displayed a significant reduction in latency to locate the platform. No sex differences in MWM performance were observed; however, females showed higher hippocampal levels of PKA when compared with males. A second experiment demonstrated that 2.5 mg/kg cocaine enhanced MWM performance only when administered within 2, but not 4 h after spatial training. We also found that cocaine (2.5 mg/kg) increased ERK2 phosphorylation within the hippocampus and one of its downstream targets (ribosomal S6 kinase), a mechanism that may be responsible, at least in part, for the enhanced cocaine-mediated spatial memory performance. Overall, these data demonstrate that a low dose of cocaine (2.5 mg/kg) administered within 2 h after training facilitates MWM spatial memory performance in C57BL/6 mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio D Iñiguez
- Department of Psychology, California State University, San Bernardino, California 92407, USA
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Effects of chronic cocaine administration on spatial learning and hippocampal spine density in two genetically different strains of rats. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2011; 95:491-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2011.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2010] [Revised: 02/03/2011] [Accepted: 02/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Cognitive enhancers for facilitating drug cue extinction: insights from animal models. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2011; 99:229-44. [PMID: 21295059 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2010] [Revised: 12/23/2010] [Accepted: 01/24/2011] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Given the success of cue exposure (extinction) therapy combined with a cognitive enhancer for reducing anxiety, it is anticipated that this approach will prove more efficacious than exposure therapy alone in preventing relapse in individuals with substance use disorders. Several factors may undermine the efficacy of exposure therapy for substance use disorders, but we suspect that neurocognitive impairments associated with chronic drug use are an important contributing factor. Numerous insights on these issues are gained from research using animal models of addiction. In this review, the relationship between brain sites whose learning, memory and executive functions are impaired by chronic drug use and brain sites that are important for effective drug cue extinction learning is explored first. This is followed by an overview of animal research showing improved treatment outcome for drug addiction (e.g. alcohol, amphetamine, cocaine, heroin) when explicit extinction training is conducted in combination with acute dosing of a cognitive-enhancing drug. The mechanism by which cognitive enhancers are thought to exert their benefits is by facilitating consolidation of drug cue extinction memory after activation of glutamatergic receptors. Based on the encouraging work in animals, factors that may be important for the treatment of drug addiction are considered.
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Perez MF, Gabach LA, Almiron RS, Carlini VP, De Barioglio SR, Ramirez OA. Different chronic cocaine administration protocols induce changes on dentate gyrus plasticity and hippocampal dependent behavior. Synapse 2010; 64:742-53. [PMID: 20698030 DOI: 10.1002/syn.20788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampus is a limbic structure that participates in learning and memory formation. Specifically the dentate gyrus has been described as a hippocampal subregion with high rates of plasticity and it is targeted by different psychoactive drugs modulating synaptic plasticity. Repeated cocaine administration induces sensitization to the locomotor effects and it is believed that sensitization involves the same mechanisms of drug seeking and relapse. Although, the mechanisms underlying sensitization is not fully understood. In this work we investigated the impact of repeated intraperitoneal administration of cocaine (15 or 20 mg/kg/day along 5 or 15 days respectively; and 15 mg/kg/day along 5 day followed by a challenge dose after three days of withdrawal) on the dentate gyrus synaptic plasticity, differentiating between sensitized and nonsensitized rats. Furthermore, we correlated changes on the hippocampal synaptic plasticity to memory retention. Our results revealed that the prevalence of cocaine sensitization (around 50%) was identical in all protocols used. The results found in the threshold to generate LTP were similar for all protocols used, being the threshold values cocaine-treated groups (sensitized and nonsensitized) significantly reduced compared to controls, observing the highest reduction in the sensitized group. Moreover, we observed a facilitated retention of recent memory formation only in sensitized animals the nonsensitized subjects remained at the control levels. In conclusion, sensitization to cocaine generates a high efficiency of hippocampal synaptic plasticity that may underlie the aberrant engagement of learning processes occurred during drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Perez
- IFEC, Conicet, Departamento de Farmacologia, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Unc, Haya de la Torre Y Medina Allende, 5000, Cordoba, Argentina.
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Gabriele A, Setlow B, Packard MG. Cocaine self-administration alters the relative effectiveness of multiple memory systems during extinction. Learn Mem 2009; 16:296-9. [PMID: 19389915 PMCID: PMC2683006 DOI: 10.1101/lm.1253409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2008] [Accepted: 03/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Rats were trained to run a straight-alley maze for an oral cocaine or sucrose vehicle solution reward, followed by either response or latent extinction training procedures that engage neuroanatomically dissociable "habit" and "cognitive" memory systems, respectively. In the response extinction condition, rats performed a runway approach response to an empty fluid well. In the latent extinction condition, rats were placed at the empty fluid well without performing a runway approach response. Rats trained with the sucrose solution displayed normal extinction behavior in both conditions. In contrast, rats trained with the cocaine solution showed normal response extinction but impaired latent extinction. The selective impairment of latent extinction indicates that oral cocaine self-administration alters the relative effectiveness of multiple memory systems during subsequent extinction training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Gabriele
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
| | - Barry Setlow
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
| | - Mark G. Packard
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
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Motor-skill learning in a novel running-wheel task is dependent on D1 dopamine receptors in the striatum. Neuroscience 2008; 153:249-58. [PMID: 18343588 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.01.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2007] [Revised: 01/24/2008] [Accepted: 01/28/2008] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Evidence indicates that dopamine receptors regulate processes of procedural learning in the sensorimotor striatum. Our previous studies revealed that the indirect dopamine receptor agonist cocaine alters motor-skill learning-associated gene regulation in the sensorimotor striatum. Cocaine-induced gene regulation in the striatum is principally mediated by D1 dopamine receptors. We investigated the effects of cocaine and striatal D1 receptor antagonism on motor-skill learning. Rats were trained on a running wheel (40-60 min, 2-5 days) to learn a new motor skill, that is, the ability to control the movement of the wheel. Immediately before each training session, the animals received an injection of vehicle or cocaine (25 mg/kg, i.p.), and/or the D1 receptor antagonist SCH-23390 (0, 3, 10 microg/kg, i.p., or 0, 0.3, 1 microg, intrastriatal via chronically implanted cannula). The animal's ability to control/balance the moving wheel (wheel skill) was tested before and repeatedly after the training. Normal wheel-skill memory lasted for at least 4 weeks. Cocaine administered before the training tended to attenuate skill learning. Systemic administration of SCH-23390 alone also impaired skill learning. However, cocaine given in conjunction with the lower SCH-23390 dose (3 microg/kg) reversed the inhibition of skill learning produced by the D1 receptor antagonist, enabling intact skill performance during the whole post-training period. In contrast, when cocaine was administered with the higher SCH-23390 dose (10 microg/kg), skill performance was normalized 1-6 days after the training, but these rats lost their improved wheel skill by day 18 after the training. Similar effects were produced by SCH-23390 (0.3-1 microg) infused into the striatum. Our results indicate that cocaine interferes with normal motor-skill learning, which seems to be dependent on optimal D1 receptor signaling. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that D1 receptors in the striatum are critical for consolidation of long-term skill memory.
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Del Olmo N, Higuera-Matas A, Miguéns M, García-Lecumberri C, Ambrosio E. Cocaine self-administration improves performance in a highly demanding water maze task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2007; 195:19-25. [PMID: 17641875 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-007-0873-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2006] [Accepted: 06/22/2007] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Long-term potentiation (LTP) is considered to be a cellular substrate of learning and memory. Indeed, the involvement of LTP-like mechanisms in spatial learning has consistently been demonstrated in the Morris water maze test. We have previously shown that hippocampal LTP in Lewis rats was modulated by cocaine self-administration, although the performance of cocaine-self-administered rats in the Morris water maze was not altered. OBJECTIVE Given that the ease of the task previously used could have masked any possible effects of the cocaine-induced LTP enhancement on spatial learning, a new and more difficult water maze task was devised to address this issue. MATERIALS AND METHODS Animals self-administered cocaine (1 mg/kg) or saline under a fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement for 22 days. Spatial learning was assessed in a difficult water maze task (four sessions, two trials per session with a 90-min intertrial interval), and spatial memory was also evaluated 48 h after training (a 90-s test). Additionally, reversal learning and perseverance were also studied. RESULTS There was a reduced latency in finding the hidden platform during training, as well as improved memory of the platform location in cocaine-self-administered rats with respect to animals that self-administered saline. No differences were observed in reversal learning or perseverance between groups. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that cocaine self-administration facilitates learning and memory in the water maze test only when animals are submitted to highly demanding tasks, involving working memory or consolidation-like processes during the intertrial interval.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Del Olmo
- Departamento Psicobiología, Facultad de Psicología, UNED, C/ Juan del Rosal no 10, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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Mendez IA, Montgomery KS, LaSarge CL, Simon NW, Bizon JL, Setlow B. Long-term effects of prior cocaine exposure on Morris water maze performance. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2007; 89:185-91. [PMID: 17904876 PMCID: PMC2258220 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2007.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2007] [Revised: 07/27/2007] [Accepted: 08/15/2007] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine addiction is associated with long-term cognitive alterations including deficits on tests of declarative/spatial learning and memory. To determine the extent to which cocaine exposure plays a causative role in these deficits, adult male Long-Evans rats were given daily injections of cocaine (30 mg/kg/day x 14 days) or saline vehicle. Three months later, rats were trained for 6 sessions on a Morris water maze protocol adapted from Gallagher, Burwell, and Burchinal [Gallagher, M., Burwell, R., & Burchinal, M. (1993). Severity of spatial learning impairment in aging: development of a learning index for performance in the Morris water maze. Behavioral Neuroscience, 107, 618-626]. Rats given prior cocaine exposure performed similarly to controls on training trials, but searched farther from the platform location on probe trials interpolated throughout the training sessions and showed increased thigmotaxis. The results demonstrate that a regimen of cocaine exposure can impair Morris water maze performance as long as 3 months after exposure. Although the impairments were not consistent with major deficits in spatial learning and memory, they may have resulted from cocaine-induced increases in stress responsiveness and/or anxiety. Increased stress and anxiety would be expected to increase thigmotaxis as well as cause impairments in searching for the platform location, possibly through actions on ventral striatal dopamine signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian A. Mendez
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
| | | | - Candi L. LaSarge
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
| | - Nicholas W. Simon
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
| | - Jennifer L. Bizon
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
- Faculty of Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
| | - Barry Setlow
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
- Faculty of Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843−4235
- Corresponding author: Barry Setlow, Ph.D. Behavioral and Cellular Neuroscience Program Department of Psychology Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843−4235 Telephone: (979) 845−2507 Fax: (979) 845−4727
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Del Olmo N, Higuera-Matas A, Miguéns M, García-Lecumberri C, Borcel E, Solís JM, Ambrosio E. Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity and Water Maze Learning in Cocaine Self-Administered Rats. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2006; 1074:427-37. [PMID: 17105941 DOI: 10.1196/annals.1369.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Previously, we have shown that long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus of Lewis rats was significantly modulated by cocaine self-administration. Using a single train of high-frequency stimulation of 100 Hz for 1s (HFS), we found an enhancement of LTP after cocaine self-administration that was maintained even during the extinction of this behavior. However, the effects of cocaine self-administration on a hippocampal-dependent spatial learning task were unknown. Therefore, in the present study our first objective was to analyze if cocaine self-administration might affect the performance in a hippocampus-dependent task, such as the Morris water maze test. Male adult Lewis (LEW) rats self-administered cocaine (1 mg/kg/injection) or saline (0.9% NaCl) for 3 weeks. Three hours after finishing the last self-administration session, animals were submitted to Morris water maze training for 3 consecutives days. A memory test was carried out 24 h after the last training session. No significant differences were found in escape latencies and time spent in the quadrant where the platform was located during training. Given that we did not find any cocaine effect on this spatial learning task, our second objective was to estimate indirectly if brain cocaine levels have failed to modulate LTP in animals that were performing the water maze trials. To this end, we tested if cocaine application to hippocampal slices of naïve subjects was able to evoke LTP. The results indicated that cocaine produced an enhanced LTP in these hippocampal slices. Taking together, the results of the present study suggest that hippocampal LTP-like processes generated after cocaine self-administration are not related to spatial learning hippocampal-dependent tasks, such as the water maze test.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Del Olmo
- Fac. Psicología, Dpto. Psicobiología, UNED, C/ Juan del Rosal n10, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Romieu P, Lucas M, Maurice T. Sigma1 receptor ligands and related neuroactive steroids interfere with the cocaine-induced state of memory. Neuropsychopharmacology 2006; 31:1431-43. [PMID: 16132061 DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The present series of experiments examined the involvement of the sigma(1) receptor and related neuroactive steroids in the memory state induced by a very low dose of cocaine. Using a modified passive avoidance procedure in mice, we examined whether cocaine induces state-dependent (StD) learning. Animals trained and tested with saline or the same dose of cocaine (0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg) showed correct retention, measured using two independent parameters: the retention latency and a ratio between the retention latency and the last training latency. Animals trained with cocaine (0.1 mg/kg) and tested with saline or cocaine (0.03, 0.3 mg/kg), or trained with saline and tested with cocaine, showed altered retention parameters, demonstrating that StD occurred. Therefore, cocaine administered before training produced a chemical state used as an endogenous cue to insure optimal retention. Since sigma(1) receptor activation is an important event during the acquisition of cocaine reward, we tested several sigma(1) ligands and related neurosteroids. The sigma(1) agonist igmesine or antagonist BD1047 failed to produce StD, but modified the cocaine state. Among neuroactive steroids, pregnanolone and allopregnanolone, positive modulators of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor, produced StD. However, steroids also acting as sigma(1) agonists, dehydroepiandrosterone (3beta-hydroxy-5alpha-androsten-17-one (DHEA)), pregnenolone, or antagonist, progesterone, failed to induce StD but modified the cocaine state. Furthermore, optimal retention was observed with mice trained with (igmesine or DHEA)+cocaine and tested with a higher dose of cocaine, or with mice trained with (BD1047 or progesterone)+cocaine and tested with vehicle. This study demonstrated that: (i) low doses of cocaine induce a chemical state/memory trace sustaining StD; (ii) modulation of the sigma(1) receptor activation, although insufficient to provoke StD, modulates the cocaine state; (iii) neuroactive steroids exert a unique role in state-dependent vs state-independent learning, via GABA(A) or sigma(1) receptor modulation, and are able to affect the cocaine-induced mnesic trace at low brain concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Romieu
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology Group, INSERM U. 336, Institut de Biologie, Montpellier, France
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Quinton MS, Gerak LR, Moerschbaecher JM, Winsauer PJ. Interaction of cocaine with positive GABAA modulators on the repeated acquisition and performance of response sequences in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 181:217-26. [PMID: 15778875 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-005-2241-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2004] [Accepted: 02/15/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Although positive GABA(A) modulators can attenuate several cocaine-induced behavioral effects, there is a paucity of data on their interaction with cocaine on transition behavior or learning. OBJECTIVES The current study examined the effects of cocaine (3.2-32 mg/kg), pregnanolone (3.2-24 mg/kg), and lorazepam (0.1-10 mg/kg) alone and in combination in rats responding under a multiple schedule of repeated acquisition and performance. METHODS In the acquisition component, subjects acquired a different three-response sequence each session, whereas in the performance component, they responded on the same three-response sequence each session. RESULTS All three drugs produced dose-dependent rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects. Cocaine was the least effective in decreasing rates and the most effective in increasing the percentage of errors. In combination with pregnanolone (3.2 or 10 mg/kg), the rate-decreasing effects of cocaine were relatively unchanged in both components, but 3.2 mg/kg of pregnanolone enhanced its error-increasing effects and the 10-mg/kg dose produced a significant dose-dependent interaction on errors. The combination of cocaine with lorazepam (0.32 mg/kg, 70-min pretreatment) produced significantly greater rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects than cocaine alone. A 15-min pretreatment with the same dose of lorazepam enhanced the error-increasing effects of small doses and attenuated the effects of larger doses of cocaine. Combinations of pregnanolone and lorazepam produced greater rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects in both components than either drug alone. CONCLUSIONS The present data show that cocaine is more disruptive to learning in rats than pregnanolone or lorazepam, and that the disruptive effects of cocaine can be enhanced by CNS depressants.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S Quinton
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, 70123-1393, USA
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Russig H, Durrer A, Yee BK, Murphy CA, Feldon J. The acquisition, retention and reversal of spatial learning in the morris water maze task following withdrawal from an escalating dosage schedule of amphetamine in wistar rats. Neuroscience 2003; 119:167-79. [PMID: 12763078 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(03)00045-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of amphetamine withdrawal in rats on spatial learning in the water maze. A schedule of repeated d-amphetamine administration lasting for 6 days, with three injections per day (1-5 mg/kg, i.p.), was employed. Experiment 1 demonstrated that amphetamine withdrawal did not impair the acquisition of the water maze task (third to fourth withdrawal days), but amphetamine-withdrawn rats made more target-zone visits and reached the former location of the platform quicker than controls during the probe test (fifth withdrawal day). In experiment 2, retention of the location of the escape platform was assessed in animals having been pre-trained on the water maze task before treatment. On the third withdrawal day, retention of the former platform location was assessed in a probe test. Retention was only clearly seen in the measure of target zone visits, and performance did not differ between groups. Next, the animals were trained to escape to a new location in the water maze on withdrawal days 4-5. A reversal effect could be discerned across the first four trials, as evident by the animals' tendency to search in the former target quadrant. This interfered with the new learning, but amphetamine-withdrawn animals appeared to overcome it more rapidly than saline-treated controls. This finding is consistent with the view that amphetamine withdrawal can enhance behavioural switching, which could be expressed as a reduction of proactive interference during learning; and, it is in line with our previous finding that latent inhibition is also attenuated during amphetamine withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Russig
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Schorenstrasse 16, CH-8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
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