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Mood and behavior regulation: interaction of lithium and dopaminergic system. NAUNYN-SCHMIEDEBERG'S ARCHIVES OF PHARMACOLOGY 2023:10.1007/s00210-023-02437-1. [PMID: 36843130 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-023-02437-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2023]
Abstract
Lithium is one of the most effect mood-stabilizing drugs prescribed especially for bipolar disorder. Lithium has wide range effects on different molecular factors and neural transmission including dopaminergic signaling. On the other hand, mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic signaling is significantly involved in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. This review article aims to study lithium therapeutic mechanisms, dopaminergic signaling, and the interaction of lithium and dopamine. We concluded that acute and chronic lithium treatments often reduce dopamine synthesis and level in the brain. However, some studies have reported conflicting results following lithium treatment, especially chronic treatment. The dosage, duration, and type of lithium administration, and the brain region selected for measuring dopamine level were not significant differences in different chronic treatments used in previous studies. It was suggested that lithium has various mechanisms affecting dopaminergic signaling and mood, and that many molecular factors can be involved, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), β-catenin, protein kinase B (Akt), and glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β). Thus, molecular effects of lithium can be the most important mechanisms of lithium that also alter neural transmissions including dopaminergic signaling in mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways.
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2
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Dissociable roles of the nucleus accumbens core and shell subregions in the expression and extinction of conditioned fear. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100365. [PMID: 34355048 PMCID: PMC8319794 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc), consisting of core (NAcC) and shell (NAcS) sub-regions, has primarily been studied as a locus mediating the effects of drug reward and addiction. However, there is ample evidence that this region is also involved in regulating aversive responses, but the exact role of the NAc and its subregions in regulating associative fear processing remains unclear. Here, we investigated the specific contribution of the NAcC and NAcS in regulating both fear expression and fear extinction in C57BL/6J mice. Using Arc expression as an indicator of neuronal activity, we first show that the NAcC is specifically active only in response to an associative fear cue during an expression test. In contrast, the NAcS is specifically active during fear extinction. We next inactivated each subregion using lidocaine and demonstrated that the NAcC is necessary for fear expression, but not for extinction learning or consolidation of extinction. In contrast, we demonstrate that the NAcS is necessary for the consolidation of extinction, but not fear expression or extinction learning. Further, inactivation of mGluR1 or ERK signaling specifically in the NAcS disrupted the consolidation of extinction but had no effect on fear expression or extinction learning itself. Our data provide the first evidence for the importance of the ERK/MAPK pathway as the underlying neural mechanism facilitating extinction consolidation within the NAcS. These findings suggest that the NAc subregions play dissociable roles in regulating fear recall and the consolidation of fear extinction, and potentially implicate them as critical regions within the canonical fear circuit.
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Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Cassaday HJ, Bast T, Stevenson CW. Dopamine D1-like receptors in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex regulate contextual fear conditioning. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:1771-1782. [PMID: 30656366 PMCID: PMC6602997 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5162-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dopamine D1 receptor (D1R) signalling is involved in contextual fear conditioning. The D1R antagonist SCH23390 impairs the acquisition of contextual fear when administered systemically or infused locally into the dorsal hippocampus or basolateral amygdala. OBJECTIVES We determined if state dependency may account for the impairment in contextual fear conditioning caused by systemic SCH23390 administration. We also examined if the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and ventral hippocampus (VH) are involved in mediating the effect of systemic SCH23390 treatment on contextual fear conditioning. METHODS In experiment 1, SCH23390 (0.1 mg/kg) or vehicle was given before contextual fear conditioning and/or retrieval. In experiment 2, SCH23390 (2.5 μg/0.5 uL) or vehicle was infused locally into dmPFC, NAc, or VH before contextual fear conditioning, and retrieval was tested drug-free. Freezing was quantified as a measure of contextual fear. RESULTS In experiment 1, SCH23390 given before conditioning or before both conditioning and retrieval decreased freezing at retrieval, whereas SCH23390 given only before retrieval had no effect. In experiment 2, SCH23390 infused into dmPFC before conditioning decreased freezing at retrieval, while infusion of SCH23390 into NAc or VH had no effect. CONCLUSIONS The results of experiment 1 confirm those of previous studies indicating that D1Rs are required for the acquisition but not retrieval of contextual fear and rule out state dependency as an explanation for these findings. Moreover, the results of experiment 2 provide evidence that dmPFC is also part of the neural circuitry through which D1R signalling regulates contextual fear conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Stubbendorff
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
| | - Ed Hale
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD UK
| | - Helen J. Cassaday
- School of Psychology@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK ,School of Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK
| | - Tobias Bast
- School of Psychology@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK ,School of Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK
| | - Carl W. Stevenson
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD UK
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Pleasure: The missing link in the regulation of sleep. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 88:141-154. [PMID: 29548930 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although largely unrecognized by sleep scholars, sleeping is a pleasure. This report aims first, to fill the gap: sleep, like food, water and sex, is a primary reinforcer. The levels of extracellular mesolimbic dopamine show circadian oscillations and mark the "wanting" for pro-homeostatic stimuli. Further, the dopamine levels decrease during waking and are replenished during sleep, in opposition to sleep propensity. The wanting of sleep, therefore, may explain the homeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep. Accordingly, sleep onset occurs when the displeasure of excessive waking is maximal, coinciding with the minimal levels of mesolimbic dopamine. Reciprocally, sleep ends after having replenished the limbic dopamine levels. Given the direct relation between waking and mesolimbic dopamine, sleep must serve primarily to gain an efficient waking. Pleasant sleep (i.e. emotional sleep), can only exist in animals capable of feeling emotions. Therefore, although sleep-like states have been described in invertebrates and primitive vertebrates, the association sleep-pleasure clearly marks a difference between the sleep of homeothermic vertebrates and cool blooded animals.
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5
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Cho JH, Rendall SD, Gray JM. Brain-wide maps of Fos expression during fear learning and recall. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 24:169-181. [PMID: 28331016 PMCID: PMC5362696 DOI: 10.1101/lm.044446.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Fos induction during learning labels neuronal ensembles in the hippocampus that encode a specific physical environment, revealing a memory trace. In the cortex and other regions, the extent to which Fos induction during learning reveals specific sensory representations is unknown. Here we generate high-quality brain-wide maps of Fos mRNA expression during auditory fear conditioning and recall in the setting of the home cage. These maps reveal a brain-wide pattern of Fos induction that is remarkably similar among fear conditioning, shock-only, tone-only, and fear recall conditions, casting doubt on the idea that Fos reveals auditory-specific sensory representations. Indeed, novel auditory tones lead to as much gene induction in visual as in auditory cortex, while familiar (nonconditioned) tones do not appreciably induce Fos anywhere in the brain. Fos expression levels do not correlate with physical activity, suggesting that they are not determined by behavioral activity-driven alterations in sensory experience. In the thalamus, Fos is induced more prominently in limbic than in sensory relay nuclei, suggesting that Fos may be most sensitive to emotional state. Thus, our data suggest that Fos expression during simple associative learning labels ensembles activated generally by arousal rather than specifically by a particular sensory cue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Hyung Cho
- Genetics Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Sam D Rendall
- Genetics Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Jesse M Gray
- Genetics Department, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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6
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Joven A, Wang H, Pinheiro T, Hameed LS, Belnoue L, Simon A. Cellular basis of brain maturation and acquisition of complex behaviors in salamanders. Development 2017; 145:dev.160051. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.160051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The overall bauplan of the tetrapod brain is highly conserved, yet significant variations exist among species in terms of brain size, structural composition and cellular diversity. Understanding processes underlying neural and behavioral development in a wide range of species is important both from an evolutionary developmental perspective as well as for the identification of cell sources with post-developmental neurogenic potential. Here we characterize germinal processes in the brain of Notophthalmus viridescens and Pleurodeles waltl during both development and adulthood. Using a combination of cell tracking tools, including clonal analyses in new transgenic salamander lines we examine the origin of neural stem and progenitor cells found in the adult brain, determine regional variability in cell cycle length of progenitor cells, and show spatio-temporally orchestrated neurogenesis. We analyze how maturation of different brain regions and neuronal subpopulations are linked to the acquisition of complex behaviors, and how these behaviors are altered upon chemical ablation of dopamine neurons. Our data analyzed from an evolutionary perspective reveal both common and species-specific processes in tetrapod brain formation and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Joven
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Heng Wang
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Tiago Pinheiro
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - L. Shahul Hameed
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Laure Belnoue
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - András Simon
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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Bergamini G, Sigrist H, Ferger B, Singewald N, Seifritz E, Pryce CR. Depletion of nucleus accumbens dopamine leads to impaired reward and aversion processing in mice: Relevance to motivation pathologies. Neuropharmacology 2016; 109:306-319. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/27/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Lloyd K, Dayan P. Safety out of control: dopamine and defence. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2016; 12:15. [PMID: 27216176 PMCID: PMC4878001 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-016-0099-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We enjoy a sophisticated understanding of how animals learn to predict appetitive outcomes and direct their behaviour accordingly. This encompasses well-defined learning algorithms and details of how these might be implemented in the brain. Dopamine has played an important part in this unfolding story, appearing to embody a learning signal for predicting rewards and stamping in useful actions, while also being a modulator of behavioural vigour. By contrast, although choosing correct actions and executing them vigorously in the face of adversity is at least as important, our understanding of learning and behaviour in aversive settings is less well developed. We examine aversive processing through the medium of the role of dopamine and targets such as D2 receptors in the striatum. We consider critical factors such as the degree of control that an animal believes it exerts over key aspects of its environment, the distinction between 'better' and 'good' actual or predicted future states, and the potential requirement for a particular form of opponent to dopamine to ensure proper calibration of state values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Lloyd
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, 25 Howland Street, London, UK
| | - Peter Dayan
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, 25 Howland Street, London, UK
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9
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Early Life Stress, Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Alcohol Use Disorders. Brain Sci 2015; 5:258-74. [PMID: 26136145 PMCID: PMC4588139 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci5030258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Revised: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is a major driving force in alcohol use disorders (AUDs). It influences how much one consumes, craving intensity and whether an abstinent individual will return to harmful alcohol consumption. We are most vulnerable to the effects of stress during early development, and exposure to multiple traumatic early life events dramatically increases the risk for AUDs. However, not everyone exposed to early life stress will develop an AUD. The mechanisms determining whether an individual’s brain adapts and becomes resilient to the effects of stress or succumbs and is unable to cope with stress remain elusive. Emerging evidence suggests that neuroplastic changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) following early life stress underlie the development of AUDs. This review discusses the impact of early life stress on NAc structure and function, how these changes affect cholinergic signaling within the mesolimbic reward pathway and the role nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play in this process. Understanding the neural pathways and mechanism determining stress resilience or susceptibility will improve our ability to identify individuals susceptible to developing AUDs, formulate cognitive interventions to prevent AUDs in susceptible individuals and to elucidate and enhance potential therapeutic targets, such as the nAChRs, for those struggling to overcome an AUD.
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10
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Fulford AJ. Endogenous nociceptin system involvement in stress responses and anxiety behavior. VITAMINS AND HORMONES 2015; 97:267-93. [PMID: 25677776 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2014.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms underpinning stress-related behavior and dysfunctional events leading to the expression of neuropsychiatric disorders remain incompletely understood. Novel candidates involved in the neuromodulation of stress, mediated both peripherally and centrally, provide opportunities for improved understanding of the neurobiological basis of stress disorders and may represent targets for novel therapeutic development. This chapter provides an overview of the mechanisms by which the opioid-related peptide, nociceptin, regulates the neuroendocrine stress response and stress-related behavior. In our research, we have employed nociceptin receptor antagonists to investigate endogenous nociceptin function in tonic control over stress-induced activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Nociceptin demonstrates a wide range of functions, including modulation of psychological and inflammatory stress responses, modulation of neurotransmitter release, immune homeostasis, in addition to anxiety and cognitive behaviors. Greater appreciation of the complexity of limbic-hypothalamic neuronal networks, together with attention toward gender differences and the roles of steroid hormones, provides an opportunity for deeper understanding of the importance of the nociceptin system in the context of the neurobiology of stress and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Jane Fulford
- Centre for Comparative and Clinical Anatomy, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8EJ, United Kingdom.
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11
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Gadow KD, Pinsonneault JK, Perlman G, Sadee W. Association of dopamine gene variants, emotion dysregulation and ADHD in autism spectrum disorder. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2014; 35:1658-1665. [PMID: 24780147 PMCID: PMC4084560 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2014] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of dopaminergic gene variants with emotion dysregulation (EMD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three dopamine transporter gene (SLC6A3/DAT1) polymorphisms (intron8 5/6 VNTR, 3'-UTR 9/10 VNTR, rs27072 in the 3'-UTR) and one dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) variant (rs2283265) were selected for genotyping based on à priori evidence of regulatory activity or, in the case of DAT1 9/10 VNTR, commonly reported associations with ADHD. A sample of 110 children with ASD was assessed with a rigorously validated DSM-IV-referenced rating scale. Global EMD severity (parents' ratings) was associated with DAT1 intron8 (ηp(2)=.063) and rs2283265 (ηp(2)=.044). Findings for DAT1 intron8 were also significant for two EMD subscales, generalized anxiety (ηp(2)=.065) and depression (ηp(2)=.059), and for DRD2 rs2283265, depression (ηp(2)=.053). DRD2 rs2283265 was associated with teachers' global ratings of ADHD (ηp(2)=.052). DAT1 intron8 was associated with parent-rated hyperactivity (ηp(2)=.045) and both DAT1 9/10 VNTR (ηp(2)=.105) and DRD2 rs2283265 (ηp(2)=.069) were associated with teacher-rated inattention. These findings suggest that dopaminergic gene polymorphisms may modulate EMD and ADHD symptoms in children with ASD but require replication with larger independent samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth D Gadow
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8790, United States.
| | - Julia K Pinsonneault
- Department of Pharmacology, Center in Pharmacogenomics, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 333 West 10th Avenue, Columbus 43210, United States.
| | - Greg Perlman
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8790, United States.
| | - Wolfgang Sadee
- Department of Pharmacology, Center in Pharmacogenomics, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 333 West 10th Avenue, Columbus 43210, United States.
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Gaglio D, Capitano F, Mastrodonato A, Minicocci E, Deiana C, Fragapane P, Camilloni G, Mele A. Learning induced epigenetic modifications in the ventral striatum are necessary for long-term memory. Behav Brain Res 2014; 265:61-8. [PMID: 24525423 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Revised: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications such as histone acetylation in cortical or allocortical regions have been shown to be necessary for the formation of long-term memories. Here we investigated whether similar changes were occurring also in the ventral striatum and whether they are necessary for the consolidation of aversive memory. To this purpose we performed immediate post-training focal administrations of the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA, 5, 10 or 15 μg/side) or the DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA, 0.0625 or 0.125 μg/side) in the ventral striatum of mice trained in one-trial inhibitory avoidance task. Intra-ventral striatal SAHA administrations, immediately after training, improved memory retention. Opposite effects were found with 5-AZA. We also found that training in the one-trial inhibitory avoidance is accompanied by increased acetylation of specific residues that can be further increased by intra-VS SAHA administrations. Intra-VS 5-AZA administrations on the other hand reduced training-induced histones acetylation at the same residues. These findings imply the occurrence of histone acetylation in the ventral striatum in order to store aversive memory. Moreover, they suggest that the effects induced by the DNMT inhibitor 5-AZA may at least partially due to blockade of H3 and H4 acetylation. These results suggest that the contemporary activation of similar molecular mechanisms might be needed in different brain regions to enable the formation of long-term memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Gaglio
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Roma, Italia
| | - Fabrizio Capitano
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Centro di Ricerca in Neurobiologia "D. Bovet", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Istituto Biologia Cellulare e Neurobiologia, CNR, Roma, Italia
| | - Alessia Mastrodonato
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Centro di Ricerca in Neurobiologia "D. Bovet", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia
| | - Elisa Minicocci
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Centro di Ricerca in Neurobiologia "D. Bovet", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia
| | - Chiara Deiana
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Centro di Ricerca in Neurobiologia "D. Bovet", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia
| | - Paola Fragapane
- Istituto di Biologia e Patologia Molecolari, CNR, Roma, Italia
| | - Giorgio Camilloni
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Roma, Italia; Istituto di Biologia e Patologia Molecolari, CNR, Roma, Italia.
| | - Andrea Mele
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Centro di Ricerca in Neurobiologia "D. Bovet", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italia; Istituto Biologia Cellulare e Neurobiologia, CNR, Roma, Italia.
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Dopamine and extinction: a convergence of theory with fear and reward circuitry. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 108:65-77. [PMID: 24269353 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Revised: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 11/08/2013] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Research on dopamine lies at the intersection of sophisticated theoretical and neurobiological approaches to learning and memory. Dopamine has been shown to be critical for many processes that drive learning and memory, including motivation, prediction error, incentive salience, memory consolidation, and response output. Theories of dopamine's function in these processes have, for the most part, been developed from behavioral approaches that examine learning mechanisms in reward-related tasks. A parallel and growing literature indicates that dopamine is involved in fear conditioning and extinction. These studies are consistent with long-standing ideas about appetitive-aversive interactions in learning theory and they speak to the general nature of cellular and molecular processes that underlie behavior. We review the behavioral and neurobiological literature showing a role for dopamine in fear conditioning and extinction. At a cellular level, we review dopamine signaling and receptor pharmacology, cellular and molecular events that follow dopamine receptor activation, and brain systems in which dopamine functions. At a behavioral level, we describe theories of learning and dopamine function that could describe the fundamental rules underlying how dopamine modulates different aspects of learning and memory processes.
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14
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Ghanbarian E, Motamedi F. Ventral tegmental area inactivation suppresses the expression of CA1 long term potentiation in anesthetized rat. PLoS One 2013; 8:e58844. [PMID: 23536829 PMCID: PMC3594179 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus receives dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Modulatory effect of dopamine on hippocampal long term potentiation (LTP) has been studied before, but there are conflicting results and some limitations in previous reports. Most of these studies show a significant effect of dopamine on the late phase of LTP in CA1 area of the hippocampus, while few reports show an effect on the early phase. Moreover, they generally manipulated dopamine receptors in the hippocampus and there are few studies investigating influence of the VTA neural activity on hippocampal LTP in the intact brain. Besides, VTA neurons contain other neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA that may modify the net effect of dopamine. In this study we examined the effect of VTA reversible inactivation on the induction and maintenance of early LTP in the CA1 area of anesthetized rats, and also on different phases of learning of a passive avoidance (PA) task. We found that inactivation of the VTA by lidocaine had no effect on CA1 LTP induction and paired-pulse facilitation, but its inactivation immediately after tetanic stimulation transiently suppressed the expression of LTP. Blockade of the VTA 20 min after tetanic stimulation had no effect on the magnitude of LTP. Moreover, VTA inactivation immediately after training impaired memory in the passive avoidance task, while its blockade before or 20 min after training produced no memory deficit. It can be concluded that VTA activity has no effect on CA1 LTP induction and acquisition of PA task, but involves in the expression of LTP and PA memory consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elham Ghanbarian
- School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
- Neuroscience Research Center and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fereshteh Motamedi
- School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
- Neuroscience Research Center and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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15
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Evidence that conditioned avoidance responses are reinforced by positive prediction errors signaled by tonic striatal dopamine. Behav Brain Res 2013; 241:112-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2012] [Revised: 06/23/2012] [Accepted: 06/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Aversive stimuli differentially modulate real-time dopamine transmission dynamics within the nucleus accumbens core and shell. J Neurosci 2013; 32:15779-90. [PMID: 23136417 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3557-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although fear directs adaptive behavioral responses, how aversive cues recruit motivational neural circuitry is poorly understood. Specifically, while it is known that dopamine (DA) transmission within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is imperative for mediating appetitive motivated behaviors, its role in aversive behavior is controversial. It has been proposed that divergent phasic DA transmission following aversive events may correspond to segregated mesolimbic dopamine pathways; however, this prediction has never been tested. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to examine real-time DA transmission within NAc core and shell projection systems in response to a fear-evoking cue. In male Sprague Dawley rats, we first demonstrate that a fear cue results in decreased DA transmission within the NAc core, but increased transmission within the NAc shell. We examined whether these changes in DA transmission could be attributed to modulation of phasic transmission evoked by cue presentation. We found that cue presentation decreased the probability of phasic DA release in the core, while the same cue enhanced the amplitude of release events in the NAc shell. We further characterized the relationship between freezing and both changes in DA as well as local pH. Although we found that both analytes were significantly correlated with freezing in the NAc across the session, changes in DA were not strictly associated with freezing while basic pH shifts in the core more consistently followed behavioral expression. Together, these results provide the first real-time neurochemical evidence that aversive cues differentially modulate distinct DA projection systems.
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Whittle N, Schmuckermair C, Gunduz Cinar O, Hauschild M, Ferraguti F, Holmes A, Singewald N. Deep brain stimulation, histone deacetylase inhibitors and glutamatergic drugs rescue resistance to fear extinction in a genetic mouse model. Neuropharmacology 2013; 64:414-23. [PMID: 22722028 PMCID: PMC3474950 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2012] [Revised: 05/31/2012] [Accepted: 06/06/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are characterized by persistent, excessive fear. Therapeutic interventions that reverse deficits in fear extinction represent a tractable approach to treating these disorders. We previously reported that 129S1/SvImJ (S1) mice show no extinction learning following normal fear conditioning. We now demonstrate that weak fear conditioning does permit fear reduction during massed extinction training in S1 mice, but reveals specific deficiency in extinction memory consolidation/retrieval. Rescue of this impaired extinction consolidation/retrieval was achieved with d-cycloserine (N-methly-d-aspartate partial agonist) or MS-275 (histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor), applied after extinction training. We next examined the ability of different drugs and non-pharmacological manipulations to rescue the extreme fear extinction deficit in S1 following normal fear conditioning with the ultimate aim to produce low fear levels in extinction retrieval tests. Results showed that deep brain stimulation (DBS) by applying high frequency stimulation to the nucleus accumbens (ventral striatum) during extinction training, indeed significantly reduced fear during extinction retrieval compared to sham stimulation controls. Rescue of both impaired extinction acquisition and deficient extinction consolidation/retrieval was achieved with prior extinction training administration of valproic acid (a GABAergic enhancer and HDAC inhibitor) or AMN082 [metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu7) agonist], while MS-275 or PEPA (AMPA receptor potentiator) failed to affect extinction acquisition in S1 mice. Collectively, these data identify potential beneficial effects of DBS and various drug treatments, including those with HDAC inhibiting or mGlu7 agonism properties, as adjuncts to overcome treatment resistance in exposure-based therapies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel Whittle
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80 - 82/III, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
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18
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Differential effects of modafinil, methamphetamine, and MDMA on agonistic behavior in male mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2012; 102:215-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2012.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2011] [Revised: 04/23/2012] [Accepted: 04/28/2012] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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19
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Levita L, Hoskin R, Champi S. Avoidance of harm and anxiety: A role for the nucleus accumbens. Neuroimage 2012; 62:189-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.04.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2011] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 04/29/2012] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
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Identification of neurons specifically activated after recall of context fear conditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2012; 98:139-47. [PMID: 22820091 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2012.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2012] [Revised: 06/11/2012] [Accepted: 07/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The learning of new information and recall of that information presumably involves modification of and access to shared circuitry in the brain. However, learning and recall may involve the activation of distinct parts of that circuitry, according to the quite distinct functional differences between these two processes. Previously we examined neuronal activation following learning of context fear conditioning. Using the Fos-Tau-LacZ (FTL) transgenic mouse to label activated neurons, we identified a number of distinct populations of neurons in amygdala and hypothalamus which showed learning specific activation. These populations of neurons showed much less activation following recall. Here we ask what populations of neurons might be specifically activated following recall. We trained mice in context fear conditioning, and then looked at FTL activation following recall of context fear. We identified a number of populations of neurons which showed recall specific activation in nucleus accumbens shell, the anterio-medial bed nucleus of stria terminalis, the anterior commissural nucleus and the periventricular hypothalamic nucleus. These were all different populations of neurons compared with those activated following context fear learning. These different functional activation patterns occurring between learning and recall may reflect the different brain functions occurring between these two memory related processes.
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Abstract
As the role of dopamine in human emotional processing is unclear, we used a dynamic molecular imaging technique to examine whether striatal dopamine is released during processing of negative emotions in healthy volunteers. After volunteers have received an intravenous injection of a dopamine receptor ligand C-raclopride, they were asked to perform a task that elicited negative emotions. During task performance the ligand concentration was measured dynamically using a positron emission tomography camera. Analysis of the data indicated that the task performance is associated with dopamine release in the head of caudate and in the dorsal putamen bilaterally.
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Trainor BC. Stress responses and the mesolimbic dopamine system: social contexts and sex differences. Horm Behav 2011; 60:457-69. [PMID: 21907202 PMCID: PMC3217312 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2011] [Revised: 08/19/2011] [Accepted: 08/20/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Organisms react to threats with a variety of behavioral, hormonal, and neurobiological responses. The study of biological responses to stress has historically focused on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, but other systems such as the mesolimbic dopamine system are involved. Behavioral neuroendocrinologists have long recognized the importance of the mesolimbic dopamine system in mediating the effects of hormones on species specific behavior, especially aspects of reproductive behavior. There has been less focus on the role of this system in the context of stress, perhaps due to extensive data outlining its importance in reward or approach-based contexts. However, there is steadily growing evidence that the mesolimbic dopamine neurons have critical effects on behavioral responses to stress. Most of these data have been collected from experiments using a small number of animal model species under a limited set of contexts. This approach has led to important discoveries, but evidence is accumulating that mesolimbic dopamine responses are context dependent. Thus, focusing on a limited number of species under a narrow set of controlled conditions constrains our understanding of how the mesolimbic dopamine system regulates behavior in response to stress. Both affiliative and antagonistic social interactions have important effects on mesolimbic dopamine function, and there is preliminary evidence for sex differences as well. This review will highlight the benefits of expanding this approach, and focus on how social contexts and sex differences can impact mesolimbic dopamine stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C Trainor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Nucleus accumbens dopamine/glutamate interaction switches modes to generate desire versus dread: D(1) alone for appetitive eating but D(1) and D(2) together for fear. J Neurosci 2011; 31:12866-79. [PMID: 21900565 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1339-11.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial shell of nucleus accumbens (NAc) and its mesolimbic dopamine inputs mediate forms of fearful as well as of incentive motivation. For example, either appetitive and/or actively fearful behaviors are generated in a keyboard pattern by localized glutamate disruptions in NAc (via microinjection of the AMPA receptor antagonist DNQX) at different anatomical locations along a rostrocaudal gradient within the medial shell of rats. Rostral glutamate disruptions produce intense increases in eating, but more caudally placed disruptions produce increasingly fearful behaviors: distress vocalizations and escape attempts to human touch, and a spontaneous and directed antipredator response called defensive treading/burying. Local endogenous dopamine is required for either intense motivation to be generated by AMPA disruptions. Here we report that only endogenous local signaling at D(1) dopamine receptors is needed for rostral generation of excessive eating, potentially implicating a direct output pathway contribution. In contrast, fear generation at caudal sites requires both D(1) and D(2) signaling simultaneously, potentially implicating an indirect output pathway contribution. Finally, when motivation valence generated by AMPA disruptions at intermediate sites was flipped by manipulating environmental ambience, from mostly appetitive in a comfortable home environment to mostly fearful in a stressful environment, the roles of local D(1) and D(2) signaling in dopamine/glutamate interaction at microinjection sites also switched dynamically to match the motivation valence generated at the moment. Thus, NAc D(1) and D(2) receptors, and their associated neuronal circuits, play different and dynamic roles in enabling desire and dread to be generated by localized NAc glutamate disruptions in medial shell.
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Convergent processing of both positive and negative motivational signals by the VTA dopamine neuronal populations. PLoS One 2011; 6:e17047. [PMID: 21347237 PMCID: PMC3039659 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 01/19/2011] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have been traditionally studied for their roles in reward-related motivation or drug addiction. Here we study how the VTA dopamine neuron population may process fearful and negative experiences as well as reward information in freely behaving mice. Using multi-tetrode recording, we find that up to 89% of the putative dopamine neurons in the VTA exhibit significant activation in response to the conditioned tone that predict food reward, while the same dopamine neuron population also respond to the fearful experiences such as free fall and shake events. The majority of these VTA putative dopamine neurons exhibit suppression and offset-rebound excitation, whereas ∼25% of the recorded putative dopamine neurons show excitation by the fearful events. Importantly, VTA putative dopamine neurons exhibit parametric encoding properties: their firing change durations are proportional to the fearful event durations. In addition, we demonstrate that the contextual information is crucial for these neurons to respectively elicit positive or negative motivational responses by the same conditioned tone. Taken together, our findings suggest that VTA dopamine neurons may employ the convergent encoding strategy for processing both positive and negative experiences, intimately integrating with cues and environmental context.
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Richard JM, Berridge KC. Metabotropic glutamate receptor blockade in nucleus accumbens shell shifts affective valence towards fear and disgust. Eur J Neurosci 2011; 33:736-47. [PMID: 21198990 PMCID: PMC3039038 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07553.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Glutamatergic inputs to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) modulate both appetitive and fearful motivation. It has been suggested that pathological disturbances of glutamate signaling in NAc contribute to motivation disorders, ranging from excessive desire in drug addiction to paranoia in schizophrenia. Metabotropic glutamate receptors are of special interest, as metabotropic Group II receptor (mglu2/3) agonists have been proposed as potential treatments for both addiction and schizophrenia. Here we tested whether local mglu2/3 receptor blockade in the medial shell of the rat NAc can generate intense distortions of motivation or affect, which might model clinical dysfunction. We found that microinjection of the mglu2/3 antagonist LY341495 at sites throughout medial shell suppressed appetitive motivation to eat and drink. Simultaneously, LY341495 microinjections generated fearful motivation in the form of defensive treading or burying. To assess whether the valence shift extended into a parallel hedonic shift from affective 'liking' to 'disliking' we employed the taste reactivity test, which measures affective orofacial reactions to the sensory pleasure or displeasure of tastes. We found that LY341495 microinjections reduced positive 'liking' reactions to sucrose and enhanced 'disliking' reactions. Overall, mglu2/3 antagonism at most shell sites produced a similar valence shift from positive to negative. This pattern comprised (i) generation of fearful behaviors, and (ii) induction of aversive affective reactions, together with (iii) loss of appetitive ingestion and (iv) loss of 'liking' for rewards. These results are discussed in terms of implications for clinical disorders and the influence of corticolimbic glutamate inputs to NAc in the generation of motivation and affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyn M Richard
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Bromberg-Martin ES, Matsumoto M, Hikosaka O. Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting. Neuron 2011; 68:815-34. [PMID: 21144997 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1421] [Impact Index Per Article: 109.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/29/2010] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Midbrain dopamine neurons are well known for their strong responses to rewards and their critical role in positive motivation. It has become increasingly clear, however, that dopamine neurons also transmit signals related to salient but nonrewarding experiences such as aversive and alerting events. Here we review recent advances in understanding the reward and nonreward functions of dopamine. Based on this data, we propose that dopamine neurons come in multiple types that are connected with distinct brain networks and have distinct roles in motivational control. Some dopamine neurons encode motivational value, supporting brain networks for seeking, evaluation, and value learning. Others encode motivational salience, supporting brain networks for orienting, cognition, and general motivation. Both types of dopamine neurons are augmented by an alerting signal involved in rapid detection of potentially important sensory cues. We hypothesize that these dopaminergic pathways for value, salience, and alerting cooperate to support adaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan S Bromberg-Martin
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
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Hsu DT, Langenecker SA, Kennedy SE, Zubieta JK, Heitzeg MM. fMRI BOLD responses to negative stimuli in the prefrontal cortex are dependent on levels of recent negative life stress in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Res 2010; 183:202-8. [PMID: 20685091 PMCID: PMC2938037 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2009] [Revised: 12/04/2009] [Accepted: 12/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
It is poorly understood how stressors modulate neurobiological mechanisms that may contribute to the heterogeneity of major depressive disorder (MDD). Unmedicated patients diagnosed with MDD (n=15) and individually matched healthy controls (n=15) completed stress questionnaires and were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing emotional words. Significant effects of recent negative life stressors, but not early life stress/trauma, were observed on regional blood oxygen level dependent activity during presentation of negative words in patients with MDD. No significant effects of stress on brain activation to negative words were found in controls. In MDD patients, positive correlations were found bilaterally in orbitofrontal areas 11 l/47/12m, which are involved in representing negatively valenced stimuli. Negative correlations were also found in the right ventrolateral prefrontal area 45, subgenual cingulate area 25, and nucleus accumbens, all of which are implicated in the pathophysiology of MDD. Negative memory bias was additionally positively associated with recent negative life stress and negatively associated with subgenual cingulate activation, suggesting a mechanism by which stress may contribute to these abnormalities. The severity of recent negative life stressors is an important modifier of neurobiological and cognitive function in MDD and may help explain heterogeneity in the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- David T. Hsu
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Scott A. Langenecker
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Susan E. Kennedy
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jon-Kar Zubieta
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Mary M. Heitzeg
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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28
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Carvalho AF, Reyes ARS, Sterling RC, Unterwald E, Van Bockstaele EJ. Contribution of limbic norepinephrine to cannabinoid-induced aversion. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2010; 211:479-91. [PMID: 20602088 PMCID: PMC3272334 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-1923-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2010] [Accepted: 06/15/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The cannabinoid system has risen to the forefront in the development of novel treatments for a number of pathophysiological processes. However, significant side effects have been observed in clinical trials raising concerns regarding the potential clinical utility of cannabinoid-based agents. Understanding the neural circuits and neurochemical substrates impacted by cannabinoids will provide a better means of gaging their actions within the central nervous system that may contribute to the expression of unwanted side effects. OBJECTIVES In the present study, we investigated whether norepinephrine (NE) in the limbic forebrain is a critical determinant of cannabinoid receptor agonist-induced aversion and anxiety in rats. METHODS An immunotoxin lesion approach was combined with behavioral analysis using a place conditioning paradigm and the elevated zero maze. RESULTS Our results show that the non-selective CB1/CB2 receptor agonist, WIN 55,212-2, produced a significant place aversion in rats. Further, NE in the nucleus accumbens was critical for WIN 55,212-2-induced aversion but did not affect anxiety-like behaviors. Depletion of NE from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis was ineffective in altering WIN 55,212-2-induced aversion and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that limbic, specifically accumbal, NE is required for cannabinoid-induced aversion but is not essential to cannabinoid-induced anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Franky Carvalho
- Neuroscience, Farber Institute for Neurosciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
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29
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Saulskaya NB, Fofonova NV, Sudorgina PV. Activation of the NO-ergic system of the nucleus accumbens on presentation of contextual danger signals. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 40:907-12. [PMID: 20683778 DOI: 10.1007/s11055-010-9344-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2009] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Studies in Sprague-Dawley rats using intracerebral microdialysis combined with HPLC showed that presentation of the animals with a chamber in which they had previously acquired a conditioned reflex fear reaction (combination of a tone and electric shocks) led to increases in extracellular citrulline (a co-product of NO synthesis) in the medial segment of the nucleus accumbens. This increase was prevented by local administration of the NO synthase inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (0.5 mM). The increase was significantly smaller in amplitude than the increase in the citrulline level induced by combined presentation of the tone and the chamber but was no different from changes in citrulline levels seen during this test in the lateral segment of the nucleus accumbens. These data provide evidence that contextual danger signals activate neuronal NO synthase in the medial and perhaps the lateral segments of the nucleus accumbens, leading to increases in extracellular citrulline and, probably, increased NO production in this part of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- N B Saulskaya
- Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 6 Makarov Bank, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia.
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30
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Knapska E, Maren S. Reciprocal patterns of c-Fos expression in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala after extinction and renewal of conditioned fear. Learn Mem 2009; 16:486-93. [PMID: 19633138 DOI: 10.1101/lm.1463909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
After extinction of conditioned fear, memory for the conditioning and extinction experiences becomes context dependent. Fear is suppressed in the extinction context, but renews in other contexts. This study characterizes the neural circuitry underlying the context-dependent retrieval of extinguished fear memories using c-Fos immunohistochemistry. After fear conditioning and extinction to an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS), rats were presented with the extinguished CS in either the extinction context or a second context, and then sacrificed. Presentation of the CS in the extinction context yielded low levels of conditioned freezing and induced c-Fos expression in the infralimbic division of the medial prefrontal cortex, the intercalated nuclei of the amygdala, and the dentate gyrus (DG). In contrast, presentation of the CS outside of the extinction context yielded high levels of conditioned freezing and induced c-Fos expression in the prelimbic division of the medial prefrontal cortex, the lateral and basolateral nuclei of the amygdala, and the medial division of the central nucleus of the amygdala. Hippocampal areas CA1 and CA3 exhibited c-Fos expression when the CS was presented in either context. These data suggest that the context specificity of extinction is mediated by prefrontal modulation of amygdala activity, and that the hippocampus has a fundamental role in contextual memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewelina Knapska
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Which cue to "want?" Central amygdala opioid activation enhances and focuses incentive salience on a prepotent reward cue. J Neurosci 2009; 29:6500-13. [PMID: 19458221 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3875-08.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) helps translate learning into motivation, and here, we show that opioid stimulation of CeA magnifies and focuses learned incentive salience onto a specific reward cue (pavlovian conditioned stimulus, or CS). This motivation enhancement makes that cue more attractive, noticeable, and liable to elicit appetitive and consummatory behaviors. To reveal the focusing of incentive salience, we exploited individual differences in an autoshaping paradigm in which a rat prefers to approach, nibble, and sniff one of two reward-associated stimuli (its prepotent stimulus). The individually prepotent cue is either a predictive CS+ that signals reward (8 s metal lever insertion) or instead the metal cup that delivers sucrose pellets (the reward source). Results indicated that CeA opioid activation by microinjection of the mu agonist DAMGO (0.1 microg) selectively and reversibly enhanced the attractiveness of whichever reward CS was that rat's prepotent cue. CeA DAMGO microinjections made rats more vigorously approach their particular prepotent CS and to energetically sniff and nibble it in a nearly frenzied consummatory manner. Only the prepotent cue was enhanced as an incentive target, and alternative cues were not enhanced. Conversely, inactivation of CeA by muscimol microinjection (0.25 microg) suppressed approach, nibbles, and sniffs of the prepotent CS. Confirming modulation of incentive salience, unconditioned food intake was similarly increased by DAMGO microinjection and decreased by muscimol in CeA. We conclude that opioid neurotransmission in CeA helps determine which environmental stimuli become most "wanted," and how "wanted" they become. This may powerfully guide reward-seeking behavior.
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Cohen MX, Axmacher N, Lenartz D, Elger CE, Sturm V, Schlaepfer TE. Good vibrations: cross-frequency coupling in the human nucleus accumbens during reward processing. J Cogn Neurosci 2009; 21:875-89. [PMID: 18702577 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens is critical for reward-guided learning and decision-making. It is thought to "gate" the flow of a diverse range of information (e.g., rewarding, aversive, and novel events) from limbic afferents to basal ganglia outputs. Gating and information encoding may be achieved via cross-frequency coupling, in which bursts of high-frequency activity occur preferentially during specific phases of slower oscillations. We examined whether the human nucleus accumbens engages such a mechanism by recording electrophysiological activity directly from the accumbens of human patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery. Oscillatory activity in the gamma (40-80 Hz) frequency range was synchronized with the phase of simultaneous alpha (8-12 Hz) waves. Further, losing and winning small amounts of money elicited relatively increased gamma oscillation power prior to and following alpha troughs, respectively. Gamma-alpha synchronization may reflect an electrophysiological gating mechanism in the human nucleus accumbens, and the phase differences in gamma-alpha coupling may reflect a reward information coding scheme similar to phase coding.
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Peters J, Kalivas PW, Quirk GJ. Extinction circuits for fear and addiction overlap in prefrontal cortex. Learn Mem 2009; 16:279-88. [PMID: 19380710 DOI: 10.1101/lm.1041309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 567] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Extinction is a form of inhibitory learning that suppresses a previously conditioned response. Both fear and drug seeking are conditioned responses that can lead to maladaptive behavior when expressed inappropriately, manifesting as anxiety disorders and addiction, respectively. Recent evidence indicates that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for the extinction of both fear and drug-seeking behaviors. Moreover, a dorsal-ventral distinction is apparent within the mPFC, such that the prelimbic (PL-mPFC) cortex drives the expression of fear and drug seeking, whereas the infralimbic (IL-mPFC) cortex suppresses these behaviors after extinction. For conditioned fear, the dorsal-ventral dichotomy is accomplished via divergent projections to different subregions of the amygdala, whereas for drug seeking, it is accomplished via divergent projections to the subregions of the nucleus accumbens. Given that the mPFC represents a common node in the extinction circuit for these behaviors, treatments that target this region may help alleviate symptoms of both anxiety and addictive disorders by enhancing extinction memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Peters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936.
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Dissecting components of reward: 'liking', 'wanting', and learning. Curr Opin Pharmacol 2009; 9:65-73. [PMID: 19162544 DOI: 10.1016/j.coph.2008.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1040] [Impact Index Per Article: 69.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2008] [Revised: 12/04/2008] [Accepted: 12/11/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In recent years significant progress has been made delineating the psychological components of reward and their underlying neural mechanisms. Here we briefly highlight findings on three dissociable psychological components of reward: 'liking' (hedonic impact), 'wanting' (incentive salience), and learning (predictive associations and cognitions). A better understanding of the components of reward, and their neurobiological substrates, may help in devising improved treatments for disorders of mood and motivation, ranging from depression to eating disorders, drug addiction, and related compulsive pursuits of rewards.
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Wager TD, Davidson ML, Hughes BL, Lindquist MA, Ochsner KN. Prefrontal-subcortical pathways mediating successful emotion regulation. Neuron 2008; 59:1037-50. [PMID: 18817740 PMCID: PMC2742320 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1122] [Impact Index Per Article: 70.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2008] [Revised: 07/23/2008] [Accepted: 09/08/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Although prefrontal cortex has been implicated in the cognitive regulation of emotion, the cortical-subcortical interactions that mediate this ability remain poorly understood. To address this issue, we identified a right ventrolateral prefrontal region (vlPFC) whose activity correlated with reduced negative emotional experience during cognitive reappraisal of aversive images. We then applied a pathway-mapping analysis on subcortical regions to locate mediators of the association between vlPFC activity and reappraisal success (i.e., reductions in reported emotion). Results identified two separable pathways that together explained approximately 50% of the reported variance in self-reported emotion: (1) a path through nucleus accumbens that predicted greater reappraisal success, and (2) a path through ventral amygdala that predicted reduced reappraisal success (i.e., more negative emotion). These results provide direct evidence that vlPFC is involved in both the generation and regulation of emotion through different subcortical pathways, suggesting a general role for this region in appraisal processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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Mesolimbic dopamine in desire and dread: enabling motivation to be generated by localized glutamate disruptions in nucleus accumbens. J Neurosci 2008; 28:7184-92. [PMID: 18614688 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4961-07.2008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
An important issue in affective neuroscience concerns the role of mesocorticolimbic dopamine systems in positive-valenced motivation (e.g., reward) versus negative-valenced motivation (e.g., fear). Here, we assessed whether endogenous dopamine receptor stimulation in nucleus accumbens contributes to both appetitive behavior and fearful behavior that is generated in keyboard manner by local glutamate disruptions at different sites in medial shell. 6,7-Dinitroquinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione (DNQX) microinjections (450 ng) locally disrupt glutamate signals in <4 mm(3) of nucleus accumbens, and generate either desire or fear (or both) depending on precise rostrocaudal location in medial shell. At rostral shell sites, local AMPA/kainate blockade generates positive ingestive behavior, but the elicited motivated behavior becomes incrementally more fearful as the same microinjection is moved caudally. A dopamine-blocking mixture of D(1) and D(2) antagonists (raclopride and SCH-23390 [R(+)-7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5,-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine hydrochloride]) was combined here in the same microinjection with DNQX to assess the role of endogenous local dopamine in mediating the DNQX-motivated behaviors. We report that local dopamine blockade prevented DNQX microinjections from generating appetitive behavior (eating) in rostral shell, and equally prevented DNQX from generating fearful behavior (defensive treading) in caudal shell. We conclude that local dopamine is needed to enable disruptions of corticolimbic glutamate signals in shell to generate either positive incentive salience or negative fearful salience (valence depending on site and other conditions). Thus, dopamine interacts with localization of valence-biased glutamate circuits in medial shell to facilitate keyboard stimulation of both appetitive and fearful motivations.
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Cain CK, LeDoux JE. Chapter 3.1 Brain mechanisms of Pavlovian and instrumental aversive conditioning. HANDBOOK OF ANXIETY AND FEAR 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/s1569-7339(07)00007-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Fulford AJ, Marsden CA. An intact dopaminergic system is required for context-conditioned release of 5-HT in the nucleus accumbens of postweaning isolation-reared rats. Neuroscience 2007; 149:392-400. [PMID: 17869434 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2007] [Revised: 07/27/2007] [Accepted: 08/02/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effect of the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor, alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT) on extracellular dopamine and 5-HT levels in the nucleus accumbens of group- and isolation-reared rats. Microdialysis with high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection was used to quantify dopamine and 5-HT efflux in the nucleus accumbens following foot shock and in association with a conditioned emotional response (CER). Isolation- and group-reared rats received i.p. injections of either saline (0.9%) or AMPT (200 mg/kg) 15 h and 2 h prior to sampling. There was no significant difference between saline-treated isolation- or group-reared rats for basal efflux of dopamine or 5-HT, however as expected, AMPT-treatment significantly reduced dopamine efflux in both groups to an equivalent level (50-55% saline-treated controls). Exposure to mild foot shock stimulated basal dopamine efflux in saline-treated groups only, although the effect was significantly greater in isolation-reared rats. In AMPT-treated rats, foot shock did not affect basal dopamine efflux in either rearing group. Foot shock evoked a prolonged increase in 5-HT efflux in both isolation- and group-reared saline-treated rats but had no effect on 5-HT efflux in AMPT-treated rats. In response to CER, isolation-rearing was associated with significantly greater efflux of both dopamine and 5-HT in saline-treated rats, compared to saline-treated, group-reared controls. However in AMPT-treated rats, efflux of dopamine or 5-HT did not change in response to CER. These data suggest that unconditioned or conditioned stress-induced changes in 5-HT release of the nucleus accumbens are dependent upon intact catecholaminergic neurotransmission. Furthermore, as the contribution of noradrenaline to catecholamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens is relatively minor compared to dopamine, our findings suggest that dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens is important for the local regulation of 5-HT release in this region. Finally, these findings implicate the isolation-enhanced presynaptic dopamine function in the accumbens with the augmented ventral striatal 5-HT neurotransmission characterized by isolation-reared rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Fulford
- Department of Anatomy, University of Bristol, Southwell Street, Bristol BS2 8EJ, UK.
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Abstract
Many lesion studies report an amazing variety of deficits in behavioral functions that cannot possibly be encoded in great detail by the relatively small number of midbrain dopamine neurons. Although hoping to unravel a single dopamine function underlying these phenomena, electrophysiological and neurochemical studies still give a confusing, mutually exclusive, and partly contradictory account of dopamine's role in behavior. However, the speed of observed phasic dopamine changes varies several thousand fold, which offers a means to differentiate the behavioral relationships according to their time courses. Thus dopamine is involved in mediating the reactivity of the organism to the environment at different time scales, from fast impulse responses related to reward via slower changes with uncertainty, punishment, and possibly movement to the tonic enabling of postsynaptic motor, cognitive, and motivational systems deficient in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram Schultz
- Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DY, United Kingdom.
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Berridge KC. The debate over dopamine's role in reward: the case for incentive salience. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2007; 191:391-431. [PMID: 17072591 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-006-0578-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1419] [Impact Index Per Article: 83.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2006] [Accepted: 08/20/2006] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Debate continues over the precise causal contribution made by mesolimbic dopamine systems to reward. There are three competing explanatory categories: 'liking', learning, and 'wanting'. Does dopamine mostly mediate the hedonic impact of reward ('liking')? Does it instead mediate learned predictions of future reward, prediction error teaching signals and stamp in associative links (learning)? Or does dopamine motivate the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli ('wanting')? Each hypothesis is evaluated here, and it is suggested that the incentive salience or 'wanting' hypothesis of dopamine function may be consistent with more evidence than either learning or 'liking'. In brief, recent evidence indicates that dopamine is neither necessary nor sufficient to mediate changes in hedonic 'liking' for sensory pleasures. Other recent evidence indicates that dopamine is not needed for new learning, and not sufficient to directly mediate learning by causing teaching or prediction signals. By contrast, growing evidence indicates that dopamine does contribute causally to incentive salience. Dopamine appears necessary for normal 'wanting', and dopamine activation can be sufficient to enhance cue-triggered incentive salience. Drugs of abuse that promote dopamine signals short circuit and sensitize dynamic mesolimbic mechanisms that evolved to attribute incentive salience to rewards. Such drugs interact with incentive salience integrations of Pavlovian associative information with physiological state signals. That interaction sets the stage to cause compulsive 'wanting' in addiction, but also provides opportunities for experiments to disentangle 'wanting', 'liking', and learning hypotheses. Results from studies that exploited those opportunities are described here. CONCLUSION In short, dopamine's contribution appears to be chiefly to cause 'wanting' for hedonic rewards, more than 'liking' or learning for those rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kent C Berridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street (East Hall), Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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Szumlinski KK, Diab ME, Friedman R, Henze LM, Lominac KD, Bowers MS. Accumbens neurochemical adaptations produced by binge-like alcohol consumption. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2007; 190:415-31. [PMID: 17225170 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-006-0641-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2006] [Accepted: 11/05/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The Scheduled High Alcohol Consumption (SHAC) binge drinking model is a simple, partial murine model with which to investigate some of the neurobiological underpinnings of alcoholism. OBJECTIVES The SHAC model was used to characterize monoamine and amino acid adaptations produced in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) by repeated bouts of high alcohol consumption. METHODS In vivo microdialysis was conducted in the NAC of C57BL/6J (B6) mice during consumption of water, a 5% alcohol (v/v) solution for the first time (SHAC1) or a 5% alcohol solution for the sixth time (SHAC6). A second set of microdialysis experiments assessed the neurotransmitter response to an alcohol challenge injection (1.5 or 2 g/kg, IP). RESULTS In both drinking experiments, SHAC1 and SHAC6 mice consumed comparable amounts of alcohol during the 40-min period of alcohol availability (approximately 1.5 g/kg) and total fluid intake was similar between water and SHAC1/6 mice. Despite the similarity in alcohol consumption, alcohol-mediated increases in the extracellular concentration of GABA and serotonin were reduced, but glutamate was increased in the NAC of SHAC6 mice, relative to SHAC1 animals. No differences were observed in extracellular dopamine between SHAC1 and SHAC6 mice during alcohol consumption. After alcohol injection, SHAC6 mice also exhibited sensitized glutamate release, but did not differ from water or SHAC1 animals for any of the other neurotransmitters examined. Brain alcohol concentrations did not differ between groups after injection. CONCLUSIONS Repeated bouts of high alcohol consumption induce an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission within the NAC that may drive excessive drinking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen K Szumlinski
- Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660, USA.
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Pietersen CY, Bosker FJ, Postema F, Fokkema DS, Korf J, den Boer JA. Ketamine administration disturbs behavioural and distributed neural correlates of fear conditioning in the rat. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2006; 30:1209-18. [PMID: 16626845 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The neurotransmitter glutamate and its associated receptors perform an important role in the brain circuitry underlying normal fear processing. The glutamate NMDA receptor, in particular, is necessary for the acquisition and recollection of conditioned-fear responses. Here the authors examine how acute blockage of the NMDA receptor with sub-anaesthetic doses of ketamine affects behavioural assays of fear-conditioned stress (e.g. freezing) and cFos expression in a network of brain areas that have previously been implicated in fear processing. Fear-conditioned rats displayed significantly more freezing behaviour than non-conditioned controls. In fear-conditioned rats that also received ketamine, this conditioning effect was largely neutralised. Fear conditioning also led to increased cFos expression in various areas central to fear processing, including the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the anterior cingulate. Ketamine abolished such increases in cFos expression in most brain areas investigated. The present study therefore demonstrates that systemic ketamine administration in rats interferes with fear conditioning on a behavioural level and in a network of brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. The combination of ketamine and fear conditioning may therefore provide a useful model of abnormal fear processing, as observed in certain psychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charmaine Y Pietersen
- Graduate School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen 9713GZ, The Netherlands.
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Mosher TM, Smith JG, Greenshaw AJ. Aversive stimulus properties of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist WAY 161503 in rats. Neuropharmacology 2006; 51:641-50. [PMID: 16844150 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2006.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2006] [Revised: 05/03/2006] [Accepted: 05/04/2006] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Serotonin2C (5-HT2C) receptors may influence motivation and reward through effects on the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system. Previous work from this laboratory indicated that 5-HT2C receptor stimulation does not induce place conditioning when animals are tested in a drug-free state, but does result in decreased locomotor activity and increased frequency thresholds for electrical self-stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The present study was conducted to determine whether the 5-HT2C receptor agonist WAY 161503 may induce place conditioning in a state-dependent manner and also whether this compound will induce gustatory avoidance conditioning in the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm. The effects of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist WAY 161503 in the place conditioning and CTA (two-bottle choice test) paradigms were assessed in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Administration of WAY 161503 (3.0 mg/kg) induced a state-dependent conditioned place aversion and a CTA to saccharin. The differential state dependency of 5-HT2C receptor agonists' effects in place conditioning (state dependent) and CTA (non-state dependent) is consistent with the activation of different brain systems in these two paradigms. The state-dependent effects in place conditioning underscore the need to include controls for state dependency in studies of 5-HT receptor related compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Mosher
- W.G. Dewhurst Laboratory, Neurochemical Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Centre for Neuroscience, 1E7.44 WMHSC, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R7, Canada
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Costa RM, Gutierrez R, de Araujo IE, Coelho MRP, Kloth AD, Gainetdinov RR, Caron MG, Nicolelis MAL, Simon SA. Dopamine levels modulate the updating of tastant values. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2006; 6:314-20. [PMID: 16848782 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2006.00257.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
To survive, animals must constantly update the internal value of stimuli they encounter; a process referred to as incentive learning. Although there have been many studies investigating whether dopamine is necessary for reward, or for the association between stimuli and actions with rewards, less is known about the role of dopamine in the updating of the internal value of stimuli per se. We used a single-bottle forced-choice task to investigate the role of dopamine in learning the value of tastants. We show that dopamine transporter knock-out mice (DAT-KO), which have constitutively elevated dopamine levels, develop a more positive bias towards a hedonically positive tastant (sucrose 400 mM) than their wild-type littermates. Furthermore, when compared to wild-type littermates, DAT-KO mice develop a less negative bias towards a hedonically negative tastant (quinine HCl 10 mM). Importantly, these effects develop with training, because at the onset of training DAT-KO and wild-type mice display similar biases towards sucrose and quinine. These data suggest that dopamine levels can modulate the updating of tastant values, a finding with implications for understanding sensory-specific motivation and reward seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Costa
- Department of Neurobiology and Center of Neuroengineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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Gos T, Becker K, Bock J, Malecki U, Bogerts B, Poeggel G, Braun K. Early neonatal and postweaning social emotional deprivation interferes with the maturation of serotonergic and tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive afferent fiber systems in the rodent nucleus accumbens, hippocampus and amygdala. Neuroscience 2006; 140:811-21. [PMID: 16632206 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.02.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2005] [Revised: 12/23/2005] [Accepted: 02/24/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The impact of early emotional experience on the development of serotonergic and dopaminergic fiber innervation of the nucleus accumbens, hippocampal formation and the amygdala was quantitatively investigated in the precocious rodent Octodon degus. Two animal groups were compared: 1) degus which were repeatedly separated from their parents during the first three postnatal weeks, after weaning they were individually reared in chronic social isolation and 2) controls which were reared undisturbed with their families. In the deprived animals 5-hydroxytryptamine-immunoreactive fiber densities were increased in the core region of the nucleus accumbens (up to 126%), in the central nucleus of the amygdala (up to 112%) and in the outer subregion of the dentate gyrus stratum moleculare (up to 149%), whereas decreased fiber densities were detected in the dentate subgranular layer (down to 86%) and in the stratum lacunosum of the hippocampal cornu ammonis region 1 (down to 86%). Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fiber densities were increased in the core (up to 115%) and shell region (up to 113%) of the nucleus accumbens of deprived animals, whereas decreased fiber densities (down to 84%) were observed in the hilus of the dentate gyrus. In the stratum granulosum and subgranular layer the fiber densities increased up to 168% and 127% respectively. In summary, these results indicate that the postnatal establishment of the monoaminergic innervation of limbic areas is modulated in response to early emotional experience, and that this environmental morphological adaptation is highly region specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Gos
- Institute of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, ul. Debowa 23, 80-204, Gdansk, Poland
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Antoniadis EA, McDonald RJ. Fornix, medial prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and mediodorsal thalamic nucleus: Roles in a fear-based context discrimination task. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2006; 85:71-85. [PMID: 16288894 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2005.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2005] [Revised: 08/21/2005] [Accepted: 08/23/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The goal of the present study was to evaluate the contributions of various brain structures anatomically and functionally linked to the hippocampus and amygdala in a fear-based context discrimination task. The brain areas of interest included the fornix, medial prefrontal cortex, mediodorsal (MD) thalamic nucleus, and nucleus accumbens. Damage to the MD thalamic nucleus and medial prefrontal cortex produced the largest impairment in context-specific fear responses. Damage to the fornix impaired some fear responses (freezing, ultrasonic vocalizations, defecation, and approach/avoidance) while leaving conditioned fear expression of heart rate and urination unaltered. Damage to the nucleus accumbens was also coupled with deficits in the discriminative expression of some (heart rate, urination, and ultrasonic vocalizations) but sparing of context-appropriate freezing, defecation, and approach/avoidance behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena A Antoniadis
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Fillenz M. In vivo neurochemical monitoring and the study of behaviour. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2005; 29:949-62. [PMID: 15963566 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2004] [Revised: 02/03/2005] [Accepted: 02/03/2005] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In vivo neurochemical monitoring techniques measure changes in the extracellular compartment of selected brain regions. These changes reflect the release of chemical messengers and intermediates of brain energy metabolism resulting from the activity of neuronal assemblies. The two principal techniques used in neurochemical monitoring are microdialysis and voltammetry. The presence of glutamate in the extracellular compartment and its pharmacological characteristics suggest that it is released from astrocytes and acts as neuromodulator rather than a neurotransmitter. The changes in extracellular noradrenaline and dopamine reflect their role in the control of behaviour. Changes in glucose and oxygen, the latter a measure of local cerebral blood flow, reflect synaptic processing in the underlying neuronal networks rather than a measure of efferent output from the brain region. In vivo neurochemical monitoring provides information about the intermediate processing that intervenes between the application of the stimulus and the resulting behaviour but does not reflect the final efferent output that leads to behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Fillenz
- University Laboratory of Physiology, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PT, UK.
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48
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Young AMJ, Moran PM, Joseph MH. The role of dopamine in conditioning and latent inhibition: what, when, where and how? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2005; 29:963-76. [PMID: 16045987 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2004] [Revised: 02/16/2005] [Accepted: 02/16/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
It is well established that dopamine is released in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) in animals in rewarding or reinforcing situations, and widely believed that this release is the substrate of, or at least closely related to, the experience of reward. The demonstration of conditioned release of dopamine by stimuli conditioned to primary rewards has reinforced this view. However, a number of observations do not sit comfortably with this interpretation, most notably that dopamine is released equally effectively in NAC by aversive stimuli, and stimuli conditioned to them. Furthermore, additional release of dopamine is seen during conditioning, even if motivational stimuli of either type are not involved. It is suggested here that one important action of NAC dopamine release is to restore the salience of potential conditioned stimuli, when this has been reduced by prior un-reinforced experience. The paradigm of latent inhibition (LI) demonstrates a behavioural effect of this type, and extensive studies on the role of dopamine in LI have been undertaken by us and others. Those studies are reviewed here, together with some previously unpublished data, to demonstrate that (1) amphetamine disruption of LI is indeed a function of calcium-dependant dopamine release in the NAC at the time of conditioning; (2) other drugs acting on LI via changes in dopamine transmission act at the same locus; (3) the disruptive effect of indirect dopamine agonists on LI can be prevented by either D-1 selective receptor antagonists, or D-2 selective receptor antagonists. It is concluded that dopamine release in these very varied behavioural contexts (reward, punishment, conditioning, modulation of salience) must be differentiated in some way, and that this should be investigated. An alternative explanation, if they are not differentiated, would be that the release in fact does have the same functional significance in each case. We suggest that this common significance might be the broadening of attention to take in potentially conditionable stimuli, which have previously been devalued.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M J Young
- Behavioural Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
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Zamudio S, Fregoso T, Miranda A, De La Cruz F, Flores G. Strain differences of dopamine receptor levels and dopamine related behaviors in rats. Brain Res Bull 2005; 65:339-47. [PMID: 15811600 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2005.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2004] [Revised: 01/14/2005] [Accepted: 01/17/2005] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Here we have investigated whether differences in levels of dopamine D1-like, D2-like receptors, dopamine D3 receptors, and dopamine transporter could be related to behaviors such as immobility response and locomotion between Wistar rats and Sprague-Dawley rats. The levels of the dopamine receptors and transporter were measured by autoradiographic study at the level of basal ganglia and the limbic subregion. The behavioral study was done by open-field and immobility response tests. The Wistar rats exhibited a higher level of D1 receptor binding in the basal ganglia subregions than Sprague-Dawley rats. The Wistar rats have higher levels of dopamine D2 receptor binding and dopamine transporter binding in the dorsolateral part of the caudate-putamen. In addition, the dopamine transporter binding were also higher in the Wistar rats than in Sprague-Dawley rats in the ventral part of the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens core. However, there were no differences in the level of D3 receptor binding in the limbic or basal ganglia subregions between these two strains. In Wistar rats, the duration of the immobility responses was longer and with less locomotor activity after these immobility responses compared with Sprague-Dawley rats. These data suggest that the differences in dopamine receptors in these two rat strains may in part relate to the behavioral differences reported in these two strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Zamudio
- Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carpio y Plan de Ayala, 11340 México DF, México.
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Schwienbacher I, Fendt M, Richardson R, Schnitzler HU. Temporary inactivation of the nucleus accumbens disrupts acquisition and expression of fear-potentiated startle in rats. Brain Res 2005; 1027:87-93. [PMID: 15494160 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2004.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/19/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent research suggests that in addition to its prominent role in appetitive learning, the nucleus accumbens (NAC) may also be involved in fear conditioning. In the present study, we investigated whether temporary inactivation of the NAC, by injection of tetrodotoxin (TTX), affects acquisition and expression of conditioned fear, as measured by fear-potentiated startle (FPS). TTX injection into the NAC totally blocked acquisition and markedly decreased expression of conditioned fear to a discrete visual conditioned stimulus (CS). Interestingly, temporary inactivation of the NAC did not affect shock sensitization of startle, indicating that both the perception of the shock and short-term contextual conditioning was not affected by intra-accumbal TTX injection. Taken together, these results show that the NAC is crucial for acquisition and expression of long-term conditioned fear, as measured by fear-potentiated startle, to discrete CSs, but not short-term conditioned fear to a context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Schwienbacher
- Animal Physiology, University of Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
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