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Reinshagen A. Grid cells: the missing link in understanding Parkinson's disease? Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1276714. [PMID: 38389787 PMCID: PMC10881698 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1276714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease (PD) are complex and not fully understood, and the box-and-arrow model among other current models present significant challenges. This paper explores the potential role of the allocentric brain and especially its grid cells in several PD motor symptoms, including bradykinesia, kinesia paradoxa, freezing of gait, the bottleneck phenomenon, and their dependency on cueing. It is argued that central hubs, like the locus coeruleus and the pedunculopontine nucleus, often narrowly interpreted in the context of PD, play an equally important role in governing the allocentric brain as the basal ganglia. Consequently, the motor and secondary motor (e.g., spatially related) symptoms of PD linked with dopamine depletion may be more closely tied to erroneous computation by grid cells than to the basal ganglia alone. Because grid cells and their associated central hubs introduce both spatial and temporal information to the brain influencing velocity perception they may cause bradykinesia or hyperkinesia as well. In summary, PD motor symptoms may primarily be an allocentric disturbance resulting from virtual faulty computation by grid cells revealed by dopamine depletion in PD.
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K Namboodiri VM, Stuber GD. The learning of prospective and retrospective cognitive maps within neural circuits. Neuron 2021; 109:3552-3575. [PMID: 34678148 PMCID: PMC8809184 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Brain circuits are thought to form a "cognitive map" to process and store statistical relationships in the environment. A cognitive map is commonly defined as a mental representation that describes environmental states (i.e., variables or events) and the relationship between these states. This process is commonly conceptualized as a prospective process, as it is based on the relationships between states in chronological order (e.g., does reward follow a given state?). In this perspective, we expand this concept on the basis of recent findings to postulate that in addition to a prospective map, the brain forms and uses a retrospective cognitive map (e.g., does a given state precede reward?). In doing so, we demonstrate that many neural signals and behaviors (e.g., habits) that seem inflexible and non-cognitive can result from retrospective cognitive maps. Together, we present a significant conceptual reframing of the neurobiological study of associative learning, memory, and decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri
- Department of Neurology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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3
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Dombrovski AY, Hallquist MN. Search for solutions, learning, simulation, and choice processes in suicidal behavior. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021; 13:e1561. [PMID: 34008338 PMCID: PMC9285563 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Suicide may be viewed as an unfortunate outcome of failures in decision processes. Such failures occur when the demands of a crisis exceed a person's capacity to (i) search for options, (ii) learn and simulate possible futures, and (iii) make advantageous value‐based choices. Can individual‐level decision deficits and biases drive the progression of the suicidal crisis? Our overview of the evidence on this question is informed by clinical theory and grounded in reinforcement learning and behavioral economics. Cohort and case–control studies provide strong evidence that limited cognitive capacity and particularly impaired cognitive control are associated with suicidal behavior, imposing cognitive constraints on decision‐making. We conceptualize suicidal ideation as an element of impoverished consideration sets resulting from a search for solutions under cognitive constraints and mood‐congruent Pavlovian influences, a view supported by mostly indirect evidence. More compelling is the evidence of impaired learning in people with a history of suicidal behavior. We speculate that an inability to simulate alternative futures using one's model of the world may undermine alternative solutions in a suicidal crisis. The hypothesis supported by the strongest evidence is that the selection of suicide over alternatives is facilitated by a choice process undermined by randomness. Case–control studies using gambling tasks, armed bandits, and delay discounting support this claim. Future experimental studies will need to uncover real‐time dynamics of choice processes in suicidal people. In summary, the decision process framework sheds light on neurocognitive mechanisms that facilitate the progression of the suicidal crisis. This article is categorized under:Economics > Individual Decision‐Making Psychology > Emotion and Motivation Psychology > Learning Neuroscience > Behavior
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael N Hallquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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4
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Whole-Brain Mapping of Direct Inputs to Dopamine D1 and D2 Receptor-Expressing Medium Spiny Neurons in the Posterior Dorsomedial Striatum. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0348-20.2020. [PMID: 33380525 PMCID: PMC7877463 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0348-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The posterior dorsomedial striatum (pDMS) is mainly composed of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) expressing either dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs) or D2Rs. Activation of these two MSN types produces opposing effects on addictive behaviors. However, it remains unclear whether pDMS D1-MSNs or D2-MSNs receive afferent inputs from different brain regions or whether the extrastriatal afferents express distinct dopamine receptors. To assess whether these afferents also contained D1Rs or D2Rs, we generated double transgenic mice, in which D1R-expressing and D2R-expressing neurons were fluorescently labeled. We used rabies virus-mediated retrograde tracing in these mice to perform whole-brain mapping of direct inputs to D1-MSNs or D2-MSNs in the pDMS. We found that D1-MSNs preferentially received inputs from the secondary motor, secondary visual, and cingulate cortices, whereas D2-MSNs received inputs from the primary motor and primary sensory cortices, and the thalamus. We also discovered that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) contained abundant D2R-expressing, but few D1R-expressing, neurons in a triple transgenic mouse model. Remarkably, although limited D1R or D2R expression was observed in extrastriatal neurons that projected to D1-MSNs or D2-MSNs, we found that cortical structures preferentially contained D1R-expressing neurons that projected to D1-MSNs or D2-MSNs, while the thalamus, substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), and BNST had more D2R-expressing cells that projected to D2-MSNs. Taken together, these findings provide a foundation for future understanding of the pDMS circuit and its role in action selection and reward-based behaviors.
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Gibson AS, Keefe KA, Furlong TM. Accelerated habitual learning resulting from L-dopa exposure in rats is prevented by N-acetylcysteine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2020; 198:173033. [PMID: 32888972 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2020.173033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Instrumental actions are initially goal-directed and driven by their associated outcome. However, with repeated experience habitual actions develop which are automated and efficient, as they are instead driven by antecedent stimuli. Dopamine is thought to facilitate the transition from goal-directed to habitual actions. This idea has been largely derived from evidence that psychostimulants accelerate the development of habitual actions. In the current study, we examined the impact of L-dopa (levodopa or L-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which also potentiates dopamine activity, on habitual learning. L-dopa was systemically administered prior to training rats to press a lever for a food outcome. When tested, L-dopa exposed animals were insensitive to changes in the value of the food outcome, and hence demonstrated accelerated habitual behavioral control compared to control animals that remained goal directed. We also showed that when N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant and regulator of glutamate activity, was co-administered with L-dopa, it prevented the transition to habitual behavior; an effect demonstrated previously for cocaine. Therefore, this study establishes similarities between L-dopa and psychostimulants in both the development and prevention of habitual actions, and supports the notion that excess dopamine potentiates habitual learning. This finding extends the limited existing knowledge of the impact of L-dopa on learning and behavior, and has implications for neurological disorders where L-dopa is the primary treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne S Gibson
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Kristen A Keefe
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Teri M Furlong
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Randwick, NSW, Australia; School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
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6
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Barker JM, Bryant KG, Montiel-Ramos A, Goldwasser B, Chandler LJ. Selective Deficits in Contingency-Driven Ethanol Seeking Following Chronic Ethanol Exposure in Male Mice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2020; 44:1896-1905. [PMID: 32735737 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with alcohol use disorders exhibit an overreliance on habitual response strategies which may result from a history of chronic alcohol exposure. Although habits are defined by behavior that persists despite changes in outcome value and in action-outcome relationships, most research investigating the effects of ethanol exposure on habits has focused only on outcome devaluation. A clear understanding of the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on the ability to flexibly update behavior may provide insight into the behavioral deficits that characterize alcohol use disorders. METHODS To dissociate the effects of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure on contingency-mediated sucrose versus ethanol seeking, adult male C57Bl/6J mice were assigned to 2 separate experiments. In the first experiment, mice were trained to self-administer ethanol prior to 2 cycles of interleaved CIE exposure by vapor inhalation. In a second experiment, mice were trained to self-administer sucrose and ethanol in separate training sessions prior to 4 cycles of interleaved CIE. The use of contingencies to mediate reward seeking was assessed using a contingency degradation paradigm. RESULTS In mice trained to self-administer only ethanol, 2 weeks of CIE resulted in escalated self-administration. At this time point, CIE-exposed mice, but not air-exposed controls, exhibited ethanol seeking that was insensitive to changes in action-outcome contingency, consistent with habitual ethanol seeking. In mice trained to self-administer ethanol and sucrose rewards in sequential sessions, no escalation in self-administration across 4 weeks of CIE was observed. Under these conditions, neither Air- nor CIE-exposed mice reduced ethanol seeking in response to contingency degradation. In contrast, sucrose seeking remained goal-directed. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that chronic ethanol exposure impairs contingency-driven ethanol seeking more readily than sucrose-seeking behavior. Further, these findings indicate that the transition from contingency-mediated ethanol seeking occurs more rapidly than for sucrose seeking under similar ethanol exposure conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline M Barker
- From the, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology (JMB, KGB), Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kathleen G Bryant
- From the, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology (JMB, KGB), Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alan Montiel-Ramos
- Department of Neurosciences (AM, BG, LJC), Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Benjamin Goldwasser
- Department of Neurosciences (AM, BG, LJC), Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Lawrence Judson Chandler
- Department of Neurosciences (AM, BG, LJC), Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
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7
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Treating a novel plasticity defect rescues episodic memory in Fragile X model mice. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:1798-1806. [PMID: 29133950 PMCID: PMC5951717 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 07/02/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Episodic memory, a fundamental component of human cognition, is significantly impaired in autism. We believe we report the first evidence for this problem in the Fmr1-knockout (KO) mouse model of Fragile X syndrome and describe potentially treatable underlying causes. The hippocampus is critical for the formation and use of episodes, with semantic (cue identity) information relayed to the structure via the lateral perforant path (LPP). The unusual form of synaptic plasticity expressed by the LPP (lppLTP) was profoundly impaired in Fmr1-KOs relative to wild-type mice. Two factors contributed to this defect: (i) reduced GluN1 subunit levels in synaptic NMDA receptors and related currents, and (ii) impaired retrograde synaptic signaling by the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Studies using a novel serial cue paradigm showed that episodic encoding is dependent on both the LPP and the endocannabinoid receptor CB1, and is strikingly impaired in Fmr1-KOs. Enhancing 2-AG signaling rescued both lppLTP and learning in the mutants. Thus, two consequences of the Fragile-X mutation converge on plasticity at one site in hippocampus to prevent encoding of a basic element of cognitive memory. Collectively, the results suggest a clinically plausible approach to treatment.
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8
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Barfield ET, Gerber KJ, Zimmermann KS, Ressler KJ, Parsons RG, Gourley SL. Regulation of actions and habits by ventral hippocampal trkB and adolescent corticosteroid exposure. PLoS Biol 2017; 15:e2003000. [PMID: 29186135 PMCID: PMC5724896 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Revised: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans and rodents, stress promotes habit-based behaviors that can interfere with action-outcome decision-making. Further, developmental stressor exposure confers long-term habit biases across rodent-primate species. Despite these homologies, mechanisms remain unclear. We first report that exposure to the primary glucocorticoid corticosterone (CORT) in adolescent mice recapitulates multiple neurobehavioral consequences of stressor exposure, including long-lasting biases towards habit-based responding in a food-reinforced operant conditioning task. In both adolescents and adults, CORT also caused a shift in the balance between full-length tyrosine kinase receptor B (trkB) and a truncated form of this neurotrophin receptor, favoring the inactive form throughout multiple corticolimbic brain regions. In adolescents, phosphorylation of the trkB substrate extracellular signal-regulated kinase 42/44 (ERK42/44) in the ventral hippocampus was also diminished, a long-term effect that persisted for at least 12 wk. Administration of the trkB agonist 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) during adolescence at doses that stimulated ERK42/44 corrected long-lasting corticosterone-induced behavioral abnormalities. Meanwhile, viral-mediated overexpression of truncated trkB in the ventral hippocampus reduced local ERK42/44 phosphorylation and was sufficient to induce habit-based and depression-like behaviors. Together, our findings indicate that ventral hippocampal trkB is essential to goal-directed action selection, countering habit-based behavior otherwise facilitated by developmental stress hormone exposure. They also reveal an early-life sensitive period during which trkB-ERK42/44 tone determines long-term behavioral outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth T. Barfield
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Kyle J. Gerber
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Kelsey S. Zimmermann
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Kerry J. Ressler
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Ryan G. Parsons
- Department of Psychology, Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience and Program in Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Shannon L. Gourley
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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9
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Ostlund SB, Liu AT, Wassum KM, Maidment NT. Modulation of cue-triggered reward seeking by cholinergic signaling in the dorsomedial striatum. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 45:358-364. [PMID: 27813263 PMCID: PMC5293608 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Revised: 10/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has been strongly implicated in flexible, outcome-based decision making, including the outcome-specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effect (PIT), which measures the tendency for a reward-predictive cue to preferentially motivate actions that have been associated with the predicted reward over actions associated with different rewards. Although the neurochemical underpinnings of this effect are not well understood, there is growing evidence that striatal acetylcholine signaling may play an important role. This study investigated this hypothesis by assessing the effects of intra-DMS infusions of the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine or the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine on expression of specific PIT in rats. These treatments produced dissociable behavioral effects. Mecamylamine infusions enhanced rats' tendency to use specific cue-elicited outcome expectations to select whichever action was trained with the predicted outcome, relative to their performance when tested after vehicle infusions. In contrast, scopolamine infusions appeared to render instrumental performance insensitive to this motivational influence of reward-paired cues. These drug treatments had no detectable effect on conditioned food cup approach behavior, indicating that they selectively perturbed cue-guided action selection without producing more wide-ranging alterations in behavioral control. Our findings reveal an important role for DMS acetylcholine signaling in modulating the impact of cue-evoked reward expectations on instrumental action selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean B Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, 3111 Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility, UCI, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
- Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, UCI, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Angela T Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, 3111 Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility, UCI, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nigel T Maidment
- Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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10
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Reichelt AC. Adolescent Maturational Transitions in the Prefrontal Cortex and Dopamine Signaling as a Risk Factor for the Development of Obesity and High Fat/High Sugar Diet Induced Cognitive Deficits. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:189. [PMID: 27790098 PMCID: PMC5061823 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescence poses as both a transitional period in neurodevelopment and lifestyle practices. In particular, the developmental trajectory of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a critical region for behavioral control and self-regulation, is enduring, not reaching functional maturity until the early 20 s in humans. Furthermore, the neurotransmitter dopamine is particularly abundant during adolescence, tuning the brain to rapidly learn about rewards and regulating aspects of neuroplasticity. Thus, adolescence is proposed to represent a period of vulnerability towards reward-driven behaviors such as the consumption of palatable high fat and high sugar diets. This is reflected in the increasing prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents as they are the greatest consumers of “junk foods”. Excessive consumption of diets laden in saturated fat and refined sugars not only leads to weight gain and the development of obesity, but experimental studies with rodents indicate they evoke cognitive deficits in learning and memory process by disrupting neuroplasticity and altering reward processing neurocircuitry. Consumption of these high fat and high sugar diets have been reported to have a particularly pronounced impact on cognition when consumed during adolescence, demonstrating a susceptibility of the adolescent brain to enduring cognitive deficits. The adolescent brain, with heightened reward sensitivity and diminished behavioral control compared to the mature adult brain, appears to be a risk for aberrant eating behaviors that may underpin the development of obesity. This review explores the neurodevelopmental changes in the PFC and mesocortical dopamine signaling that occur during adolescence, and how these potentially underpin the overconsumption of palatable food and development of obesogenic diet-induced cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy C Reichelt
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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11
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Regier PS, Amemiya S, Redish AD. Hippocampus and subregions of the dorsal striatum respond differently to a behavioral strategy change on a spatial navigation task. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:1399-416. [PMID: 26084902 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00189.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Goal-directed and habit-based behaviors are driven by multiple but dissociable decision making systems involving several different brain areas, including the hippocampus and dorsal striatum. On repetitive tasks, behavior transitions from goal directed to habit based with experience. Hippocampus has been implicated in initial learning and dorsal striatum in automating behavior, but recent studies suggest that subregions within the dorsal striatum have distinct roles in mediating habit-based and goal-directed behavior. We compared neural activity in the CA1 region of hippocampus with anterior dorsolateral and posterior dorsomedial striatum in rats on a spatial choice task, in which subjects experienced reward delivery changes that forced them to adjust their behavioral strategy. Our results confirm the importance of the hippocampus in evaluating predictive steps during goal-directed behavior, while separate circuits in the basal ganglia integrated relevant information during automation of actions and recognized when new behaviors were needed to continue obtaining rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul S Regier
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and
| | - Seiichiro Amemiya
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - A David Redish
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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12
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GABAAα1-mediated plasticity in the orbitofrontal cortex regulates context-dependent action selection. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:1027-36. [PMID: 25348603 PMCID: PMC4330518 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
An essential aspect of goal-directed action selection is differentiating between behaviors that are more, or less, likely to be reinforced. Habits, by contrast, are stimulus-elicited behaviors insensitive to action-outcome contingencies and are considered an etiological factor in several neuropsychiatric disorders. Thus, isolating the neuroanatomy and neurobiology of goal-directed action selection on the one hand, and habit formation on the other, is critical. Using in vivo viral-mediated gene silencing, we knocked down Gabra1 in the orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex (oPFC) in mice, decreasing oPFC GABAAα1 expression, as well as expression of the synaptic marker PSD-95. Mice expressing Green Fluorescent Protein or Gabra1 knockdown in the adjacent M2 motor cortex served as comparison groups. Using instrumental response training followed by action-outcome contingency degradation, we then found that oPFC GABAAα1 deficiency impaired animals' ability to differentiate between actions that were more or less likely to be reinforced, though sensitivity to outcome devaluation and extinction were intact. Meanwhile, M2 GABAAα1 deficiency enhanced sensitivity to action-outcome relationships. Behavioral abnormalities following oPFC GABAAα1 knockdown were rescued by testing mice in a distinct context relative to that in which they had been initially trained. Together, our findings corroborate evidence that chronic GABAAα1 deficiency remodels cortical synapses and suggest that neuroplasticity within the healthy oPFC gates the influence of reward-related contextual stimuli. These stimuli might otherwise promote maladaptive habit-based behavioral response strategies that contribute to-or exacerbate-neuropsychiatric illness.
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13
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Barker JM, Taylor JR. Habitual alcohol seeking: modeling the transition from casual drinking to addiction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 47:281-94. [PMID: 25193245 PMCID: PMC4258136 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2014] [Revised: 07/17/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The transition from goal-directed actions to habitual ethanol seeking models the development of addictive behavior that characterizes alcohol use disorders. The progression to habitual ethanol-seeking behavior occurs more rapidly than for natural rewards, suggesting that ethanol may act on habit circuit to drive the loss of behavioral flexibility. This review will highlight recent research that has focused on the formation and expression of habitual ethanol seeking, and the commonalities and distinctions between ethanol and natural reward-seeking habits, with the goal of highlighting important, understudied research areas that we believe will lead toward the development of novel treatment and prevention strategies for uncontrolled drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline M Barker
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Ribicoff Labs, New Haven, CT, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jane R Taylor
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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14
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Griffiths KR, Morris RW, Balleine BW. Translational studies of goal-directed action as a framework for classifying deficits across psychiatric disorders. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:101. [PMID: 24904322 PMCID: PMC4033402 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to learn contingencies between actions and outcomes in a dynamic environment is critical for flexible, adaptive behavior. Goal-directed actions adapt to changes in action-outcome contingencies as well as to changes in the reward-value of the outcome. When networks involved in reward processing and contingency learning are maladaptive, this fundamental ability can be lost, with detrimental consequences for decision-making. Impaired decision-making is a core feature in a number of psychiatric disorders, ranging from depression to schizophrenia. The argument can be developed, therefore, that seemingly disparate symptoms across psychiatric disorders can be explained by dysfunction within common decision-making circuitry. From this perspective, gaining a better understanding of the neural processes involved in goal-directed action, will allow a comparison of deficits observed across traditional diagnostic boundaries within a unified theoretical framework. This review describes the key processes and neural circuits involved in goal-directed decision-making using evidence from animal studies and human neuroimaging. Select studies are discussed to outline what we currently know about causal judgments regarding actions and their consequences, action-related reward evaluation, and, most importantly, how these processes are integrated in goal-directed learning and performance. Finally, we look at how adaptive decision-making is impaired across a range of psychiatric disorders and how deepening our understanding of this circuitry may offer insights into phenotypes and more targeted interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristi R Griffiths
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard W Morris
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Bernard W Balleine
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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15
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Adolescent stimulation of D2 receptors alters the maturation of dopamine-dependent goal-directed behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:1566-74. [PMID: 23443719 PMCID: PMC3682151 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Adolescence is a period of high sensitivity to drugs and rewards, characterized by the immaturity of decision-making abilities. A chronic stimulation of reward systems during this period might constitute a factor of vulnerability to the development of psychiatric disorders. However, the long-term consequences of such an exposure have seldom been explored. Here, we investigate at the adult age the effects of chronic dopamine (DA) stimulation during adolescence on both the maturation of DA systems and the cognitive processes underlying goal-directed actions. We first demonstrate that chronic stimulation of D2 receptors by quinpirole during adolescence alters the development of DA systems. This treatment has particularly prominent effects on the mesocortical DA pathway where it decreases DA fibers density, DA concentration, and DA receptors expression. Furthermore, we show that quinpirole-treated rats exhibit specific impairments in instrumental goal-directed behavior, as they fail to adapt their action when action-outcome relationships change in a contingency degradation procedure. These results therefore highlight the vulnerability of DA system and prefrontal areas to prolonged stimulation during adolescence, and its potential long-term impact on cognitive functions.
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16
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Maclaren DAA, Wilson DIG, Winn P. Updating of action-outcome associations is prevented by inactivation of the posterior pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 102:28-33. [PMID: 23567109 PMCID: PMC3660625 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2012] [Revised: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 03/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus is essential for action–outcome learning. Sensitivity to instrumental contingency degradation is blocked by PPTg inactivation. Inactivation of PPTg does not change performance of previously learnt operant tasks. This is the first demonstration of a role for brainstem in action–outcome learning. Learning functions of basal ganglia extend into the deepest parts of the circuitry.
The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) is in a pivotal position between the basal ganglia and brainstem: it is able to influence and regulate all levels of basal ganglia and corticostriatal activity as well as being a key component of brainstem reticular and motor control circuitry. Consistent with its anatomical position, the PPTg has previously been shown to process rapid, salient sensory input, is a target for Parkinson’s disease treatments and has been implicated in associative learning. We explicitly investigated the role of the posterior pPPTg (pPPTg) in action–outcome processes, where actions are performed with the goal-directed aim of obtaining an anticipated outcome. We assessed rats’ sensitivity to degradation of the contingency between actions (lever pressing) and outcomes (food reward) during either inactivation of pPPTg by microinjection of the GABA agonist muscimol or control infusions of saline. In response to the degradation of contingency between lever press and food reward, saline treated rats rapidly reduced rates of lever pressing whereas muscimol treated rats (pPPTg inactivation) maintained previous lever pressing rates. In contrast, when the contingency between lever press and food reward was unchanged saline and muscimol treated rats maintained their previous rates of lever pressing. This shows that the pPPTg is critically required for updating associations between actions and outcomes, but not in the continued performance of previously learned associations. These results are consistent with a role for the PPTg in ‘higher-order’ associative learning and are the first to demonstrate a brainstem role in action–outcome learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duncan A A Maclaren
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK.
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17
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Schiemann J, Schlaudraff F, Klose V, Bingmer M, Seino S, Magill PJ, Zaghloul KA, Schneider G, Liss B, Roeper J. K-ATP channels in dopamine substantia nigra neurons control bursting and novelty-induced exploration. Nat Neurosci 2012; 15:1272-80. [PMID: 22902720 DOI: 10.1038/nn.3185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2012] [Accepted: 07/16/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Phasic activation of the dopamine (DA) midbrain system in response to unexpected reward or novelty is critical for adaptive behavioral strategies. This activation of DA midbrain neurons occurs via a synaptically triggered switch from low-frequency background spiking to transient high-frequency burst firing. We found that, in medial DA neurons of the substantia nigra (SN), activity of ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channels enabled NMDA-mediated bursting in vitro as well as spontaneous in vivo burst firing in anesthetized mice. Cell-selective silencing of K-ATP channel activity in medial SN DA neurons revealed that their K-ATP channel-gated burst firing was crucial for novelty-dependent exploratory behavior. We also detected a transcriptional upregulation of K-ATP channel and NMDA receptor subunits, as well as high in vivo burst firing, in surviving SN DA neurons from Parkinson's disease patients, suggesting that burst-gating K-ATP channel function in DA neurons affects phenotypes in both disease and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Schiemann
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Neuroscience Center, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
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18
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Braun S, Hauber W. Striatal dopamine depletion in rats produces variable effects on contingency detection: task-related influences. Eur J Neurosci 2012; 35:486-95. [PMID: 22277016 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07969.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) depletion of the posterior dorsomedial striatum (pDMS) can impair the capability of rats to detect changes in the causal efficacy of actions. Here we sought to characterize in more detail the effects of pDMS DA depletions on contingency detection as a function of different contingency degradation training protocols. In experiment 1, sham controls and rats with pDMS DA depletions received limited contingency degradation training (4 days) that involved an invariable and high degree of degradation to one of two contingencies controlling instrumental choice behaviour. The results demonstrated that lesioned rats were insensitive to contingency manipulations both during contingency degradation training and in the subsequent extinction test. Experiment 2 further indicated that rats with pDMS DA depletion subjected to extended contingency degradation training (12 days) became sensitive to contingency manipulations during the training phase but not in the subsequent extinction test. In experiment 3, an extended but more complex contingency degradation training protocol (12 days) was used that involved a gradual shift from a low to an intermediate and a high degree of contingency degradation rather than a high and invariable degree of contingency degradation as in experiments 1 and 2. Notably, lesioned rats were sensitive to contingency manipulations both during the contingency degradation training phase and in the subsequent extinction test. Thus, pDMS DA depletions can impair the capability to detect changes in the causal efficacy of actions; however, the occurrence and pattern of impairments depend on the contingency degradation training protocol being used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Braun
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biology, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
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19
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Pozzi L, Sacchetti G, Agnoli L, Mainolfi P, Invernizzi RW, Carli M. Distinct Changes in CREB Phosphorylation in Frontal Cortex and Striatum During Contingent and Non-Contingent Performance of a Visual Attention Task. Front Behav Neurosci 2011; 5:65. [PMID: 22016726 PMCID: PMC3191343 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2011.00065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2011] [Accepted: 09/21/2011] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The cyclic-adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB) family of transcription factors has been implicated in numerous forms of behavioral plasticity. We investigated CREB phosphorylation along some nodes of corticostriatal circuitry such as frontal cortex (FC) and dorsal (caudate-putamen, CPu) and ventral (nucleus accumbens, NAC) striatum in response to the contingent or non-contingent performance of the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) used to assess visuospatial attention. Three experimental manipulations were used; an attentional performance group (contingent, "master"), a group trained previously on the task but for whom the instrumental contingency coupling responding with stimulus detection and reward was abolished (non-contingent, "yoked") and a control group matched for food deprivation and exposure to the test apparatus (untrained). Rats trained on the 5-CSRTT (both master and yoked) had higher levels of CREB protein in the FC, CPu, and NAC compared to untrained controls. Despite the divergent behavior of "master" and "yoked" rats CREB activity in the FC was not substantially different. In rats performing the 5-CSRTT ("master"), CREB activity was completely abolished in the CPu whereas in the NAC it remained unchanged. In contrast, CREB phosphorylation in CPu and NAC increased only when the contingency changed from goal-dependent to goal-independent reinforcement ("yoked"). The present results indicate that up-regulation of CREB protein expression across cortical and striatal regions possibly reflects the extensive instrumental learning and performance whereas increased CREB activity in striatal regions may signal the unexpected change in the relationship between instrumental action and reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Pozzi
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behaviour, Department of Neuroscience, Institute for Pharmacological Research "Mario Negri" Milano, Italy
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20
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Differential role of the hippocampus in response-outcome and context-outcome learning: Evidence from selective satiation procedures. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2011; 96:248-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2011.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2010] [Revised: 04/06/2011] [Accepted: 05/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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21
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Pielock SM, Lex B, Hauber W. The role of dopamine in the dorsomedial striatum in general and outcome-selective Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. Eur J Neurosci 2011; 33:717-25. [PMID: 21219479 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07561.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Pavlovian stimuli predictive of appetitive outcomes can influence the selection and initiation of instrumental behaviour. For instance, Pavlovian stimuli can act to enhance those actions with which they share an outcome, but not others with which they do not share an outcome, a phenomenon termed outcome-selective Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). Furthermore, Pavlovian stimuli can invigorate an action by inducing a general appetitive arousal that elevates instrumental responding, a phenomenon termed general PIT. The dorsomedial striatum has been implicated in outcome-selective, but not general PIT. However, the role of dopamine (DA) signals in this subregion in mediating PIT is unknown. Here we examined in rats the effects of a 6-hydroxydopamine-induced DA depletion of the anterior (aDMS) or posterior (pDMS) subregion of the dorsomedial striatum on outcome-selective and general PIT as well as on instrumental performance on a FR-5 schedule (five lever presses earned one pellet). Results demonstrate that aDMS and pDMS DA depletions compromised the rate of responding on a FR-5 schedule, suggesting that DA signals in the dorsomedial striatum are necessary to maintain high rates of instrumental responding. By contrast, aDMS and pDMS DA depletions did not affect general PIT, suggesting that DA signals in the dorsomedial striatum do not mediate general activating effects of reward-predictive stimuli to invigorate instrumental responding. Furthermore, aDMS DA depletions did not impair outcome-selective PIT, while pDMS DA depletions had no or only minor effects. Thus, DA signals in the DMS may not be involved in mediating the specific cueing effects of reward-predictive stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffi Mareen Pielock
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biology, University of Stuttgart, D-70550, Stuttgart, Germany
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Lex B, Sommer S, Hauber W. The role of dopamine in the dorsomedial striatum in place and response learning. Neuroscience 2010; 172:212-8. [PMID: 21056091 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.10.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2010] [Revised: 09/25/2010] [Accepted: 10/28/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The posterior subregion of the dorsomedial striatum (pDMS) has been implicated in spatial learning. Here we investigated the role of dopamine (DA) signals in the pDMS in place and response learning using a T-maze task. Rats subjected to a DA depletion of the pDMS and sham controls were trained for 7 days to retrieve food from the west arm of the maze starting from the south, that is to make a left turn at the choice point. On day 8, a probe test was given in which the starting arm was inserted as the north arm. On days 9-16 animals received further training, and on day 17, a second probe test was performed. We examined whether animals responded on probe tests according to a response strategy (left turn at choice point) or to a place strategy (right turn at choice point). Our results revealed that, unlike sham controls, rats with a pDMS DA depletion preferentially used a response rather than a place strategy already on the first probe test. These findings provide further support for a role of the pDMS in spatially guided behavior and indicate that DA signals in the pDMS are critical for the use of a place strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Lex
- Institute of Biology, Department of Animal Physiology, University of Stuttgart, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany
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