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Johansen AN, Acuff SF, Strickland JC. Human laboratory models of reward in substance use disorder. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2024; 241:173803. [PMID: 38843997 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Human laboratory models in substance use disorder provide a key intermediary step between highly controlled and mechanistically informative non-human preclinical methods and clinical trials conducted in human populations. Much like preclinical models, the variety of human laboratory methods provide insights into specific features of substance use disorder rather than modelling the diverse causes and consequences simultaneously in a single model. This narrative review provides a discussion of popular models of reward used in human laboratory research on substance use disorder with a focus on the specific contributions that each model has towards informing clinical outcomes (forward translation) and analogs within preclinical models (backward translation). Four core areas of human laboratory research are discussed: drug self-administration, subjective effects, behavioral economics, and cognitive and executive function. Discussion of common measures and models used, the features of substance use disorder that these methods are purported to evaluate, unique issues for measure validity and application, and translational links to preclinical models and special considerations for studies wishing to evaluate homology across species is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Samuel F Acuff
- Recovery Research Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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Bergeria CL, Gipson CD, Smith KE, Stoops WW, Strickland JC. Opioid craving does not incubate over time in inpatient or outpatient treatment studies: Is the preclinical incubation of craving model lost in translation? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 160:105618. [PMID: 38492446 PMCID: PMC11046527 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
Within addiction science, incubation of craving is an operational label used to describe time-dependent increases in drug seeking during periods of drug deprivation. The purpose of this systematic review was to describe the preclinical literature on incubation of craving and the clinical literature on craving measured over extended periods of abstinence to document this translational homology and factors impacting correspondence. Across the 44 preclinical studies that met inclusion criteria, 31 reported evidence of greater lever pressing, nose pokes, spout licks, or time spent in drug-paired compartments (i.e., drug seeking) relative to neutral compartments after longer periods of abstinence relative to shorter periods of abstinence, labelled as "incubation of craving." In contrast, no clinical studies (n = 20) identified an increase in opioid craving during longer abstinence periods. The lack of clinical evidence for increases in craving in clinical populations weakens the translational utility of operationalizing the time-dependent increase in drug-seeking behavior observed in preclinical models as models of incubation of "craving".
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia L Bergeria
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States.
| | - Cassandra D Gipson
- University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Kirsten E Smith
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - William W Stoops
- University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Justin C Strickland
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Nicolas C, Zlebnik NE, Farokhnia M, Leggio L, Ikemoto S, Shaham Y. Sex Differences in Opioid and Psychostimulant Craving and Relapse: A Critical Review. Pharmacol Rev 2022; 74:119-140. [PMID: 34987089 PMCID: PMC11060335 DOI: 10.1124/pharmrev.121.000367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
A widely held dogma in the preclinical addiction field is that females are more vulnerable than males to drug craving and relapse. Here, we first review clinical studies on sex differences in psychostimulant and opioid craving and relapse. Next, we review preclinical studies on sex differences in psychostimulant and opioid reinstatement of drug seeking after extinction of drug self-administration, and incubation of drug craving (time-dependent increase in drug seeking during abstinence). We also discuss ovarian hormones' role in relapse and craving in humans and animal models and speculate on brain mechanisms underlying their role in cocaine craving and relapse in rodent models. Finally, we discuss imaging studies on brain responses to cocaine cues and stress in men and women.The results of the clinical studies reviewed do not appear to support the notion that women are more vulnerable to psychostimulant and opioid craving and relapse. However, this conclusion is tentative because most of the studies reviewed were correlational, not sufficiently powered, and not a priori designed to detect sex differences. Additionally, imaging studies suggest sex differences in brain responses to cocaine cues and stress. The results of the preclinical studies reviewed provide evidence for sex differences in stress-induced reinstatement and incubation of cocaine craving but not cue- or cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. These sex differences are modulated in part by ovarian hormones. In contrast, the available data do not support the notion of sex differences in craving and relapse/reinstatement for methamphetamine or opioids in rodent models. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This systematic review summarizes clinical and preclinical studies on sex differences in psychostimulant and opioid craving and relapse. Results of the clinical studies reviewed do not appear to support the notion that women are more vulnerable to psychostimulant and opioid craving and relapse. Results of preclinical studies reviewed provide evidence for sex differences in reinstatement and incubation of cocaine seeking but not for reinstatement or incubation of methamphetamine or opioid seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Nicolas
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
| | - Natalie E Zlebnik
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
| | - Mehdi Farokhnia
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
| | - Lorenzo Leggio
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
| | - Satoshi Ikemoto
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Neurocentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (C.N.); Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Present address: Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CA (N.E.Z.); Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (M.F., L.L., S.I., Y.S.); and Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (M.F., L.L.)
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Fredriksson I, Venniro M, Reiner DJ, Chow JJ, Bossert JM, Shaham Y. Animal Models of Drug Relapse and Craving after Voluntary Abstinence: A Review. Pharmacol Rev 2021; 73:1050-1083. [PMID: 34257149 PMCID: PMC11060480 DOI: 10.1124/pharmrev.120.000191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Relapse to drug use during abstinence is a defining feature of addiction. During the last several decades, this clinical scenario has been studied at the preclinical level using classic relapse/reinstatement models in which drug seeking is assessed after experimenter-imposed home-cage forced abstinence or extinction of the drug-reinforced responding in the self-administration chambers. To date, however, results from studies using rat relapse/reinstatement models have yet to result in Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for relapse prevention. The reasons for this state of affairs are complex and multifaceted, but one potential reason is that, in humans, abstinence is often self-imposed or voluntary and occurs either because the negative consequences of drug use outweigh the drug's rewarding effects or because of the availability of nondrug alternative rewards that are chosen over the drug. Based on these considerations, we and others have recently developed rat models of relapse after voluntary abstinence, achieved either by introducing adverse consequences to drug taking (punishment) or seeking (electric barrier) or by providing mutually exclusive choices between the self-administered drug and nondrug rewards (palatable food or social interaction). In this review, we provide an overview of these translationally relevant relapse models and discuss recent neuropharmacological findings from studies using these models. We also discuss sex as a biological variable, future directions, and clinical implications of results from relapse studies using voluntary abstinence models. Our main conclusion is that the neuropharmacological mechanisms controlling relapse to drug seeking after voluntary abstinence are often different from the mechanisms controlling relapse after home-cage forced abstinence or reinstatement after extinction. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This review describes recently developed rat models of relapse after voluntary abstinence, achieved either by introducing adverse consequences to drug taking or seeking or by providing mutually exclusive choices between the self-administered drug and nondrug rewards. This review discusses recent neuropharmacological findings from studies using these models and discusses future directions and clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Fredriksson
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Marco Venniro
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - David J Reiner
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Jonathan J Chow
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Jennifer M Bossert
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health, Baltimore, Maryland (I.F., M.V., D.J.R., J.J.C., J.M.B., Y.S.), and Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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5
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara A Ray
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles
| | - ReJoyce Green
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles
| | - Erica Grodin
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles
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6
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Wiers RW, Verschure P. Curing the broken brain model of addiction: Neurorehabilitation from a systems perspective. Addict Behav 2021; 112:106602. [PMID: 32889442 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The dominant biomedical perspective on addictions has been that they are chronic brain diseases. While we acknowledge that the brains of people with addictions differ from those without, we argue that the "broken brain" model of addiction has important limitations. We propose that a systems-level perspective more effectively captures the integrated architecture of the embodied and situated human mind and brain in relation to the development of addictions. This more dynamic conceptualization places addiction in the broader context of the addicted brain that drives behavior, where the addicted brain is the substrate of the addicted mind, that in turn is situated in a physical and socio-cultural environment. From this perspective, neurorehabilitation should shift from a "broken-brain" to a systems theoretical framework, which includes high-level concepts related to the physical and social environment, motivation, self-image, and the meaning of alternative activities, which in turn will dynamically influence subsequent brain adaptations. We call this integrated approach system-oriented neurorehabilitation. We illustrate our proposal by showing the link between addiction and the architecture of the embodied brain, including a systems-level perspective on classical conditioning, which has been successfully translated into neurorehabilitation. Central to this example is the notion that the human brain makes predictions on future states as well as expected (or counterfactual) errors, in the context of its goals. We advocate system-oriented neurorehabilitation of addiction where the patients' goals are central in targeted, personalized assessment and intervention.
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Leganes-Fonteneau M, Bates ME, Vaschillo EG, Buckman JF. An interoceptive basis for alcohol priming effects. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:1621-1631. [PMID: 33599809 PMCID: PMC7889700 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05796-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Alcohol priming can modulate the value of rewards, as observed through the effects of acute alcohol administration on cue reactivity. However, little is known about the psychophysiological mechanisms driving these effects. Here, we examine how alcohol-induced changes in bodily states shape the development of implicit attentional biases and explicit cue reactivity. OBJECTIVES To characterize the interoceptive correlates of alcohol priming effects on alcohol attentional biases and cue reactivity. METHODS In a two-session double-blind alcohol administration procedure, participants (n=31) were given a 0.4-g/kg dose of alcohol or a placebo drink. Cardiovascular responses were measured before and after alcohol administration to observe the effects of alcohol on viscero-afferent reactivity, as indexed through changes in heart rate variability (HRV) at or near 0.1 Hz (0.1-Hz HRV). Next, participants completed a modified flanker task to examine implicit alcohol attentional biases and provided subjective valence and arousal ratings of alcohol cues to examine explicit cue reactivity. RESULTS We found that changes in 0.1-Hz HRV after alcohol administration positively correlated with attentional biases, and negatively correlated with alcohol valence ratings; blood alcohol content was a null predictor. CONCLUSIONS This is novel evidence that suggests alcohol-induced changes in bodily states may mediate the occurrence of alcohol priming effects and highlights the potentially generative role of interoceptive mechanisms in alcohol-related behaviors. The differential patterns revealed by implicit biases and explicit response tendencies are considered within the context of the dissociation between wanting and liking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateo Leganes-Fonteneau
- Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. .,Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
| | - Marsha E. Bates
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA ,grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA
| | - Evgeny G. Vaschillo
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA ,grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA
| | - Jennifer F. Buckman
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA ,grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA
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8
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Improving translation of animal models of addiction and relapse by reverse translation. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:625-643. [PMID: 33024318 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0378-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Critical features of human addiction are increasingly being incorporated into complementary animal models, including escalation of drug intake, punished drug seeking and taking, intermittent drug access, choice between drug and non-drug rewards, and assessment of individual differences based on criteria in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Combined with new technologies, these models advanced our understanding of brain mechanisms of drug self-administration and relapse, but these mechanistic gains have not led to improvements in addiction treatment. This problem is not unique to addiction neuroscience, but it is an increasing source of disappointment and calls to regroup. Here we first summarize behavioural and neurobiological results from the animal models mentioned above. We then propose a reverse translational approach, whose goal is to develop models that mimic successful treatments: opioid agonist maintenance, contingency management and the community-reinforcement approach. These reverse-translated 'treatments' may provide an ecologically relevant platform from which to discover new circuits, test new medications and improve translation.
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Fronk GE, Sant'Ana SJ, Kaye JT, Curtin JJ. Stress Allostasis in Substance Use Disorders: Promise, Progress, and Emerging Priorities in Clinical Research. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2020; 16:401-430. [PMID: 32040338 PMCID: PMC7259491 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-102419-125016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Clinicians and researchers alike have long believed that stressors play a pivotal etiologic role in risk, maintenance, and/or relapse of alcohol and other substance use disorders (SUDs). Numerous seminal and contemporary theories on SUD etiology posit that stressors may motivate drug use and that individuals who use drugs chronically may display altered responses to stressors. We use foundational basic stress biology research as a lens through which to evaluate critically the available evidence to support these key stress-SUD theses in humans. Additionally, we examine the field's success to date in targeting stressors and stress allostasis in treatments for SUDs. We conclude with our recommendations for how best to advance our understanding of the relationship between stressors and drug use, and we discuss clinical implications for treatment development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaylen E Fronk
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA; , ,
| | - Sarah J Sant'Ana
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA; , ,
| | - Jesse T Kaye
- William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA;
- Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA
| | - John J Curtin
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA; , ,
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Fredriksson I, Applebey SV, Minier-Toribio A, Shekara A, Bossert JM, Shaham Y. Effect of the dopamine stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 on potentiated incubation of opioid craving after electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:770-779. [PMID: 31905372 PMCID: PMC7075949 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0602-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
In the classical incubation of drug craving rat model, drug seeking is assessed after homecage forced abstinence. However, human abstinence is often voluntary because negative consequences of drug seeking outweigh the desire for the drug. Here, we developed a rat model of incubation of opioid craving after electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence and determined whether the dopamine stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 would decrease this new form of incubation. We trained male and female rats to self-administer oxycodone (0.1 mg/kg/infusion, 6 h/day) for 14 days. We then exposed them to either homecage forced abstinence or voluntary abstinence induced by an electric barrier of increasing intensity near the drug-paired lever. On abstinence days 1, 15, or 30, we tested the rats for oxycodone seeking without shock and drug. We also examined the effect of (-)-OSU6162 (7.5 and 15 mg/kg) on oxycodone seeking on abstinence day 1 or after 15 days of either voluntary or forced abstinence. Independent of sex, the time-dependent increase in oxycodone seeking after cessation of opioid self-administration (incubation of opioid craving) was stronger after voluntary abstinence than after forced abstinence. In males, (-)-OSU6162 decreased incubated (day 15) but not non-incubated (day 1) oxycodone seeking after either voluntary or forced abstinence. In females, (-)-OSU6162 modestly decreased incubated oxycodone seeking after voluntary but not forced abstinence. Results suggest that voluntary abstinence induced by negative consequences of drug seeking can paradoxically potentiate opioid craving and relapse. We propose the dopamine stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 may serve as an adjunct pharmacological treatment to prevent relapse in male opioid users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Fredriksson
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, IRP/NIDA/NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, IRP/NIDA/NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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11
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Venniro M, Shaham Y. An operant social self-administration and choice model in rats. Nat Protoc 2020; 15:1542-1559. [PMID: 32203485 PMCID: PMC8409109 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0296-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
It is difficult to translate results from animal research on addiction to an understanding of the behavior of human drug users. Despite decades of basic research on neurobiological mechanisms of drug addiction, treatment options remain largely unchanged. A potential reason for this is that mechanistic studies using rodent models do not incorporate a critical facet of human addiction: volitional choices between drug use and non-drug social rewards (e.g., employment and family). Recently, we developed an operant model in which rats press a lever for rewarding social interaction with a peer and then choose between an addictive drug (heroin or methamphetamine) and social interaction. Using this model, we showed that rewarding social interaction suppresses drug self-administration, relapse to drug seeking, and brain responses to drug-associated cues. Here, we describe a protocol for operant social interaction using a discrete-trial choice between drugs and social interaction that causes voluntary abstinence from the drug and tests for incubation of drug craving (the time-dependent increase in drug seeking during abstinence). This protocol is flexible but generally requires 8-9 weeks for completion. We also provide a detailed description of the technical requirements and procedures for building the social self-administration and choice apparatus. Our protocol provides a reliable way to study the role of operant social reward in addiction and addiction vulnerability in the context of choices. We propose that this protocol can be used to study brain mechanisms of operant social reward and potentially impairments in social reward in animal models of psychiatric disorders and pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Venniro
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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12
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Field M, Kersbergen I. Are animal models of addiction useful? Addiction 2020; 115:6-12. [PMID: 31353760 DOI: 10.1111/add.14764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pre-clinical research involving non-human animals has made important contributions to our understanding of risk factors for addiction, neuroadaptations that follow chronic drug exposure and to the development of some efficacious pharmacotherapies for addiction. Despite these contributions, we argue that animal models of addiction have impeded progress in our understanding of addiction and its treatment in humans. ARGUMENT First, the majority of pharmacological treatments that were initially developed using animal models have failed to prove effective for the treatment of addiction in humans, resulting in a huge waste of resources. Secondly, we demonstrate that prevailing animal models that portray addiction as a disorder of compulsion and habit cannot be reconciled with observations that psychoactive drug use in humans is a goal-directed operant behaviour that remains under the control of its consequences, even in people who are addicted. Thirdly, addiction may be a uniquely human phenomenon that is dependent on language, which necessarily limits the validity of animal models. Finally, we argue that addicted brains must be understood as one component of broader networks of symptoms and environmental and social factors that are impossible to model in laboratory animals. CONCLUSIONS A case can be made that animal models of addiction have not served us well in understanding and treating addiction in humans. It is important to reconsider some widely held beliefs about the nature of addictive behaviour in humans that have arisen from the zeal to translate observations of laboratory animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Field
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Inge Kersbergen
- School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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13
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Venniro M, Russell TI, Zhang M, Shaham Y. Operant Social Reward Decreases Incubation of Heroin Craving in Male and Female Rats. Biol Psychiatry 2019; 86:848-856. [PMID: 31326085 PMCID: PMC8383184 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We recently reported that operant social choice-induced voluntary abstinence prevents incubation of methamphetamine craving. Here, we determined whether social choice-induced voluntary abstinence would prevent incubation of heroin craving. We also introduce a fully automatic social reward self-administration model that eliminates the intense workload and rat-human interaction of the original semiautomatic model. METHODS In experiment 1, we trained male and female rats for social self-administration (6 days) and then for heroin self-administration (12 days). Next, we assessed relapse to heroin seeking after 1 and 15 abstinence days. Between tests, the rats underwent either forced or social choice-induced abstinence. In experiment 2, we developed a fully automatic social self-administration procedure by introducing a screen between the self-administration chamber and the social-peer chamber; the screen allows physical contact but prevents rats from crossing chambers. Next, we compared incubation of craving in rats with a history of standard (no-screen) or automatic (screen) social self-administration and social choice-induced abstinence. RESULTS The time-dependent increase in heroin seeking after cessation of drug self-administration (incubation of craving) was lower after social choice-induced abstinence than after forced abstinence. There were no differences in social self-administration, social choice-induced abstinence, and incubation of craving in rats trained in the standard semiautomatic procedure versus the novel fully automatic procedure. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates the protective effect of rewarding social interaction on heroin self-administration and incubation of heroin craving and introduces a fully automatic social self-administration and choice procedure to investigate the role of volitional social interaction in drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Venniro
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
| | - Trinity I Russell
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Michelle Zhang
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
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Genomic basis of delayed reward discounting. Behav Processes 2019; 162:157-161. [PMID: 30876880 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Delayed reward discounting (DRD) is a behavioral economic measure of impulsivity, reflecting how rapidly a reward loses value based on its temporal distance. In humans, more impulsive DRD is associated with susceptibility to a number of psychiatric diseases (e.g., addiction, ADHD), health outcomes (e.g., obesity), and lifetime outcomes (e.g., educational attainment). Although the determinants of DRD are both genetic and environmental, this review focuses on its genetic basis. Both rodent studies using inbred strains and human twin studies indicate that DRD is moderately heritable, a conclusion that was further supported by a recent human genome-wide association study (GWAS) that used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) to estimate heritability. The GWAS of DRD also identified genetic correlations with psychiatric diagnoses, health outcomes, and measures of cognitive performance. Future research priorities include rodent studies probing putative genetic mechanisms of DRD and human GWASs using larger samples and non-European cohorts. Continuing to characterize genomic influences on DRD has the potential to yield important biological insights with implications for a variety of medically and socially important outcomes.
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15
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Reiner DJ, Fredriksson I, Lofaro OM, Bossert JM, Shaham Y. Relapse to opioid seeking in rat models: behavior, pharmacology and circuits. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:465-477. [PMID: 30293087 PMCID: PMC6333846 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0234-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Lifetime relapse rates remain a major obstacle in addressing the current opioid crisis. Relapse to opioid use can be modeled in rodent studies where drug self-administration is followed by a period of abstinence and a subsequent test for drug seeking. Abstinence can be achieved through extinction training, forced abstinence, or voluntary abstinence. Voluntary abstinence can be accomplished by introducing adverse consequences of continued drug self-administration (e.g., punishment or electric barrier) or by introducing an alternative nondrug reward in a discrete choice procedure (drug versus palatable food or social interaction). In this review, we first discuss pharmacological and circuit mechanisms of opioid seeking, as assessed in the classical extinction-reinstatement model, where reinstatement is induced by reexposure to the self-administered drug (drug priming), discrete cues, discriminative cues, drug-associated contexts, different forms of stress, or withdrawal states. Next, we discuss pharmacological and circuit mechanisms of relapse after forced or voluntary abstinence, including the phenomenon of "incubation of heroin craving" (the time-dependent increases in heroin seeking during abstinence). We conclude by discussing future directions of preclinical relapse-related studies using opioid drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Reiner
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, IRP-NIDA-NIH, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Ida Fredriksson
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, IRP-NIDA-NIH, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Olivia M. Lofaro
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, IRP-NIDA-NIH, Baltimore, MD USA
| | | | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, IRP-NIDA-NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Harro J. Animal models of depression: pros and cons. Cell Tissue Res 2018; 377:5-20. [PMID: 30560458 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-018-2973-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Animal models of depression are certainly needed but the question in the title has been raised owing to the controversies in the interpretation of the readout in a number of tests, to the perceived lack of progress in the development of novel treatments and to the expressed doubts in whether animal models can offer anything to make a true breakthrough in understanding the neurobiology of depression and producing novel drugs against depression. Herewith, it is argued that if anything is wrong with animal models, including those for depression, it is not about the principle of modelling complex human disorder in animals but in the way the tests are selected, conducted and interpreted. Further progress in the study of depression and in developing new treatments, will be supported by animal models of depression if these were more critically targeted to drug screening vs. studies of underlying neurobiology, clearly stratified to vulnerability and pathogenetic models, focused on well-defined endophenotypes and validated for each setting while bearing the existing limits to validation in mind. Animal models of depression need not to rely merely on behavioural readouts but increasingly incorporate neurobiological measures as the understanding of depression as human brain disorder advances. Further developments would be fostered by cross-fertilizinga translational approach that is bidirectional, research on humans making more use of neurobiological findings in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaanus Harro
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14A Chemicum, 50411, Tartu, Estonia.
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