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Wunsch AM, Hwang EK, Funke JR, Baker R, Moutier A, Milovanovic M, Green TA, Wolf ME. Retinoic acid-mediated homeostatic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens core contributes to incubation of cocaine craving. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024:10.1007/s00213-024-06612-x. [PMID: 38935096 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06612-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Incubation of cocaine craving refers to the progressive intensification of cue-induced craving during abstinence from cocaine self-administration. We showed previously that homomeric GluA1 Ca2+-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPAR) accumulate in excitatory synapses of nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) medium spiny neurons (MSN) after ∼1 month of abstinence and thereafter their activation is required for expression of incubation. Therefore, it is important to understand mechanisms underlying CP-AMPAR plasticity. OBJECTIVES We hypothesize that CP-AMPAR upregulation represents a retinoic acid (RA)-dependent form of homeostatic plasticity, previously described in other brain regions, in which a reduction in neuronal activity disinhibits RA synthesis, leading to GluA1 translation and CP-AMPAR synaptic insertion. We tested this using viral vectors to bidirectionally manipulate RA signaling in NAcc during abstinence following extended-access cocaine self-administration. RESULTS We used shRNA targeted to the RA degradative enzyme Cyp26b1 to increase RA signaling. This treatment accelerated incubation; rats expressed incubation on abstinence day (AD) 15, when it is not yet detected in control rats. It also accelerated CP-AMPAR synaptic insertion measured with slice physiology. CP-AMPARs were detected in Cyp26b1 shRNA-expressing MSN, but not control MSN, on AD15-18. Next, we used shRNA targeted to the major RA synthetic enzyme Aldh1a1 to reduce RA signaling. In MSN expressing Aldh1a1 shRNA, synaptic CP-AMPARs were reduced in late withdrawal (AD42-60) compared to controls. However, we did not detect an effect of this manipulation on incubated cocaine seeking (AD40). CONCLUSIONS These findings support the hypothesis that increased RA signaling during abstinence contributes to CP-AMPAR accumulation and incubation of cocaine craving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Wunsch
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Eun-Kyung Hwang
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA
| | - Jonathan R Funke
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, 02111, USA
| | - Raines Baker
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA
- College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Alana Moutier
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA
- Yecuris Corporation, Tualatin, OR, 97062, USA
| | - Mike Milovanovic
- Department of Neuroscience, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Thomas A Green
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA
| | - Marina E Wolf
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97212, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
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Jones JA, Belin-Rauscent A, Jupp B, Fouyssac M, Sawiak SJ, Zuhlsdorff K, Zhukovsky P, Hebdon L, Velazquez Sanchez C, Robbins TW, Everitt BJ, Belin D, Dalley JW. Neurobehavioral Precursors of Compulsive Cocaine Seeking in Dual Frontostriatal Circuits. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:194-202. [PMID: 38298793 PMCID: PMC10829640 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Only some individuals who use drugs recreationally eventually develop a substance use disorder, characterized in part by the rigid engagement in drug foraging behavior (drug seeking), which is often maintained in the face of adverse consequences (i.e., is compulsive). The neurobehavioral determinants of this individual vulnerability have not been fully elucidated. Methods Using a prospective longitudinal study involving 39 male rats, we combined multidimensional characterization of behavioral traits of vulnerability to stimulant use disorder (impulsivity and stickiness) and resilience (sign tracking and sensation seeking/locomotor reactivity to novelty) with magnetic resonance imaging to identify the structural and functional brain correlates of the later emergence of compulsive drug seeking in drug-naïve subjects. We developed a novel behavioral procedure to investigate the individual tendency to persist in drug-seeking behavior in the face of punishment in a drug-free state in subjects with a prolonged history of cocaine seeking under the control of the conditioned reinforcing properties of a drug-paired Pavlovian conditioned stimulus. Results In drug-naïve rats, the tendency to develop compulsive cocaine seeking was characterized by behavioral stickiness-related functional hypoconnectivity between the prefrontal cortex and posterior dorsomedial striatum in combination with impulsivity-related structural alterations in the infralimbic cortex, anterior insula, and nucleus accumbens. Conclusions These findings show that the vulnerability to developing compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior stems from preexisting structural or functional changes in two distinct corticostriatal systems that underlie deficits in impulse control and goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolyon A. Jones
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Aude Belin-Rauscent
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Bianca Jupp
- Department of Neurosciences, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Maxime Fouyssac
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen J. Sawiak
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Katharina Zuhlsdorff
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Zhukovsky
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lara Hebdon
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Clara Velazquez Sanchez
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Trevor W. Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Barry J. Everitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - David Belin
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jeffrey W. Dalley
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, Herschel Smith Building for Brain and Mind Sciences, Forvie Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Jadhav KS, Boury Jamot B, Deroche‐Gamonet V, Belin D, Boutrel B. Towards a machine-learning assisted diagnosis of psychiatric disorders and their operationalization in preclinical research: Evidence from studies on addiction-like behaviour in individual rats. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:6069-6083. [PMID: 36215170 PMCID: PMC10092243 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15839] [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: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Over the last few decades, there has been a progressive transition from a categorical to a dimensional approach to psychiatric disorders. Especially in the case of substance use disorders, interest in the individual vulnerability to transition from controlled to compulsive drug taking warrants the development of novel dimension-based objective stratification tools. Here we drew on a multidimensional preclinical model of addiction, namely the 3-criteria model, previously developed to identify the neurobehavioural basis of the individual's vulnerability to switch from controlled to compulsive drug taking, to test a machine-learning assisted classifier objectively to identify individual subjects as vulnerable/resistant to addiction. Datasets from our previous studies on addiction-like behaviour for cocaine or alcohol were fed into a variety of machine-learning algorithms to develop a classifier that identifies resilient and vulnerable rats with high precision and reproducibility irrespective of the cohort to which they belong. A classifier based on K-median or K-mean-clustering (for cocaine or alcohol, respectively) followed by artificial neural networks emerged as a highly reliable and accurate tool to predict if a single rat is vulnerable/resilient to addiction. Thus, each rat previously characterized as displaying 0-criterion (i.e., resilient) or 3-criteria (i.e., vulnerable) in individual cohorts was correctly labelled by this classifier. The present machine-learning-based classifier objectively labels single individuals as resilient or vulnerable to developing addiction-like behaviour in a multisymptomatic preclinical model of addiction-like behaviour in rats. This novel dimension-based classifier increases the heuristic value of these preclinical models while providing proof of principle to deploy similar tools for the future of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kshitij S. Jadhav
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of PsychiatryLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
- Cambridge Laboratory for Research on Impulsive/Compulsive spectrum Disorders (CLIC), Department of PsychologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Benjamin Boury Jamot
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of PsychiatryLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
| | | | - David Belin
- Cambridge Laboratory for Research on Impulsive/Compulsive spectrum Disorders (CLIC), Department of PsychologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Benjamin Boutrel
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of PsychiatryLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
- Division of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry, Department of PsychiatryLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
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Pérez-Ramírez Ú, López-Madrona VJ, Pérez-Segura A, Pallarés V, Moreno A, Ciccocioppo R, Hyytiä P, Sommer WH, Moratal D, Canals S. Brain Network Allostasis after Chronic Alcohol Drinking Is Characterized by Functional Dedifferentiation and Narrowing. J Neurosci 2022; 42:4401-4413. [PMID: 35437279 PMCID: PMC9145238 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0389-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) causes complex alterations in the brain that are poorly understood. The heterogeneity of drinking patterns and the high incidence of comorbid factors compromise mechanistic investigations in AUD patients. Here we used male Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring (msP) rats, a well established animal model of chronic alcohol drinking, and a combination of longitudinal resting-state fMRI and manganese-enhanced MRI to provide objective measurements of brain connectivity and activity, respectively. We found that 1 month of chronic alcohol drinking changed the correlation between resting-state networks. The change was not homogeneous, resulting in the reorganization of pairwise interactions and a shift in the equilibrium of functional connections. We identified two fundamentally different forms of network reorganization. First is functional dedifferentiation, which is defined as a regional increase in neuronal activity and overall correlation, with a concomitant decrease in preferential connectivity between specific networks. Through this mechanism, occipital cortical areas lost their specific interaction with sensory-insular cortex, striatal, and sensorimotor networks. Second is functional narrowing, which is defined as an increase in neuronal activity and preferential connectivity between specific brain networks. Functional narrowing strengthened the interaction between striatal and prefrontocortical networks, involving the anterior insular, cingulate, orbitofrontal, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortices. Importantly, these two types of alterations persisted after alcohol discontinuation, suggesting that dedifferentiation and functional narrowing rendered persistent network states. Our results support the idea that chronic alcohol drinking, albeit at moderate intoxicating levels, induces an allostatic change in the brain functional connectivity that propagates into early abstinence.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Excessive consumption of alcohol is positioned among the top five risk factors for disease and disability. Despite this priority, the transformations that the nervous system undergoes from an alcohol-naive state to a pathologic alcohol drinking are not well understood. In our study, we use an animal model with proven translational validity to study this transformation longitudinally. The results show that shortly after chronic alcohol consumption there is an increase in redundant activity shared by brain structures, and the specific communication shrinks to a set of pathways. This functional dedifferentiation and narrowing are not reversed immediately after alcohol withdrawal but persist during early abstinence. We causally link chronic alcohol drinking with an early and abstinence-persistent retuning of the functional equilibrium of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Úrsula Pérez-Ramírez
- Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, E-46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Víctor J López-Madrona
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
| | - Andrés Pérez-Segura
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
| | - Vicente Pallarés
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
| | - Andrea Moreno
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
| | | | - Petri Hyytiä
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Wolfgang H Sommer
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - David Moratal
- Center for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, E-46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Santiago Canals
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
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Sommer WH, Canals S, Bifone A, Heilig M, Hyytiä P. From a systems view to spotting a hidden island: A narrative review implicating insula function in alcoholism. Neuropharmacology 2022; 209:108989. [PMID: 35217032 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.108989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Excessive use of alcohol promotes the development of alcohol addiction, but the understanding of how alcohol-induced brain alterations lead to addiction remains limited. To further this understanding, we adopted an unbiased discovery strategy based on the principles of systems medicine. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging data from patients and animal models of alcohol addiction-like behaviors, and developed mathematical models of the 'relapse-prone' network states to identify brain sites and functional networks that can be selectively targeted by therapeutic interventions. Our systems level, non-local, and largely unbiased analyses converged on a few well-defined brain regions, with the insula emerging as one of the most consistent finding across studies. In proof-of-concept experiments we were able to demonstrate that it is possible to guide network dynamics towards increased resilience in animals but an initial translation into a clinical trial targeting the insula failed. Here, in a narrative review, we summarize the key experiments, methodological developments and knowledge gained from this completed round of a discovery cycle moving from identification of 'relapse-prone' network states in humans and animals to target validation and intervention trial. Future concerted efforts are necessary to gain a deeper understanding of insula function a in a state-dependent, circuit-specific and cell population perspective, and to develop the means for insula-directed interventions, before therapeutic targeting of this structure may become possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang H Sommer
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Bethania Hospital for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Santiago Canals
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain
| | - Angelo Bifone
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Sustainable Future Technologies, Torino, Italy
| | - Markus Heilig
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University and Dept. of Psychiatry, Linköping Univ. Hospital, S-581 85, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Petri Hyytiä
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
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