1
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Grissom NM, Glewwe N, Chen C, Giglio E. Sex mechanisms as nonbinary influences on cognitive diversity. Horm Behav 2024; 162:105544. [PMID: 38643533 PMCID: PMC11338071 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Essentially all neuropsychiatric diagnoses show some degree of sex and/or gender differences in their etiology, diagnosis, or prognosis. As a result, the roles of sex-related variables in behavior and cognition are of strong interest to many, with several lines of research showing effects on executive functions and value-based decision making in particular. These findings are often framed within a sex binary, with behavior of females described as less optimal than male "defaults"-- a framing that pits males and females against each other and deemphasizes the enormous overlap in fundamental neural mechanisms across sexes. Here, we propose an alternative framework in which sex-related factors encompass just one subset of many sources of valuable diversity in cognition. First, we review literature establishing multidimensional, nonbinary impacts of factors related to sex chromosomes and endocrine mechanisms on cognition, focusing on value- based decision-making tasks. Next, we present two suggestions for nonbinary interpretations and analyses of sex-related data that can be implemented by behavioral neuroscientists without devoting laboratory resources to delving into mechanisms underlying sex differences. We recommend (1) shifting interpretations of behavior away from performance metrics and towards strategy assessments to avoid the fallacy that the performance of one sex is worse than another; and (2) asking how much variance sex explains in measures and whether any differences are mosaic rather than binary, to avoid assuming that sex differences in separate measures are inextricably correlated. Nonbinary frameworks in research on cognition will allow neuroscience to represent the full spectrum of brains and behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola M Grissom
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, United States of America.
| | - Nic Glewwe
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Cathy Chen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Erin Giglio
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, United States of America
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2
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Coffey KR, Nickelson WB, Dawkins AJ, Neumaier JF. Rapid appearance of negative emotion during oral fentanyl self-administration in male and female rats. Addict Biol 2023; 28:e13344. [PMID: 38017643 PMCID: PMC10745948 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13344] [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: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Opioid use disorder has become an epidemic in the United States, fuelled by the widespread availability of fentanyl, which produces rapid and intense euphoria followed by severe withdrawal and emotional distress. We developed a new preclinical model of fentanyl seeking in outbred male and female rats using volitional oral self-administration (SA) that can be readily applied in labs without intravascular access. Using a traditional two-lever operant procedure, rats learned to take oral fentanyl vigorously, escalated intake across sessions, and readily reinstated responding to conditioned cues after extinction. Oral SA also revealed individual and sex differences that are essential to studying substance use risk propensity. During a behavioural economics task, rats displayed inelastic demand curves and maintained stable intake across a wide range of fentanyl concentrations. Oral SA was also neatly patterned, with distinct 'loading' and 'maintenance' phases of responding within each session. Using our software DeepSqueak, we analysed ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), which are innate expressions of current emotional state in rats. Rats produced 50 kHz USVs during loading then shifted quickly to 22 kHz calls despite ongoing maintenance of oral fentanyl taking, reflecting a transition to negative reinforcement. Using fibre photometry, we found that the lateral habenula differentially processed drug cues and drug consumption depending on affective state, with potentiated modulation by drug cues and consumption during the negative affective maintenance phase. Together, these results indicate a rapid progression from positive to negative reinforcement occurs even within an active drug taking session, revealing a within-session opponent process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R. Coffey
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - William B. Nickelson
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Puget Sound VA Health Care System, 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108
| | - Aliyah J. Dawkins
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Puget Sound VA Health Care System, 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108
| | - John F. Neumaier
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Puget Sound VA Health Care System, 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
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3
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Crawley AK, Sharma A, Coffey KR, West MO, Barker DJ. Nucleus accumbens shell neurons' early sensitivity to cocaine is associated with future increases in drug intake. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 8:100107. [PMID: 37664219 PMCID: PMC10469398 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2023.100107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
The striatum, both dorsal and ventral, is strongly implicated in substance use disorder. Chronic consumption of abused substances, such as cocaine, can cause an oversaturation of mesostriatal dopamine, which results in alterations in the firing of striatal neurons. While most preclinical studies of drug self-administration (S-A) are focused on these alterations, individual differences in a subject's early responses to drugs can also account for substantial differences in addiction susceptibility. In this study, we modeled longitudinal pharmacokinetics using data from a previous longitudinal study (Coffey et al., 2015) and aimed to determine if firing in specific dorsal and ventral striatal subregions was subject to changes across chronic cocaine S-A, and if individual animal differences in striatal firing in response to early drug exposure correlated with increases in drug intake. We observed that the firing patterns of nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and shell neurons exhibited increasing sensitivity to cocaine over the first 6 S-A sessions and maintained a strong negative correlation between drug intake and neuronal firing rates across chronic S-A. Moreover, we observed that the early sensitivity of NAc shell neurons to cocaine correlated with future increases in drug intake. Specifically, rats whose NAc shell neurons were most inhibited by increasing levels of cocaine upon first exposure exhibited the strongest increases in cocaine intake over time. If this difference can be linked to a genetic difference, or druggable targets, it may be possible to screen for similar addiction susceptibility in humans or develop novel preemptive pharmacotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley K. Crawley
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Anirudh Sharma
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Kevin R. Coffey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mark O. West
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - David J. Barker
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
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4
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Bagley JR, Tan Y, Zhu W, Cheng Z, Takeda S, Fang Z, Arslan A, Wang M, Guan Y, Jiang L, Jian R, Gu F, Parada I, Prince D, Jentsch JD, Peltz G. Neuron Navigator 1 (Nav1) regulates the response to cocaine in mice. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1053. [PMID: 37853211 PMCID: PMC10584906 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05430-9] [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: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variation accounts for much of the risk for developing a substance use disorder, but the underlying genetic factors and their genetic effector mechanisms are mostly unknown. Inbred mouse strains exhibit substantial and heritable differences in the extent of voluntary cocaine self-administration. Computational genetic analysis of cocaine self-administration data obtained from twenty-one inbred strains identified Nav1, a member of the neuron navigator family that regulates dendrite formation and axonal guidance, as a candidate gene. To test this genetic hypothesis, we generated and characterized Nav1 knockout mice. Consistent with the genetic prediction, Nav1 knockout mice exhibited increased voluntary cocaine intake and had increased motivation for cocaine consumption. Immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, and transcriptomic studies were performed as a starting point for investigating the mechanism for the Nav1 knockout effect. Nav1 knockout mice had a reduced inhibitory synapse density in their cortex, increased excitatory synaptic transmission in their cortex and hippocampus, and increased excitatory neurons in a deep cortical layer. Collectively, our results indicate that Nav1 regulates the response to cocaine, and we identified Nav1 knockout induced changes in the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic balance in the cortex and hippocampus that could contribute to this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R Bagley
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Yalun Tan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Wan Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Zhuanfen Cheng
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Saori Takeda
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Zhouqing Fang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ahmed Arslan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Meiyue Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yuan Guan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lihua Jiang
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ruiqi Jian
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Feng Gu
- Department of Neurology, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, USA
| | - Isabel Parada
- Department of Neurology, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - David Prince
- Department of Neurology, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - J David Jentsch
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Gary Peltz
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Khan AH, Bagley JR, LaPierre N, Gonzalez-Figueroa C, Spencer TC, Choudhury M, Xiao X, Eskin E, Jentsch JD, Smith DJ. Genetic pathways regulating the longitudinal acquisition of cocaine self-administration in a panel of inbred and recombinant inbred mice. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112856. [PMID: 37481717 PMCID: PMC10530068 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112856] [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: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
To identify addiction genes, we evaluate intravenous self-administration of cocaine or saline in 84 inbred and recombinant inbred mouse strains over 10 days. We integrate the behavior data with brain RNA-seq data from 41 strains. The self-administration of cocaine and that of saline are genetically distinct. We maximize power to map loci for cocaine intake by using a linear mixed model to account for this longitudinal phenotype while correcting for population structure. A total of 15 unique significant loci are identified in the genome-wide association study. A transcriptome-wide association study highlights the Trpv2 ion channel as a key locus for cocaine self-administration as well as identifying 17 additional genes, including Arhgef26, Slc18b1, and Slco5a1. We find numerous instances where alternate splice site selection or RNA editing altered transcript abundance. Our work emphasizes the importance of Trpv2, an ionotropic cannabinoid receptor, for the response to cocaine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arshad H Khan
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jared R Bagley
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Nathan LaPierre
- Department of Computer Science, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | - Tadeo C Spencer
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mudra Choudhury
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Xinshu Xiao
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Eleazar Eskin
- Department of Computational Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - James D Jentsch
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Desmond J Smith
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Tran TDB, Monroy Hernandez C, Nguyen H, Wright S, Tarantino LM, Chesler EJ, Weinstock GM, Zhou Y, Bubier JA. The microbial community dynamics of cocaine sensitization in two behaviorally divergent strains of collaborative cross mice. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2023; 22:e12845. [PMID: 37114320 PMCID: PMC10242200 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
The gut-brain axis is increasingly recognized as an important pathway involved in cocaine use disorder. Microbial products of the murine gut have been shown to affect striatal gene expression, and depletion of the microbiome by antibiotic treatment alters cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in C57BL/6J male mice. Some reports suggest that cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization is correlated with drug self-administration behavior in mice. Here, we profile the composition of the naïve microbiome and its response to cocaine sensitization in two collaborative cross (CC) strains. These strains display extremely divergent behavioral responses to cocaine sensitization. A high-responding strain, CC004/TauUncJ (CC04), has a gut microbiome that contains a greater amount of Lactobacillus than the cocaine-nonresponsive strain CC041/TauUncJ (CC41). The gut microbiome of CC41 is characterized by an abundance of Eisenbergella, Robinsonella and Ruminococcus. In response to cocaine, CC04 has an increased Barnsiella population, while the gut microbiome of CC41 displays no significant changes. PICRUSt functional analysis of the functional potential of the gut microbiome in CC04 shows a significant number of potential gut-brain modules altered after exposure to cocaine, specifically those encoding for tryptophan synthesis, glutamine metabolism, and menaquinone synthesis (vitamin K2). Depletion of the microbiome by antibiotic treatment revealed an altered cocaine-sensitization response following antibiotics in female CC04 mice. Depleting the microbiome by antibiotic treatment in males revealed increased infusions for CC04 during a cocaine intravenous self-administration dose-response curve. Together these data suggest that genetic differences in cocaine-related behaviors may involve the microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Hoan Nguyen
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic MedicineFarmingtonConnecticutUSA
| | - Susan Wright
- National Institute of Drug AbuseRockvilleMarylandUSA
| | | | - Lisa M. Tarantino
- Department of Genetics, School of MedicineUniversity of North CarolinaChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | | | | | - Yanjiao Zhou
- School of MedicineUniversity of Connecticut Health CenterFarmingtonConnecticutUSA
| | - Jason A. Bubier
- The Jackson Laboratory for Mammalian GeneticsBar HarborMaineUSA
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7
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Chapp AD, Nwakama CA, Thomas MJ, Meisel RL, Mermelstein PG. Sex Differences in Cocaine Sensitization Vary by Mouse Strain. Neuroendocrinology 2023; 113:1167-1176. [PMID: 37040721 DOI: 10.1159/000530591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Preclinical literature, frequently utilizing rats, suggests females display a more rapid advancement of substance abuse and a greater risk of relapse following drug abstinence. In clinical populations, it is less clear as to what extent biological sex is a defining variable in the acquisition and maintenance of substance use. Even without considering environmental experiences, genetic factors are presumed to critically influence the vulnerability to addiction. Genetically diverse mouse models provide a robust tool to examine the interactions between genetic background and sex differences in substance abuse. METHODS We explored mouse strain variability in male versus female behavioral sensitization to cocaine. Locomotor sensitization was observed following 5 consecutive days of subcutaneous cocaine across three genetically different mice strains: C57BL/6J, B6129SF2/J, and Diversity Outbred (DO/J). RESULTS Sex differences in cocaine locomotor sensitization were dependent on mouse strain. Specifically, we observed opposing sex differences in locomotor sensitization, with male C57BL/6J and female B6129SF2/J mice displaying heightened activity compared to their opposite sex counterparts. Conversely, no sex differences were observed in the DO/J mice. Acute cocaine administration resulted in locomotor differences across strains in male, but not female, mice. The magnitude of sensitization (or lack thereof) also varied by genetic background. CONCLUSIONS While sex differences in drug addiction may be observed, these effects can be mitigated, or even reversed, depending on genetic background. The clinical implications are that in the absence of understanding the genetic variables underlying vulnerability to addiction, sex provides little information regarding the predisposition of an individual to drug abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Chapp
- Department of Neuroscience and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Chinonso A Nwakama
- Department of Neuroscience and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mark J Thomas
- Department of Neuroscience and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Robert L Meisel
- Department of Neuroscience and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Paul G Mermelstein
- Department of Neuroscience and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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8
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Collins V, Bornhoft KN, Wolff A, Sinha S, Saunders BT. Hierarchical cue control of cocaine seeking in the face of cost. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:461-476. [PMID: 36069951 PMCID: PMC10131580 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06218-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Addiction is characterized by intermittent drug seeking despite rising costs. This behavior is heavily influenced by environmental stimuli that signal drug availability and reinforce drug seeking. OBJECTIVE To establish the relationship between three key aspects of human drug use in rats: the intermittent, binge nature of drug intake, the motivational conflict of drug seeking in the face of escalating negative costs, and the ability of different drug cues to interact to modulate relapse. METHODS Male and female rats were trained to self-administer cocaine on an intermittent access schedule, where brief drug-availability states were signaled by a shift in the ambient lighting of the environment, and cocaine infusions were signaled by a separate proximal discrete cue. Rats then went through a conflict procedure, where foot shock intensity associated with cocaine seeking was escalated until intake was suppressed. We then completed relapse tests where the drug-delivery cue was noncontingently presented alone, or in the context of dynamic drug-availability state transitions. RESULTS Intermittent access spurred psychomotor sensitization and binge-like cocaine intake. The intensity of binge-like drug taking during training was predictive of later drug seeking despite escalating costs during conflict. In relapse tests, the ability of a proximal discrete drug cue to trigger relapse was gated by the presence of a global cue signaling drug-availability state transitions. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the pattern of drug intake plays a role in many features of addiction, including modifying an individual's willingness to endure high costs associated with drug seeking. Furthermore, our studies indicate that drug-related sensory information can be hierarchically organized to exert a dynamic modulating influence on drug-seeking motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Val Collins
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kaisa N Bornhoft
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Amy Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sonal Sinha
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Benjamin T Saunders
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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Leonardo M, Brunty S, Huffman J, Kastigar A, Dickson PE. Intravenous fentanyl self-administration in male and female C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. Sci Rep 2023; 13:799. [PMID: 36646781 PMCID: PMC9842734 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27992-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The genetic mechanisms underlying fentanyl addiction, a highly heritable disease, are unknown. Identifying these mechanisms will lead to better risk assessment, early diagnosis, and improved intervention. To this end, we used intravenous fentanyl self-administration to quantify classical self-administration phenotypes and addiction-like fentanyl seeking in male and female mice from the two founder strains of the BXD recombinant inbred mouse panel (C57BL/6J and DBA/2J). We reached three primary conclusions from these experiments. First, mice from all groups rapidly acquired intravenous fentanyl self-administration and exhibited a dose-response curve, extinction burst, and extinction of the learned self-administration response. Second, fentanyl intake (during acquisition and dose response) and fentanyl seeking (during extinction) were equivalent among groups. Third, strain effects, sex effects, or both were identified for several addiction-like behaviors (cue-induced reinstatement, stress-induced reinstatement, escalation of intravenous fentanyl self-administration). Collectively, these data indicate that C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice of both sexes were able to acquire, regulate, and extinguish intravenous fentanyl self-administration. Moreover, these data reveal novel strain and sex effects on addiction-like behaviors in the context of intravenous fentanyl self-administration in mice and indicate that the full BXD panel can be used to identify and dissect the genetic mechanisms underlying these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Leonardo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, 1700 3rd Ave., Huntington, WV, 25703, USA
| | - Sarah Brunty
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, 1700 3rd Ave., Huntington, WV, 25703, USA
| | - Jessica Huffman
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, 1700 3rd Ave., Huntington, WV, 25703, USA
| | - Alexis Kastigar
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, 1700 3rd Ave., Huntington, WV, 25703, USA
| | - Price E Dickson
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, 1700 3rd Ave., Huntington, WV, 25703, USA.
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10
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Slosky LM, Pires A, Bai Y, Clark NB, Hauser ER, Gross JD, Porkka F, Zhou Y, Chen X, Pogorelov VM, Toth K, Wetsel WC, Barak LS, Caron MG. Establishment of multi-stage intravenous self-administration paradigms in mice. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21422. [PMID: 36503898 PMCID: PMC9742147 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24740-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetically tractable animal models provide needed strategies to resolve the biological basis of drug addiction. Intravenous self-administration (IVSA) is the gold standard for modeling psychostimulant and opioid addiction in animals, but technical limitations have precluded the widespread use of IVSA in mice. Here, we describe IVSA paradigms for mice that capture the multi-stage nature of the disorder and permit predictive modeling. In these paradigms, C57BL/6J mice with long-standing indwelling jugular catheters engaged in cocaine- or remifentanil-associated lever responding that was fixed ratio-dependent, dose-dependent, extinguished by withholding the drug, and reinstated by the presentation of drug-paired cues. The application of multivariate analysis suggested that drug taking in both paradigms was a function of two latent variables we termed incentive motivation and discriminative control. Machine learning revealed that vulnerability to drug seeking and relapse were predicted by a mouse's a priori response to novelty, sensitivity to drug-induced locomotion, and drug-taking behavior. The application of these behavioral and statistical-analysis approaches to genetically-engineered mice will facilitate the identification of neural circuits driving addiction susceptibility and relapse and focused therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Slosky
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Andrea Pires
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Yushi Bai
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth R Hauser
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Joshua D Gross
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Fiona Porkka
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Yang Zhou
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xiaoxiao Chen
- School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Vladimir M Pogorelov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Krisztian Toth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA
| | - William C Wetsel
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Marc G Caron
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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11
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Rojas GR, Curry-Pochy LS, Chen CS, Heller AT, Grissom NM. Sequential delay and probability discounting tasks in mice reveal anchoring effects partially attributable to decision noise. Behav Brain Res 2022; 431:113951. [PMID: 35661751 PMCID: PMC9844124 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Delay discounting and probability discounting decision making tasks in rodent models have high translational potential. However, it is unclear whether the discounted value of the large reward option is the main contributor to variability in animals' choices in either task, which may limit translation to humans. Male and female mice underwent sessions of delay and probability discounting in sequence to assess how choice behavior adapts over experience with each task. To control for "anchoring" (persistent choices based on the initial delay or probability), mice experienced "Worsening" schedules where the large reward was offered under initially favorable conditions that became less favorable during testing, followed by "Improving" schedules where the large reward was offered under initially unfavorable conditions that improved over a session. During delay discounting, both male and female mice showed elimination of anchoring effects over training. In probability discounting, both sexes of mice continued to show some anchoring even after months of training. One possibility is that "noisy", exploratory choices could contribute to these persistent anchoring effects, rather than constant fluctuations in value discounting. We fit choice behavior in individual animals using models that included both a value-based discounting parameter and a decision noise parameter that captured variability in choices deviating from value maximization. Changes in anchoring behavior over time were tracked by changes in both the value and decision noise parameters in delay discounting, but by the decision noise parameter in probability discounting. Exploratory decision making was also reflected in choice response times that tracked the degree of conflict caused by both uncertainty and temporal cost, but was not linked with differences in locomotor activity reflecting chamber exploration. Thus, variable discounting behavior in mice can result from changes in exploration of the decision options rather than changes in reward valuation.
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