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Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya O, Fedosov I, Zaikin A, Ageev V, Ilyukov E, Myagkov D, Tuktarov D, Blokhina I, Shirokov A, Terskov A, Zlatogorskaya D, Adushkina V, Evsukova A, Dubrovsky A, Tsoy M, Telnova V, Manzhaeva M, Dmitrenko A, Krupnova V, Kurths J. Technology of the photobiostimulation of the brain's drainage system during sleep for improvement of learning and memory in male mice. BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS 2024; 15:44-58. [PMID: 38223185 PMCID: PMC10783921 DOI: 10.1364/boe.505618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
In this study on healthy male mice using confocal imaging of dye spreading in the brain and its further accumulation in the peripheral lymphatics, we demonstrate stronger effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) on the brain's drainage system in sleeping vs. awake animals. Using the Pavlovian instrumental transfer probe and the 2-objects-location test, we found that the 10-day course of PBM during sleep vs. wakefulness promotes improved learning and spatial memory in mice. For the first time, we present the technology for PBM under electroencephalographic (EEG) control that incorporates modern state of the art facilities of optoelectronics and biopotential detection and that can be built of relatively cheap and commercially available components. These findings open a new niche in the development of smart technologies for phototherapy of brain diseases during sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oxana Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
- Physics Department, Humboldt University, Newtonstrasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ivan Fedosov
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Alexey Zaikin
- Department of Mathematics and Institute for Women's Health, University College London, 25 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AY, UK
- Centre for Analysis of Complex Systems, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya 2, building 4, 119435 Moscow, Russia
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Vasily Ageev
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Egor Ilyukov
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Dmitry Myagkov
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Dmitry Tuktarov
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Inna Blokhina
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Alexander Shirokov
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
- Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospekt Entuziastov 13, Saratov 410049, Russia
| | - Andrey Terskov
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Daria Zlatogorskaya
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Viktoria Adushkina
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Arina Evsukova
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Alexander Dubrovsky
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Maria Tsoy
- Institute of Physics, Saratov State University Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Valeria Telnova
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Maria Manzhaeva
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Alexander Dmitrenko
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Valeria Krupnova
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
| | - Jürgen Kurths
- Department of Biology, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov, Russia
- Physics Department, Humboldt University, Newtonstrasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Centre for Analysis of Complex Systems, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya 2, building 4, 119435 Moscow, Russia
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg A31, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
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2
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Bar Or M, Klavir O. The Differential Effects of the Amount of Training on Sensitivity of Distinct Actions to Reward Devaluation. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11060732. [PMID: 34072904 PMCID: PMC8228187 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11060732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Shifting between goal-directed and habitual behaviors is essential for daily functioning. An inability to do so is associated with various clinical conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here we developed a new behavioral model in mice allowing us to produce and examine the development of different behaviors under goal-directed or habitual control. By using overtraining of instrumental associations between two levers and two rewards, and later devaluating one of the rewards, we differentiate and explore the motivational control of behaviors within the task which consequentially promotes what seems like excessive irrational behavior. Using our model, we found that the ability of instrumental behavior, to adapt to a change in the value of a known reward, is a function of practice. Once an instrumental action was practiced extensively it becomes habitual and, thus, under S-R control and could not be amended, not even when resulting in a noxious outcome. However, direct consummatory or Pavlovian actions, such as licking or checking, responds immediately to the change in value. This imbalance could render an instrumental behavior excessive and unresponsive to changes in outcome while the direct change in consumption implies that the change was in fact registered. This could suggest a system that, when out of balance, can create excessive behaviors, not adapting to an acknowledged change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Bar Or
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel;
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), The University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Oded Klavir
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel;
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), The University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Correspondence:
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3
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Sullivan JA, Dumont JR, Memar S, Skirzewski M, Wan J, Mofrad MH, Ansari HZ, Li Y, Muller L, Prado VF, Prado MAM, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. New frontiers in translational research: Touchscreens, open science, and the mouse translational research accelerator platform. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 20:e12705. [PMID: 33009724 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases and other brain disorders are accompanied by impairments in high-level cognitive functions including memory, attention, motivation, and decision-making. Despite several decades of extensive research, neuroscience is little closer to discovering new treatments. Key impediments include the absence of validated and robust cognitive assessment tools for facilitating translation from animal models to humans. In this review, we describe a state-of-the-art platform poised to overcome these impediments and improve the success of translational research, the Mouse Translational Research Accelerator Platform (MouseTRAP), which is centered on the touchscreen cognitive testing system for rodents. It integrates touchscreen-based tests of high-level cognitive assessment with state-of-the art neurotechnology to record and manipulate molecular and circuit level activity in vivo in animal models during human-relevant cognitive performance. The platform also is integrated with two Open Science platforms designed to facilitate knowledge and data-sharing practices within the rodent touchscreen community, touchscreencognition.org and mousebytes.ca. Touchscreencognition.org includes the Wall, showcasing touchscreen news and publications, the Forum, for community discussion, and Training, which includes courses, videos, SOPs, and symposia. To get started, interested researchers simply create user accounts. We describe the origins of the touchscreen testing system, the novel lines of research it has facilitated, and its increasingly widespread use in translational research, which is attributable in part to knowledge-sharing efforts over the past decade. We then identify the unique features of MouseTRAP that stand to potentially revolutionize translational research, and describe new initiatives to partner with similar platforms such as McGill's M3 platform (m3platform.org).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline A Sullivan
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Rotman Institute of Philosophy, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julie R Dumont
- BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sara Memar
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Miguel Skirzewski
- BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jinxia Wan
- Division of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Maryam H Mofrad
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Applied Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Yulong Li
- Division of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.,Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lyle Muller
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Applied Mathematics, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vania F Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco A M Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
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4
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Vengeliene V, Foo JC, Kim J. Translational approach to understanding momentary factors associated with alcohol consumption. Br J Pharmacol 2020; 177:3878-3897. [PMID: 32608068 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple interindividual and intra-individual factors underlie variability in drinking motives, challenging clinical translatability of animal research and limiting treatment success of substance use-related problems. Intra-individual variability refers to time-dependent continuous and discrete changes within the individual and in substance use research is studied as momentary variation in the internal states (craving, stressed, anxious, impulsive and tired) and response to external triggers (stressors, drug-associated environmental cues and social encounters). These momentary stimuli have a direct impact on behavioural decisions and may be triggers and predictors of substance consumption. They also present potential targets for real-time behavioural and pharmacological interventions. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies demonstrating different momentary risk factors associated with increased probability of alcohol drinking in humans and changes in alcohol seeking and consumption in animals. The review also provides an overview of pharmacological interventions related to every individual risk factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Vengeliene
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Jerome Clifford Foo
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jinhyuk Kim
- Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
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5
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Inbar D, Gendelis S, Mesner S, Menahem S, Kupchik YM. Chronic calorie-dense diet drives differences in motivated food seeking between obesity-prone and resistant mice. Addict Biol 2020; 25:e12753. [PMID: 31012232 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Obesity results from overconsumption of energy, partly because of the inability to refrain from highly palatable rewarding foods. Even though palatable food is available to everyone, only a fraction of the population develops obesity. We previously showed that following chronic exposure to highly palatable food animals that gained the most weight also showed addictive-like motivation to seek for palatable food. An important question remains-is this extreme, addictive-like, motivation to consume palatable food the cause or the consequence of diet-induced obesity? Here, we show that obesity-prone (OP) mice exhibit higher motivation for palatable food consumption compared with obesity-resistant mice even before developing obesity, but that the full manifestation of this high motivation to eat is expressed only after chronic exposure to high-fat-high-sugar (HFHS) diet. HFHS diet also impairs performance in the operant food-seeking task selectively in OP mice, an impairment that persists even after 2 weeks of abstinence from HFHS food. Overall, our data suggest that while some aspects of food motivation are high in OP mice already before developing obesity, the chronic exposure to HFHS food accentuates it and drives the development of obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorrit Inbar
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Institute for Medical Research Israel‐Canada (IMRIC)The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
| | - Shani Gendelis
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Institute for Medical Research Israel‐Canada (IMRIC)The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
| | - Shanee Mesner
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Institute for Medical Research Israel‐Canada (IMRIC)The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
| | - Shira Menahem
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Institute for Medical Research Israel‐Canada (IMRIC)The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
| | - Yonatan M. Kupchik
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Institute for Medical Research Israel‐Canada (IMRIC)The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
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6
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Copping NA, Adhikari A, Petkova SP, Silverman JL. Genetic backgrounds have unique seizure response profiles and behavioral outcomes following convulsant administration. Epilepsy Behav 2019; 101:106547. [PMID: 31698263 PMCID: PMC6901115 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.106547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Three highly utilized strains of mice, common for preclinical genetic studies, were evaluated for seizure susceptibility and behavioral outcomes common to the clinical phenotypes of numerous psychiatric disorders following repeated low-dose treatment with either a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor antagonist (pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)) or a glutamate agonist (kainic acid (KA)). Effects of strain and treatment were evaluated with classic seizure scoring and a tailored behavior battery focused on behavioral domains common in neuropsychiatric research: learning and memory, social behavior, and motor abilities, as well as seizure susceptibility and/or resistance. Seizure response was induced by a single daily treatment of either PTZ (30 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) or KA (5 mg/kg, i.p.) for 10 days. Pentylenetetrazole-treated FVB/NJ and C57BL/6NJ strains of mice showed strong, clear seizure responses. This also resulted in cognitive and social deficits, and increased susceptibility to a high dose of PTZ. Kainic acid-treated FVB/NJ and C57BL/6NJ strains of mice had a robust seizure response, which resulted in hyperactivity. Pentylenetetrazole-treated C57BL/6J mice demonstrated mild hyperactivity, while KA-treated C57BL/6J displayed cognitive deficits and resistance to a high dose of KA but no social deficits. Overall, a uniquely different seizure response profile was detected in the C57BL/6J strain with few observable instances of seizure response despite repeated convulsant administration by two mechanisms. This work illustrated that differing background genetic strains have unique seizure susceptibility profiles and distinct social and cognitive behavior following PTZ and/or KA treatment and that it is, therefore, necessary to consider strain differences before attributing behavioral phenotypes to gene(s) of interest during preclinical evaluations of genetic mouse models, especially when outcome measures are focused on cognitive and/or social behaviors common to the clinical features of numerous neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nycole Ashley Copping
- University of California, Davis, MIND Institute, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Anna Adhikari
- University of California, Davis, MIND Institute, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Stela Pavlova Petkova
- University of California, Davis, MIND Institute, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Jill Lynn Silverman
- University of California, Davis, MIND Institute, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Sacramento, CA, USA.
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7
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Olguin SL, Zimmerman A, Zhang H, Allan A, Caldwell KC, Brigman JL. Increased Maternal Care Rescues Altered Reinstatement Responding Following Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2019; 43:1949-1956. [PMID: 31318985 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) commonly include deficits in learning, memory, and executive control that can have a severe negative impact on quality of life across the life span. It is still unclear how prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects executive control processes, such as control over reward seeking, that lead to inappropriate behavior later in life. Learning and reinstatement of a previously learned response after extinction is a simple, well-validated measure of both acquisition of a rewarded instrumental response and sensitivity to reward and reward-associated cues. We investigated the effects of PAE on learning, extinction, and reinstatement of a simple instrumental response for food reward. Next, we assessed the effectiveness of an early intervention, communal nest (CN) housing, on increased reinstatement of an extinguished response seen after PAE. METHODS To assess the effects of PAE on control over reward seeking, we tested male and female PAE and saccharine (SAC) controls raised in a standard nest (SN) on the acquisition, extinction, and food reward-induced reinstatement of an instrumental response utilizing a touch screen-based paradigm. Next, in order to examine the effects of an early-life intervention on these behaviors, we tested PAE and SAC mice raised in a CN early-life environment on these behaviors. RESULTS PAE mice readily acquired and extinguished a simple touch response to a white square stimulus. However, PAE mice showed significantly increased and persistent reinstatement compared to controls. Increased maternal care via rearing in CN slowed acquisition and sped extinction learning and rescued the significantly increased reinstatement responding in PAE mice. CONCLUSIONS Together these results demonstrate that even moderate PAE is sufficient to alter control over reward seeking as measured by reinstatement. Importantly, an early-life intervention previously shown to improve cognitive outcomes in PAE mice was sufficient to ameliorate this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Olguin
- Department of Neurosciences, (SLO, AZ, AA, KCC, JLB), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,New Mexico Alcohol Research Center, (SLO, AA, KCC, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Amber Zimmerman
- Department of Neurosciences, (SLO, AZ, AA, KCC, JLB), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Haikun Zhang
- Center for Brain Repair and Recovery, (HZ, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Andrea Allan
- Department of Neurosciences, (SLO, AZ, AA, KCC, JLB), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,New Mexico Alcohol Research Center, (SLO, AA, KCC, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Kevin C Caldwell
- Department of Neurosciences, (SLO, AZ, AA, KCC, JLB), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,New Mexico Alcohol Research Center, (SLO, AA, KCC, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Jonathan L Brigman
- Department of Neurosciences, (SLO, AZ, AA, KCC, JLB), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,New Mexico Alcohol Research Center, (SLO, AA, KCC, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,Center for Brain Repair and Recovery, (HZ, JLB), UNM Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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8
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Radke AK, Zweifel LS, Holmes A. NMDA receptor deletion on dopamine neurons disrupts visual discrimination and reversal learning. Neurosci Lett 2019; 699:109-114. [PMID: 30726715 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The dopamine (DA) system is critical for various forms of learning about salient environmental stimuli. Prior work has shown that deletion of the obligatory NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor on neurons expressing the DA transporter (DAT) in mice results in reduced phasic release from DA-containing neurons. To further investigate the contribution of phasic DA release to reward-related learning and cognitive flexibility, the current study evaluated DAT-NR1 null mutant mice in a touchscreen-based pairwise visual discrimination and reversal learning paradigm. Results showed that these mutants were slower to attain a high level of choice accuracy on the discrimination task, but showed improved late reversal performance on sessions where correct choice was above chance. A number of possible interpretations are offered for this pattern of effects, including the opposing possibilities that discrimination memory was either stronger by the completion of training (overtraining effect) or weaker (learning deficit), both of which could potentially produce faster reversal. These data add to the extensive literature ascribing a critical role for DAergic neurotransmission in cognitive functions and the regulation of reward-related behaviors of relevance to addictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Radke
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
| | - Larry S Zweifel
- Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science & Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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9
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Krakenberg V, Woigk I, Garcia Rodriguez L, Kästner N, Kaiser S, Sachser N, Richter SH. Technology or ecology? New tools to assess cognitive judgement bias in mice. Behav Brain Res 2019; 362:279-287. [PMID: 30654122 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive judgement bias tests have become important new tools for the assessment of animal emotions. They allow for the inference of an animal's emotional state based on ambiguous cue interpretations. As mice are the predominantly used animal model for cognitive and behavioural neuroscience, research in this field would considerably benefit from the development of suitable judgement bias tests for this species. Against this background, we aimed to implement two different active choice cognitive judgement bias paradigms for mice in a methodological study. For this purpose, two experiments were conducted: in experiment I, an automated, vision-based touchscreen technique was applied, allowing for the direct translation of tasks from rodents to humans and vice versa. Experiment II comprised a task relying on more ecologically relevant cues in form of tunnels of different lengths. While the touchscreen task was characterized by automation-related advantages such as the possibility to present many trials per session and a high convenience for the experimenter, the tunnel task was learned faster by the mice. In both tests, however, the response to the trained and ambiguous conditions resulted in a graded curve, the basic requirement for proving task validity. Thus, both the translational touchscreen task as well as the ecologically more relevant tunnel task could successfully be implemented and provide new tools for the future assessment of cognitive judgement biases in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktoria Krakenberg
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - Irene Woigk
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany.
| | | | - Niklas Kästner
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - Sylvia Kaiser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - Norbert Sachser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany.
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10
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Otto SL, Yakel JL. The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors regulate hippocampal adult-neurogenesis in a sexually dimorphic fashion. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 224:829-846. [PMID: 30515567 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1799-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Disruption in cholinergic signaling has been linked to many environmental and/or pathological conditions known to modify adult neurogenesis. The α7 nAChRs are in the family of cys-loop receptor channels which have been shown to be neuroprotective in adult neurons and are thought to be critical for survival and integration of immature neurons. However, in developing neurons, poor calcium buffering may cause α7 nAChR activation to be neurotoxic. To investigate whether the α7 nAChR regulates neurogenesis in the hippocampus, we used a combination of mouse genetics and imaging to quantify neural stem cell (NSC) densities located in the dentate gyrus of adult mice. In addition, we considered whether the loss of α7 nAChRs had functional consequences on a spatial discrimination task that is thought to rely on pattern separation mechanisms. We found that the loss of α7 nAChRs resulted in increased neurogenesis in male mice only, while female mice showed increased cell divisions and intermediate progenitors but no change in neurogenesis. Knocking out the α7 nAChR from nestin+ NSCs and their progeny showed signaling in these cells contributes to regulating neurogenesis. In addition, male, but not female, mice lacking α7 nAChRs performed significantly worse in the spatial discrimination task. This task was sexually dimorphic in wild-type mice, but not in the absence of α7 nAChRs. We conclude that α7 nAChRs regulate adult neurogenesis and impact spatial discrimination function in male, but not female mice, via a mechanism involving nestin+ NSCs and their progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone L Otto
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, P.O. box 12233, Mail Drop F2-08, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Jerrel L Yakel
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, P.O. box 12233, Mail Drop F2-08, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA.
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11
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Radke AK, Kocharian A, Covey DP, Lovinger DM, Cheer JF, Mateo Y, Holmes A. Contributions of nucleus accumbens dopamine to cognitive flexibility. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 50:2023-2035. [PMID: 30218623 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There is a compelling evidence that midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons and their projections to the ventral striatum provide a mechanism for motivating reward-seeking behavior, and for utilizing information about unexpected reward prediction errors (RPEs) to guide behavior based on current, rather than historical, outcomes. When this mechanism is compromised in addictions, it may produce patterns of maladaptive behavior that remain obdurate in the face of contrary information and even adverse consequences. Nonetheless, DAergic contributions to performance on behavioral tasks that rely on the ability to flexibly update stimulus-reward relationships remains incompletly understood. In the current study, we used a discrimination and reversal paradigm to monitor subsecond DA release in mouse NAc core (NAc) using in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). We observed post-choice elevations in phasic NAc DA release; however, increased DA transients were only evident during early reversal when mice made responses at the newly rewarded stimulus. Based on this finding, we used in vivo optogenetic (eNpHR) photosilencing and (Channelrhodopsin2 [ChR2]) photostimulation to assess the effects of manipulating VTA-DAergic fibers in the NAc on reversal performance. Photosilencing the VTA → NAc DAergic pathway during early reversal increased errors, while photostimulation did not demonstrably affect behavior. Taken together, these data provide additional evidence of the importance of NAc DA release as a neural substrate supporting adjustments in learned behavior after a switch in expected stimulus-reward contingencies. These findings have possible implications for furthering understanding the role of DA in persistent, maladaptive decision-making characterizing addictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Radke
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Psychology Department, Miami University, 90 N Patterson Ave, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA.,Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Adrina Kocharian
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dan P Covey
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David M Lovinger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joseph F Cheer
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yolanda Mateo
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
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12
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Overexpression of neuronal RNA-binding protein HuD increases reward induced reinstatement of an instrumental response. Neurosci Lett 2018; 683:119-124. [PMID: 29940328 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.06.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The neuronal RNA-binding protein HuD is involved in synaptic plasticity and the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. Previously, we have shown that HuD is upregulated after both spatial and addiction-associated forms of learning, such as conditioned place preference. However, what role HuD plays in non-drug dependent learning and memory is not fully understood. In order to elucidate the role that HuD plays in non-drug appetitive behavior, we assessed mice over-expressing HuD (HuDOE) throughout the forebrain on the acquisition of an instrumental response for a non-sucrose food reward utilizing a touch-screen paradigm. Next, we examined whether HuD level would alter the extinction or reward-induced reinstatement of responding. We found that HuDOE acquired and extinguished the instrumental response at rates similar to control littermates with no significant alterations in secondary measures of motor behavior or motivation. However, HuDOE reinstated their responding for food reward at rates significantly higher than control animals after a brief presentation of reward. These results suggest that HuD positively regulates the reinstatement of natural reward seeking and supports the role of HuD in forms of learning and memory associated with seeking of appetitive rewards.
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13
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Nichols JN, Hagan KL, Floyd CL. Evaluation of Touchscreen Chambers To Assess Cognition in Adult Mice: Effect of Training and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma 2018; 34:2481-2494. [PMID: 28558476 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2017.4998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive impairments are often experienced after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). In the clinical arena, neuropsychological assessments are used frequently to detect cognitive deficits. Animal models of mTBI, however, rely on an assortment of behavioral tasks to assess cognitive outcome. Computer-based touchscreen systems have been developed for rodents and are hypothesized to offer a translational approach to evaluate cognitive function because of the similarities of tasks performed in rodents to those implemented in humans. While these touchscreen systems have been used in pre-clinical models of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, their use in assessing cognitive impairment after mTBI has not been investigated. We hypothesized that mTBI would result in impaired cognitive performance on touchscreen tasks, particularly those with hippocampal-based learning components, including the paired associate learning (PAL) task and the location discrimination (LD) task. Adult male, C57BL/6 mice received a single impact-acceleration mTBI. We found that training mice before injury to perform to criteria is arduous and that performance is sensitive to many environmental variables. Despite extensive optimization and training, mice failed to perform better than chance in the PAL paradigm. Alternatively, mice demonstrated some capacity to learn in the LD paradigm, but only with the easier stages of the task. The mTBI did not affect performance in the LD paradigm, however. Thus, we concluded that under the conditions presented here, the PAL and LD touchscreen tasks are not robust outcome measures for the evaluation of cognitive performance in C57BL/6 mice after a single impact-acceleration mTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica N Nichols
- 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Kenton L Hagan
- 2 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Candace L Floyd
- 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama
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14
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Micallef AH, Takahashi N, Larkum ME, Palmer LM. A Reward-Based Behavioral Platform to Measure Neural Activity during Head-Fixed Behavior. Front Cell Neurosci 2017; 11:156. [PMID: 28620282 PMCID: PMC5449766 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the neural computations that contribute to behavior requires recording from neurons while an animal is behaving. This is not an easy task as most subcellular recording techniques require absolute head stability. The Go/No-Go sensory task is a powerful decision-driven task that enables an animal to report a binary decision during head-fixation. Here we discuss how to set up an Ardunio and Python based platform system to control a Go/No-Go sensory behavior paradigm. Using an Arduino micro-controller and Python-based custom written program, a reward can be delivered to the animal depending on the decision reported. We discuss the various components required to build the behavioral apparatus that can control and report such a sensory stimulus paradigm. This system enables the end user to control the behavioral testing in real-time and therefore it provides a strong custom-made platform for probing the neural basis of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew H Micallef
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneMelbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Naoya Takahashi
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt University of BerlinBerlin, Germany
| | - Matthew E Larkum
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt University of BerlinBerlin, Germany
| | - Lucy M Palmer
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneMelbourne, VIC, Australia
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15
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Mouse strain differences in punished ethanol self-administration. Alcohol 2017; 58:83-92. [PMID: 27814928 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2016.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2015] [Revised: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Determining the neural factors contributing to compulsive behaviors such as alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) has become a significant focus of current preclinical research. Comparison of phenotypic differences across genetically distinct mouse strains provides one approach to identify molecular and genetic factors contributing to compulsive-like behaviors. Here we examine a rodent assay for punished ethanol self-administration in four widely used inbred strains known to differ on ethanol-related behaviors: C57BL/6J (B6), DBA/2J (D2), 129S1/SvImJ (S1), and BALB/cJ (BALB). Mice were trained in an operant task (FR1) to reliably lever-press for 10% ethanol using a sucrose-fading procedure. Once trained, mice received a punishment session in which lever pressing resulted in alternating ethanol reward and footshock, followed by tests to probe the effects of punishment on ethanol self-administration. Results indicated significant strain differences in training performance and punished attenuation of ethanol self-administration. S1 and BALB showed robust attenuation of ethanol self-administration after punishment, whereas behavior in B6 was attenuated only when the punishment and probe tests were conducted in the same contexts. By contrast, D2 were insensitive to punishment regardless of context, despite receiving more shocks during punishment and exhibiting normal footshock reactivity. Additionally, B6, but not D2, reduced operant self-administration when ethanol was devalued with a bitter tastant. B6 and D2 showed devaluation of sucrose self-administration, and punished suppression of sucrose seeking was context dependent in both the strains. While previous studies have demonstrated avoidance of ethanol in D2, particularly when ethanol is orally available from a bottle, current findings suggest this strain may exhibit heightened compulsive-like self-administration of ethanol, although there are credible alternative explanations for the phenotype of this strain. In sum, these findings offer a foundation for future studies examining the neural and genetic factors underlying AUDs.
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16
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Cartoni E, Balleine B, Baldassarre G. Appetitive Pavlovian-instrumental Transfer: A review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:829-848. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Revised: 09/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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17
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Zimmermann KS, Hsu CC, Gourley SL. Strain commonalities and differences in response-outcome decision making in mice. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2016; 131:101-8. [PMID: 27003118 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Revised: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The ability to select between actions that are more vs. less likely to be reinforced is necessary for survival and navigation of a changing environment. A task termed "response-outcome contingency degradation" can be used in the laboratory to determine whether rodents behave according to such goal-directed response strategies. In one iteration of this task, rodents are trained to perform two food-reinforced behaviors, then the predictive relationship between one instrumental response and the associated outcome is modified by providing the reinforcer associated with that response non-contingently. During a subsequent probe test, animals can select between the two trained responses. Preferential engagement of the behavior most likely to be reinforced is considered goal-directed, while non-selective responding is considered a failure in response-outcome conditioning, or "habitual." This test has largely been used with rats, and less so with mice. Here we compiled data collected from several cohorts of mice tested in our lab between 2012 and 2015. Mice were bred on either a C57BL/6 or predominantly BALB/c strain background. We report that both strains of mice can use information acquired as a result of instrumental contingency degradation training to select amongst multiple response options the response most likely to be reinforced. Mice differ, however, during the training sessions when the familiar response-outcome contingency is being violated. BALB/c mice readily generate perseverative or habit-like response strategies when the only available response is unlikely to be reinforced, while C57BL/6 mice more readily inhibit responding. These findings provide evidence of strain differences in response strategies when an anticipated reinforcer is unlikely to be delivered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey S Zimmermann
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, United States; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, United States
| | - Chia-Chun Hsu
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, United States
| | - Shannon L Gourley
- Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, United States; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, United States.
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18
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Behavioural and physiological responses of wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) to experimental manipulations of predation and starvation risk. Physiol Behav 2015; 149:331-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.06.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2014] [Revised: 05/20/2015] [Accepted: 06/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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19
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Santos M, D'Amico D, Dierssen M. From neural to genetic substrates of panic disorder: Insights from human and mouse studies. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 759:127-41. [PMID: 25818748 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.03.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Fear is an ancestral emotion, an intrinsic defensive response present in every organism. Although fear is an evolutionarily advantageous emotion, under certain pathologies such as panic disorder it might become exaggerated and non-adaptive. Clinical and preclinical work pinpoints that changes in cognitive processes, such as perception and interpretation of environmental stimuli that rely on brain regions responsible for high-level function, are essential for the development of fear-related disorders. This review focuses on the involvement of cognitive function to fear circuitry disorders. Moreover, we address how animal models are contributing to understand the involvement of human candidate genes to pathological fear and helping achieve progress in this field. Multidisciplinary approaches that integrate human genetic findings with state of the art genetic mouse models will allow to elucidate the mechanisms underlying pathology and to develop new strategies for therapeutic targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Santos
- Cellular & Systems Neurobiology, Systems Biology Program, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Davide D'Amico
- Cellular & Systems Neurobiology, Systems Biology Program, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; ZeClinics SL, E-08001 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Mara Dierssen
- Cellular & Systems Neurobiology, Systems Biology Program, Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), E-08003 Barcelona, Spain.
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20
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DePoy L, Daut R, Wright T, Camp M, Crowley N, Noronha B, Lovinger D, Holmes A. Chronic alcohol alters rewarded behaviors and striatal plasticity. Addict Biol 2015; 20:345-8. [PMID: 24666522 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) alters neural functions and behaviors mediated by the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and prefrontal cortex. Here, we examined the effects of prolonged (16-bout) CIE on DLS plasticity and DLS-mediated behaviors. Ex vivo electrophysiological recordings revealed loss in efficacy of DLS synaptically induced activation and absent long-term depression after CIE. CIE increased two-bottle choice drinking and impaired Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer but not discriminated approach. These data suggest prolonged CIE impaired DLS plasticity, to produce associated changes in drinking and cue-controlled reward-seeking. Given recent evidence that less-prolonged CIE can promote certain dorsal striatal-mediated behaviors, CIE may drive chronicity-dependent adaptations in corticostriatal systems regulating behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren DePoy
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Rachel Daut
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Tara Wright
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Marguerite Camp
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Nicole Crowley
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Bianca Noronha
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - David Lovinger
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory for Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience; National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH; Bethesda MD USA
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21
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Remmelink E, Loos M, Koopmans B, Aarts E, van der Sluis S, Smit AB, Verhage M. A 1-night operant learning task without food-restriction differentiates among mouse strains in an automated home-cage environment. Behav Brain Res 2015; 283:53-60. [PMID: 25601577 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Revised: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Individuals are able to change their behavior based on its consequences, a process involving instrumental learning. Studying instrumental learning in mice can provide new insights in this elementary aspect of cognition. Conventional appetitive operant learning tasks that facilitate the study of this form of learning in mice, as well as more complex operant paradigms, require labor-intensive handling and food deprivation to motivate the animals. Here, we describe a 1-night operant learning protocol that exploits the advantages of automated home-cage testing and circumvents the interfering effects of food restriction. The task builds on behavior that is part of the spontaneous exploratory repertoire during the days before the task. We compared the behavior of C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ and DBA/2J mice and found various differences in behavior during this task, but no differences in learning curves. BALB/cJ mice showed the largest instrumental learning response, providing a superior dynamic range and statistical power to study instrumental learning by using this protocol. Insights gained with this home-cage-based learning protocol without food restriction will be valuable for the development of other, more complex, cognitive tasks in automated home-cages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Remmelink
- Sylics (Synaptologics B.V.), Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten Loos
- Sylics (Synaptologics B.V.), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Emmeke Aarts
- Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sophie van der Sluis
- Section Complex Trait Genetics, Department of Clinical Genetics, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Matthijs Verhage
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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22
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Strains and stressors: an analysis of touchscreen learning in genetically diverse mouse strains. PLoS One 2014; 9:e87745. [PMID: 24586288 PMCID: PMC3929556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2013] [Accepted: 12/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Touchscreen-based systems are growing in popularity as a tractable, translational approach for studying learning and cognition in rodents. However, while mouse strains are well known to differ in learning across various settings, performance variation between strains in touchscreen learning has not been well described. The selection of appropriate genetic strains and backgrounds is critical to the design of touchscreen-based studies and provides a basis for elucidating genetic factors moderating behavior. Here we provide a quantitative foundation for visual discrimination and reversal learning using touchscreen assays across a total of 35 genotypes. We found significant differences in operant performance and learning, including faster reversal learning in DBA/2J compared to C57BL/6J mice. We then assessed DBA/2J and C57BL/6J for differential sensitivity to an environmental insult by testing for alterations in reversal learning following exposure to repeated swim stress. Stress facilitated reversal learning (selectively during the late stage of reversal) in C57BL/6J, but did not affect learning in DBA/2J. To dissect genetic factors underlying these differences, we phenotyped a family of 27 BXD strains generated by crossing C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. There was marked variation in discrimination, reversal and extinction learning across the BXD strains, suggesting this task may be useful for identifying underlying genetic differences. Moreover, different measures of touchscreen learning were only modestly correlated in the BXD strains, indicating that these processes are comparatively independent at both genetic and phenotypic levels. Finally, we examined the behavioral structure of learning via principal component analysis of the current data, plus an archival dataset, totaling 765 mice. This revealed 5 independent factors suggestive of "reversal learning," "motivation-related late reversal learning," "discrimination learning," "speed to respond," and "motivation during discrimination." Together, these findings provide a valuable reference to inform the choice of strains and genetic backgrounds in future studies using touchscreen-based tasks.
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23
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Silverman JL, Gastrell PT, Karras MN, Solomon M, Crawley JN. Cognitive abilities on transitive inference using a novel touchscreen technology for mice. Cereb Cortex 2013; 25:1133-42. [PMID: 24293564 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive abilities are impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. Preclinical models with strong endophenotypes relevant to cognitive dysfunctions offer a valuable resource for therapeutic development. However, improved assays to test higher order cognition are needed. We employed touchscreen technology to design a complex transitive inference (TI) assay that requires cognitive flexibility and relational learning. C57BL/6J (B6) mice with good cognitive skills and BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR), a model of ASD with cognitive deficits, were evaluated in simple and complex touchscreen assays. Both B6 and BTBR acquired visual discrimination and reversal. BTBR displayed deficits on components of TI, when 4 stimuli pairs were interspersed, which required flexible integrated knowledge. BTBR displayed impairment on the A > E inference, analogous to the A > E deficit in ASD. B6 and BTBR mice both reached criterion on the B > D comparison, unlike the B > D impairment in schizophrenia. These results demonstrate that mice are capable of complex discriminations and higher order tasks using methods and equipment paralleling those used in humans. Our discovery that a mouse model of ASD displays a TI deficit similar to humans with ASD supports the use of the touchscreen technology for complex cognitive tasks in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Silverman
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD 20892-3730, USA
| | - P T Gastrell
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD 20892-3730, USA
| | - M N Karras
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD 20892-3730, USA
| | - M Solomon
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA Imaging Research Center, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - J N Crawley
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD 20892-3730, USA
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24
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Horner AE, Heath CJ, Hvoslef-Eide M, Kent BA, Kim CH, Nilsson SRO, Alsiö J, Oomen CA, Holmes A, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. The touchscreen operant platform for testing learning and memory in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:1961-84. [PMID: 24051959 PMCID: PMC3914026 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 274] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
An increasingly popular method of assessing cognitive functions in rodents is the automated touchscreen platform, on which a number of different cognitive tests can be run in a manner very similar to touchscreen methods currently used to test human subjects. This methodology is low stress (using appetitive rather than aversive reinforcement), has high translational potential and lends itself to a high degree of standardization and throughput. Applications include the study of cognition in rodent models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, frontotemporal dementia), as well as the characterization of the role of select brain regions, neurotransmitter systems and genes in rodents. This protocol describes how to perform four touchscreen assays of learning and memory: visual discrimination, object-location paired-associates learning, visuomotor conditional learning and autoshaping. It is accompanied by two further protocols (also published in this issue) that use the touchscreen platform to assess executive function, working memory and pattern separation.
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25
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Mar AC, Horner AE, Nilsson SRO, Alsiö J, Kent BA, Kim CH, Holmes A, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. The touchscreen operant platform for assessing executive function in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:1985-2005. [PMID: 24051960 PMCID: PMC4131754 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
This protocol details a subset of assays developed within the touchscreen platform to measure various aspects of executive function in rodents. Three main procedures are included: extinction, measuring the rate and extent of curtailing a response that was previously, but is no longer, associated with reward; reversal learning, measuring the rate and extent of switching a response toward a visual stimulus that was previously not, but has become, associated with reward (and away from a visual stimulus that was previously, but is no longer, rewarded); and the 5-choice serial reaction time (5-CSRT) task, gauging the ability to selectively detect and appropriately respond to briefly presented, spatially unpredictable visual stimuli. These protocols were designed to assess both complementary and overlapping constructs including selective and divided visual attention, inhibitory control, flexibility, impulsivity and compulsivity. The procedures comprise part of a wider touchscreen test battery assessing cognition in rodents with high potential for translation to human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam C Mar
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Chronic alcohol produces neuroadaptations to prime dorsal striatal learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:14783-8. [PMID: 23959891 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308198110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug addictions including alcoholism are characterized by degradation of executive control over behavior and increased compulsive drug seeking. These profound behavioral changes are hypothesized to involve a shift in the regulation of behavior from prefrontal cortex to dorsal striatum (DLS). Studies in rodents have shown that ethanol disrupts cognitive processes mediated by the prefrontal cortex, but the potential effects of chronic ethanol on DLS-mediated cognition and learning are much less well understood. Here, we first examined the effects of chronic EtOH on DLS neuronal morphology, synaptic plasticity, and endocannabinoid-CB1R signaling. We next tested for ethanol-induced changes in striatal-related learning and DLS in vivo single-unit activity during learning. Mice exposed to chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor exhibited expansion of dendritic material in DLS neurons. Following CIE, DLS endocannabinoid CB1 receptor signaling was down-regulated, and CB1 receptor-dependent long-term depression at DLS synapses was absent. CIE mice showed facilitation of DLS-dependent pairwise visual discrimination and reversal learning, relative to air-exposed controls. CIE mice were also quicker to extinguish a stimulus-reward instrumental response and faster to reduce Pavlovian approach behavior under an omission schedule. In vivo single-unit recording during learning revealed that CIE mice had augmented DLS neuronal activity during correct responses. Collectively, these findings support a model in which chronic ethanol causes neuroadaptations in the DLS that prime for greater DLS control over learning. The shift to striatal dominance over behavior may be a critical step in the progression of alcoholism.
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Ng E, McGirr A, Wong AHC, Roder JC. Using rodents to model schizophrenia and substance use comorbidity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:896-910. [PMID: 23567519 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2012] [Revised: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 03/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia and substance use disorders (SUD) often occur together, yet it is unclear why this is the case or how best to manage dual diagnosis. Rodent models are well suited to study how genes and environment interact to impact neurodevelopment, brain function and behaviors relevant to dual diagnosis. Indeed a variety of rodent models for schizophrenia display behavioral and physiological features relevant to SUD including: neurodevelopmental models, models of a rare variant (Disc1), to models of common variants (neurexin, dysbindin and neuregulin), and models of various gene-drug interactions. Thus it may be worthwhile to probe models of schizophrenia for insights relevant to SUD and dual diagnosis. However, future studies on dual diagnosis should involve characterization beyond measuring locomotor responses to self-administration tasks, include drug classes other than psychostimulants, and dissect the neuroadaptations that underlie risk for dual diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enoch Ng
- Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Room 860, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada.
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28
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Nam HW, Hinton DJ, Kang NY, Kim T, Lee MR, Oliveros A, Adams C, Ruby CL, Choi DS. Adenosine transporter ENT1 regulates the acquisition of goal-directed behavior and ethanol drinking through A2A receptor in the dorsomedial striatum. J Neurosci 2013; 33:4329-38. [PMID: 23467349 PMCID: PMC3622260 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3094-12.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2012] [Revised: 01/16/2013] [Accepted: 01/19/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Adenosine signaling has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric disorders including alcoholism. Striatal adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) play an essential role in both ethanol drinking and the shift from goal-directed action to habitual behavior. However, direct evidence for a role of striatal A2AR signaling in ethanol drinking and habit development has not been established. In the present study, we found that decreased A2AR-mediated CREB activity in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) enhanced initial behavioral acquisition of goal-directed behaviors and the vulnerability to progress to excessive ethanol drinking during operant conditioning in mice lacking ethanol-sensitive adenosine transporter ENT1 (ENT1(-/-)). Using mice expressing β-galactosidase (lacZ) under the control of seven repeated CRE sites in both genotypes (CRE-lacZ/ENT1(+/+) mice and CRE-lacZ/ENT1(-/-) mice) and the dominant-negative form of CREB, we found that reduced CREB activity in the DMS was causally associated with decreased A2AR signaling and increased goal-directed ethanol drinking. Finally, we have demonstrated that the A2AR antagonist ZM241385 dampened protein kinase A activity-mediated signaling in the DMS and promoted excessive ethanol drinking in ENT1(+/+) mice, but not in ENT1(-/-) mice. Our results indicate that A2AR-mediated CREB signaling in the DMS is a key determinant in enhancing the development of goal-directed ethanol drinking in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyung Wook Nam
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - David J. Hinton
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Na Young Kang
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Taehyun Kim
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Moonnoh R. Lee
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Alfredo Oliveros
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Chelsea Adams
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
- Neurobiology of Disease Program, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota 55905
| | - Christina L. Ruby
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
| | - Doo-Sup Choi
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and
- Psychiatry and Psychology, and
- Neurobiology of Disease Program, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota 55905
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29
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Quinn JJ, Pittenger C, Lee AS, Pierson JL, Taylor JR. Striatum-dependent habits are insensitive to both increases and decreases in reinforcer value in mice. Eur J Neurosci 2013; 37:1012-21. [PMID: 23298231 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2011] [Accepted: 11/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The mouse has emerged as an advantageous species for studying the brain circuitry that underlies complex behavior and for modeling neuropsychiatric disease. The transition from flexible, goal-directed actions to inflexible, habitual responses is argued to be a valid and reliable behavioral model for studying a core aspect of corticostriatal systems that is implicated in certain forms of psychopathology. This transition is thought to correspond to a progression of behavioral control from associative to sensorimotor corticobasal ganglia networks. Habits form following extensive training and are characterized by reduced sensitivity of instrumental responding to reinforcer revaluation; few studies have examined this form of behavioral control in mice. Here we examined the involvement of the dorsolateral and dorsomedial striatum in this transition in the C57BL/6 inbred mouse strain. We provided evidence that damage to the dorsolateral striatum disrupted habitual responding, i.e. it preserved sensitivity to changes in outcome value following either outcome devaluation or, shown for the first time in mice, outcome inflation. Together, these data show that instrumental responding in lesioned mice tracks the current value of a reinforcer and provide evidence that neuroanatomical mechanisms underlying habit learning in rats are preserved in the mouse. This will allow for the genetic and molecular dissection of neural factors involved in decision-making and mechanisms of aberrant habit formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer J Quinn
- Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Avenue, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
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30
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Walker AK, Ibia IE, Zigman JM. Disruption of cue-potentiated feeding in mice with blocked ghrelin signaling. Physiol Behav 2012; 108:34-43. [PMID: 23063723 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2012] [Accepted: 10/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The peptide hormone ghrelin regulates a variety of eating behaviors. Not only does it potently increase intake of freely-available food, but it also shifts food preference toward diets rich in fat, enhances operant responding for food rewards, and induces conditioned place preference for food rewards. Here, we postulated that ghrelin also enables cue-potentiated feeding, in which eating is enhanced upon presentation of a food-conditioned stimulus. To test this hypothesis, a novel cue-potentiated feeding protocol adapted for use in mice was designed and validated, and then the effects of pharmacologic ghrelin receptor (GHSR) antagonism and GHSR transcriptional blockade (as occurs in GHSR-null mice) were assessed. Sated C57BL/6J mice indeed demonstrated cue-potentiated intake of grain-based pellets specifically upon presentation of a positive conditioned stimulus (CS+) but not a negative conditioned stimulus (CS-). Treatment with a GHSR antagonist blocked potentiated feeding in sated C57BL/6J mice in response to the CS+. In contrast, while GHSR-null mice also lacked a potentiation of feeding specifically in response to the CS+, they displayed an enhanced intake of pellets in response to both the positive and negative conditioned stimuli. The pattern of immediate early gene expression within the basolateral amygdala - a brain region previously linked to cue-potentiated feeding - paralleled the observed behavior of these mice, suggesting uncharacteristic activation of the amygdala in response to negative conditioned stimuli in GHSR-null mice as compared to wild-type littermates. Thus, although the observed disruptions in cue-potentiated feeding are different depending upon whether GHSR activity or GHSR expression is blocked, a key role for GHSRs in establishing a specific positive cue-food association has now been established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela K Walker
- Department of Internal Medicine (Divisions of Hypothalamic Research and of Endocrinology & Metabolism), The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9077, United States
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31
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Shabani S, Dobbs LK, Ford MM, Mark GP, Finn DA, Phillips TJ. A genetic animal model of differential sensitivity to methamphetamine reinforcement. Neuropharmacology 2012; 62:2169-77. [PMID: 22280875 PMCID: PMC3320769 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2011] [Revised: 12/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/04/2012] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Sensitivity to reinforcement from methamphetamine (MA) likely influences risk for MA addiction, and genetic differences are one source of individual variation. Generation of two sets of selectively bred mouse lines for high and low MA drinking has shown that genetic factors influence MA intake, and pronounced differences in sensitivity to rewarding and aversive effects of MA play a significant role. Further validation of these lines as a unique genetic model relevant to MA addiction was obtained using operant methods to study MA reinforcement. High and low MA drinking line mice were used to test the hypotheses that: 1) oral and intracerebroventricular (ICV) MA serve as behavioral reinforcers, and 2) MA exhibits greater reinforcing efficacy in high than low MA drinking mice. Operant responses resulted in access to an MA or non-MA drinking tube or intracranial delivery of MA. Behavioral activation consequent to orally consumed MA was determined. MA available for consumption maintained higher levels of reinforced instrumental responding in high than low MA drinking line mice, and MA intake in the oral operant procedure was greater in high than low MA drinking line mice. Behavioral activation was associated with amount of MA consumed during operant sessions. High line mice delivered more MA via ICV infusion than did low line mice across a range of doses. Thus, genetic risk factors play a critical role in the reinforcing efficacy of MA and the oral self-administration procedure is suitable for delineating genetic contributions to MA reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shkelzen Shabani
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Lauren K Dobbs
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Matthew M Ford
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Gregory P Mark
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Deborah A Finn
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Tamara J Phillips
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97239
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32
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Crabbe JC. Translational behaviour-genetic studies of alcohol: are we there yet? GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2012; 11:375-86. [PMID: 22510368 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2012.00798.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In biomedical research, one key stage of translating basic science knowledge to clinical practice is the reconciliation of phenotypes employed for laboratory animal studies with those important for the clinical condition. Alcohol dependence (AD) is a prototypic complex genetic trait. There is a long history of behaviour-genetic studies of AD in both human subjects and various genetic animal models. This review assesses the state of the art in our understanding of the genetic contributions to AD. In particular, it primarily focuses on the phenotypes studied in mouse genetic animal models, comparing them to the aspects of the human condition they are intended to target. It identifies several features of AD where genetic animal models have been particularly useful, and tries to identify understudied areas where there is good promise for further genetic animal model work.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Crabbe
- VA Medical Center (R&D12) Portland Alcohol Research Center Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
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33
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Hall FS, Markou A, Levin ED, Uhl GR. Mouse models for studying genetic influences on factors determining smoking cessation success in humans. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2012; 1248:39-70. [PMID: 22304675 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06415.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Humans differ in their ability to quit using addictive substances, including nicotine, the major psychoactive ingredient in tobacco. For tobacco smoking, a substantial body of evidence, largely derived from twin studies, indicates that approximately half of these individual differences in ability to quit are heritable genetic influences that likely overlap with those for other addictive substances. Both twin and molecular genetic studies support overlapping influences on nicotine addiction vulnerability and smoking cessation success, although there is little formal analysis of the twin data that support this important point. None of the current datasets provides clarity concerning which heritable factors might provide robust dimensions around which individuals differ in ability to quit smoking. One approach to this problem is to test mice with genetic variations in genes that contain human variants that alter quit success. This review considers which features of quit success should be included in a comprehensive approach to elucidate the genetics of quit success, and how those features may be modeled in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Scott Hall
- Molecular Neurobiology Branch, NIH-IRP, NIDA, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA
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34
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Bussey TJ, Holmes A, Lyon L, Mar AC, McAllister KAL, Nithianantharajah J, Oomen CA, Saksida LM. New translational assays for preclinical modelling of cognition in schizophrenia: the touchscreen testing method for mice and rats. Neuropharmacology 2012; 62:1191-203. [PMID: 21530550 PMCID: PMC3168710 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 207] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2010] [Revised: 04/01/2011] [Accepted: 04/10/2011] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
We describe a touchscreen method that satisfies a proposed 'wish-list' of desirables for a cognitive testing method for assessing rodent models of schizophrenia. A number of tests relevant to schizophrenia research are described which are currently being developed and validated using this method. These tests can be used to study reward learning, memory, perceptual discrimination, object-place associative learning, attention, impulsivity, compulsivity, extinction, simple Pavlovian conditioning, and other constructs. The tests can be deployed using a 'flexible battery' approach to establish a cognitive profile for a particular mouse or rat model. We have found these tests to be capable of detecting not just impairments in function, but enhancements as well, which is essential for testing putative cognitive therapies. New tests are being continuously developed, many of which may prove particularly valuable for schizophrenia research.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Bussey
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
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35
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Edry E, Lamprecht R, Wagner S, Rosenblum K. Virally mediated gene manipulation in the adult CNS. Front Mol Neurosci 2011; 4:57. [PMID: 22207836 PMCID: PMC3245970 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2011.00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2011] [Accepted: 12/15/2011] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how the CNS functions poses one of the greatest challenges in modern life science and medicine. Studying the brain is especially challenging because of its complexity, the heterogeneity of its cellular composition, and the substantial changes it undergoes throughout its life-span. The complexity of adult brain neural networks results also from the diversity of properties and functions of neuronal cells, governed, inter alia, by temporally and spatially differential expression of proteins in mammalian brain cell populations. Hence, research into the biology of CNS activity and its implications to human and animal behavior must use novel scientific tools. One source of such tools is the field of molecular genetics—recently utilized more and more frequently in neuroscience research. Transgenic approaches in general, and gene targeting in rodents have become fundamental tools for elucidating gene function in the CNS. Although spectacular progress has been achieved over recent decades by using these approaches, it is important to note that they face a number of restrictions. One of the main challenges is presented by the temporal and spatial regulation of introduced genetic manipulations. Viral vectors provide an alternative approach to temporally regulated, localized delivery of genetic modifications into neurons. In this review we describe available technologies for gene transfer into the adult mammalian CNS that use both viral and non-viral tools. We discuss viral vectors frequently used in neuroscience, with emphasis on lentiviral vector (LV) systems. We consider adverse effects of LVs, and the use of LVs for temporally and spatially controllable manipulations. Especially, we highlight the significance of viral vector-mediated genetic manipulations in studying learning and memory processes, and how they may be effectively used to separate out the various phases of learning: acquisition, consolidation, retrieval, and maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efrat Edry
- Department of Neurobiology and Ethology, Center for Gene Manipulation in the Brain (CGMB), University of Haifa Haifa, Israel
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36
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Youn J, Ellenbroek BA, van Eck I, Roubos S, Verhage M, Stiedl O. Finding the right motivation: genotype-dependent differences in effective reinforcements for spatial learning. Behav Brain Res 2011; 226:397-403. [PMID: 21971014 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2011] [Revised: 09/16/2011] [Accepted: 09/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Memory impairments of DBA/2J mice have been frequently reported in spatial and emotional behavior tests. However, in some memory tests involving food reward, DBA/2J mice perform equally well to C57BL/6J mice or even outperform them. Thus, it is conceivable that motivational factors differentially affect cognitive performance of different mouse strains. Therefore, spatial memory of DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice was investigated in a modified version of the Barnes maze (mBM) test with increased complexity. The modified Barnes maze test allowed using either aversive or appetitive reinforcement, but with identical spatial cues and motor requirements. Both mouse strains acquired spatial learning in mBM tests with either reinforcement. However, DBA/2J mice learned slower than C57BL/6J mice when aversive reinforcement was used. In contrast, the two strains performed equally well when appetitive reinforcement was used. The superior performance in C57BL/6J mice in the aversive version of the mBM test was accompanied by a more frequent use of the spatial strategy. In the appetitive version of the mBM test, both strains used the spatial strategy to a similar extent. The present results demonstrate that the cognitive performance of mice depends heavily on motivational factors. Our findings underscore the importance of an effective experimental design when assessing spatial memory and challenges interpretations of impaired hippocampal function in DBA/2J mice drawn on the basis of behavior tests depending on aversive reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiun Youn
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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37
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Do GluA1 knockout mice exhibit behavioral abnormalities relevant to the negative or cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder? Neuropharmacology 2011; 62:1263-72. [PMID: 21693126 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2010] [Revised: 03/28/2011] [Accepted: 06/07/2011] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The glutamate system has been strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of psychotic illnesses, including schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. We recently found that knockout (KO) mice lacking the AMPA GluA1 subunit displayed behavioral abnormalities relevant to some of the positive symptoms of these disorders. Here we phenotyped GluA1 KO mice for behavioral phenotypes pertinent to negative and cognitive/executive symptoms. GluA1 KO mice were tested for conspecific social interactions, the acquisition and extinction of an operant response for food-reward, operant-based pairwise visual discrimination and reversal learning, and impulsive choice in a delay-based cost/benefit decision-making T-maze task. Results showed that GluA1 KO mice engaged in less social interaction than wildtype (WT) controls when tested in a non-habituated, novel environment, but, conversely, displayed more social interaction in a well habituated, familiar environment. GluA1 KO mice were faster to acquire an operant stimulus-response for food reward than WT and were subsequently slower to extinguish the response. Genotypes showed similar pairwise discrimination learning and reversal, although GluA1 KO mice made fewer errors during early reversal. GluA1 KO mice also displayed increased impulsive choice, being less inclined to choose a delayed, larger reward when given a choice between this and a smaller, immediate reward, compared to WT mice. Finally, sucrose preference did not differ between genotypes. Collectively, these data add to the growing evidence that GluA1 KO mice display at least some phenotypic abnormalities mimicking those found in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Although these mice, like any other single mutant line, are unlikely to model the entire disease, they may nevertheless provide a useful tool for studying the role of GluA1 in certain aspects of the pathophysiology of major psychotic illness.
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Towards mouse models of perseveration: a heritable component in extinction of operant behavior in fourteen standard and recombinant inbred mouse lines. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2011; 96:280-7. [PMID: 21624482 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2011.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2011] [Revised: 05/06/2011] [Accepted: 05/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Extinction of instrumental responses is an essential skill for adaptive behavior such as foraging. So far, only few studies have focused on extinction following appetitive conditioning in mice. We studied extinction of appetitive operant lever-press behavior in six standard inbred mouse strains (A/J, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, BALB/cByJ and NOD/Ltj) and eight recombinant inbred mouse lines. From the response rates at the end of operant and extinction training we computed an extinction index, with higher values indicating better capability to omit behavioral responding in absence of reward. This index varied highly across the mouse lines tested, and the variability was partially due to a significant heritable component of 12.6%. To further characterize the relationship between operant learning and extinction, we calculated the slope of the time course of extinction across sessions. While many strains showed a considerable capacity to omit responding when lever pressing was no longer rewarded, we found a few lines showing an abnormally high perseveration in lever press behavior, showing no decay in response scores over extinction sessions. No correlation was found between operant and extinction response scores, suggesting that appetitive operant learning and extinction learning are dissociable, a finding in line with previous studies indicating that these forms of learning are dependent on different brain areas. These data shed light on the heritable basis of extinction learning and may help develop animal models of addictive habits and other perseverative disorders, such as compulsive food seeking and eating.
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