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Yates JR, Adhikari S, Bako RE, Berling KL, Broderick MR, Mains R, Zwick B. Methamphetamine increases risky choice in rats, but only when magnitude and probability of reinforcement are manipulated within a session. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2024; 239:173751. [PMID: 38548247 PMCID: PMC11220734 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Risky choice is associated with maladaptive behaviors, particularly substance use disorders. Current animal models of risky choice are often confounded by other constructs like behavioral flexibility and suboptimal choice. The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if the psychostimulant methamphetamine, a drug whose popularity has increased in recent years, increases risky choice in an equivalent expected value (EEV) task. In the EEV task, rats are given a choice between two reinforcer alternatives that differ in magnitude and probability of delivery, but have equivalent expected value. Forty-eight Sprague Dawley rats were tested in three versions of the EEV task. In the first version of the EEV task, both reinforcer magnitude and probability were adjusted across blocks of trials for both alternatives. In the second and the third versions of the EEV task, reinforcer magnitude was held constant across each block of trials (either 1 vs. 2 pellets or 4 vs. 5 pellets). We found that male rats preferred the "riskier" option, except when reinforcer magnitudes were held constant at 4 and 5 pellets across each block of trials. Methamphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) increased preference for the risky option in both males and females, but only when both reinforcer magnitude and probability were manipulated across blocks of trials for each alternative. The current results demonstrate that both magnitude of reinforcement and probability of reinforcement interact to influence risky choice. Overall, this study provides additional support for using reinforcers with expected value to measure risky choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin R Yates
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America.
| | - Shreeukta Adhikari
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America
| | - Rayah E Bako
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America
| | - Kevin L Berling
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America
| | - Maria R Broderick
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America; Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, United States of America
| | - Reuben Mains
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America
| | - Bradley Zwick
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, United States of America
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2
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Reid CR. Thoughts from the forest floor: a review of cognition in the slime mould Physarum polycephalum. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1783-1797. [PMID: 37166523 PMCID: PMC10770251 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01782-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Sensing, communication, navigation, decision-making, memory and learning are key components in a standard cognitive tool-kit that enhance an animal's ability to successfully survive and reproduce. However, these tools are not only useful for, or accessible to, animals-they evolved long ago in simpler organisms using mechanisms which may be either unique or widely conserved across diverse taxa. In this article, I review the recent research that demonstrates these key cognitive abilities in the plasmodial slime mould Physarum polycephalum, which has emerged as a model for non-animal cognition. I discuss the benefits and limitations of comparisons drawn between neural and non-neural systems, and the implications of common mechanisms across wide taxonomic divisions. I conclude by discussing future avenues of research that will draw the most benefit from a closer integration of Physarum and animal cognition research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris R Reid
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia.
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3
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Jegminat J, Surace SC, Pfister JP. Learning as filtering: Implications for spike-based plasticity. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009721. [PMID: 35196324 PMCID: PMC8865661 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Most normative models in computational neuroscience describe the task of learning as the optimisation of a cost function with respect to a set of parameters. However, learning as optimisation fails to account for a time-varying environment during the learning process and the resulting point estimate in parameter space does not account for uncertainty. Here, we frame learning as filtering, i.e., a principled method for including time and parameter uncertainty. We derive the filtering-based learning rule for a spiking neuronal network—the Synaptic Filter—and show its computational and biological relevance. For the computational relevance, we show that filtering improves the weight estimation performance compared to a gradient learning rule with optimal learning rate. The dynamics of the mean of the Synaptic Filter is consistent with spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) while the dynamics of the variance makes novel predictions regarding spike-timing dependent changes of EPSP variability. Moreover, the Synaptic Filter explains experimentally observed negative correlations between homo- and heterosynaptic plasticity. The task of learning is commonly framed as parameter optimisation. Here, we adopt the framework of learning as filtering where the task is to continuously estimate the uncertainty about the parameters to be learned. We apply this framework to synaptic plasticity in a spiking neuronal network. Filtering includes a time-varying environment and parameter uncertainty on the level of the learning task. We show that learning as filtering can qualitatively explain two biological experiments on synaptic plasticity that cannot be explained by learning as optimisation. Moreover, we make a new prediction and improve performance with respect to a gradient learning rule. Thus, learning as filtering is a promising candidate for learning models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannes Jegminat
- Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Neuroinformatics and Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH and the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Jean-Pascal Pfister
- Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Neuroinformatics and Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH and the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Seeking motivation and reward: roles of dopamine, hippocampus and supramammillo-septal pathway. Prog Neurobiol 2022; 212:102252. [PMID: 35227866 PMCID: PMC8961455 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Reinforcement learning and goal-seeking behavior are thought to be mediated by midbrain dopamine neurons. However, little is known about neural substrates of curiosity and exploratory behavior, which occur in the absence of clear goal or reward. This is despite behavioral scientists having long suggested that curiosity and exploratory behaviors are regulated by an innate drive. We refer to such behavior as information-seeking behavior and propose 1) key neural substrates and 2) the concept of environment prediction error as a framework to understand information-seeking processes. The cognitive aspect of information-seeking behavior, including the perception of salience and uncertainty, involves, in part, the pathways from the posterior hypothalamic supramammillary region to the hippocampal formation. The vigor of such behavior is modulated by the following: supramammillary glutamatergic neurons; their projections to medial septal glutamatergic neurons; and the projections of medial septal glutamatergic neurons to ventral tegmental dopaminergic neurons. Phasic responses of dopaminergic neurons are characterized as signaling potentially important stimuli rather than rewards. This paper describes how novel stimuli and uncertainty trigger seeking motivation and how these neural substrates modulate information-seeking behavior.
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Piantadosi PT, Halladay LR, Radke AK, Holmes A. Advances in understanding meso-cortico-limbic-striatal systems mediating risky reward seeking. J Neurochem 2021; 157:1547-1571. [PMID: 33704784 PMCID: PMC8981567 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The risk of an aversive consequence occurring as the result of a reward-seeking action can have a profound effect on subsequent behavior. Such aversive events can be described as punishers, as they decrease the probability that the same action will be produced again in the future and increase the exploration of less risky alternatives. Punishment can involve the omission of an expected rewarding event ("negative" punishment) or the addition of an unpleasant event ("positive" punishment). Although many individuals adaptively navigate situations associated with the risk of negative or positive punishment, those suffering from substance use disorders or behavioral addictions tend to be less able to curtail addictive behaviors despite the aversive consequences associated with them. Here, we discuss the psychological processes underpinning reward seeking despite the risk of negative and positive punishment and consider how behavioral assays in animals have been employed to provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying addictive disorders. We then review the critical contributions of dopamine signaling to punishment learning and risky reward seeking, and address the roles of interconnected ventral striatal, cortical, and amygdala regions to these processes. We conclude by discussing the ample opportunities for future study to clarify critical gaps in the literature, particularly as related to delineating neural contributions to distinct phases of the risky decision-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T. Piantadosi
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lindsay R. Halladay
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California 95053, USA
| | - Anna K. Radke
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
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6
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Exploring dopaminergic transmission in gambling addiction: A systematic translational review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:481-511. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Eagle DM, Schepisi C, Chugh S, Desai S, Han SYS, Huang T, Lee JJ, Sobala C, Ye W, Milton AL, Robbins TW. Dissociable dopaminergic and pavlovian influences in goal-trackers and sign-trackers on a model of compulsive checking in OCD. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:3569-3581. [PMID: 32886158 PMCID: PMC7683452 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05636-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Checking is a functional behaviour that provides information to guide behaviour. However, in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), checking may escalate to dysfunctional levels. The processes underpinning the transition from functional to dysfunctional checking are unclear but may be associated with individual differences that support the development of maladaptive behaviour. We examined one such predisposition, sign-tracking to a pavlovian conditioned stimulus, which we previously found associated with dysfunctional checking. How sign-tracking interacts with another treatment with emerging translational validity for OCD-like checking, chronic administration of the dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole, is unknown. OBJECTIVES We tested how functional and dysfunctional checking in the rat observing response task (ORT) was affected by chronic quinpirole administration in non-autoshaped controls and autoshaped animals classified as sign-trackers or goal-trackers. METHODS Sign-trackers or goal-trackers were trained on the ORT before the effects of chronic quinpirole administration on checking were assessed. Subsequently, the effects on checking of different behavioural challenges, including reward omission and the use of unpredictable reinforcement schedules, were tested. RESULTS Prior autoshaping increased checking. Sign-trackers and goal-trackers responded differently to quinpirole sensitization, reward omission and reinforcement uncertainty. Sign-trackers showed greater elevations in dysfunctional checking, particularly during uncertainty. By contrast, goal-trackers predominantly increased functional checking responses, possibly in response to reduced discrimination accuracy in the absence of cues signalling which lever was currently active. CONCLUSIONS The results are discussed in terms of how pavlovian associations influence behaviour that becomes compulsive in OCD and how this may be dependent on striatal dopamine D2 receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. M. Eagle
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - C. Schepisi
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.7841.aSapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - S. Chugh
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - S. Desai
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - S. Y. S. Han
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - T. Huang
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - J. J. Lee
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.5337.20000 0004 1936 7603University of Bristol, Bristol, UK ,grid.83440.3b0000000121901201University College London, London, UK
| | - C. Sobala
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - W. Ye
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - A. L. Milton
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - T. W. Robbins
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
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Emoto N, Soga A, Fukuda I, Tanimura-Inagaki K, Harada T, Koyano HM, Goto R, Sugihara H. Irrational Responses to Risk Preference Questionnaires by Patients with Diabetes with or without Retinopathy and Comparison with Those without Diabetes. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes 2020; 13:4961-4971. [PMID: 33376369 PMCID: PMC7755883 DOI: 10.2147/dmso.s283591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The risk preferences of patients with diabetes have profound effects on the progression of complications. The present study aimed to clarify whether the preferences of patients with diabetes and retinopathy are deliberately risk-seeking or irrational and whether this propensity is specific to those with retinopathy or is also found in patients without retinopathy compared with those without diabetes. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 394 patients with diabetes (264 without retinopathy and 130 with retinopathy) and 198 patients without diabetes agreed to participate in this survey. The questions were modified versions of those from the Japan Household Survey on Consumer Preferences and Satisfaction, which sought to determine the participants' personal socioeconomic status and risk preferences. In the questionnaires, responses were analyzed by determining the participants' willingness to pay for a lottery ticket and for an insurance policy. Irrational responses were defined as violations of two axioms of the Expected Utility Theory: completeness and transitivity. RESULTS The incidence of irrational responses increased with age and was associated with educational level. The incidence of irrational responses was significantly higher in patients with retinopathy than in those without retinopathy after adjusting for age and educational level. There was no significant difference in the incidence of irrational responses between patients with diabetes but without retinopathy and those without diabetes. CONCLUSION The risk-seeking behavior of patients with diabetes and retinopathy was not deliberate but was irrational under uncertainty. Medical professionals should be aware of their patients' propensity to make irrational decisions, which is an important risk factor for the progression of retinopathy in patients with diabetes regardless of age and educational level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoya Emoto
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
- Diabetes & Thyroid Clinic, Sakura Chuo Hospital, Chiba, Japan
- Correspondence: Naoya Emoto Diabetes & Thyroid Clinic, Sakura Chuo Hospital, 20-4, Sakaecho, Sakura City, Chiba285-0014, JapanTel +81-43-486-1311Fax +81-43-486-1314 Email
| | - Akimi Soga
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Izumi Fukuda
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kyoko Tanimura-Inagaki
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taro Harada
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hajime M Koyano
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Chiba, Japan
| | - Rei Goto
- Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Sugihara
- Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
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9
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Kuhn BN, Kalivas PW, Bobadilla AC. Understanding Addiction Using Animal Models. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:262. [PMID: 31849622 PMCID: PMC6895146 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug addiction is a neuropsychiatric disorder with grave personal consequences that has an extraordinary global economic impact. Despite decades of research, the options available to treat addiction are often ineffective because our rudimentary understanding of drug-induced pathology in brain circuits and synaptic physiology inhibits the rational design of successful therapies. This understanding will arise first from animal models of addiction where experimentation at the level of circuits and molecular biology is possible. We will review the most common preclinical models of addictive behavior and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. This includes non-contingent models in which animals are passively exposed to rewarding substances, as well as widely used contingent models such as drug self-administration and relapse. For the latter, we elaborate on the different ways of mimicking craving and relapse, which include using acute stress, drug administration or exposure to cues and contexts previously paired with drug self-administration. We further describe paradigms where drug-taking is challenged by alternative rewards, such as appetitive foods or social interaction. In an attempt to better model the individual vulnerability to drug abuse that characterizes human addiction, the field has also established preclinical paradigms in which drug-induced behaviors are ranked by various criteria of drug use in the presence of negative consequences. Separation of more vulnerable animals according to these criteria, along with other innate predispositions including goal- or sign-tracking, sensation-seeking behavior or impulsivity, has established individual genetic susceptibilities to developing drug addiction and relapse vulnerability. We further examine current models of behavioral addictions such as gambling, a disorder included in the DSM-5, and exercise, mentioned in the DSM-5 but not included yet due to insufficient peer-reviewed evidence. Finally, after reviewing the face validity of the aforementioned models, we consider the most common standardized tests used by pharmaceutical companies to assess the addictive potential of a drug during clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter W. Kalivas
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
| | - Ana-Clara Bobadilla
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
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10
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Laskowski CS, Dorchak DL, Ward KM, Christensen DR, Euston DR. Can Slot-Machine Reward Schedules Induce Gambling Addiction in Rats? J Gambl Stud 2019; 35:887-914. [PMID: 31049772 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-019-09852-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Similar to drugs of abuse, random-ratio reward schedules are highly motivating and, in humans, are thought to foster gambling addiction. Animal gambling models, however, have not yet demonstrated the compulsivity so characteristic of drug addiction. Three criteria have been used to evaluate addiction-like behavior in drug models: (1) response inhibition when reward is not available, (2) persistence under a progressive ratio schedule, in which the response-to-reward ratio is stretched, and (3) persistence in spite of punishment. We tested whether prolonged exposure (6 weeks) to a gambling-like reward schedule would induce addiction-like symptoms in rats. In two studies, separate groups were trained to respond to either random- or fixed-ratio schedules for food reward. We found that rats trained on random-ratio schedules showed higher response rates and dramatically shorter pauses after rewards. Tests of addiction-like behavior, however, were largely negative. Response rates were not different during cued no-reward periods nor when reward was coupled with punishment. We also found no group differences when food was devalued nor in reinstatement of reward-seeking after a 1-week delay. The sole exception to this pattern was that rats in the second experiment showed greater persistence on a progressive ratio test. After experiment two, subjects were also orally administered pramipexole, which caused increased perseveration during progressive ratio testing, especially in the random ratio group. While, it is possible that longer training or more appetitive rewards might have led to addiction-like behavior, our results, on the surface, suggest that random-ratio schedules are motivating but not addictive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine S Laskowski
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Danika L Dorchak
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Kathleen M Ward
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Darren R Christensen
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - David R Euston
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
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Abstract
In the past several years, there has been an explosion of interest in animal models of risk-based decision-making, a fundamental process associated with gambling disorder. While early work focused on establishing various tasks for assaying decision-making, current studies are determining the (subtle and not-so-subtle) influence of cues in driving risky decisions to better understand problem gambling. In addition, these decision-making paradigms are now being used to investigate comorbid conditions such as substance dependence or brain injury and replicating observations from human patients. These animal models have now developed to a point where therapeutic interventions may be assessed for not just gambling disorder, but also a number of other conditions which engender risky decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cole Vonder Haar
- Injury and Recovery Laboratory.,Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
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12
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Investigating the influence of 'losses disguised as wins' on decision making and motivation in rats. Behav Pharmacol 2019; 29:732-744. [PMID: 30376458 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Multiline slot machines encourage continued play through 'losses disguised as wins' (LDWs), outcomes in which the money returned is less than that wagered. Individuals with gambling problems may be susceptible to this game feature. The cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms through which LDWs act are unknown. In a novel rat operant task, animals chose between a 'certain' lever, which always delivered two sugar pellets, or an 'uncertain' lever, resulting in four sugar pellets on 50% of trials. LDWs were then introduced as a return of three sugar pellets on 30-40% of uncertain rewarded trials. For half the rats, winning outcomes were paired with audiovisual feedback (cues). In a second study, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) was inactivated during initial presentation of LDWs. While LDWs shifted most rats' choice toward the certain lever, a subgroup of LDW vulnerable rats continued to choose the uncertain option, when the reward rate diminished. This profile of LDW vulnerability was reproduced after inactivating the BLA. Persistent choice of uncertain outcomes despite lower reward rates may reflect impaired functioning within the BLA. Future work using this model may provide insight into the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to the motivational properties of LDWs and their contribution to problematic gambling.
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Quintero Garzola GC. Review: brain neurobiology of gambling disorder based on rodent models. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2019; 15:1751-1770. [PMID: 31308669 PMCID: PMC6612953 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s192746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Different literature reviews of gambling disorder (GD) neurobiology have been focused on human studies, others have focused on rodents, and others combined human and rodent studies. The main question of this review was: which are the main neurotransmitters systems and brain structures relevant for GD based on recent rodent studies? This work aims to review the experimental findings regarding the rodent´s neurobiology of GD. A search in the Pub Med database was set (October 2012-October 2017) and 162 references were obtained. After screening, 121 references were excluded, and only 41 references remained from the initial output. More, other 25 references were added to complement (introduction section, neuroanatomical descriptions) the principal part of the work. At the end, a total of 66 references remained for the review. The main conclusions are: 1) according to studies that used noninvasive methods for drug administration, some of the neurotransmitters and receptors involved in behaviors related to GD are: muscarinic, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), dopamine 2 receptor (D2), dopamine 3 receptor (D3), and dopamine 4 receptor (D4); 2) moreover, there are other neurotransmitters and receptors involved in GD based on studies that use invasive methods of drug administration (eg, brain microinjection); example of these are: serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT1A), noradrenaline receptors, gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor A (GABAA), and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor B (GABAB); 3) different brain structures are relevant to behaviors linked to GD, like: amygdala (including basolateral amygdala (BLA)), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus, infralimbic area, insular cortex (anterior and rostral agranular), nucleus accumbens (NAc), olfactory tubercle (island of Calleja), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), prefrontal cortex (PFC) - subcortical network, striatum (ventral) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN); and 4) the search for GD treatments should consider this diversity of receptor/neurotransmitter systems and brain areas.
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14
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Macare C, Ducci F, Zhang Y, Ruggeri B, Jia T, Kaakinen M, Kalsi G, Charoen P, Casoni F, Peters J, Bromberg U, Hill M, Buxton J, Blakemore A, Veijola J, Büchel C, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Conrod P, Flor H, Frouin V, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Gowland PA, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Lathrop M, Martinot JL, Paus T, Desrivières S, Munafò M, Järvelin MR, Schumann G. A neurobiological pathway to smoking in adolescence: TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 variants and reward response. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 28:1103-1114. [PMID: 30104163 PMCID: PMC6525784 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.07.101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Revised: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 gene-cluster has been implicated in adult smoking. Here, we investigated the contribution of individual genes in the TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 cluster in smoking and their association with smoking-associated reward processing in adolescence. A meta-analysis of TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 variants and self-reported smoking behaviours was performed in four European adolescent cohorts (N = 14,084). The minor G-allele of rs2236709, mapping TTC12, was associated with self-reported smoking (p = 5.0 × 10-4) and higher plasma cotinine levels (p = 7.0 × 10-5). This risk allele was linked to an increased ventral-striatal blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during reward anticipation (n = 1,263) and with higher DRD2 gene expression in the striatum (p = 0.013), but not with TTC12 or ANKK gene expression. These data suggest a role for the TTC12-ANKK1-DRD2 gene-cluster in adolescent smoking behaviours, provide evidence for the involvement of DRD2 in the early stages of addiction and support the notion that genetically-driven inter-individual differences in dopaminergic transmission mediate reward sensitivity and risk to smoking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Macare
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Ducci
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yuning Zhang
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Ruggeri
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tianye Jia
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China and Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, China
| | - Marika Kaakinen
- Section of Genomics of Common Disease, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gursharan Kalsi
- Clinical Physics, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK; One Small Step Gait Laboratory, Guy׳s and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Guy׳s Hospital, London, UK
| | - Pimphen Charoen
- UCL Institute of Health Informatics, University College, London, UK
| | - Filippo Casoni
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan 20132, Italy; Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan 20132, Italy
| | - Jan Peters
- Intelligent Autonomous Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Uli Bromberg
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, House W34, 3.OG, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Matthew Hill
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica Buxton
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London; School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, UK
| | - Alexandra Blakemore
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Juha Veijola
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Cambridge Cognition Ltd, Cambridge, UK
| | - Christian Büchel
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, House W34, 3.OG, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Arun L W Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Patricia Conrod
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, Universite de Montreal, CHU Ste Justine Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Herta Flor
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Jürgen Gallinat
- Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, 05405 Burlington, Vermont, USA
| | - Penny A Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bernd Ittermann
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig and Berlin, Germany
| | - Mark Lathrop
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, 1205 Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada; McGill University, Genome Quebec Innovation Centre, 740 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 "Neuroimaging & Psychiatry", University Paris Sud - Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes; DIGITEO labs, Gif sur Yvette; France
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marcus Munafò
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies and School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Marjo-Riitta Järvelin
- Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, MRC Health Protection Agency (HPA) Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, United Kingdom; Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Department of Children and Young People and Families, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Cocker PJ, Lin MY, Tremblay M, Kaur S, Winstanley CA. The β-adrenoceptor blocker propranolol ameliorates compulsive-like gambling behaviour in a rodent slot machine task: implications for iatrogenic gambling disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 50:2401-2414. [PMID: 30019362 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Previous work has shown that chronic administration of the dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist ropinirole invigorates performance on a rodent slot machine task (rSMT). This behavioural change appears superficially similar to the iatrogenic gambling disorder (GD) observed in a sub-set of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and has been associated with increased activation of the intra-cellular signalling proteins GSK3β and CREB in the striatum. Here, we wanted to determine whether this response to ropinirole could be attenuated by targeting these signalling proteins, and if the loss of dopaminergic innervation characteristic of PD would alter ropinirole's effects on the rSMT. Male Long Evans rats were trained on the rSMT. Dopaminergic terminals innervating the dorsolateral striatum were then lesioned bilaterally using the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine hydrochloride (6-OHDA). Subsequently animals were implanted with osmotic mini-pumps delivering ropinirole. Lastly, animals were given dietary lithium (Li+ ), to inhibit the activation of GSK3β, or injections of the ß-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol, which potently inhibits CREB as a secondary mechanism of action, and any changes in ropinirole-induced increases in compulsive-like engagement in the rSMT evaluated. Chronic ropinirole increased the number of trials animals completed, reproducing our original finding. This increase in task engagement was not altered in animals with 6-OHDA lesions, a putative model of early PD. In addition, the effects of ropinirole were not attenuated by administration of Li+ , but were ameliorated by propranolol. These data suggest that propranolol may represent a potential pharmacotherapy for the treatment of iatrogenic gambling.
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Affiliation(s)
- P J Cocker
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - M Y Lin
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - M Tremblay
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - S Kaur
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - C A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Yang JH, Cheng CP, Liao RM. Effects of d-amphetamine on risk choice in rats depend on the manner in which the expected reward value is varied. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2018; 171:20-29. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2018.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 05/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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17
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Ferland JMN, Carr MR, Lee AM, Hoogeland ME, Winstanley CA, Pattij T. Examination of the effects of cannabinoid ligands on decision making in a rat gambling task. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2018; 170:87-97. [PMID: 29787777 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2018.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Although exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is perceived to be relatively harmless, mounting evidence has begun to show that it is associated with a variety of cognitive deficits, including poor decision making. THC-induced impairments in decision making are thought to be the result of cannabinoid CB1 receptor activation, and although clinical literature suggests that chronic activation via THC contributes to perturbations in decision making, acute CB1 receptor modulation has yielded mixed results. Using an animal model to examine how CB1-specific ligands impact choice biases would provide significant insight as to how recruitment of the endocannabinoid system may influence decision making. Here, we used the rat gambling task (rGT), a validated analogue of the human Iowa Gambling Task, to assess baseline decision making preferences in male Wistar rats. After acquisition rGT performance was measured. Animals were challenged with the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant, the partial agonist THC, and the synthetic agonist WIN55,212-2. Animals were also treated acutely with the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 to selectively upregulate the endocannabinoid anandamide. Blockade of the CB1 receptor produced a trend improvement in decision making in animals who preferred the advantageous task options, yet left choice unaffected in risk-prone rats. Neither CB1 receptor agonist had strong effects on decision making, but a high dose THC decreased premature responses, whereas WIN55,212-2 did the opposite. URB597 did not affect task performance. These results indicate that although chronic CB1 receptor activation may be associated with impaired decision making, acute modulation has modest effects on choice and instead may play a substantive role in regulating impulsive responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline-Marie N Ferland
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Madison R Carr
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Angela M Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Myrthe E Hoogeland
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Tommy Pattij
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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18
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Amphetamine primes enhanced motivation toward uncertain choices in rats with genetic alcohol preference. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018; 235:1361-1370. [PMID: 29427080 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-4847-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Comorbidity with gambling disorder (GD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is well documented. OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of genetic alcohol drinking tendency on reward-guided decision making behavior of rats and the impact of dopamine releaser D-amphetamine on this behavior. METHODS In this study, Alko alcohol (AA) and Wistar rats went through long periods of operant lever pressing training where the task was to choose the profitable of two options. The lever choices were guided by different-sized sucrose rewards (one or three pellets), and the probability of gaining the larger reward was slowly changed to a level where choosing the smaller reward would be the most profitable in the long run. After training, rats were injected (s.c.) with dopamine releaser D-amphetamine (0.3, 1.0 mg/kg) to study the impact of rapid dopamine release on this learned decision making behavior. RESULTS Administration of D-amphetamine promoted unprofitable decision making of AA rats more robustly when compared to Wistar rats. At the same time, D-amphetamine reduced lever pressing responses. Interestingly, we found that this reduction in lever pressing was significantly greater in Wistar rats than in AA rats and it was not linked to motivation to consume sucrose. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that conditioning to the lever pressing in uncertain environments is more pronounced in AA than in Wistar rats and indicate that the reinforcing effects of a gambling-like environment act as a stronger conditioning factor for rats that exhibit a genetic tendency for high alcohol drinking.
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Dopaminergic Drug Effects on Probability Weighting during Risky Decision Making. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0330-17. [PMID: 29632870 PMCID: PMC5889481 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0330-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopamine has been associated with risky decision-making, as well as with pathological gambling, a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive risk-taking behavior. However, the specific mechanisms through which dopamine might act to foster risk-taking and pathological gambling remain elusive. Here we test the hypothesis that this might be achieved, in part, via modulation of subjective probability weighting during decision making. Human healthy controls (n = 21) and pathological gamblers (n = 16) played a decision-making task involving choices between sure monetary options and risky gambles both in the gain and loss domains. Each participant played the task twice, either under placebo or the dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist sulpiride, in a double-blind counterbalanced design. A prospect theory modelling approach was used to estimate subjective probability weighting and sensitivity to monetary outcomes. Consistent with prospect theory, we found that participants presented a distortion in the subjective weighting of probabilities, i.e., they overweighted low probabilities and underweighted moderate to high probabilities, both in the gain and loss domains. Compared with placebo, sulpiride attenuated this distortion in the gain domain. Across drugs, the groups did not differ in their probability weighting, although gamblers consistently underweighted losing probabilities in the placebo condition. Overall, our results reveal that dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonism modulates the subjective weighting of probabilities in the gain domain, in the direction of more objective, economically rational decision making.
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20
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Anselme P, Edeş N, Tabrik S, Güntürkün O. Long-term behavioral sensitization to apomorphine is independent of conditioning and increases conditioned pecking, but not preference, in pigeons. Behav Brain Res 2018; 336:122-134. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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21
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Deciphering Decision Making: Variation in Animal Models of Effort- and Uncertainty-Based Choice Reveals Distinct Neural Circuitries Underlying Core Cognitive Processes. J Neurosci 2017; 36:12069-12079. [PMID: 27903717 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1713-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Revised: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Maladaptive decision-making is increasingly recognized to play a significant role in numerous psychiatric disorders, such that therapeutics capable of ameliorating core impairments in judgment may be beneficial in a range of patient populations. The field of "decision neuroscience" is therefore in its ascendancy, with researchers from diverse fields bringing their expertise to bear on this complex and fascinating problem. In addition to the advances in neuroimaging and computational neuroscience that contribute enormously to this area, an increase in the complexity and sophistication of behavioral paradigms designed for nonhuman laboratory animals has also had a significant impact on researchers' ability to test the causal nature of hypotheses pertaining to the neural circuitry underlying the choice process. Multiple such decision-making assays have been developed to investigate the neural and neurochemical bases of different types of cost/benefit decisions. However, what may seem like relatively trivial variation in behavioral methodologies can actually result in recruitment of distinct cognitive mechanisms, and alter the neurobiological processes that regulate choice. Here we focus on two areas of particular interest, namely, decisions that involve an assessment of uncertainty or effort, and compare some of the most prominent behavioral paradigms that have been used to investigate these processes in laboratory rodents. We illustrate how an appreciation of the diversity in the nature of these tasks can lead to important insights into the circumstances under which different neural regions make critical contributions to decision making.
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22
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Heilbronner SR. Modeling risky decision-making in nonhuman animals: shared core features. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2017; 16:23-29. [PMID: 28523287 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the neural mechanisms of risky decision-making is critical to developing appropriate treatments for psychiatric disorders, problem gambling, and addiction to drugs of abuse. Probing neurobiological mechanisms requires the use of nonhuman animal models (particularly rhesus macaques, rats, and mice). However, there is considerable variation across species in risk preferences. Nevertheless, there are shared core features of risky decision-making present across species. As demonstrated with a wide variety of behavioral paradigms, modulators of risk preference observed in humans are readily replicated in model species. Thus, risky decision-making represents an important implementation of reward-guided decision-making that is feasibly modeled across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R Heilbronner
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 711, Rochester, NY 14642
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23
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Dalley JW, Robbins TW. Fractionating impulsivity: neuropsychiatric implications. Nat Rev Neurosci 2017; 18:158-171. [PMID: 28209979 DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2017.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 363] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to make decisions and act quickly without hesitation can be advantageous in many settings. However, when persistently expressed, impulsive decisions and actions are considered risky, maladaptive and symptomatic of such diverse brain disorders as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, drug addiction and affective disorders. Over the past decade, rapid progress has been made in the identification of discrete neural networks that underlie different forms of impulsivity - from impaired response inhibition and risky decision making to a profound intolerance of delayed rewards. Herein, we review what is currently known about the neural and psychological mechanisms of impulsivity, and discuss the relevance and application of these new insights to various neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey W Dalley
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.,Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.,Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
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Oinio V, Bäckström P, Uhari-Väänänen J, Raasmaja A, Piepponen P, Kiianmaa K. Dopaminergic modulation of reward-guided decision making in alcohol-preferring AA rats. Behav Brain Res 2017; 326:87-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2016] [Revised: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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25
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Bradshaw CM. Some properties of an adjusting-magnitude schedule of reinforcement: Implications for models of choice. Behav Processes 2017; 140:19-32. [PMID: 28377299 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Rats were trained under a discrete-trials adjusting-magnitude schedule in which a response on lever A delivered either a larger or a smaller reinforcer (qA1 and qA2) with equal probability, while a response on B delivered a reinforcer whose size qB was adjusted according to the rats' choices. When A was preferred in a given block of trials, qB was increased in the following block; when B was preferred, qB was reduced in the following block. The oscillating changes in qB, analysed by the Fourier transform, could be described by a power spectrum with a dominant period of about 50 trial blocks. With qA1 held constant, the equilibrium value of qB (qB(50)) was monotonically related to qA2, and exceeded the arithmetic mean of qA1 and qA2 when qA1 was substantially greater than qA2. A model derived from the multiplicative model of intertemporal choice provided a post hoc description of the data. Simulation of block-by-block changes in qB derived from the model were generally consistent with the experimental data. Implications of the results for models of risky choice and for future use of the schedule in neurobehavioural experiments are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Bradshaw
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, UK.
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26
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Nautiyal KM, Okuda M, Hen R, Blanco C. Gambling disorder: an integrative review of animal and human studies. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1394:106-127. [PMID: 28486792 PMCID: PMC5466885 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Gambling disorder (GD), previously called pathological gambling and classified as an impulse control disorder in DSM-III and DSM-IV, has recently been reclassified as an addictive disorder in the DSM-5. It is widely recognized as an important public health problem associated with substantial personal and social costs, high rates of psychiatric comorbidity, poor physical health, and elevated suicide rates. A number of risk factors have been identified, including some genetic polymorphisms. Animal models have been developed in order to study the underlying neural basis of GD. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the risk factors, disease course, and pathophysiology. A focus on a phenotype-based dissection of the disorder is included in which known neural correlates from animal and human studies are reviewed. Finally, current treatment approaches are discussed, as well as future directions for GD research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine M. Nautiyal
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Mayumi Okuda
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Rene Hen
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
- Departments of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Carlos Blanco
- National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, Maryland
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28
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Cocker PJ, Tremblay M, Kaur S, Winstanley CA. Chronic administration of the dopamine D 2/3 agonist ropinirole invigorates performance of a rodent slot machine task, potentially indicative of less distractible or compulsive-like gambling behaviour. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:137-153. [PMID: 27714426 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4447-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Whilst dopamine agonist therapies can successfully manage the symptoms of diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), fibromyalgia and restless leg syndrome, they can also cause impulse control and addiction disorders such as gambling disorder (GD). These compulsive behaviours seriously undermine the utility of such treatments. OBJECTIVES The objective of the study was to model this phenomenon using a rodent slot machine task (rSMT) in order to investigate the neurobiological basis underlying such behavioural changes. METHODS Male Long Evans rats were trained to perform the rSMT. The D2-like agonist ropinirole, or saline, was then delivered continuously for 28 days via osmotic mini-pump. The effects of ropinirole on baseline rSMT performance, as well as extinction and reinstatement sessions, were determined during this time. Brain samples from key frontostriatal regions implicated in GD and PD were then harvested immediately or after a 4-week washout period during which behaviour returned to pre-drug baseline. RESULTS Ropinirole invigorated task performance, in that drug treatment resulted in a robust and sustained increase in the number of trials completed. Ex vivo analyses revealed that chronic ropinirole treatment led to a pattern of changes indicative of upregulation within the β-arrestin-AKT-GSK3β intracellular cascade, recently theorised to dominate D2-mediated signalling under hyperdopaminergic conditions, in the dorsal striatum, rather than the canonical PKA-dependent signalling pathway associated with D2 receptor activation. CONCLUSIONS Such findings provide novel insight into the role of dopamine signalling in mediating compulsive-like gambling behaviour and may inform more directed pharmacotherapies for the treatment of both idiopathic and iatrogenic GD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Cocker
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - M Tremblay
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - S Kaur
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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Research Domain Criteria versus DSM V: How does this debate affect attempts to model corticostriatal dysfunction in animals? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 76:301-316. [PMID: 27826070 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 09/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
For decades, the nosology of mental illness has been based largely upon the descriptions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM). A recent challenge to the DSM approach to psychiatric nosology from the National Institute on Mental Health (USA) defines Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) as an alternative. For RDoC, psychiatric illnesses are not defined as discrete categories, but instead as specific behavioral dysfunctions irrespective of DSM diagnostic categories. This approach was driven by two primary weaknesses noted in the DSM: (1) the same symptoms occur in very different disease states; and (2) DSM criteria lack grounding in the underlying biological causes of mental illness. RDoC intends to ground psychiatric nosology in those underlying mechanisms. This review addresses the suitability of RDoC vs. DSM from the view of modeling mental illness in animals. A consideration of all types of psychiatric dysfunction is beyond the scope of this review, which will focus on models of conditions associated with frontostriatal dysfunction.
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Tremblay M, Silveira MM, Kaur S, Hosking JG, Adams WK, Baunez C, Winstanley CA. Chronic D 2/3 agonist ropinirole treatment increases preference for uncertainty in rats regardless of baseline choice patterns. Eur J Neurosci 2016; 45:159-166. [PMID: 27422144 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Revised: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 07/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
D2/3 receptor agonists are effective treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD), but can precipitate impulse control disorders (ICDs) including gambling disorder (GD). The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this devastating side-effect of dopamine agonist replacement therapy (DRT), and any dependence on the dopamine depletion caused by PD, are unclear. It is also unclear whether previous biases towards risk or uncertainty are a risk factor for developing these ICDs. We investigated whether chronic D2/3 agonist administration (5 mg/kg/day ropinirole for 28 days) altered performance of a rat model of gambling-like behaviour, the rodent betting task (rBT), and examined if baseline behaviour predicted this behavioural change. The rBT captures individual differences in subjective preference for uncertain outcomes: animals choose between guaranteed or probabilistic reinforcement of equal expected value. Chronic ropinirole dramatically increased selection of the uncertain option in two-thirds of animals, regardless of baseline preferences. The effect on choice in the rBT was replicated in a dorsolateral striatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model of early PD. These studies are the first to look at individual differences in response to chronic, rather than pulsatile, dosing of DRT in a rodent model of gambling behaviour. These findings suggest that DRT-induced PG may stem from increases in subjective valuation of uncertainty. Such symptoms likely arise because of changes in dopaminergic striatal signalling caused by DRT rather than from an interaction between pre-morbid behaviours or PD itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Tremblay
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Mason M Silveira
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Sukhbir Kaur
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jay G Hosking
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Wendy K Adams
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Christelle Baunez
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), UMR7289, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) & Aix-Marseille Université (AMU), Marseille, France
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Cocker P, Hosking J, Murch W, Clark L, Winstanley C. Activation of dopamine D4 receptors within the anterior cingulate cortex enhances the erroneous expectation of reward on a rat slot machine task. Neuropharmacology 2016; 105:186-195. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Revised: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Dopamine D3 Receptors Modulate the Ability of Win-Paired Cues to Increase Risky Choice in a Rat Gambling Task. J Neurosci 2016; 36:785-94. [PMID: 26791209 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2225-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Similar to other addiction disorders, the cues inherent in many gambling procedures are thought to play an important role in mediating their addictive nature. Animal models of gambling-related behavior, while capturing dimensions of economic decision making, have yet to address the impact that these salient cues may have in promoting maladaptive choice. Here, we determined whether adding win-associated audiovisual cues to a rat gambling task (rGT) would influence decision making. Thirty-two male Long-Evans rats were tested on either the cued or uncued rGT. In these tasks, animals chose between four options associated with different magnitudes and frequencies of reward and punishing time-out periods. As in the Iowa Gambling Task, favoring options associated with smaller per-trial rewards but smaller losses and avoiding the tempting "high-risk, high-reward" decks maximized profits. Although the reinforcement contingencies were identical in both task versions, rats' choice of the disadvantageous risky options was significantly greater on the cued task. Furthermore, a D3 receptor agonist increased choice of the disadvantageous options, whereas a D3 antagonist had the opposite effects, only on the cued task. These findings are consistent with the reported role of D3 receptors in mediating the facilitatory effects of cues in addiction. Collectively, these results indicate that the cued rGT is a valuable model with which to study the mechanism by which salient cues can invigorate maladaptive decision making, an important and understudied component of both gambling and substance use disorders. Significance statement: We used a rodent analog of the Iowa Gambling Task to determine whether the addition of audiovisual cues would affect choice preferences. Adding reward-concurrent cues significantly increased risky choice. This is the first clear demonstration that reward-paired cues can bias cost/benefit decision making against a subject's best interests in a manner concordant with elevated addiction susceptibility. Choice on the cued task was uniquely sensitive to modulation by D3 receptor ligands, yet these drugs did not alter decision making on the uncued task. The relatively unprecedented sensitivity of choice on the cued task to D3-receptor-mediated neurotransmission data suggest that similar neurobiological processes underlie the ability of cues to both bias animals toward risky options and facilitate drug addiction.
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Consequences of Adolescent Ethanol Consumption on Risk Preference and Orbitofrontal Cortex Encoding of Reward. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:1366-75. [PMID: 26370327 PMCID: PMC4793121 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Revised: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Critical development of the prefrontal cortex occurs during adolescence, a period of increased independence marked by decision making that often includes engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance use. Consumption of alcohol during adolescence has been associated with increased impulsivity that persists across the lifespan, an effect which may be caused by long-term disruptions in cortical processing of rewards. To determine if alcohol consumption alters cortical encoding of rewards of different sizes and probabilities, we gave rats limited access to alcohol in gelatin during adolescence only. In adulthood, we recorded the electrophysiological activity of individual neurons of the orbitofrontal cortex while rats performed a risk task that varied the level of risk from day-to-day. Rats that had consumed higher levels of alcohol showed increased risk preference in the task compared with control and low alcohol-consuming rats. Patterns of neuronal responses were identified using principal component analysis. Of the multiple patterns observed, only one was modulated by adolescent alcohol consumption and showed strongest modulation after reward receipt. This subpopulation of neurons showed blunted firing rates following rewards in alcohol-consuming rats, suggesting a mechanism through which adolescent alcohol exposure may have lasting effects on reward processing in the context of decision making. The differences in OFC responses between high alcohol consumers and control animals not given access to alcohol support the idea that, regardless of potential variability in innate alcohol preferences, voluntary consumption of alcohol during adolescence biases choice patterns longitudinally through alterations in cortical function.
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Barrus MM, Hosking JG, Cocker PJ, Winstanley CA. Inactivation of the orbitofrontal cortex reduces irrational choice on a rodent Betting Task. Neuroscience 2016; 345:38-48. [PMID: 26912278 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Revised: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive biases may play a significant role in disorders of decision making such as pathological gambling and addiction. Understanding the neurobiology of these biases could lead to more effective pharmacological and therapeutic treatments for disorders in which aberrant decision making is prominent. The rodent Betting Task (rBT) was designed to measure one commonly observed decision-making heuristic in rodents, namely "escalation of commitment" in which subjects become more risk averse as the stakes increase, even if the odds of success remain constant. In the rodent task, the animal is presented with a choice between two options of equivalent expected value, such that reward on one option is guaranteed while the other has a 50% chance of double the prize or nothing. Past work has shown that a subset of animals (termed wager sensitive) adopt an irrationally risk-averse choice preference in which they shift their choice away from the uncertain option as the bet size grows larger. In the current study, the orbitofrontal (OFC), prelimbic (PrL), and infralimbic cortex (IL) were inactivated to evaluate the contributions made by these regions to choice behavior on the rBT. Inactivation of the OFC (but not the IL or the PrL) selectively ameliorated the risk-averse choice pattern characteristic of wager-sensitive animals. This finding suggests that the OFC may have a relatively unique role in promoting this type of non-normative decision-making under uncertainty, an effect that is potentially related to its role in representing the subjective value of reinforcing outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M Barrus
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - J G Hosking
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
| | - P J Cocker
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - C A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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Larkin JD, Jenni NL, Floresco SB. Modulation of risk/reward decision making by dopaminergic transmission within the basolateral amygdala. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:121-36. [PMID: 26432096 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4094-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dopamine (DA) transmission within cortico-limbic-striatal circuitry is integral in modulating decisions involving reward uncertainty. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) also plays a role in these processes, yet how DA transmission within this nucleus regulates cost/benefit decision making is unknown. OBJECTIVES We investigated the contribution of DA transmission within the BLA to risk/reward decision making assessed with a probabilistic discounting task. METHODS Rats were well-trained to choose between a small/certain reward and a large/risky reward, with the probability of obtaining the larger reward decreasing (100-12.5 %) or increasing (12.5-100 %) over a session. We examined the effects of antagonizing BLA D1 (SCH 23390, 0.1-1 μg) or D2 (eticlopride, 0.1-1 μg) receptors, as well as intra-BLA infusions of agonists for D1 (SKF 81297, 0.1-1 μg) and D2 (quinpirole, 1-10 μg) receptors. We also assessed how DA receptor stimulation may induce differential effects related to baseline levels of risky choice. RESULTS BLA D1 receptor antagonism reduced risky choice by decreasing reward sensitivity, whereas D2 antagonism did not affect overall choice patterns. Stimulation of BLA D1 receptors optimized decision making in a baseline-dependent manner: in risk-averse rats, infusions of a lower dose of SKF81297 increased risky choice when reward probabilities were high (50 %), whereas in risk-prone rats, this drug reduced risky choice when probabilities were low (12.5 %). Quinpirole reduced risky choice in risk-prone rats, enhancing lose-shift behavior. CONCLUSIONS These data highlight previously uncharacterized roles for BLA DA D1 and D2 receptors in biasing choice during risk/reward decision making through mediation of reward/negative feedback sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D Larkin
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Nicole L Jenni
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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van Wingerden M, van den Bos W. Can You Trust a Rat? Using Animal Models to Investigate the Neural Basis of Trust Like Behavior. SOCIAL COGNITION 2015. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2015.33.5.387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Di Ciano P, Pushparaj A, Kim A, Hatch J, Masood T, Ramzi A, Khaled MATM, Boileau I, Winstanley CA, Le Foll B. The Impact of Selective Dopamine D2, D3 and D4 Ligands on the Rat Gambling Task. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136267. [PMID: 26352802 PMCID: PMC4564230 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Gambling is an addictive disorder with serious societal and personal costs. To-date, there are no approved pharmacological treatments for gambling disorder. Evidence suggests a role for dopamine in gambling disorder and thus may provide a therapeutic target. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the effects of selective antagonists and agonists of D2, D3 and D4 receptors in a rodent analogue of the Iowa gambling task used clinically. In this rat gambling task (rGT), animals are trained to associate different response holes with different magnitudes and probabilities of food pellet rewards and punishing time-out periods. As in the Iowa gambling task, the optimal strategy is to avoid the tempting high-risk high-reward options, and instead favor those linked to smaller per-trial rewards but also lower punishments, thereby maximizing the amount of reward earned over time. Administration of those selective ligands did not affect decision making under the rGT. Only the D4 drug had modest effects on latency measures suggesting that D4 may contribute in some ways to decision making under this task.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Conditioning, Operant
- Decision Making/drug effects
- Dopamine Agents/pharmacology
- Dopamine Antagonists/pharmacology
- Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists/pharmacology
- Gambling
- Games, Experimental
- Ligands
- Male
- Punishment
- Rats
- Rats, Long-Evans
- Reaction Time/drug effects
- Receptors, Dopamine D2/agonists
- Receptors, Dopamine D2/physiology
- Receptors, Dopamine D3/agonists
- Receptors, Dopamine D3/antagonists & inhibitors
- Receptors, Dopamine D3/physiology
- Receptors, Dopamine D4/agonists
- Receptors, Dopamine D4/antagonists & inhibitors
- Receptors, Dopamine D4/physiology
- Reward
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Di Ciano
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
| | - Abhiram Pushparaj
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
| | - Aaron Kim
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
| | - Jessica Hatch
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Talal Masood
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
| | - Abby Ramzi
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
| | - Maram A. T. M. Khaled
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
- Pain Management Unit, Department of Anaesthesia, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Isabelle Boileau
- Addiction Imaging Research Group, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 1R
| | | | - Bernard Le Foll
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 2S1
- Alcohol Research and Treatment Clinic, Addiction Medicine Services, Ambulatory Care and Structured Treatments, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, CAMH, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Brain and Therapeutics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Lobo DSS, Aleksandrova L, Knight J, Casey DM, el-Guebaly N, Nobrega JN, Kennedy JL. Addiction-related genes in gambling disorders: new insights from parallel human and pre-clinical models. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20:1002-10. [PMID: 25266122 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2013] [Revised: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 08/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Neurobiological research supports the characterization of disordered gambling (DG) as a behavioral addiction. Recently, an animal model of gambling behavior was developed (rat gambling task, rGT), expanding the available tools to investigate DG neurobiology. We investigated whether rGT performance and associated risk gene expression in the rat's brain could provide cross-translational understanding of the neuromolecular mechanisms of addiction in DG. We genotyped tagSNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) in 38 addiction-related genes in 400 DG and 345 non-DG subjects. Genes with P<0.1 in the human association analyses were selected to be investigated in the animal arm to determine whether their mRNA expression in rats was associated with the rat's performance on the rGT. In humans, DG was significantly associated with tagSNPs in DRD3 (rs167771) and CAMK2D (rs3815072). Our results suggest that age and gender might moderate the association between CAMK2D and DG. Moderation effects could not be investigated due to sample power. In the animal arm, only the association between rGT performance and Drd3 expression remained significant after Bonferroni correction for 59 brain regions. As male rats were used, gender effects could not be investigated. Our results corroborate previous findings reporting the involvement of DRD3 receptor in addictions. To our knowledge, the use of human genetics, pre-clinical models and gene expression as a cross-translation paradigm has not previously been attempted in the field of addictions. The cross-validation of human findings in animal models is crucial for improving the translation of basic research into clinical treatments, which could accelerate neurobiological and pharmacological investigations in addictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S S Lobo
- 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada [2] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - L Aleksandrova
- 1] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada [2] Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - J Knight
- 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada [2] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - D M Casey
- Mental Health Commission of Canada, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - N el-Guebaly
- Division of Addiction, Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - J N Nobrega
- 1] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada [2] Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - J L Kennedy
- 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada [2] Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Norbury A, Husain M. Sensation-seeking: Dopaminergic modulation and risk for psychopathology. Behav Brain Res 2015; 288:79-93. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Revised: 04/06/2015] [Accepted: 04/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Dissociable effects of basolateral amygdala lesions on decision making biases in rats when loss or gain is emphasized. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 14:1184-95. [PMID: 24668615 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-014-0271-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Individuals switch from risk seeking to risk aversion when mathematically identical options are described in terms of loss versus gains, as exemplified in the reflection and framing effects. Determining the neurobiology underlying such cognitive biases could inform our understanding of decision making in health and disease. Although reports vary, data using human subjects have implicated the amygdala in such biases. Animal models enable more detailed investigation of neurobiological mechanisms. We therefore tested whether basolateral amygdala (BLA) lesions would affect risk preference for gains or losses in rats. Choices in both paradigms were always between options of equal expected value-a guaranteed outcome, or the 50:50 chance of double or nothing. In the loss-chasing task, most rats exhibited strong risk seeking preferences, gambling at the risk of incurring double the penalty, regardless of the size of the guaranteed loss. In the betting task, the majority of animals were equivocal in their choice, irrespective of bet size; however, a wager-sensitive subgroup progressively shifted away from the uncertain option as the bet size increased, which is reminiscent of risk aversion. BLA lesions increased preference for the smaller guaranteed loss in the loss-chasing task, without affecting choice on the betting task, which is indicative of reduced risk seeking for losses, but intact risk aversion for gains. These data support the hypothesis that the amygdala plays a more prominent role in choice biases related to losses. Given the importance of the amygdala in representing negative affect, the aversive emotional reaction to loss, rather than aberrant estimations of probability or loss magnitude, may underlie risk seeking for losses.
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Oswald LM, Wand GS, Wong DF, Brown CH, Kuwabara H, Brašić JR. Risky decision-making and ventral striatal dopamine responses to amphetamine: a positron emission tomography [(11)C]raclopride study in healthy adults. Neuroimage 2015; 113:26-36. [PMID: 25795343 PMCID: PMC4433778 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Revised: 02/05/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have provided compelling evidence that corticolimbic brain regions are integrally involved in human decision-making. Although much less is known about molecular mechanisms, there is growing evidence that the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurotransmitter system may be an important neural substrate. Thus far, direct examination of DA signaling in human risk-taking has centered on gambling disorder. Findings from several positron emission tomography (PET) studies suggest that dysfunctions in mesolimbic DA circuits may play an important role in gambling behavior. Nevertheless, interpretation of these findings is currently hampered by a need for better understanding of how individual differences in regional DA function influence normative decision-making in humans. To further our understanding of these processes, we used [(11)C]raclopride PET to examine associations between ventral striatal (VS) DA responses to amphetamine (AMPH) and risky decision-making in a sample of healthy young adults with no history of psychiatric disorder, Forty-five male and female subjects, ages 18-29 years, completed a computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task. Participants then underwent two 90-minute PET studies with high specific activity [(11)C]raclopride. The first scan was preceded by intravenous saline; the second, by intravenous AMPH (0.3mg/kg). Findings of primary analyses showed that less advantageous decision-making was associated with greater right VS DA release; the relationship did not differ as a function of gender. No associations were observed between risk-taking and left VS DA release or baseline D2/D3 receptor availability in either hemisphere. Overall, the results support notions that variability in striatal DA function may mediate inter-individual differences in risky decision-making in healthy adults, further suggesting that hypersensitive DA circuits may represent a risk pathway in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn M Oswald
- Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Gary S Wand
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dean F Wong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Clayton H Brown
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Hiroto Kuwabara
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - James R Brašić
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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42
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Arrondo G, Aznárez-Sanado M, Fernández-Seara MA, Goñi J, Loayza FR, Salamon-Klobut E, Heukamp FH, Pastor MA. Dopaminergic modulation of the trade-off between probability and time in economic decision-making. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2015; 25:817-27. [PMID: 25840742 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Revised: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Studies on animals and humans have demonstrated the importance of dopamine in modulating decision-making processes. In this work, we have tested dopaminergic modulation of economic decision-making and its neural correlates by administering either placebo or metoclopramide, a dopamine D2-receptor antagonist, to healthy subjects, during a functional MRI study. The decision-making task combined probability and time delay with a fixed monetary reward. For individual behavioral characterization, we used the Probability Time Trade-off (PTT) economic model, which integrates the traditional trade-offs of reward magnitude-time and reward magnitude-probability into a single measurement, thereby quantifying the subjective value of a delayed and probabilistic outcome. A regression analysis between BOLD signal and the PTT model index permitted to identify the neural substrate encoding the subjective reward-value. Behaviorally, medication reduced the rate of temporal discounting over probability, reflected in medicated subjects being more prone to postpone the reward in order to increase the outcome probability. In addition, medicated subjects showed less activity during the task in the postcentral gyrus as well as frontomedian areas, whereas there were no differences in the ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex (VMOFC) between groups when coding the subjective value. The present study demonstrates by means of behavior and imaging that dopamine modulation alters the probability-time trade-off in human economic decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Arrondo
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain; Managerial Decision Sciences, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry Department, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Maite Aznárez-Sanado
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Maria A Fernández-Seara
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Joaquín Goñi
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Francis R Loayza
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ewa Salamon-Klobut
- Managerial Decision Sciences, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Franz H Heukamp
- Managerial Decision Sciences, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria A Pastor
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Division of Neurosciences, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain.
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43
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Orbitofrontal or accumbens dopamine depletion does not affect risk-based decision making in rats. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 15:507-22. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-015-0353-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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44
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Heiphetz L, Lane JD, Waytz A, Young LL. How Children and Adults Represent God's Mind. Cogn Sci 2015; 40:121-44. [PMID: 25807973 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2014] [Revised: 10/07/2014] [Accepted: 12/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
For centuries, humans have contemplated the minds of gods. Research on religious cognition is spread across sub-disciplines, making it difficult to gain a complete understanding of how people reason about gods' minds. We integrate approaches from cognitive, developmental, and social psychology and neuroscience to illuminate the origins of religious cognition. First, we show that although adults explicitly discriminate supernatural minds from human minds, their implicit responses reveal far less discrimination. Next, we demonstrate that children's religious cognition often matches adults' implicit responses, revealing anthropomorphic notions of God's mind. Together, data from children and adults suggest the intuitive nature of perceiving God's mind as human-like. We then propose three complementary explanations for why anthropomorphism persists in adulthood, suggesting that anthropomorphism may be (a) an instance of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic; (b) a reflection of early testimony; and/or (c) an evolutionary byproduct.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan D Lane
- Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
| | - Adam Waytz
- Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
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45
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Cocker P, Winstanley C. Irrational beliefs, biases and gambling: Exploring the role of animal models in elucidating vulnerabilities for the development of pathological gambling. Behav Brain Res 2015; 279:259-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.10.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2014] [Revised: 10/25/2014] [Accepted: 10/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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46
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Hosking JG, Cocker PJ, Winstanley CA. Prefrontal Cortical Inactivations Decrease Willingness to Expend Cognitive Effort on a Rodent Cost/Benefit Decision-Making Task. Cereb Cortex 2015; 26:1529-38. [PMID: 25596594 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Personal success often necessitates expending greater effort for greater reward but, equally important, also requires judicious use of our limited cognitive resources (e.g., attention). Previous animal models have shown that the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are not involved in (physical) effort-based choice, whereas human studies have demonstrated PFC contributions to (mental) effort. Here, we utilize the rat Cognitive Effort Task (rCET) to probe PFC's role in effort-based decision making. In the rCET, animals can choose either an easy trial, where the attentional demand is low but the reward (sugar) is small or a difficult trial on which both the attentional demand and reward are greater. Temporary inactivation of PL and IL decreased all animals' willingness to expend mental effort and increased animals' distractibility; PL inactivations more substantially affected performance (i.e., attention), whereas IL inactivations increased motor impulsivity. These data imply that the PFC contributes to attentional resources, and when these resources are diminished, animals shift their choice (via other brain regions) accordingly. Thus, one novel therapeutic approach to deficits in effort expenditure may be to focus on the resources that such decision making requires, rather than the decision-making process per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay G Hosking
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Paul J Cocker
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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47
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Abnormal modulation of reward versus punishment learning by a dopamine D2-receptor antagonist in pathological gamblers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:3345-53. [PMID: 26092311 PMCID: PMC4537492 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-3986-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Pathological gambling has been associated with dopamine transmission abnormalities, in particular dopamine D2-receptor deficiency, and reversal learning deficits. Moreover, pervasive theoretical accounts suggest a key role for dopamine in reversal learning. However, there is no empirical evidence for a direct link between dopamine, reversal learning and pathological gambling. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study is to triangulate dopamine, reversal learning, and pathological gambling. METHODS Here, we assess the hypothesis that pathological gambling is accompanied by dopamine-related problems with learning from reward and punishment by investigating effects of the dopamine D2-receptor antagonist sulpiride (400 mg) on reward- and punishment-based reversal learning in 18 pathological gamblers and 22 healthy controls, using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, counter-balanced design. RESULTS In line with previous studies, blockade of D2 receptors with sulpiride impaired reward versus punishment reversal learning in controls. By contrast, sulpiride did not have any outcome-specific effects in gamblers. CONCLUSION These data demonstrate that pathological gambling is associated with a dopamine-related anomaly in reversal learning from reward and punishment.
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48
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Barrus MM, Cherkasova M, Winstanley CA. Skewed by Cues? The Motivational Role of Audiovisual Stimuli in Modelling Substance Use and Gambling Disorders. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2015; 27:507-29. [PMID: 26531068 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2015_393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The similarity between gambling disorder (GD) and drug addiction has recently been recognized at the diagnostic level. Understanding the core cognitive processes involved in these addiction disorders, and in turn their neurobiological mechanisms, remains a research priority due to the enormous benefits such knowledge would have in enabling effective treatment design. Animal models can be highly informative in this regard. Although numerous rodent behavioural paradigms that capture different facets of gambling-like behaviour have recently been developed, the motivational power of cues in biasing individuals towards risky choice has so far received little attention despite the central role played by drug-paired cues in successful laboratory models of chemical dependency. Here, we review some of the comparatively simple paradigms in which reward-paired cues are known to modulate behaviour in rodents, such as sign-tracking, Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer and conditioned reinforcement. Such processes are thought to play an important role in mediating responding for drug reward, and the need for future studies to address whether similar processes contribute to cue-driven risky choice is highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael M Barrus
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada. .,Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - Mariya Cherkasova
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.,Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada. .,Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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49
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Winstanley CA, Clark L. Translational Models of Gambling-Related Decision-Making. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2015; 28:93-120. [PMID: 27418069 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2015_5014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Gambling is a harmless, recreational pastime that is ubiquitous across cultures. However, for some, gambling becomes a maladaptive and compulsive, and this syndrome is conceptualized as a behavioural addiction. Laboratory models that capture the key cognitive processes involved in gambling behaviour, and that can be translated across species, have the potential to make an important contribution to both decision neuroscience and the study of addictive disorders. The Iowa gambling task has been widely used to assess human decision-making under uncertainty, and this paradigm can be successfully modelled in rodents. Similar neurobiological processes underpin choice behaviour in humans and rats, and thus, a preference for the disadvantageous "high-risk, high-reward" options may reflect meaningful vulnerability for mental health problems. However, the choice behaviour operationalized by these tasks does not necessarily approximate the vulnerability to gambling disorder (GD) per se. We consider a number of psychological challenges that apply to modelling gambling in a translational way, and evaluate the success of the existing models. Heterogeneity in the structure of gambling games, as well as in the motivations of individuals with GD, is highlighted. The potential issues with extrapolating too directly from established animal models of drug dependency are discussed, as are the inherent difficulties in validating animal models of GD in the absence of any approved treatments for GD. Further advances in modelling the cognitive biases endemic in human decision-making, which appear to be exacerbated in GD, may be a promising line of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. .,Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
| | - Luke Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Centre for Gambling Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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50
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Eagle DM, Noschang C, d'Angelo LSC, Noble CA, Day JO, Dongelmans ML, Theobald DE, Mar AC, Urcelay GP, Morein-Zamir S, Robbins TW. The dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist quinpirole increases checking-like behaviour in an operant observing response task with uncertain reinforcement: a novel possible model of OCD. Behav Brain Res 2014; 264:207-29. [PMID: 24406720 PMCID: PMC3989029 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2013] [Revised: 12/19/2013] [Accepted: 12/23/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Excessive checking is a common, debilitating symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In an established rodent model of OCD checking behaviour, quinpirole (dopamine D2/3-receptor agonist) increased checking in open-field tests, indicating dopaminergic modulation of checking-like behaviours. We designed a novel operant paradigm for rats (observing response task (ORT)) to further examine cognitive processes underpinning checking behaviour and clarify how and why checking develops. We investigated i) how quinpirole increases checking, ii) dependence of these effects on D2/3 receptor function (following treatment with D2/3 receptor antagonist sulpiride) and iii) effects of reward uncertainty. In the ORT, rats pressed an 'observing' lever for information about the location of an 'active' lever that provided food reinforcement. High- and low-checkers (defined from baseline observing) received quinpirole (0.5mg/kg, 10 treatments) or vehicle. Parametric task manipulations assessed observing/checking under increasing task demands relating to reinforcement uncertainty (variable response requirement and active-lever location switching). Treatment with sulpiride further probed the pharmacological basis of long-term behavioural changes. Quinpirole selectively increased checking, both functional observing lever presses (OLPs) and non-functional extra OLPs (EOLPs). The increase in OLPs and EOLPs was long-lasting, without further quinpirole administration. Quinpirole did not affect the immediate ability to use information from checking. Vehicle and quinpirole-treated rats (VEH and QNP respectively) were selectively sensitive to different forms of uncertainty. Sulpiride reduced non-functional EOLPs in QNP rats but had no effect on functional OLPs. These data have implications for treatment of compulsive checking in OCD, particularly for serotonin-reuptake-inhibitor treatment-refractory cases, where supplementation with dopamine receptor antagonists may be beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn M Eagle
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
| | - Cristie Noschang
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Laure-Sophie Camilla d'Angelo
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Christie A Noble
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jacob O Day
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Marie Louise Dongelmans
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - David E Theobald
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Adam C Mar
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Gonzalo P Urcelay
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Sharon Morein-Zamir
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
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