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Kang S, Larrabee G, Nair S, Goldfarb EV. Perceptual Generalization of Alcohol-Related Value Characterizes Risky Drinkers. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:1146-1162. [PMID: 37682597 PMCID: PMC10985388 DOI: 10.1177/09567976231181516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Generalizing from past experiences to novel situations is critical for adaptive behavior, whereas overgeneralization can promote maladaptive responses (e.g., context-inappropriate fear in anxiety). Here, we propose that overgeneralizing alcohol-related associations characterizes risky drinking. We conducted two online experiments assessing generalization of alcohol-related gains (Study 1) and losses (Study 2) among individuals who engaged in light or risky patterns of drinking (Study 1: N = 88, 24-44 years old; Study 2: N = 87, 21-44 years old). After learning to associate cards with alcohol and non-alcohol-related outcomes, participants chose whether to play with cards varying in perceptual similarity to those shown during conditioning. Finally, participants completed a surprise recognition memory test for all outcomes. Although both groups showed comparable conditioning, we found that risky drinkers overgeneralized alcohol-related gains and losses. Risky drinkers also showed a bias toward recognizing alcohol-related images. These results indicate a novel role for overgeneralization of alcohol-related gains and losses as a mechanism associated with risky drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Elizabeth V. Goldfarb
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University
- Department of Psychology, Yale University
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University
- National Center for PTSD, US Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, Connecticut
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Haass-Koffler CL, Magill M, Cannella N, Brown JC, Aoun EG, Cioe PA, Sinha R, Swift RM, Ciccocioppo R, Leggio L. Mifepristone as a pharmacological intervention for stress-induced alcohol craving: A human laboratory study. Addict Biol 2023; 28:e13288. [PMID: 37369125 PMCID: PMC10313137 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13288] [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: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical and clinical work suggests that mifepristone may be a viable treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This was a Phase 1/2, outpatient, cross-over, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with non-treatment-seeking individuals with AUD (N = 32). We assessed safety, alcohol craving and consumption, after 1-week mifepristone 600 mg/day administration, in a human laboratory study comprised of a single oral yohimbine administration (32.4 mg), a cue-reactivity procedure and alcohol self-administration. Safety was monitored by adverse events and hemodynamic parameters, alcohol craving by alcohol craving questionnaire and cue-induced saliva output. During the alcohol self-administration, we assessed alcohol pharmacokinetics, subjective effects and consumption. Outcomes were assessed using Generalized Estimating Equations and mediation analysis. Mild-moderate adverse events were reported in both conditions. There was no statistically significant difference between mifepristone and placebo in alcohol pharmacokinetics and subjective effects. Furthermore, blood pressure increased only in the placebo condition after the stress-induced laboratory procedures. Mifepristone, compared to placebo, significantly reduced alcohol craving and increased cortisol levels. Mifepristone-induced cortisol increase was not a mediator of alcohol craving. Mifepristone, compared to placebo, did not reduce alcohol consumption in the laboratory or in a naturalistic setting. This study successfully translated a developed preclinical procedure to a human laboratory study, confirming the safety of mifepristone in people with AUD and providing evidence to its role in reducing alcohol craving under stress procedures. The lack of effects on alcohol drinking may be related to the selection of non-treatment seekers and suggests future treatment-oriented trials should investigate mifepristone in people with AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina L. Haass-Koffler
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Providence RI, Brown University
| | - Molly Magill
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | | | - Joshua C. Brown
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Elie G. Aoun
- Division of Law, Ethics and Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Patricia A. Cioe
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Robert M. Swift
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA
| | | | - Lorenzo Leggio
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section, Translational Addiction Medicine Branch, NIDA IRP and NIAAA DICBR, Baltimore and Bethesda, MD, USA
- Medication Development Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Division of Addiction Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
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3
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Valeri J, Gisabella B, Pantazopoulos H. Dynamic regulation of the extracellular matrix in reward memory processes: a question of time. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1208974. [PMID: 37396928 PMCID: PMC10311570 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1208974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorders are a global health problem with increasing prevalence resulting in significant socioeconomic burden and increased mortality. Converging lines of evidence point to a critical role of brain extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in the pathophysiology of substance use disorders. An increasing number of preclinical studies highlight the ECM as a promising target for development of novel cessation pharmacotherapies. The brain ECM is dynamically regulated during learning and memory processes, thus the time course of ECM alterations in substance use disorders is a critical factor that may impact interpretation of the current studies and development of pharmacological therapies. This review highlights the evidence for the involvement of ECM molecules in reward learning, including drug reward and natural reward such as food, as well as evidence regarding the pathophysiological state of the brain's ECM in substance use disorders and metabolic disorders. We focus on the information regarding time-course and substance specific changes in ECM molecules and how this information can be leveraged for the development of therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Valeri
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Barbara Gisabella
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Harry Pantazopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
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Armstrong A, Rosenthal H, Stout N, Richard JM. Reinstatement of Pavlovian responses to alcohol cues by stress. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:531-545. [PMID: 36227353 PMCID: PMC9931652 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06255-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Stress may contribute to relapse to alcohol use in part by enhancing reactivity to cues previously paired with alcohol. Yet, standard models of stress-induced reinstatement generally use contingent presentations of alcohol-paired cues to reinforce instrumental behaviors, making it difficult to isolate the ability of cues to invigorate alcohol-seeking. OBJECTIVE Here we sought to test the impact of stress on behavioral responses to alcohol-paired cues, using a model of stress-induced reinstatement of Pavlovian conditioned approach, inspired by Nadia Chaudhri's work on context-induced reinstatement. METHODS Long Evans rats were trained to associate one auditory cue with delivery of alcohol or sucrose and an alternative auditory cue with no reward. Following extinction training, rats were exposed to a stressor prior to being re-exposed to the cues under extinction conditions. We assessed the effects of yohimbine, intermittent footshock and olfactory cues paired with social defeat on responses to alcohol-paired cues and the effects of yohimbine on responses to sucrose-paired cues. RESULTS The pharmacological stressor, yohimbine, enhanced alcohol seeking in a Pavlovian setting, but not in a cue-selective manner. Intermittent footshock and social defeat cues did not enhance alcohol seeking in this paradigm. CONCLUSIONS While yohimbine elicited reinstatement of reward-seeking in a Pavlovian setting, these effects may be unrelated to activation of stress systems or to interactions with specific cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Armstrong
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Hailey Rosenthal
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Nakura Stout
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Jocelyn M Richard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, USA.
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, USA.
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Valeri J, O’Donovan SM, Wang W, Sinclair D, Bollavarapu R, Gisabella B, Platt D, Stockmeier C, Pantazopoulos H. Altered expression of somatostatin signaling molecules and clock genes in the hippocampus of subjects with substance use disorder. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:903941. [PMID: 36161151 PMCID: PMC9489843 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.903941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorders are a debilitating group of psychiatric disorders with a high degree of comorbidity with major depressive disorder. Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances are commonly reported in people with substance use disorder and major depression and associated with increased risk of relapse. Hippocampal somatostatin signaling is involved in encoding and consolidation of contextual memories which contribute to relapse in substance use disorder. Somatostatin and clock genes also have been implicated in depression, suggesting that these molecules may represent key converging pathways involved in contextual memory processing in substance use and major depression. We used hippocampal tissue from a cohort of subjects with substance use disorder (n = 20), subjects with major depression (n = 20), subjects with comorbid substance use disorder and major depression (n = 24) and psychiatrically normal control subjects (n = 20) to test the hypothesis that expression of genes involved in somatostatin signaling and clock genes is altered in subjects with substance use disorder. We identified decreased expression of somatostatin in subjects with substance use disorder and in subjects with major depression. We also observed increased somatostatin receptor 2 expression in subjects with substance use disorder with alcohol in the blood at death and decreased expression in subjects with major depression. Expression of the clock genes Arntl, Nr1d1, Per2 and Cry2 was increased in subjects with substance use disorder. Arntl and Nr1d1 expression in comparison was decreased in subjects with major depression. We observed decreased expression of Gsk3β in subjects with substance use disorder. Subjects with comorbid substance use disorder and major depression displayed minimal changes across all outcome measures. Furthermore, we observed a significant increase in history of sleep disturbances in subjects with substance use disorder. Our findings represent the first evidence for altered somatostatin and clock gene expression in the hippocampus of subjects with substance use disorder and subjects with major depression. Altered expression of these molecules may impact memory consolidation and contribute to relapse risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Valeri
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Sinead M. O’Donovan
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, United States
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - David Sinclair
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, United States
| | - Ratna Bollavarapu
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Barbara Gisabella
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Donna Platt
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Craig Stockmeier
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
| | - Harry Pantazopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States
- *Correspondence: Harry Pantazopoulos,
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Kozanian OO, Nedelescu H, Kufahl PR, Mayford M, Weiss F. Compulsive Alcohol Seeking and Relapse: Central Role of Conditioning Factors Associated with Alleviation of Withdrawal States by Alcohol. Br J Pharmacol 2022; 179:4330-4343. [PMID: 35411600 PMCID: PMC9388476 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Purpose Learned associations between environmental stimuli and drugs of abuse represent a major factor in the chronically relapsing nature of drug addiction. In drug dependent subjects these associations must be presumed to include associations linked to reversal of adverse withdrawal states by drug use—“withdrawal‐associated learning” (WDL). However, their significance in drug seeking has received little experimental scrutiny. Experimental Approach Using alcohol as a drug of abuse, the behavioural consequences of WDL were investigated in animal models of relapse and compulsive drug seeking by comparing the effects of WD L‐associated stimuli versus stimuli associated with alcohol without WDL experience in nondependent and post‐dependent rats. Brain sites activated by exposure to the respective stimuli were identified by c‐fos immunohistochemistry. Key Results (1) WDL‐associated stimuli elicited significant alcohol seeking. In rats with WDL experience, stimuli associated with alcohol in the nondependent state no longer elicited robust alcohol seeking. (2) Responding elicited by WDL‐associated stimuli, but not stimuli conditioned to alcohol in the nondependent state, was resistant to footshock punishment and increased response effort requirements for presentation of WDL‐related stimuli. (3) Stimuli conditioned to alcohol in rats with a dependence but not WDL history did not sustain punished responding or tolerance of increased effort. (4) The central nucleus of the amygdala was identified as a site selectively responsive to WDL stimulus exposure. Conclusion and Implications Environmental stimuli associated with reversal of adverse withdrawal states by alcohol elicit compulsive‐like alcohol seeking and establish WDL as a major, not well‐recognized factor, in relapse vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga O Kozanian
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
| | - Hermina Nedelescu
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
| | - Peter R Kufahl
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA.,Current Address: Zxerex Corporation, in Scottsdale, Arizona
| | - Mark Mayford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, La Jolla, CA
| | - Friedbert Weiss
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
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The role of context on responding to an alcohol-predictive cue in female and male rats. Alcohol 2022; 99:70-81. [PMID: 34742865 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In male rats, physical contexts that are associated with alcohol can amplify the response to a discrete, alcohol-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS), and amplify prime-induced reinstatement. Here, we examined these effects as a function of biological sex. Male and female Long-Evans rats were acclimated to drinking ethanol (15% v/v) in their home cages. Next, they were trained to associate an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) (10 s; white noise or clicker; 15 trials per session) with ethanol delivery (0.2 mL per CS; 3.0 mL per session) into a fluid port for oral intake. Training occurred in a distinctive context containing specific visual, olfactory, and tactile stimuli. During alternating sessions, rats were exposed to a second context wherein they did not receive ethanol. At test, CS trials occurred in both contexts without ethanol delivery. Rats then underwent extinction using repeated unreinforced presentations of the CS in both contexts. An alcohol-primed reinstatement test was then conducted, in which 0.2 mL of ethanol was presented at the start of the session and during the first CS trial, after which no ethanol was delivered for the remainder of the session. At both test and reinstatement, male rats made significantly more CS port-entries in the context associated with alcohol delivery than in the context in which alcohol was never experienced. Unlike males, female rats made a similar number of CS port-entries at the test in both the alcohol context and the neutral context. The reinstatement observed in female rats was also not affected by context. These findings suggest that the capacity of an alcohol-associated context to modulate responding to a discrete, alcohol-predictive cue is less pronounced in female than male rats.
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Memory biases in alcohol use disorder: enhanced memory for contexts associated with alcohol prospectively predicts alcohol use outcomes. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:1297-1305. [PMID: 32126569 PMCID: PMC7297955 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0650-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Memory for prior drinking experiences may powerfully drive later alcohol use in familiar drinking contexts, yet we know little about what patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) remember of alcohol-related episodes. Although animal and theoretical models of addiction emphasize the importance of different memory systems for understanding maladaptive use, clinical research parsing what AUD patients remember from alcohol-related episodes is lacking. The current study applied a novel memory task in which moderate drinkers (N = 30) and treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD: N = 29) encoded associations between photographs of objects (alcoholic beverages and neutral items) and photographs of neutral scenes. At least 24 h later, two types of memory were assessed: item memory (object recognition) and associative memory (cued recognition of scenes associated with objects). To assess which memories predicted drinking, real-world behavior was assessed in patients with AUD at baseline and for 4 weeks following memory tests. Despite demographic differences, the results showed broadly impaired item memory in AUD compared with moderate drinkers (p < 0.001), but enhanced associative memory for scenes paired with alcohol (p = 0.015). These associative memory biases were especially pronounced for stimuli rated as more affectively salient. Furthermore, stronger but less detailed memory for alcohol-related associations (i.e., choosing the correct scene but the incorrect photograph) significantly predicted heavier baseline (p = 0.002) and higher subsequent (p = 0.01) drinking in patients with AUD. These findings reveal a novel alcohol-related memory bias in AUD, and uncover the importance of associative memory for understanding real-world heavy alcohol use.
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Kim JS, Martin-Fardon R. Possible Role of CRF-Hcrt Interaction in the Infralimbic Cortex in the Emergence and Maintenance of Compulsive Alcohol-Seeking Behavior. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2020; 44:354-367. [PMID: 31840823 PMCID: PMC7018591 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic, relapsing disorder that is characterized by the compulsive use of alcohol despite numerous health, social, and economic consequences. Initially, the use of alcohol is driven by positive reinforcement. Over time, however, alcohol use can take on a compulsive quality that is driven by the desire to avoid the negative consequences of abstinence, including negative affect and heightened stress/anxiety. This transition from positive reinforcement- to negative reinforcement-driven consumption involves the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system, although mounting evidence now suggests that the CRF system interacts with other neural systems to ultimately produce behaviors that are symptomatic of compulsive alcohol use, such as the hypocretin (Hcrt) system. Hypocretins are produced exclusively in the hypothalamus, but Hcrt neurons project widely throughout the brain and reach regions that perform regulatory functions for numerous behavioral and physiological responses-including the infralimbic cortex (IL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Although the entire mPFC undergoes neuroadaptive changes following prolonged alcohol exposure, the IL appears to undergo more robust changes compared with other mPFC substructures. Evidence to date suggests that the IL is likely involved in EtOH-seeking behavior, but ambiguities with respect to the specific role of the IL in this regard make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Furthermore, the manner in which CRF interacts with Hcrt in this region as it pertains to alcohol-seeking behavior is largely unknown, although immunohistochemical and electrophysiological experiments have shown that CRF and Hcrt directly interact in the mPFC, suggesting that the interaction between CRF and Hcrt in the IL may be critically important for the development and subsequent maintenance of compulsive alcohol seeking. This review aims to consolidate recent literature regarding the role of the IL in alcohol-seeking behavior and to discuss evidence that supports a functional interaction between Hcrt and CRF in the IL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung S. Kim
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Scripps Research, La Jolla, USA
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Ben Hamida S, Laguesse S, Morisot N, Park JH, Phuamluong K, Berger AL, Park KD, Ron D. Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 and its downstream effector collapsin response mediator protein-2 drive reinstatement of alcohol reward seeking. Addict Biol 2019; 24:908-920. [PMID: 30022576 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is a chronic relapsing disease. Maintaining abstinence represents a major challenge for alcohol-dependent patients. Yet the molecular underpinnings of alcohol relapse remain poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) in relapse to alcohol-seeking behavior by using the reinstatement of a previously extinguished alcohol conditioned place preference (CPP) response as a surrogate relapse paradigm. We found that mTORC1 is activated in the nucleus accumbens shell following alcohol priming-induced reinstatement of alcohol place preference. We further report that the selective mTORC1 inhibitor, rapamycin, abolishes reinstatement of alcohol place preference. Activation of mTORC1 initiates the translation of synaptic proteins, and we observed that reinstatement of alcohol CPP is associated with increased protein levels of one of mTORC1's downstream targets, collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP2), in the nucleus accumbens. Importantly, the level of mTORC1 activation and CRMP2 expression positively correlate with the CPP score during reinstatement. Finally, we found that systemic administration of the CRMP2 inhibitor, lacosamide, attenuates alcohol priming-induced reinstatement of CPP. Together, our results reveal that mTORC1 and its downstream target, CRMP2, contribute to mechanisms underlying reinstatement of alcohol reward seeking. Our results could have important implications for the treatment of relapse to alcohol use and position the Food and Drug Administration approved drugs, rapamycin and lacosamide, for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sami Ben Hamida
- Department of Neurology; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
| | - Sophie Laguesse
- Department of Neurology; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
| | - Nadege Morisot
- Department of Neurology; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
| | - Jong-Hyun Park
- Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia; Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST); Republic of Korea
- Division of Bio-Medical Science &Technology, KIST School; Korea University of Science and Technology; Republic of Korea
| | | | - Anthony L. Berger
- Department of Neurology; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
| | - Ki Duk Park
- Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia; Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST); Republic of Korea
- Division of Bio-Medical Science &Technology, KIST School; Korea University of Science and Technology; Republic of Korea
| | - Dorit Ron
- Department of Neurology; University of California; San Francisco CA USA
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Chandler CM, Reeves-Darby J, Jones SA, McDonald JA, Li G, Rahman MT, Cook JM, Platt DM. α5GABA A subunit-containing receptors and sweetened alcohol cue-induced reinstatement and active sweetened alcohol self-administration in male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:1797-1806. [PMID: 30637435 PMCID: PMC6606346 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5163-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE GABAA receptors containing the α5 subunit (i.e., α5GABAA receptors) appear to be critically involved in the reinforcing and subjective effects of alcohol. Their role in alcohol relapse remains unknown. OBJECTIVES Pharmacological approaches were used to probe the role of α5GABAA receptors in alcohol seeking induced by re-exposure to a sweetened alcohol-paired cue, as well as in alcohol + sucrose vs. sucrose self-administration. METHODS For reinstatement studies, rats were trained to self-administer alcohol under a fixed-ratio schedule in which responding was maintained by alcohol + sucrose deliveries and an alcohol-paired stimulus. Sweetened alcohol seeking was extinguished by eliminating solution deliveries and the sweetened alcohol-paired stimulus. During reinstatement tests, animals received pretreatments of an α5GABAA inverse agonist (L-655,708) or an agonist (QH-ii-066) prior to sessions in which presentation of the sweetened alcohol-paired stimulus was restored, but no solution was delivered. For self-administration studies, rats were trained to self-administer alcohol + sucrose or sucrose under a fixed-ratio schedule. Once stable, animals received pretreatments of QH-ii-066, L-655,708, the inverse agonist RY-023, or naltrexone. RESULTS L-655,708 attenuated reinstatement of sweetened alcohol seeking by alcohol + sucrose-paired cues; whereas sweetened alcohol-seeking behavior was augmented by QH-ii-066, albeit at different doses in different rats. Both L-655,708 and RY-023 selectively reduced alcohol + sucrose vs. sucrose self-administration. In contrast, naltrexone reduced both alcohol + sucrose and sucrose self-administration; whereas QH-ii-066 enhanced sucrose self-administration only. CONCLUSIONS α5GABAA receptors play a key role in the modulation of sweetened alcohol cue-induced reinstatement, as well as in alcohol + sucrose but not sucrose self-administration. Inverse agonist activity at α5GABAA receptors may offer a novel strategy for both the reduction of problematic drinking and the prevention of relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassie M. Chandler
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216
| | - Jaren Reeves-Darby
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216
| | - Sherman A. Jones
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216
| | - J. Abigail McDonald
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216
| | - Guanguan Li
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211
| | - Md T. Rahman
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211
| | - James M. Cook
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211
| | - Donna M. Platt
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216,Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216,Correspondence: Donna M. Platt, Ph.D.; Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State St., Jackson, MS 39216, USA; phone: 601-984-5896; fax: 601-984-5899;
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Nattala P, Murthy P, Meena KS. Video-enabled cue based intervention for relapse prevention. Indian J Psychiatry 2018. [PMID: 29540926 PMCID: PMC5844167 DOI: 10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_39_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A major goal of long-term management of substance use disorders is to empower recovering individuals in resisting drug use when confronted with real-world high-risk situations (cues). Since opportunities to reproduce and learn from real-life situations are limited in treatment settings, the key is to bring those real-world drug use cues to the treatment setting through vicarious learning. Cue-exposure approaches achieve this by presenting these cues while the usual drug-use response is prevented. This provides opportunity to practice how to deal with the cues before being discharged from the treatment setting. Videos are one way to present the cues as well as demonstrate how to deal with them successfully. In this article, we discuss our experiences with the use of videos to model relapse prevention strategies for specific cues, and provide some future directions for the use of video-based interventions for relapse prevention in substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasanthi Nattala
- Department of Nursing, Centre for Addiction Medicine, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Pratima Murthy
- Centre for Addiction Medicine, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - K S Meena
- Department of Mental Health Education, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
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Varenicline Reduces Context-Induced Relapse to Alcohol-Seeking through Actions in the Nucleus Accumbens. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:1037-1048. [PMID: 27834390 PMCID: PMC5506798 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Varenicline, a pharmacotherapy for tobacco addiction, reduces alcohol consumption in humans and rodents. The therapeutic potential of varenicline would escalate if it also diminished conditioned responses elicited by alcohol-predictive cues, which can precipitate relapse in abstinent individuals. We investigated this application, along with the underlying neural substrates, using a robust preclinical assay in which relapse to alcohol-seeking was triggered by re-exposure to an alcohol-associated environmental context. Male, Long-Evans rats received Pavlovian conditioning sessions in which one auditory conditioned stimulus (CS+) was paired with 15% ethanol and a second conditioned stimulus (CS-) was not. Ethanol was delivered into a port for oral consumption and port entries triggered by each CS were recorded. Extinction was then conducted in a different context where the CS+ and CS- were presented without ethanol. To stimulate relapse, both cues were subsequently presented without ethanol in the prior conditioning context. Systemic varenicline (0, 0.5 or 2.5 mg/kg; intraperitoneal) blocked context-induced relapse to alcohol-seeking without affecting the ability to make a port entry. It also reduced context-induced relapse to sucrose-seeking, but only at the 2.5 mg/kg dose. Neuropharmacological studies showed that context-induced relapse to alcohol-seeking was attenuated by bilateral microinfusion of varenicline (0.3 μl/side) into the nucleus accumbens (NAc; 0 or 3.5 μg), but not the ventral tegmental area (0, 2 or 4 μg). These data show for the first time that varenicline reduces relapse triggered by contexts that predict alcohol, and suggest that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the NAc are critical for this effect.
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Nicotine-induced enhancement of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking behavior in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:727-738. [PMID: 28011981 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4508-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 12/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Nicotine enhances responding elicited by Pavlovian cues that predict positive outcomes. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that nicotine acting at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) would augment Pavlovian alcohol-seeking. METHODS Male, Long-Evans rats with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol in their home cages and then given Pavlovian conditioning sessions in which each trial of a 15-s conditioned stimulus (CS, 12 trials/session) was paired with 0.2 ml of ethanol (unconditioned stimulus, US, 2.4 ml/session). Entries into a port where ethanol was delivered were used to assess conditioning. Control groups received explicitly unpaired trials of the CS and US. In experiment 1, systemic injections of saline (1 ml/kg) or nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, freebase) were administered before each session. In experiments 2 and 3, an identical regimen of saline or nicotine injections was administered before the start of Pavlovian conditioning sessions. RESULTS All paired groups acquired conditioned port-entry responding to the CS, indicative of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking, whereas unpaired control group did not. Pre-session nicotine injections increased CS port-entries relative to saline, only in the paired group. This nicotine-induced enhancement of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking was blocked by pre-treatment with the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine. Prior exposure to nicotine did not influence the subsequent acquisition of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight for the first time that nicotine acting at nAChRs augments Pavlovian alcohol-seeking, specifically in non-restricted rats. Individuals who smoke and drink may thus be particularly susceptible to alcohol cues that could trigger further drinking.
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Hauser SR, Deehan GA, Knight CP, Toalston JE, McBride WJ, Rodd ZA. Parameters of Context-Induced Ethanol (EtOH)-Seeking in Alcohol-Preferring (P) Rats: Temporal Analysis, Effects of Repeated Deprivation, and EtOH Priming Injections. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2016; 40:2229-2239. [PMID: 27696522 PMCID: PMC5055075 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drug-paired environments can act as stimuli that elicit drug craving. In humans, drug craving is influenced by the amount of time abstinent, number of past periods of abstinence, and inadvertent exposure to the previously abused drug. The current experiments were designed to determine the effects of (i) the duration of abstinence on expression of ethanol (EtOH)-seeking; (ii) EtOH priming following a short and long abstinence period; and (iii) repeated deprivation cycles on relapse drinking and EtOH-seeking. METHODS Rats were allowed to self-administer 15% EtOH, processed through extinction training, maintained in a home cage for a designated EtOH-free period, and then reintroduced to the operant context in the absence of EtOH. The experiments examined the effects of: (i) various home-cage duration periods (1 to 8 weeks), (ii) priming injections of EtOH in the Pavlovian spontaneous recovery (PSR; 14 days after extinction) and reinstatement of responding (RoR; 1 day after extinction) models, and (iii) exposure to repeated cycles of EtOH access-deprivation on relapse drinking and EtOH-seeking behavior. RESULTS Highest expression of EtOH-seeking was observed following 6 weeks of home-cage maintenance. Priming injections of EtOH were more efficacious at stimulating/enhancing EtOH-seeking in the PSR than RoR model. Exposure to repeated cycles of EtOH deprivation and access enhanced and prolonged relapse drinking and the expression of EtOH-seeking (318 ± 22 responses), which was not observed in rats given equivalent consistent exposure to EtOH (66 ± 11 responses). CONCLUSIONS Overall, the data indicated that the PSR model has ecological validity; factors that enhance EtOH craving in humans enhance the expression of EtOH-seeking in the PSR test. The data also detail factors that need to be examined to determine the biological basis of EtOH-seeking (e.g., neuroadaptations that occur during the incubation period and following repeated cycles of EtOH drinking and abstinence).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheketha R Hauser
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
| | - Gerald A Deehan
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Christopher P Knight
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Jamie E Toalston
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - William J McBride
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Zachary A Rodd
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Saunders BT, Richard JM, Janak PH. Contemporary approaches to neural circuit manipulation and mapping: focus on reward and addiction. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20140210. [PMID: 26240425 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Tying complex psychological processes to precisely defined neural circuits is a major goal of systems and behavioural neuroscience. This is critical for understanding adaptive behaviour, and also how neural systems are altered in states of psychopathology, such as addiction. Efforts to relate psychological processes relevant to addiction to activity within defined neural circuits have been complicated by neural heterogeneity. Recent advances in technology allow for manipulation and mapping of genetically and anatomically defined neurons, which when used in concert with sophisticated behavioural models, have the potential to provide great insight into neural circuit bases of behaviour. Here we discuss contemporary approaches for understanding reward and addiction, with a focus on midbrain dopamine and cortico-striato-pallidal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin T Saunders
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Jocelyn M Richard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Patricia H Janak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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Sciascia JM, Reese RM, Janak PH, Chaudhri N. Alcohol-Seeking Triggered by Discrete Pavlovian Cues is Invigorated by Alcohol Contexts and Mediated by Glutamate Signaling in the Basolateral Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:2801-12. [PMID: 25953360 PMCID: PMC4864656 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Revised: 04/20/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The environmental context in which a discrete Pavlovian conditioned stimulus (CS) is experienced can profoundly impact conditioned responding elicited by the CS. We hypothesized that alcohol-seeking behavior elicited by a discrete CS that predicted alcohol would be influenced by context and require glutamate signaling in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Male, Long-Evans rats were allowed to drink 15% ethanol (v/v) until consumption stabilized. Next, rats received Pavlovian conditioning sessions in which a 10 s CS (15 trials/session) was paired with ethanol (0.2 ml/CS). Entries into a port where ethanol was delivered were measured. Pavlovian conditioning occurred in a specific context (alcohol context) and was alternated with sessions in a different context (non-alcohol context) where neither the CS nor ethanol was presented. At test, the CS was presented without ethanol in the alcohol context or the non-alcohol context, following a bilateral microinfusion (0.3 μl/hemisphere) of saline or the AMPA glutamate receptor antagonist NBQX (2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide disodium salt) in the BLA (0, 0.3, or 1.0 μg/0.3 μl). The effect of NBQX (0, 0.3 μg/0.3 μl) in the caudate putamen (CPu) on CS responding in the non-alcohol context was also tested. The discrete alcohol CS triggered more alcohol-seeking behavior in the alcohol context than the non-alcohol context. NBQX in the BLA reduced CS responding in both contexts but had no effect in the CPu. These data indicate that AMPA glutamate receptors in the BLA are critical for alcohol-seeking elicited by a discrete CS and that behavior triggered by the CS is strongly invigorated by an alcohol context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna M Sciascia
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology/FRQS Groupe de Recherche en Neurobiologie Comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Rebecca M Reese
- Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Patricia H Janak
- Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nadia Chaudhri
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology/FRQS Groupe de Recherche en Neurobiologie Comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada,Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology/FRQS Groupe de Recherche en Neurobiologie Comportementale (CSBN/GRNC), Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Room SP 244, Montreal, QC H4B-1R6, Canada, Tel: +1 514 848 2424 x 2216, Fax: +1 514 848 4545, E-mail:
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Context-induced reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking is associated with unique molecular alterations in Fos-expressing dorsolateral striatum neurons. J Neurosci 2015; 35:5625-39. [PMID: 25855177 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4997-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Context-induced reinstatement of drug seeking is a well established animal model for assessing the neural mechanisms underlying context-induced drug relapse, a major factor in human drug addiction. Neural activity in striatum has previously been shown to contribute to context-induced reinstatement of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol seeking, but not yet for methamphetamine seeking. In this study, we found that context-induced reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking increased expression of the neural activity marker Fos in dorsal but not ventral striatum. Reversible inactivation of neural activity in dorsolateral but not dorsomedial striatum using the GABA agonists muscimol and baclofen decreased context-induced reinstatement. Based on our previous findings that Fos-expressing neurons play a critical role in conditioned drug effects, we assessed whether context-induced reinstatement was associated with molecular alterations selectively induced within context-activated Fos-expressing neurons. We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting to isolate reinstatement-activated Fos-positive neurons from Fos-negative neurons in dorsal striatum and used quantitative PCR to assess gene expression within these two populations of neurons. Context-induced reinstatement was associated with increased expression of the immediate early genes Fos and FosB and the NMDA receptor subunit gene Grin2a in only Fos-positive neurons. RNAscope in situ hybridization confirmed that Grin2a, as well as Grin2b, expression were increased in only Fos-positive neurons from dorsolateral, but not dorsomedial, striatum. Our results demonstrate an important role of dorsolateral striatum in context-induced reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking and that this reinstatement is associated with unique gene alterations in Fos-expressing neurons.
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Perry CJ, Zbukvic I, Kim JH, Lawrence AJ. Role of cues and contexts on drug-seeking behaviour. Br J Pharmacol 2014; 171:4636-72. [PMID: 24749941 PMCID: PMC4209936 DOI: 10.1111/bph.12735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2013] [Revised: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 04/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental stimuli are powerful mediators of craving and relapse in substance-abuse disorders. This review examined how animal models have been used to investigate the cognitive mechanisms through which cues are able to affect drug-seeking behaviour. We address how animal models can describe the way drug-associated cues come to facilitate the development and persistence of drug taking, as well as how these cues are critical to the tendency to relapse that characterizes substance-abuse disorders. Drug-associated cues acquire properties of conditioned reinforcement, incentive motivation and discriminative control, which allow them to influence drug-seeking behaviour. Using these models, researchers have been able to investigate the pharmacology subserving the behavioural impact of environmental stimuli, some of which we highlight. Subsequently, we examine whether the impact of drug-associated stimuli can be attenuated via a process of extinction, and how this question is addressed in the laboratory. We discuss how preclinical research has been translated into behavioural therapies targeting substance abuse, as well as highlight potential developments to therapies that might produce more enduring changes in behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina J Perry
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthParkville, Vic., Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneParkville, Vic., Australia
| | - Isabel Zbukvic
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthParkville, Vic., Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneParkville, Vic., Australia
| | - Jee Hyun Kim
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthParkville, Vic., Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneParkville, Vic., Australia
| | - Andrew J Lawrence
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthParkville, Vic., Australia
- Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of MelbourneParkville, Vic., Australia
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Maddux JM, Lacroix F, Chaudhri N. A procedure to observe context-induced renewal of pavlovian-conditioned alcohol-seeking behavior in rats. J Vis Exp 2014:51898. [PMID: 25286088 PMCID: PMC4828132 DOI: 10.3791/51898] [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] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental contexts in which drugs of abuse are consumed can trigger craving, a subjective Pavlovian-conditioned response that can facilitate drug-seeking behavior and prompt relapse in abstinent drug users. We have developed a procedure to study the behavioral and neural processes that mediate the impact of context on alcohol-seeking behavior in rats. Following acclimation to the taste and pharmacological effects of 15% ethanol in the home cage, male Long-Evans rats receive Pavlovian discrimination training (PDT) in conditioning chambers. In each daily (Mon-Fri) PDT session, 16 trials each of two different 10 sec auditory conditioned stimuli occur. During one stimulus, the CS+, 0.2 ml of 15% ethanol is delivered into a fluid port for oral consumption. The second stimulus, the CS-, is not paired with ethanol. Across sessions, entries into the fluid port during the CS+ increase, whereas entries during the CS- stabilize at a lower level, indicating that a predictive association between the CS+ and ethanol is acquired. During PDT each chamber is equipped with a specific configuration of visual, olfactory and tactile contextual stimuli. Following PDT, extinction training is conducted in the same chamber that is now equipped with a different configuration of contextual stimuli. The CS+ and CS- are presented as before, but ethanol is withheld, which causes a gradual decline in port entries during the CS+. At test, rats are placed back into the PDT context and presented with the CS+ and CS- as before, but without ethanol. This manipulation triggers a robust and selective increase in the number of port entries made during the alcohol predictive CS+, with no change in responding during the CS-. This effect, referred to as context-induced renewal, illustrates the powerful capacity of contexts associated with alcohol consumption to stimulate alcohol-seeking behavior in response to Pavlovian alcohol cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Marie Maddux
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University
| | - Franca Lacroix
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University
| | - Nadia Chaudhri
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University;
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21
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Marchant NJ, Rabei R, Kaganovsky K, Caprioli D, Bossert JM, Bonci A, Shaham Y. A critical role of lateral hypothalamus in context-induced relapse to alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence. J Neurosci 2014; 34:7447-57. [PMID: 24872550 PMCID: PMC4035512 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0256-14.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In human alcoholics, abstinence is often self-imposed, despite alcohol availability, because of the negative consequences of excessive use. During abstinence, relapse is often triggered by exposure to contexts associated with alcohol use. We recently developed a rat model that captures some features of this human condition: exposure to the alcohol self-administration environment (context A), after punishment-imposed suppression of alcohol self-administration in a different environment (context B), provoked renewal of alcohol seeking in alcohol-preferring P rats. The mechanisms underlying context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence are unknown. Here, we studied the role of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and its forebrain projections in this effect. We first determined the effect of context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking on Fos (a neuronal activity marker) expression in LH. We next determined the effect of LH reversible inactivation by GABAA + GABAB receptor agonists (muscimol + baclofen) on this effect. Finally, we determined neuronal activation in brain areas projecting to LH during context-induced renewal tests by measuring double labeling of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B (CTb; injected in LH) with Fos. Context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence was associated with increased Fos expression in LH. Additionally, renewal was blocked by muscimol + baclofen injections into LH. Finally, double-labeling analysis of CTb + Fos showed that context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence was associated with selective activation of accumbens shell neurons projecting to LH. The results demonstrate an important role of LH in renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence and suggest a role of accumbens shell projections to LH in this form of relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J Marchant
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia,
| | - Rana Rabei
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch and
| | | | | | | | - Antonello Bonci
- Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21287
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Bossert JM, Stern AL. Role of ventral subiculum in context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking in rats. Addict Biol 2014; 19:338-42. [PMID: 23231571 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
In rats, reexposure to heroin-paired contexts after extinction of lever responding in a different context reinstates heroin seeking. Previous reports indicate that ventral hippocampus/Ca1 region plays a critical role in cocaine-, cue- and context-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. Here, we examined whether ventral subiculum, the output region of ventral hippocampus, is involved in context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. We found that reversible inactivation of ventral subiculum, but not posterior Ca1, with the gamma-aminobutyric acid agonists muscimol + baclofen decreased context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. Our findings, together with previous studies on cocaine seeking, indicate a critical role of ventral subiculum in context-induced relapse across drug classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M. Bossert
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse; NIH/DHHS; Baltimore MD USA
| | - Anna L. Stern
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse; NIH/DHHS; Baltimore MD USA
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Remedios J, Woods C, Tardif C, Janak PH, Chaudhri N. Pavlovian-conditioned alcohol-seeking behavior in rats is invigorated by the interaction between discrete and contextual alcohol cues: implications for relapse. Brain Behav 2014; 4:278-89. [PMID: 24683519 PMCID: PMC3967542 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2013] [Revised: 12/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Drug craving can be independently stimulated by cues that are directly associated with drug intake (discrete drug cues), as well as by environmental contexts in which drug use occurs (contextual drug cues). We tested the hypothesis that the context in which a discrete alcohol-predictive cue is experienced can influence how robustly that cue stimulates alcohol-seeking behavior. METHODS Male, Long-Evans rats received Pavlovian discrimination training (PDT) sessions in which one conditioned stimulus (CS+; 16 trials/session) was paired with ethanol (0.2 mL/CS+) and a second stimulus (CS-; 16 trials/session) was not. PDT occurred in a specific context, and entries into a fluid port where ethanol was delivered were measured during each CS. Next, rats were acclimated to an alternate (nonalcohol) context where cues and ethanol were withheld. Responses to the nonextinguished CS+ and CS- were then tested without ethanol in the alcohol-associated PDT context, the nonalcohol context or a third, novel context. RESULTS Across PDT the CS+ elicited more port entries than the CS-, indicative of Pavlovian discrimination learning. At test, the CS+ elicited more port entries than the CS- in all three contexts: however, alcohol seeking driven by the CS+ was more robust in the alcohol-associated context. In a separate experiment, extinguishing the context-alcohol association did not influence subsequent CS+ responding but reduced alcohol seeking during non-CS+ intervals during a spontaneous recovery test. CONCLUSION These results indicate that alcohol-seeking behavior driven by a discrete Pavlovian alcohol cue is strongly invigorated by an alcohol context, and suggest that contexts may function as excitatory Pavlovian conditioned stimuli that directly trigger alcohol-seeking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Remedios
- Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology/Groupe de recherche en neurobiologie comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia UniversityMontreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Catherine Woods
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew York, New York
| | - Catherine Tardif
- Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology/Groupe de recherche en neurobiologie comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia UniversityMontreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Patricia H Janak
- Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, University of California at San FranciscoEmeryville, California
- Department of Neurology, University of CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
- Wheeler Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, University of California at San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
| | - Nadia Chaudhri
- Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology/Groupe de recherche en neurobiologie comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia UniversityMontreal, Quebec, Canada
- Correspondence Nadia Chaudhri, CSBN/GRNC, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, SP 244, Montreal, Quebec, H4B-1R6, Canada. Tel: 514-848-2424 (ext) 2216; Fax: 514-848-4545; E-mail:
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Childs E, de Wit H. Contextual conditioning enhances the psychostimulant and incentive properties of d-amphetamine in humans. Addict Biol 2013; 18:985-92. [PMID: 22129527 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2011.00416.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Learned associations between drugs and the places they are used are critical to the development of drug addiction. Contextual conditioning has long been studied in animals as an indirect measure of drug reward, but little is known about the process in humans. Here, we investigated de novo contextual conditioning with d-amphetamine in healthy humans (n = 34). Volunteers underwent four conditioning sessions conducted in two testing rooms with double-blind, alternating d-amphetamine (20 mg) and placebo administration. Before conditioning procedures began, they rated the two rooms to examine pre-existing preferences. One group (Paired, n = 19) always received d-amphetamine in their least preferred room and placebo in the other during conditioning sessions. Another group (Unpaired, n = 15) received d-amphetamine and placebo in both rooms. Subjective drug effects were monitored at repeated times. At a separate re-exposure test, preference ratings for the drug-associated room were increased among the Paired group only, and more subjects in the Paired than the Unpaired group switched their preference to their initially least preferred room. Also, ratings of d-amphetamine drug liking independently predicted room liking at test among the Paired group only. Further, Paired group subjects reported greater stimulation and drug craving after d-amphetamine on the second administration, relative to the first. This study supports preliminary findings that humans, like animals, develop a preference for a place associated with d-amphetamine that is related to its subjective effects. These findings also suggest that experiencing d-amphetamine in a consistent environment produces context-dependent changes in its subjective effects, including an enhanced rewarding efficacy and abuse potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Childs
- The University of Chicago, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Chicago, IL, USA
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Chaudhri N, Woods CA, Sahuque LL, Gill TM, Janak PH. Unilateral inactivation of the basolateral amygdala attenuates context-induced renewal of Pavlovian-conditioned alcohol-seeking. Eur J Neurosci 2013; 38:2751-61. [PMID: 23758059 PMCID: PMC4079556 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Revised: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Environmental contexts associated with drug use promote craving in humans and drug-seeking in animals. We hypothesized that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) itself as well as serial connectivity between the BLA and nucleus accumbens core (NAC core) were required for context-induced renewal of Pavlovian-conditioned alcohol-seeking. Male Long-Evans rats were trained to discriminate between two conditioned stimuli (CS): a CS+ that was paired with ethanol (EtOH, 20%, v/v) delivery into a fluid port (0.2 mL/CS+, 3.2 mL per session) and a CS- that was not. Entries into the port during each CS were measured. Next, rats received extinction in a different context where both cues were presented without EtOH. At test, responding to the CS+ and CS- without EtOH was evaluated in the prior training context. Control subjects showed a selective increase in CS+ responding relative to extinction, indicative of renewal. This effect was blocked by pre-test, bilateral inactivation of the BLA using a solution of GABA receptor agonists (0.1 mm muscimol and 1.0 mm baclofen; M/B; 0.3 μL per side). Renewal was also attenuated following unilateral injections of M/B into the BLA, combined with either M/B, the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23390 (0.6 μg per side) or saline infusion in the contralateral NAC core. Hence, unilateral BLA inactivation was sufficient to disrupt renewal, highlighting a critical role for functional activity in the BLA in enabling the reinstatement of alcohol-seeking driven by an alcohol context.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Chaudhri
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
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Kane CJM, Phelan KD, Douglas JC, Wagoner G, Johnson JW, Xu J, Phelan PS, Drew PD. Effects of ethanol on immune response in the brain: region-specific changes in adolescent versus adult mice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2013; 38:384-91. [PMID: 24033454 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol use occurs across the life span beginning in adolescence and continuing through adulthood. Ethanol (EtOH)-induced pathology varies with age and includes changes in neurogenesis, neurodegeneration, and glial cell activation. EtOH-induced changes in glial activation and immune activity are believed to contribute to EtOH-induced neuropathology. Recent studies indicate an emerging role of glial-derived neuroimmune molecules in alcohol abuse and addiction. METHODS Adolescent and adult C57BL/6 mice were treated via gavage with 6 g/kg EtOH for 10 days, and tissue was harvested 1 day post treatment. We compared the effects of EtOH on chemokine and cytokine expression and astrocyte glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunostaining and morphology in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. RESULTS EtOH increased mRNA levels of the chemokine CCL2/MCP-1 in all 3 regions of adult mice relative to controls. The cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) was selectively increased only in the adult cerebellum. EtOH did not affect mRNA levels of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in any of these brain regions in adult animals. Interestingly, CCL2, IL-6, and TNF-α mRNA levels were not increased in the hippocampus, cerebellum, or cortex of adolescent mice. EtOH treatment of adult and adolescent mice resulted in increased GFAP immunostaining. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these data indicate an age- and region-specific susceptibility to EtOH regulation of neuroinflammatory and addiction-related molecules as well as astrocyte phenotype. These studies may have important implications concerning differential alcohol-induced neuropathology and alcohol addiction across the life span.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia J M Kane
- Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas
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Kane CJM, Phelan KD, Douglas JC, Wagoner G, Johnson JW, Xu J, Drew PD. Effects of ethanol on immune response in the brain: region-specific changes in aged mice. J Neuroinflammation 2013; 10:66. [PMID: 23701841 PMCID: PMC3671152 DOI: 10.1186/1742-2094-10-66] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Alcohol abuse has dramatic effects on the health of the elderly. Recent studies indicate that ethanol increases immune activity in younger animals and that some of these proinflammatory molecules alter alcohol consumption and addiction. However, the effects of alcohol on immune activation in aged animals have not been thoroughly investigated. Findings We compared the effects of ethanol on chemokine and cytokine expression in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex of aged C57BL/6 mice. Mice were treated via gavage with 6 g/kg ethanol for 10 days and tissue was harvested 1 day post-treatment. Ethanol selectively increased mRNA levels of the chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2/monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in the hippocampus and cerebellum, but not in the cortex of aged mice relative to control animals. In this paradigm, ethanol did not affect mRNA levels of the cytokines IL-6 or TNF-α in any of these brain regions in aged animals. Conclusions Collectively, these data indicate a region-specific susceptibility to ethanol regulation of neuroinflammatory and addiction-related molecules in aged mice. These studies could have important implications concerning alcohol-induced neuropathology and alcohol addiction in the elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia J M Kane
- Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
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Marchant NJ, Khuc TN, Pickens CL, Bonci A, Shaham Y. Context-induced relapse to alcohol seeking after punishment in a rat model. Biol Psychiatry 2013; 73:256-62. [PMID: 22883434 PMCID: PMC3517691 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2012] [Revised: 06/15/2012] [Accepted: 07/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rat studies have demonstrated that exposure to environments associated with alcohol intake reinstates alcohol seeking after extinction of alcohol-reinforced responding in a different context. However, extinction is limited as an abstinence model, because humans typically abstain because of negative consequences associated with excessive drinking. It is currently unknown whether alcohol-associated contexts can provoke relapse to alcohol seeking after alcohol-taking behavior is suppressed by adverse consequences in a different context. METHODS Alcohol-preferring P rats were first given home-cage access to 20% ethanol. Next, they were trained to self-administer 20% ethanol in one context (context A). Subsequently, all rats continued to self-administer alcohol in a different context (context B). For one group, 50% of alcohol-reinforced responses were punished by mild footshock; two other groups either received noncontingent shocks or no shock. A fourth group was given extinction training in context B. All rats were then tested for relapse to alcohol seeking under extinction conditions in contexts A and B. RESULTS In Context B, alcohol-taking behavior was suppressed by contingent shock (punishment) and extinction training but not by noncontingent shock. In Context A, relapse to alcohol seeking was reliably observed in the punished and extinction groups; a context switch had no effect on alcohol seeking in the no-shock or noncontingent shock groups. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that punishment-induced suppression of alcohol-taking behavior is context-dependent. We propose that our procedure can be used to explore mechanisms of context-induced relapse to alcohol seeking after alcohol-taking behavior is suppressed by adverse consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J Marchant
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Abstract
Alcohol addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive alcohol seeking and use. Alcohol craving and long-lasting vulnerability to relapse present a great challenge for the successful treatment of alcohol addiction. Therefore, relapse prevention has emerged as a critically important area of research, with the need for effective and valid animal models of relapse. This chapter provides an overview of the repertoire of animal models of craving and relapse presently available and employed in alcoholism research. These models include conditioned reinstatement, stress-induced reinstatement, ethanol priming-induced reinstatement, conditioned place preference, Pavlovian spontaneous recovery, the alcohol deprivation effect, and seeking-taking chained schedules. Thus, a wide array of animal models is available that permit investigation of behaviors directed at obtaining access to alcohol, as well as neurobehavioral mechanisms and genetic factors that regulate these behaviors. These models also are instrumental for identifying pharmacological treatment targets and as tools for evaluating the efficacy of potential medications for the prevention of alcohol craving and relapse.
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Alcohol dependence as a chronic pain disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36:2179-92. [PMID: 22975446 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2012] [Revised: 06/18/2012] [Accepted: 07/16/2012] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Dysregulation of pain neurocircuitry and neurochemistry has been increasingly recognized as playing a critical role in a diverse spectrum of diseases including migraine, fibromyalgia, depression, and PTSD. Evidence presented here supports the hypothesis that alcohol dependence is among the pathologies arising from aberrant neurobiological substrates of pain. In this review, we explore the possible influence of alcohol analgesia and hyperalgesia in promoting alcohol misuse and dependence. We examine evidence that neuroanatomical sites involved in the negative emotional states of alcohol dependence also play an important role in pain transmission and may be functionally altered under chronic pain conditions. We also consider possible genetic links between pain transmission and alcohol dependence. We propose an allostatic load model in which episodes of alcohol intoxication and withdrawal, traumatic stressors, and injury are each capable of dysregulating an overlapping set of neural substrates to engender sensory and affective pain states that are integral to alcohol dependence and comorbid conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.
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Claus ED, Ewing SWF, Filbey FM, Sabbineni A, Hutchison KE. Identifying neurobiological phenotypes associated with alcohol use disorder severity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2011; 36:2086-96. [PMID: 21677649 PMCID: PMC3158325 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2011.99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Although numerous studies provide general support for the importance of genetic factors in the risk for alcohol use disorders (AUDs), candidate gene and genome-wide studies have yet to identify a set of genetic variations that explain a significant portion of the variance in AUDs. One reason is that alcohol-related phenotypes used in genetic studies are typically based on highly heterogeneous diagnostic categories. Therefore, identifying neurobiological phenotypes related to neuroadaptations that drive the development of AUDs is critical for the future success of genetic and epigenetic studies. One such neurobiological phenotype is the degree to which exposure to alcohol taste cues recruits the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, and motor areas, all of which have been shown to have a critical role in addictive behaviors in animal studies. To that end, this study was designed to examine whether cue-elicited responses of these structures are associated with AUD severity in a large sample (n=326) using voxelwise and functional connectivity measures. Results suggested that alcohol cues significantly activated dorsal striatum, insula/orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral tegmental area. AUD severity was moderately correlated with regions involved in incentive salience such as the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, and stronger relationships with precuneus, insula, and dorsal striatum. The findings indicate that AUDs are related to neuroadaptations in these regions and that these measures may represent important neurobiological phenotypes for subsequent genetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Claus
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA.
| | | | - Francesca M Filbey
- Center for BrainHealth, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | | | - Kent E Hutchison
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
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