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Lopez-Cruz L, Phillips BU, Hailwood JM, Saksida LM, Heath CJ, Bussey TJ. Refining the study of decision-making in animals: differential effects of d-amphetamine and haloperidol in a novel touchscreen-automated Rearing-Effort Discounting (RED) task and the Fixed-Ratio Effort Discounting (FRED) task. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:422-432. [PMID: 37644210 PMCID: PMC10724152 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01707-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Effort-based decision-making is impaired in multiple psychopathologies leading to significant impacts on the daily life of patients. Preclinical studies of this important transdiagnostic symptom in rodents are hampered, however, by limitations present in currently available decision-making tests, including the presence of delayed reinforcement and off-target cognitive demands. Such possible confounding factors can complicate the interpretation of results in terms of decision-making per se. In this study we addressed this problem using a novel touchscreen Rearing-Effort Discounting (RED) task in which mice choose between two single-touch responses: rearing up to touch an increasingly higher positioned stimulus to obtain a High Reward (HR) or touching a lower stimulus to obtain a Low Reward (LR). To explore the putative advantages of this new approach, RED was compared with a touchscreen version of the well-studied Fixed Ratio-based Effort Discounting (FRED) task, in which multiple touches are required to obtain an HR, and a single response is required to obtain an LR. Results from dopaminergic (haloperidol and d-amphetamine), behavioral (changes in the order of effort demand; fixed-ratio schedule in FRED or response height in RED), and dietary manipulations (reward devaluation by pre-feeding) were consistent with the presence of variables that may complicate interpretation of conventional decision-making tasks, and demonstrate how RED appears to minimize such variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Lopez-Cruz
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.
| | - Benjamin U Phillips
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jonathan M Hailwood
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Robarts Research Institute and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Christopher J Heath
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Robarts Research Institute and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada
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Hailwood JM, Heath CJ, Phillips BU, Robbins TW, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. Blockade of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors facilitates motivated behaviour and rescues a model of antipsychotic-induced amotivation. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:1068-1075. [PMID: 30478410 PMCID: PMC6397643 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0281-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Disruptions to motivated behaviour are a highly prevalent and severe symptom in a number of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Current treatment options for these disorders have little or no effect upon motivational impairments. We assessed the contribution of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors to motivated behaviour in mice, as a novel pharmacological target for motivational impairments. Touchscreen progressive ratio (PR) performance was facilitated by the nonselective muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine as well as the more subtype-selective antagonists biperiden (M1) and tropicamide (M4). However, scopolamine and tropicamide also produced increases in non-specific activity levels, whereas biperiden did not. A series of control tests suggests the effects of the mAChR antagonists were sensitive to changes in reward value and not driven by changes in satiety, motor fatigue, appetite or perseveration. Subsequently, a sub-effective dose of biperiden was able to facilitate the effects of amphetamine upon PR performance, suggesting an ability to enhance dopaminergic function. Both biperiden and scopolamine were also able to reverse a haloperidol-induced deficit in PR performance, however only biperiden was able to rescue the deficit in effort-related choice (ERC) performance. Taken together, these data suggest that the M1 mAChR may be a novel target for the pharmacological enhancement of effort exertion and consequent rescue of motivational impairments. Conversely, M4 receptors may inadvertently modulate effort exertion through regulation of general locomotor activity levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Hailwood
- 0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Christopher J. Heath
- 0000000096069301grid.10837.3dSchool of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA UK
| | - Benjamin U. Phillips
- 0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Trevor W. Robbins
- 0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Lisa M. Saksida
- 0000 0004 1936 8884grid.39381.30Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON Canada ,0000 0004 1936 8884grid.39381.30The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON Canada
| | - Timothy J. Bussey
- 0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,0000 0004 1936 8884grid.39381.30Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON Canada ,0000 0004 1936 8884grid.39381.30The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON Canada
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Hailwood JM, Gilmour G, Robbins TW, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ, Marston HM, Gastambide F. Oxygen responses within the nucleus accumbens are associated with individual differences in effort exertion in rats. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2971-2987. [PMID: 30218588 PMCID: PMC6282581 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Goal‐directed motivated behaviour is crucial for everyday life. Such behaviour is often measured, in rodents, under a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement. Previous studies have identified a few brain structures critical for supporting PR performance. However, the association between neural activity within these regions and individual differences in effort‐related behaviour is not known. Presently, we used constant potential in vivo oxygen amperometry, a surrogate for functional resonance imaging in rodents, to assess changes in tissue oxygen levels within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in male Wistar rats performing a PR task. Within both regions, oxygen responses to rewards increased as the effort exerted to obtain the rewards was larger. Furthermore, higher individual breakpoints were associated with greater magnitude NAc oxygen responses. This association could not be explained by temporal confounds and remained significant when controlling for the different number of completed trials. Animals with higher breakpoints also showed greater magnitude NAc oxygen responses to rewards delivered independently of any behaviour. In contrast, OFC oxygen responses were not associated with individual differences in behavioural performance. The present results suggest that greater NAc oxygen responses following rewards, through a process of incentive motivation, may allow organisms to remain on task for longer and to overcome greater effort costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Hailwood
- Department of Psychology and Behvaioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gary Gilmour
- Erl Wood Manor, Eli Lilly & Co Ltd, Windlesham, UK
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology and Behvaioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Molecular Medicine Research Group, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Department of Psychology and Behvaioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Molecular Medicine Research Group, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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Hvoslef-Eide M, Nilsson SR, Hailwood JM, Robbins TW, Saksida LM, Mar AC, Bussey TJ. Effects of anterior cingulate cortex lesions on a continuous performance task for mice. Brain Neurosci Adv 2018; 2. [PMID: 31168482 PMCID: PMC6546594 DOI: 10.1177/2398212818772962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Important tools in the study of prefrontal cortical-dependent executive functions are cross-species behavioural tasks with translational validity. A widely used test of executive function and attention in humans is the continuous performance task (CPT). Optimal performance in variations of this task is associated with activity along the medial wall of the prefrontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), for its essential components such as response control, target detection and processing of false alarm errors. We assess the validity of a recently developed rodent touchscreen continuous performance task (rCPT) that is analogous to typical human CPT procedures. Here we evaluate the performance of mice with quinolinic acid-induced lesions centred on the ACC in the rCPT following a range of task parameter manipulations designed to challenge attention and impulse control. Lesioned mice showed a disinhibited response profile expressed as a decreased response criterion and increased false alarm rates. ACC lesions also resulted in a milder increase in inter-trial interval responses ('ITI touches') and hit rate. Lesions did not affect discriminative sensitivity d'. The disinhibited behaviour of ACC lesioned animals was stable and not affected by the manipulation of variable task parameter manipulations designed to increase task difficulty. The results are in general agreement with human studies implicating the ACC in the processing of inappropriate responses. We conclude that the rCPT may be useful for studying prefrontal cortex function in mice and has the capability of providing meaningful links between animal and human cognitive tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Hvoslef-Eide
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066, Blindern, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Simon Ro Nilsson
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,Neuroscience Institute, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan M Hailwood
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust 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.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Adam C Mar
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,Neuroscience Institute, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.,Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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Hailwood JM, Heath CJ, Robbins TW, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. Validation and optimisation of a touchscreen progressive ratio test of motivation in male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018; 235:2739-2753. [PMID: 30008032 PMCID: PMC6132691 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-4969-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Across species, effort-related motivation can be assessed by testing behaviour under a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement. However, to date, PR tasks for rodents have been available using traditional operant response systems only. OBJECTIVES Touchscreen operant response systems allow the assessment of behaviour in laboratory rodents, using tasks that share high face validity with the computerised assessments used in humans. Here, we sought to optimise a rat touchscreen variant of PR and validate it by assessing the effects of a number of manipulations known to affect PR performance in non-touchscreen paradigms. METHODS Separate groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained on PR schedules with either linear (PR4) or exponential (PREXP) schedules of reinforcement. PR performance was assessed in response to manipulations in reward outcome. Animals were tested under conditions of increased reward magnitude and following reward devaluation through a prefeeding procedure. Subsequently, the effects of systemic administration of the dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist raclopride and the psychostimulant d-amphetamine were examined as traditional pharmacological methods for manipulating motivation. RESULTS Rats reinforced under PR4 and PREXP schedules consistently showed differential patterns of response rates within sessions. Furthermore, both PR4 and PREXP schedules were sensitive to suppression by prefeeding or raclopride administration. Performance under both schedules was facilitated by increasing reward magnitude or d-amphetamine administration. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these findings mirror those observed in lever-based PR paradigms in rats. This study therefore demonstrates the successful validation of the rat touchscreen PR task. This will allow for the assessment of motivation in rats, within the same touchscreen apparatus used for the assessment of complex cognitive processes in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Hailwood
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Christopher J. Heath
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA UK
| | - Trevor W. Robbins
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - Lisa M. Saksida
- Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON Canada ,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON Canada
| | - Timothy J. Bussey
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON Canada ,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON Canada
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