Baseline prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex predicts the sensitivity to the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine in male and female mice

AgRP neurons control structure and function of the medial prefrontal cortex

Hypothalamic agouti-related peptide and neuropeptide Y-expressing (AgRP) neurons have a critical role in both feeding and non-feeding behaviors of newborn, adolescent, and adult mice, suggesting their broad modulatory impact on brain functions. Here we show that constitutive impairment of AgRP neurons or their peripubertal chemogenetic inhibition resulted in both a numerical and functional reduction of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of mice. These changes were accompanied by alteration of oscillatory network activity in mPFC, impaired sensorimotor gating, and altered ambulatory behavior that could be reversed by the administration of clozapine, a non-selective dopamine receptor antagonist. The observed AgRP effects are transduced to mPFC in part via dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area and may also be conveyed by medial thalamic neurons. Our results unmasked a previously unsuspected role for hypothalamic AgRP neurons in control of neuronal pathways that regulate higher-order brain functions during development and in adulthood.

Prepulse inhibition can predict the motivational effects of cocaine in female mice exposed to maternal separation

The prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response can identify the rodents that are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine. Mice with a lower PPI presented a higher vulnerability to the effects of cocaine and a higher susceptibility to developing a substance use disorder (SUD). Maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) is a relevant animal model to induce motivational alterations throughout life. Nevertheless, only a few studies on females exist, even though they are more vulnerable to stress- and cocaine-related problems. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of PPI to identify females with a greater vulnerability to the long-term consequences of early stress on the motivational effects of cocaine. Female mice underwent MSEW and were classified according to their high or low PPI. They were then assessed in the cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization test, the conditioned place preference paradigm or the operant self-administration paradigm. Additionally, they were also evaluated in the passive avoidance task, the tail-suspension and the splash tests. The results revealed that the females with lower PPI presented higher consequences of MSEW on the effects of cocaine and showed an increase in anhedonia-like behaviours. Our findings support that a PPI deficit could represent a biomarker of vulnerability to the effects of cocaine induced by MSEW.

Prepulse inhibition based grouping of rats and assessing differences in response to pharmacological agents

Schizophrenia modeling by disrupting prepulse inhibition (PPI) is one of the most frequently used psycho-pharmacological methods by administering pharmacological agents to stimulate disruption. However, since PPI is also a biological indicator of schizophrenia, it is possible to classify subjects based on their basal PPI values and group them as "low inhibition" and "high inhibition without taking any pharmacological agent. Therefore this study was conducted to show that rats can be divided into groups in terms of susceptibility to schizophrenia according to basal PPI values. It was also observed that these groups might give different responses to different pharmacological agents (apomorphine, amphetamine, MK-801, scopolamine, nicotine, caffeine). Male Sprague Dawley rats (250-350 g) were used in the study. To examine the effects of different pharmacological agents on the groups, apomorphine (0.5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg), amphetamine (4 mg/kg), MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg and 0.15 mg/kg), scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg), nicotine (1 mg/kg) and caffeine (10 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg) were used. Amphetamine showed a disruptive effect on PPI in both low and high inhibitory groups, while apomorphine, MK-801, scopolamine, and nicotine showed PPI decrease only in the high inhibitory group. Besides, caffeine decreased PPI levels at two doses in the high inhibitory group; however, 10 mg/kg dose caffeine was increased only in the low inhibitory group. According to the data obtained from this study, rats can be grouped with baseline inhibition values by using PPI, and response differences of pharmacological agents to groups may vary.

Prepulse Inhibition in Cocaine Addiction and Dual Pathologies

Cocaine addiction is frequently associated with different psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder. A small number of studies have used prepulse inhibition (PPI) as a discriminating factor between these disorders. This work evaluated PPI and the phenotype of patients with cocaine-related disorder (CRD) who presented a dual diagnosis of schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder. A total of 74 men aged 18–60 years were recruited for this research. The sample was divided into four groups: CRD (n = 14), CRD and schizophrenia (n = 21), CRD and antisocial personality disorder (n = 16), and a control group (n = 23). We evaluated the PPI and other possible vulnerability factors in these patients by using different assessment scales. PPI was higher in the CRD group at 30 ms (F(3, 64) = 2.972, p = 0.038). Three discriminant functions were obtained which allowed us to use the overall Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised score, reward sensitivity, and PPI at 30 ms to predict inclusion of these patients in the different groups with a success rate of 79.7% (42.9% for CRD, 76.2% for CRD and schizophrenia, 100% for CRD and antisocial personality disorder, and 91.3% in the control group). Despite the differences we observed in PPI, this factor is of little use for discriminating between the different diagnostic groups and it acts more as a non-specific endophenotype in certain mental disorders, such as in patients with a dual diagnosis.

Prepulse Inhibition of the Startle Reflex as a Predictor of Vulnerability to Develop Locomotor Sensitization to Cocaine

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex is a measure of sensory-motor synchronization. A deficit in PPI has been observed in psychiatric patients, especially those with schizophrenia and vulnerable subjects, since the neural bases of this disorder are also involved in the regulation of PPI. Recently, we have reported that baseline PPI levels in mice can predict their sensitivity to the conditioned reinforcing effects of cocaine in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Mice with a low PPI presented a lower sensitivity to the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine; however, once they acquired conditioned preference with a higher dose of the drug, a more persistent associative effect of cocaine with respect to environmental cues was evident in these animals when compared with High-PPI mice. Therefore, we proposed that the PPI paradigm can determine subjects with a higher vulnerability to the effects of cocaine. Developing locomotor sensitization after pre-exposure to cocaine is considered an indicator of transitioning from recreational use to a compulsive consumption of the drug. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate whether subjects with a low PPI display a higher locomotor sensitization induced by cocaine. First, male and female OF1 mice were classified as High- or Low-PPI according to their baseline PPI levels. Subsequently, the motor effects induced by an acute dose of cocaine (Experiments 1 and 2) and the development of locomotor sensitization induced by pre-exposure to this drug (Experiments 3 and 4) were recorded using two apparatuses (Ethovision and actimeter). Low-PPI mice presented low sensitivity to the motor effects of an acute dose of cocaine, but a high increase of activity after repeated administration of the drug, thus suggesting a great developed behavioral sensitization. Differences after pretreatment with cocaine vs. saline were more pronounced among Low-PPI subjects than among High-PPI animals. These results endorse our hypothesis that the PPI paradigm can detect subjects who are more likely to display behaviors induced by cocaine and which can increase the risk of developing a cocaine use disorder. Herein, we further discuss whether a PPI deficit can be considered an endophenotype for cocaine use disorder.

Deciphering midbrain mechanisms underlying prepulse inhibition of startle

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating. Deficits of PPI are a hallmark of schizophrenia and associated with several other psychiatric illnesses such as e.g. autism spectrum disorder, yet the mechanisms underlying PPI are still not fully understood. There is growing evidence contradicting the long-standing hypothesis that PPI is mediated by a short feed-forward midbrain circuitry including inhibitory cholinergic projections from the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) to the startle pathway. Here, we employed a chemogenetic approach to explore the involvement of the PPTg in general, and cholinergic neurons specifically, in PPI. Activation of inhibitory DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) in the PPTg by systemic administration of clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) disrupted PPI, confirming the involvement of the PPTg in PPI. In contrast, chemogenetic inhibition of specifically cholinergic PPTg neurons had no effect on PPI, but inhibited morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in the same animals, showing that the DREADDs were effective in modulating behavior. These findings support a functional role of the PPTg and/or neighboring structures in PPI in accordance with previous lesion studies, but also provide strong evidence against the hypothesis that specifically cholinergic PPTg neurons are involved in mediating PPI, implicating rather non-cholinergic midbrain neurons.