Scopolamine and methylscopolamine differentially affect fixed-consecutive-number performance of male and female Wistar rats

Poor inhibitory control predicts sex-specific vulnerability to nicotine rewarding properties in mice

RATIONALE

The risk of becoming addicted to tobacco varies greatly from individual to individual, raising the possibility of behavioural biomarkers capable of predicting sensitivity to nicotine reward, a crucial step in the development of nicotine addiction. Amongst all of nicotine's pharmacological properties, one of central importance is the enhancement of cognitive performances, which depend on the balance between attentional processes and inhibitory control. However, whether the cognitive enhancement effects of nicotine are predictive of sensitivity to its rewarding properties is still unknown.

OBJECTIVE

Using male and female mice, we investigated whether the effects of nicotine on cognitive performances are predictive of sensitivity to the rewarding properties of nicotine and, if so, whether this relationship is sex dependent.

METHODS

Naïve male and female mice were first assessed for their performances in both baseline conditions and following nicotine injection (0.15 and 0.30 mg/kg) in a cued-Fixed Consecutive Number task (FCNcue) measuring both optimal (attention) and premature (inhibitory control) responding. Next, all mice underwent nicotine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in order to evaluate inter-individual differences in response to nicotine reward (0.30 mg/kg).

RESULTS

Results showed that males and females benefited from the effect of nicotine as a cognitive enhancer in the FCNcue task. However, only those males displaying poor inhibitory control, namely high-impulsive animals, subsequently displayed sensitivity to nicotine reward. In females, sensitivity to nicotine reward was independent of FCNcue performances, in both basal and nicotine conditions.

CONCLUSION

Thus, our study suggests that poor inhibitory control and its modulation by nicotine may be a behavioural biomarker for sensitivity to nicotine reward and consequent vulnerability to nicotine addiction in males but not females.

Single and repeated exposures to the volatile anesthetic isoflurane do not impair operant performance in aged rats

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) is a complication that can occur in the elderly after anesthesia and surgery and is characterized by impairments in information processing, memory, and executive function. Currently, it is unclear whether POCD is due to the effects of surgery, anesthesia, or perhaps some interaction between these or other perioperative variables. Studies in rodents suggest that the development of POCD may be related directly to anesthesia-induced neuroactivity. Volatile anesthetics have been shown to increase cellular inflammation and apoptosis within the hippocampus of aged rodents, while producing corresponding impairments in hippocampal-dependent brain functions. However, it is unclear whether volatile anesthetics can affect additional aspects of cognition that do not primarily depend upon the hippocampus. The purpose of this study was to use established operant tests to examine the effects of isoflurane on aspects of behavioral inhibition, learning, and motivation in aged rats. Twenty-one adult Sprague-Dawley rats (11 male, 10 female) were trained to perform fixed consecutive number (FCN), incremental repeated acquisition (IRA), and progressive ratio (PR) tasks for a minimum of 15 months prior to receiving anesthesia. At 23 months of age, rats were exposed to 1.3% isoflurane or medical grade air for 2h. Initial results revealed that a 2h exposure to isoflurane had no effect on IRA, FCN, or PR performance. Thus, rats received 3 additional exposures to 1.3% isoflurane or medical grade air: 2, 4 and 6h exposures with 2 weeks elapsing before exposure two, 3 weeks elapsing between exposures two and three, and 2 weeks elapsing between exposures three and four. These additional exposures had no observable effects on performance of any operant task. These results suggest that single and repeated exposures to isoflurane do not impair the performance of aged rats in tasks designed to measure behavioral inhibition, learning, and motivation. This lack of significant effect suggests that the impairments associated with isoflurane exposure may not generalize to all aspects of cognition, but may be selective to tasks that primarily measure spatial memory processes.

The Cognitive Effect Profiles of NMDA Receptor Modulating Drugs are Resolvable If Stimulus Complexity Is Varied in a Number Discernment Task

Number discernment is at the heart of task accuracy for laboratory animals performing Fixed Consecutive Number (FCN) operant tasks. Narrow-limit FCN tasks, in particular, are useful for measuring working memory in rat subjects because performance efficacy, which is set up to concord with food delivery, depends on a fairly precise quantification of cues generated by the rat's ongoing behavior. Reported here is a behavioral pharmacology study that utilized a group of overtrained and FCN-schedule-compliant rats injected in a randomized series of testing sessions with different types of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor modulating drugs. Modifications made to the narrowlimit FCN schedule permitted a simultaneous measure of druginduced compromises in subjects' sensory integrative or motor coordinating capabilities. This highly sensitive model implicated the intrachannel and the glutamate recognition NMDA receptor binding sites as prime mediators of NMDA antagonist associated memory impairments because drugs acting at the mentioned sites lowered counting efficacy without altering sensorimotor function.

Sex differences in selecting between food and cocaine reinforcement are mediated by estrogen

Cocaine-dependent women, relative to their male counterparts, report shorter cocaine-free periods and report transiting faster from first use to entering treatment for addiction. Similarly, preclinical studies indicate that female rats, particularly those in the estrus phase of their reproductive cycle, show increased operant responding for cocaine under a wide variety of schedules. Making maladaptive choices is a component of drug dependence, and concurrent reinforcement schedules that examine cocaine choice offers an animal model of the conditions of human drug use; therefore, the examination of sex differences in decision-making may be critical to understanding why women display a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men. Accordingly, we assessed sex and estrous cycle differences in choice between food (45 mg grain pellets) and intravenous cocaine (0.4 or 1.0 mg/kg per infusion) reinforcement in male, female (freely cycling), and ovariectomized (OVX) females treated with either estrogen benzoate (EB; 5 μg per day) or vehicle. At both cocaine doses, intact female rats choose cocaine over food significantly more than male rats. However, the estrous cycle did not impact the level of cocaine choice in intact females. Nevertheless, OVX females treated with vehicle exhibited a substantially lower cocaine choice compared with those receiving daily EB or to intact females. These results demonstrate that intact females have a greater preference for cocaine over food compared with males. Furthermore, this higher preference is estrogen-dependent, but does not vary across the female reproductive cycle, suggesting that ovarian hormones regulate cocaine choice. The present findings indicate that there is a biological predisposition for females to forgo food reinforcement to obtain cocaine reinforcement, which may substantially contribute to women experiencing a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men.

Competitive and noncompetitive NMDA antagonist effects in rats trained to discriminate lever-press counts

The glutamate activated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor may play a role in short-term memory processing. Among the evidence for this is that NMDA antagonists can impair accuracy in fixed consecutive number (FCN) tasks. This study was designed to further characterize this effect by examining NMDA antagonists differing in their cellular mechanisms of action. Rats were trained to respond under an FCN operant schedule, which required eight presses on one lever (counting lever) before one press at an alternate lever (reinforcement lever) would produce food reinforcement. The effects of three noncompetitive [MK-801 (0.01-0.56 mg/kg); phencyclidine (0.3-3.0 mg/kg); memantine (1-10 mg/kg)] and two competitive [SDZ EAA 494 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) and NPC 17742 (2.0-16 mg/kg)] NMDA antagonists were analyzed. MK-801 and phencyclidine decreased accuracy at doses not reducing response rates. Memantine, and both of the competitive antagonists, also reduced accuracy, but did so only at doses that markedly reduced response rates. These results suggest that both the affinity and the site bound on the NMDA glutamate receptor by antagonists can determine their effects on FCN performance. Subsequent studies investigated whether SCH 23390, a dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, and NMDA could modulate the effects by phencyclidine and SDZ EAA 494, respectively, on FCN performance.

Effects of the cannabinoid ligand SR 141716A alone or in combination with delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol or scopolamine on learning in squirrel monkeys

To investigate the effects of the cannabinoids on learning and on scopolamine-induced disruptions in learning, delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC), SR 141716A (an antagonist at CB1 receptors) and scopolamine were administered to squirrel monkeys responding in a repeated-acquisition task. In this task, monkeys acquired a different three-response sequence each session and responding was maintained by food presentation under a second-order fixed-ratio 5 schedule. When either delta9-THC (0.1-0.56 mg/kg, i.m.) or SR 141716A (1-10 mg/kg, i.m.) was administered alone, 60 and 75 min before the session, respectively, both cannabinoid ligands dose-dependently decreased the overall rate of responding and increased the overall percentage of errors. However, at a dose that had little or no effect alone (i.e. 1 mg/kg), SR 141716A antagonized the disruptive effects of delta9-THC (0.18-1.8 mg/kg) on acquisition, shifting the dose-effect curves for rate of responding and percentage of errors at least 1/2 log unit to the right. Finally, when either delta9-THC (0.001-1 mg/kg) or SR 141716A (0.32-10 mg/kg) was administered with scopolamine (0.01 or 0.032 mg/kg, 15 min before the session), greater rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects were obtained than with scopolamine alone. These results suggest that while low doses of SR 141716A can antagonize the effects of delta9-THC in squirrel monkeys, high doses can also disrupt acquisition when administered alone and potentiate the disruptive effects of scopolamine on acquisition.

Possible confounding influence of strain, age and gender on cognitive performance in rats

There are substantial differences in the performance of various rat strains in tasks of learning, memory and attention. Strain, age and sex differences are not consistent over procedures: poor performance in one paradigm does not predict poor performance in a different paradigm. Some strain differences are not readily apparent until a direct comparison is made between one or more strains. Moreover, large differences in nominally the same strain but obtained from different suppliers have been observed in behavioural, pharmacological and physiological parameters and can have important consequences for interpretation of drug effects. Longevity, and the effects of ageing can differ dramatically from one strain to another; drug effects can alter radically with increasing age and show strain (and individual) differences in their action. Sex can further complicate interpretation of results. Thus, non-cognitive factors may exert a major effect on results in cognitive testing, and strain-dependent effects may account for many conflicting results in the literature concerning mnemonic performance. Strain differences in particular must be identified and used to help identify fundamental effects on memory, rather than continue to be ignored and allowed to obscure interpretation of drug effects on cognitive processes.

Comparison of the effects of scopolamine and methylscopolamine on the performance of a fixed-ratio discrimination in squirrel monkeys

In the presence of a stimulus behind the center key, squirrel monkeys were required to complete one of two fixed ratios (FRs) on the center key (FR 30 or FR 25). Completion of the ratio turned off the center-key stimulus and produced a stimulus behind each of the two side keys. If the completed ratio was high (e.g., FR 30), a response on the left key produced a food pellet. If the ratio was low (e.g., FR 25) a response on the right key produced food. Errors produced a brief timeout. Dose-effect curves for scopolamine (0.001-0.18 mg/kg) and methscopolamine (0.0032-5.6 mg/kg) were determined under a FR 30 vs. FR 25 discrimination, which controlled both moderate levels of accuracy and high rates of responding. Scopolamine produced a dose-related decrease in overall response rates and increase in percent errors. Methscopolamine decreased response rates and increased percent errors in a dose-related manner much like scopolamine. However, scopolamine was found to be about 10 times more potent on a mg/kg basis than methscopolamine. Scopolamine is in general considered to be centrally acting due in part to its lipid solubility. The results from these studies suggest that methscopolamine, in general considered to be peripherally acting, may also cross the squirrel monkey blood-brain barrier at high doses and produce behavioral effects comparable to those of scopolamine.

Effects of cholinergic and non-cholinergic drugs on visual discrimination and delayed visual discrimination performance in rats

The effects of several centrally active drugs were investigated using two visual discrimination tasks: a two-lever food-rewarded conditional brightness discrimination, and a similar conditional brightness discrimination where a delay was introduced between the disappearance of the stimulus and the opportunity to respond on the levers for food. The substances tested (amphetamine, scopolamine, methylscopolamine, physostigmine, diazepam and beta-carboline benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, ZK 93426), all produced differing profiles of action on the performance parameters recorded. In the simple conditional visual discrimination, amphetamine increased omissions without significant effects on accuracy or response latency. Physostigmine enhanced response latencies and failures to respond without significant effects on accuracy. ZK 93426 had no consistent effects on accuracy although at higher doses, some increase in response latency was seen in the delayed responding version of the visual discrimination task. Diazepam had negative effects on all parameters in both discrimination procedures. Scopolamine disrupted responding, but not accuracy in the simple discrimination, whereas accuracy was reduced in a dose, but not delay dependent manner in the delayed discrimination. A similar effect to that observed with scopolamine was observed following methylscopolamine in the delayed discrimination procedure. In the simple visual discrimination small increases in accuracy were recorded, accompanied by increased response latencies.

Scopolamine differentially disrupts the behavior of male and female Wistar rats in a delayed nonmatching to position procedure

Evidence is available that pharmacological interference with the cholinergic system may disrupt behavior in experimental procedures designed to investigate learning and memory processes. Recently it has been suggested that the cholinergic system may be sexually dimorphic. The present experiment was designed to investigate whether or not manipulation of the cholinergic system differentially affected memory processes in both sexes. Male and female Wistar rats were exposed to a delayed nonmatching to position procedure and were challenged with increasing doses of scopolamine hydrobromide (a central and peripheral muscarinic receptor blocker) and scopolamine methyl bromide (which does not pass the blood-brain barrier). Response accuracy decreased in both sexes as the delay interval duration increased. Behavioral differences between saline-treated males and females were not observed. Response accuracy decreased dose-dependently after subjects were injected with scopolamine hydrobromide. Response accuracy also decreased after treatment with scopolamine methyl bromide, but to a smaller extent. Males showed less accurate responding after treatment with either drug than females. These results provide behavioral evidence for the hypothesis that cholinergic functioning may differ between the sexes.

Behavioral differences between male and female rats: effects of gonadal hormones on learning and memory

The organizational, activational and reorganizational effects of gonadal hormones have been extensively investigated with respect to sexual, aggressive and maternal behavior. It has thus been established that manipulations of gonadal hormones during critical periods in development functionally affect reproductive behavior. The effects of gonadal hormones on nonreproductive behavior are not immediately obvious because of the fact that the behavioral effects of gonadal hormones on learning and memory have been investigated in a large number of unrelated experimental procedures. The present paper provides an organized overview of these different experimental procedures, summarizes the most important findings and discusses some of the variables which determine the effects of manipulations in gonadal hormones on learning and memory in male and female rats.