Stimulus gated cocaine sensitization: Interoceptive drug cue control of cocaine locomotor sensitization

Serotonin and conditioning: focus on Pavlovian psychostimulant drug conditioning

Serotonin containing neurons are located in nuclei deep in the brainstem and send axons throughout the central nervous system from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex. The vast scope of these connections and interactions enable serotonin and serotonin analogs to have profound effects upon sensory/motor processes. In that conditioning represents a neuroplastic process that leads to new sensory/motor connections, it is apparent that the serotonin system has the potential for a critical role in conditioning. In this article we review the basics of conditioning as well as the serotonergic system and point up the number of non-associative ways in which manipulations of serotonin neurotransmission have an impact upon conditioning. We focus upon psychostimulant drug conditioning and review the contribution of drug stimuli in the use of serotonin drugs to investigate drug conditioning and the important impact drug stimuli can have on conditioning by introducing new sensory stimuli that can create or mask a CS. We also review the ways in which experimental manipulations of serotonin can disrupt conditioned behavioral effects but not the associative processes in conditioning. In addition, we propose the use of the recently developed memory re-consolidation model of conditioning as an approach to assess the possible role of serotonin in associative processes without the complexities of performance effects related to serotonin treatment induced alterations in sensory/motor systems.

Activation of physiological stress responses by a natural reward: Novel vs. repeated sucrose intake

Pharmacological rewards, such as drugs of abuse, evoke physiological stress responses, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. It is not clear to what extent the natural reward of palatable foods elicits similar physiological responses. In order to address this question, HPA axis hormones, heart rate, blood pressure and brain pCREB immunolabeling were assessed following novel and repeated sucrose exposure. Briefly, adult, male rats with ad libitum food and water were given either a single (day 1) or repeated (twice-daily for 14 days) brief (up to 30 min) exposure to a second drink bottle containing 4 ml of 30% sucrose drink vs. water (as a control for bottle presentation). Sucrose-fed rats drank more than water-fed on all days of exposure, as expected. On day 1 of exposure, heart rate, blood pressure, plasma corticosterone, and locomotion were markedly increased by presentation of the second drink bottle regardless of drink type. After repeated exposure (day 14), these responses habituated to similar extents regardless of drink type and pCREB immunolabeling in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) also did not vary with drink type, whereas basolateral amygdala pCREB was increased by sucrose intake. Taken together, these data suggest that while sucrose is highly palatable, physiological stress responses were evoked principally by the drink presentation itself (e.g., an unfamiliar intervention by the investigators), as opposed to the palatability of the offered drink.

The role of serotonin in drug use and addiction

The use of psychoactive drugs is a wide spread behaviour in human societies. The systematic use of a drug requires the establishment of different drug use-associated behaviours which need to be learned and controlled. However, controlled drug use may develop into compulsive drug use and addiction, a major psychiatric disorder with severe consequences for the individual and society. Here we review the role of the serotonergic (5-HT) system in the establishment of drug use-associated behaviours on the one hand and the transition and maintenance of addiction on the other hand for the drugs: cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), morphine/heroin, cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine. Results show a crucial, but distinct involvement of the 5-HT system in both processes with considerable overlap between psychostimulant and opioidergic drugs and alcohol. A new functional model suggests specific adaptations in the 5-HT system, which coincide with the establishment of controlled drug use-associated behaviours. These serotonergic adaptations render the nervous system susceptible to the transition to compulsive drug use behaviours and often overlap with genetic risk factors for addiction. Altogether we suggest a new trajectory by which serotonergic neuroadaptations induced by first drug exposure pave the way for the establishment of addiction.

Sensitization of hypervigilance effects of cocaine can be induced by NK3 receptor activation in marmoset monkeys

BACKGROUND

Cocaine is a widely abused drug which can result in the establishment of addiction. The neurokinin3-receptor (NK3-R) has been linked to cocaine addiction by genetic, epigenetic, and pharmacological studies suggesting that a cocaine-induced increase in NK3-R signaling may contribute to the establishment of cocaine addiction-related behaviors.

METHODS

Here we measured cocaine-induced sensitization of vigilance- and locomotor behaviors in marmoset monkeys (Callithrix penicillata) in an open field.

RESULTS

We found a sensitization of vigilance-related, but not locomotor behaviors after repeated cocaine (7mg/kg, i.p.) treatment. There was a cross-sensitization for scan frequency, but not of glance frequency, both vigilance-related behaviors, after repeated treatment with the NK3-R agonist senktide (0.2mg/kg, i.p.) given for 7 days, after a cocaine challenge (5mg/kg, i.p.).

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that in marmoset monkeys, repeated cocaine treatment leads to a sensitization of vigilance-related behaviors, which have a prominent role in spontaneously expressed activities in this species, but not of locomotor activity. Repeated activation of NK3-Rs can mimic some of the behavioral sensitization effect and may thus contribute to the establishment of cocaine related behaviors.

Reversal of apomorphine locomotor sensitization by a single post-conditioning trial treatment with a low autoreceptor dose of apomorphine: a memory re-consolidation approach

Sensitization is a common feature of psychostimulants and sensitization effects are generally considered to be linked to the addictive properties of these drugs. We used a conventional paired/unpaired Pavlovian protocol to induce a context specific sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effect of a high dose of apomorphine (2.0mg/kg). Two days following a 5 session sensitization induction phase, a brief 5min non-drug test for conditioning was conducted. Only the paired groups exhibited locomotor stimulant conditioned response effects. Immediately following this brief test for conditioning, the paired and the unpaired groups received injections of 0.05mg/kg apomorphine, 2.0mg/kg apomorphine or vehicle designed to differentially impact memory re-consolidation of the conditioning. Two days later, all groups received a sensitization challenge test with 2.0mg/kg apomorphine. The 2.0mg/kg apomorphine post-trial treatment potentiated sensitization while the 0.05mg/kg eliminated sensitization. These effects were only observed in the paired groups. The activation of dopaminergic systems by the high dose of apomorphine strengthened the drug/environment association whereas the inhibition of dopamine activity by the low auto-receptor dose eliminated this association. The results point to the importance of conditioning to context specific sensitization and targeting memory re-consolidation of conditioning as a paradigm to modify sensitization.

Context-specific modulation of cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization and ERK and CREB phosphorylation in the rat nucleus accumbens

Learned associations are hypothesized to develop between drug effects and contextual stimuli during repeated drug administration to produce context-specific sensitization that is expressed only in the drug-associated environment and not in a non-drug-paired environment. The neuroadaptations that mediate such context-specific behavior are largely unknown. We investigated context-specific modulation of cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation and that of four upstream kinases in the nucleus accumbens that phosphorylate CREB, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), cAMP-dependent protein kinase, calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase (CaMK) II and CaMKIV. Rats received seven once-daily injections of cocaine or saline in one of two distinct environments outside their home cages. Seven days later, test injections of cocaine or saline were administered in either the paired or the non-paired environment. CREB and ERK phosphorylation were assessed with immunohistochemistry, and phosphorylation of the remaining kinases, as well as of CREB and ERK, was assessed by western blotting. Repeated cocaine administration produced context-specific sensitized locomotor responses accompanied by context-specific enhancement of the number of cocaine-induced phosphoCREB-immunoreactive and phosphoERK-immunoreactive nuclei in a minority of neurons. In contrast, CREB and CaMKIV phosphorylation in nucleus accumbens homogenates were decreased by cocaine test injections. We have recently shown that a small number of cocaine-activated accumbens neurons mediate the learned association between cocaine effects and the drug administration environment to produce context-specific sensitization. Context-specific phosphorylation of ERK and CREB in the present study suggests that this signal transduction pathway is selectively activated in the same set of cocaine-activated accumbens neurons that mediate this learned association.

Behavioral sensitization produced by a single administration of apomorphine: Implications for the role of Pavlovian conditioning in the mediation of context-specific sensitization

The present study examined the minimal number of exposures to the D1/D2 agonist apomorphine capable of producing behavioral sensitization. Rats received one (experiment 1) or two administrations on two successive days (experiment 2) of apomorphine (0.5 and 2.0 mg/kg) paired or unpaired to an open-field environment. After 2 days of drug withdrawal, the rats received a challenge injection with the same dose of apomorphine (sensitization test) and locomotion, rearing and sniffing were measured. The results of the first experiment showed that locomotor sensitization occurred after a single acute exposure to apomorphine and that 0.5 and 2.0 mg/kg treatments were equally effective. This sensitization effect was context-specific and was limited to locomotion. The second experiment revealed a differential dose effect on the sensitization test. Two treatments with 2.0 mg/kg potentiated locomotor sensitization as compared with a single treatment but two treatments with 0.5 mg/kg did not increase the sensitization effect more than the single 0.5 mg/kg treatment. This result indicates an interaction between drug dose and frequency of drug treatment for the induction of apomorphine locomotor sensitization. In that the sensitization effects are considered to be a core contributor to psychostimulant addiction, the present findings are of importance to understanding addiction because they indicate that sensitization processes can be initiated with a single drug experience and amplified with exposure to higher drug dosage levels.

Serotonin and psychostimulant addiction: Focus on 5-HT1A-receptors

Serotonin(1A)-receptors (5-HT(1A)-Rs) are important components of the 5-HT system in the brain. As somatodendritic autoreceptors they control the activity of 5-HT neurons, and, as postsynaptic receptors, the activity in terminal areas. Cocaine (COC), amphetamine (AMPH), methamphetamine (METH) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("Ecstasy", MDMA) are psychostimulant drugs that can lead to addiction-related behavior in humans and in animals. At the neurochemical level, these psychostimulant drugs interact with monoamine transporters and increase extracellular 5-HT, dopamine and noradrenalin activity in the brain. The increase in 5-HT, which, in addition to dopamine, is a core mechanism of action for drug addiction, hyperactivates 5-HT(1A)-Rs. Here, we first review the role of the various 5-HT(1A)-R populations in spontaneous behavior to provide a background to elucidate the contribution of the 5-HT(1A)-Rs to the organization of psychostimulant-induced addiction behavior. The progress achieved in this field shows the fundamental contribution of brain 5-HT(1A)-Rs to virtually all behaviors associated with psychostimulant addiction. Importantly, the contribution of pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT(1A)-Rs can be dissociated and frequently act in opposite directions. We conclude that 5-HT(1A)-autoreceptors mainly facilitate psychostimulant addiction-related behaviors by a limitation of the 5-HT response in terminal areas. Postsynaptic 5-HT(1A)-Rs, in contrast, predominantly inhibit the expression of various addiction-related behaviors directly. In addition, they may also influence the local 5-HT response by feedback mechanisms. The reviewed findings do not only show a crucial role of 5-HT(1A)-Rs in the control of brain 5-HT activity and spontaneous behavior, but also their complex role in the regulation of the psychostimulant-induced 5-HT response and subsequent addiction-related behaviors.