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Cassaday HJ, Muir C, Stevenson CW, Bonardi C, Hock R, Waite L. From safety to frustration: The neural substrates of inhibitory learning in aversive and appetitive conditioning procedures. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 202:107757. [PMID: 37044368 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory associative learning counters the effects of excitatory learning, whether appetitively or aversively motivated. Moreover, the affective responses accompanying the inhibitory associations are of opponent valence to the excitatory conditioned responses. Inhibitors for negative aversive outcomes (e.g. shock) signal safety, while inhibitors for appetitive outcomes (e.g. food reward) elicit frustration and/or disappointment. This raises the question as to whether studies using appetitive and aversive conditioning procedures should demonstrate the same neural substrates for inhibitory learning. We review the neural substrates of appetitive and aversive inhibitory learning as measured in different procedural variants and in the context of the underpinning excitatory conditioning on which it depends. The mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathways, retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus are consistently implicated in inhibitory learning. Further neural substrates identified in some procedural variants may be related to the specific motivation of the learning task and modalities of the learning cues. Finally, we consider the translational implications of our understanding of the neural substrates of inhibitory learning, for obesity and addictions as well as for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - C Muir
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham; School of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, University of Bristol
| | | | - C Bonardi
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - R Hock
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - L Waite
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
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2
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De la Casa LG, Cintado MA, González-Tirado G, Cárcel L. Conditioned catalepsy vs. Increase in locomotor activity induced by haloperidol. Neurosci Lett 2023; 802:137174. [PMID: 36906082 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has revealed a high degree of complexity of the conditioned response that appears after associating a context with the effects of the dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol. Specifically, when a drug-free test is performed in the presence of the context, conditioned catalepsy is observed. However, if the test is extended over time, the opposite effect occurs, namely, a conditioned increase in locomotor activity. In this paper, we present the results of an experiment with rats that received repeated administration of haloperidol or saline before or after exposure to the context. Next, a drug-free test was performed to evaluate catalepsy and spontaneous locomotor activity. The results revealed, on the one hand, the expected conditioned response of catalepsy for those animals that received the drug prior to context exposure during conditioning. However, for the same group, an analysis of locomotor activity for an extended period of ten minutes after registering catalepsy revealed an increase in general activity and more faster movements compared to the control groups. These results are interpreted considering the possible temporal dynamics of the conditioned response that could induce changes in dopaminergic transmission responsible for the observed changes in locomotor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- L G De la Casa
- Laboratory of Animal Behavior & Neuroscience, Seville University, Spain.
| | - M A Cintado
- Laboratory of Animal Behavior & Neuroscience, Seville University, Spain
| | - G González-Tirado
- Laboratory of Animal Behavior & Neuroscience, Seville University, Spain
| | - L Cárcel
- Laboratory of Animal Behavior & Neuroscience, Seville University, Spain
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3
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A possible anti-anxiety effect of appetitive aggression and a possible link to the work of Donald Winnicott. Scand J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Psychol 2022; 10:102-113. [PMID: 36133733 PMCID: PMC9454322 DOI: 10.2478/sjcapp-2022-0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Various pleasant sensations that give a particularly intense pleasure are able to improve anxiety. In the present study I consider the possibility that their anti-anxiety action depends on the strong pleasure they provide, and I propose a possible mechanism of this action. According to some studies, also appetitive aggression (an aggression that provokes a strong pleasure and that is performed only for the pleasure it provides) can improve anxiety, and in this article I consider the possibility that the pleasure of appetitive aggression is able to reduce anxiety by the same mechanism I have proposed for other intense pleasurable sensations. The aggression performed by a child against the mother or against a substitute for the mother in the first period of life (a period in which this aggression is not dangerous) is a recurring theme throughout the work of of Donald Winnicott. Winnicott stresses that this aggression is necessary for the normal development of the child, and that the child must be free to practise it. According to Winnicott, this aggression is highly pleasurable and is not a response to unpleasant or hostile external situations. For these characteristics it seems to correspond to appetitive aggression in the adult that has been found to be able to reduce anxiety. Consequently, aggression performed by the child in the first period of life may also relieve anxiety, in the same way that appetitive aggression helps against anxiety in the adult. In his writings, Winnicott returns several times to an unthinkable or archaic anxiety that children experience when they feel abandoned by their mother for a period that is too long for them, and all children, according to Winnicott, live on the brink of this anxiety. In this study I propose the hypothesis that aggression in the early period of life may be necessary for children because the intense pleasure it provides may help them against this continuously impending anxiety.
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Roughley S, Marcus A, Killcross S. Dopamine D1 and D2 Receptors Are Important for Learning About Neutral-Valence Relationships in Sensory Preconditioning. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:740992. [PMID: 34526883 PMCID: PMC8435570 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.740992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine neurotransmission has been ascribed multiple functions with respect to both motivational and associative processes in reward-based learning, though these have proven difficult to tease apart. In order to better describe the role of dopamine in associative learning, this series of experiments examined the potential of dopamine D1- and D2-receptor antagonism (or combined antagonism) to influence the ability of rats to learn neutral valence stimulus-stimulus associations. Using a sensory preconditioning task, rats were first exposed to pairings of two neutral stimuli (S2-S1). Subsequently, S1 was paired with a mild foot-shock and resulting fear to both S1 (directly conditioned) and S2 (preconditioned) was examined. Initial experiments demonstrated the validity of the procedure in that measures of sensory preconditioning were shown to be contingent on pairings of the two sensory stimuli. Subsequent experiments indicated that systemic administration of dopamine D1- or D2-receptor antagonists attenuated learning when administered prior to S2-S1 pairings. However, the administration of a more generic D1R/D2R antagonist was without effect. These effects remained constant regardless of the affective valence of the conditioning environment and did not differ between male and female rats. The results are discussed in the context of recent suggestions that dopaminergic systems encode more than a simple reward prediction error, and provide potential avenues for future investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Abigail Marcus
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Iglesias S, Kasper L, Harrison SJ, Manka R, Mathys C, Stephan KE. Cholinergic and dopaminergic effects on prediction error and uncertainty responses during sensory associative learning. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117590. [PMID: 33285332 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Navigating the physical world requires learning probabilistic associations between sensory events and their change in time (volatility). Bayesian accounts of this learning process rest on hierarchical prediction errors (PEs) that are weighted by estimates of uncertainty (or its inverse, precision). In a previous fMRI study we found that low-level precision-weighted PEs about visual outcomes (that update beliefs about associations) activated the putative dopaminergic midbrain; by contrast, precision-weighted PEs about cue-outcome associations (that update beliefs about volatility) activated the cholinergic basal forebrain. These findings suggested selective dopaminergic and cholinergic influences on precision-weighted PEs at different hierarchical levels. Here, we tested this hypothesis, repeating our fMRI study under pharmacological manipulations in healthy participants. Specifically, we performed two pharmacological fMRI studies with a between-subject double-blind placebo-controlled design: study 1 used antagonists of dopaminergic (amisulpride) and muscarinic (biperiden) receptors, study 2 used enhancing drugs of dopaminergic (levodopa) and cholinergic (galantamine) modulation. Pooled across all pharmacological conditions of study 1 and study 2, respectively, we found that low-level precision-weighted PEs activated the midbrain and high-level precision-weighted PEs the basal forebrain as in our previous study. However, we found pharmacological effects on brain activity associated with these computational quantities only when splitting the precision-weighted PEs into their PE and precision components: in a brainstem region putatively containing cholinergic (pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental) nuclei, biperiden (compared to placebo) enhanced low-level PE responses and attenuated high-level PE activity, while amisulpride reduced high-level PE responses. Additionally, in the putative dopaminergic midbrain, galantamine compared to placebo enhanced low-level PE responses (in a body-weight dependent manner) and amisulpride enhanced high-level precision activity. Task behaviour was not affected by any of the drugs. These results do not support our hypothesis of a clear-cut dichotomy between different hierarchical inference levels and neurotransmitter systems, but suggest a more complex interaction between these neuromodulatory systems and hierarchical Bayesian quantities. However, our present results may have been affected by confounds inherent to pharmacological fMRI. We discuss these confounds and outline improved experimental tests for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Iglesias
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Lars Kasper
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Samuel J Harrison
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert Manka
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Mathys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich & Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Wilfriedstr. 6, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany
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Stelly CE, Haug GC, Fonzi KM, Garcia MA, Tritley SC, Magnon AP, Ramos MAP, Wanat MJ. Pattern of dopamine signaling during aversive events predicts active avoidance learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:13641-13650. [PMID: 31209016 PMCID: PMC6613186 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1904249116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning to avoid aversive outcomes is an adaptive strategy to limit one's future exposure to stressful events. However, there is considerable variance in active avoidance learning across a population. The mesolimbic dopamine system contributes to behaviors elicited by aversive stimuli, although it is unclear if the heterogeneity in active avoidance learning is explained by differences in dopamine transmission. Furthermore, it is not known how dopamine signals evolve throughout active avoidance learning. To address these questions, we performed voltammetry recordings of dopamine release in the ventral medial striatum throughout training on inescapable footshock and signaled active avoidance tasks. This approach revealed differences in the pattern of dopamine signaling during the aversive cue and the safety period that corresponded to subsequent task performance. Dopamine transmission throughout the footshock bout did not predict performance but rather was modulated by the prior stress exposure. Additionally, we demonstrate that dopamine encodes a safety prediction error signal, which illustrates that ventral medial striatal dopamine release conveys a learning signal during both appetitive and aversive conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Stelly
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Graham C Haug
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Kaitlyn M Fonzi
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Miriam A Garcia
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Sean C Tritley
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Alexa P Magnon
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Maria Alicia P Ramos
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Matthew J Wanat
- Neurosciences Institute and Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249
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Brandão ML, Coimbra NC. Understanding the role of dopamine in conditioned and unconditioned fear. Rev Neurosci 2019; 30:325-337. [DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2018-0023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Pharmacological and molecular imaging studies in anxiety disorders have primarily focused on the serotonin system. In the meantime, dopamine has been known as the neurotransmitter of reward for 60 years, particularly for its action in the nervous terminals of the mesocorticolimbic system. Interest in the mediation by dopamine of the well-known brain aversion system has grown recently, particularly given recent evidence obtained on the role of D2 dopamine receptors in unconditioned fear. However, it has been established that excitation of the mesocorticolimbic pathway, originating from dopaminergic (DA) neurons from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), is relevant for the development of anxiety. Among the forebrain regions innervated by this pathway, the amygdala is an essential component of the neural circuitry of conditioned fear. Current findings indicate that the dopamine D2 receptor-signaling pathway connecting the VTA to the basolateral amygdala modulates fear and anxiety, whereas neural circuits in the midbrain tectum underlie the expression of innate fear. The A13 nucleus of the zona incerta is proposed as the origin of these DA neurons projecting to caudal structures of the brain aversion system. In this article we review data obtained in studies showing that DA receptor-mediated mechanisms on ascending or descending DA pathways play opposing roles in fear/anxiety processes. Dopamine appears to mediate conditioned fear by acting at rostral levels of the brain and regulate unconditioned fear at the midbrain level.
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de Witte WEA, Versfelt JW, Kuzikov M, Rolland S, Georgi V, Gribbon P, Gul S, Huntjens D, van der Graaf PH, Danhof M, Fernández-Montalván A, Witt G, de Lange ECM. In vitro and in silico analysis of the effects of D 2 receptor antagonist target binding kinetics on the cellular response to fluctuating dopamine concentrations. Br J Pharmacol 2018; 175:4121-4136. [PMID: 30051456 PMCID: PMC6177617 DOI: 10.1111/bph.14456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Purpose Target binding kinetics influence the time course of the drug effect (pharmacodynamics) both (i) directly, by affecting the time course of target occupancy, driven by the pharmacokinetics of the drug, competition with endogenous ligands and target turnover, and (ii) indirectly, by affecting signal transduction and homeostatic feedback. For dopamine D2 receptor antagonists, it has been hypothesized that fast receptor binding kinetics cause fewer side effects, because part of the dynamics of the dopaminergic system is preserved by displacement of these antagonists. Experimental Approach Target binding kinetics of D2 receptor antagonists and signal transduction after dopamine and D2 receptor antagonist exposure were measured in vitro. These data were integrated by mechanistic modelling, taking into account competitive binding of endogenous dopamine and the antagonist, the turnover of the second messenger cAMP and negative feedback by PDE turnover. Key Results The proposed signal transduction model successfully described the cellular cAMP response for 17 D2 receptor antagonists with widely different binding kinetics. Simulation of the response to fluctuating dopamine concentrations revealed that a significant effect of the target binding kinetics on the dynamics of the signalling only occurs at endogenous dopamine concentration fluctuations with frequencies below 1 min−1. Conclusions and Implications Signal transduction and feedback are important determinants of the time course of drug effects. The effect of the D2 receptor antagonist dissociation rate constant (koff) is limited to the maximal rate of fluctuations in dopamine signalling as determined by the dopamine koff and the cAMP turnover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilhelmus E A de Witte
- Department of Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Joost W Versfelt
- Department of Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Maria Kuzikov
- ScreeningPort, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Solene Rolland
- Global Drug Discovery, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Berlin, Germany
| | - Victoria Georgi
- Global Drug Discovery, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Berlin, Germany
| | - Philip Gribbon
- ScreeningPort, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sheraz Gul
- ScreeningPort, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Piet Hein van der Graaf
- Department of Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands.,QSP, Certara, Canterbury, UK
| | - Meindert Danhof
- Department of Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Amaury Fernández-Montalván
- Global Drug Discovery, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Berlin, Germany.,Servier Research Institute, Croissy-sur-Seine, France
| | - Gesa Witt
- ScreeningPort, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Elizabeth C M de Lange
- Department of Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
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Gill KM, Miller SA, Grace AA. Impaired contextual fear-conditioning in MAM rodent model of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2018; 195:343-352. [PMID: 28927551 PMCID: PMC5854517 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.08.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rodent neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia exhibits aberrant dopamine system activation attributed to hippocampal dysfunction. Context discrimination is a component of numerous behavioral and cognitive functions and relies on intact hippocampal processing. The present study explored context processing behaviors, along with dopamine system activation, during fear learning in the MAM model. Male offspring of dams treated with MAM (20mg/kg, i.p.) or saline on gestational day 17 were used for electrophysiological and behavioral experiments. Animals were tested on the immediate shock fear conditioning paradigm, with either different pre-conditioning contexts or varying amounts of context pre-exposure (0-10 sessions). Amphetamine-induced locomotor activity and dopamine neural activity was measured 1-week after fear conditioning. Saline, but not MAM animals, demonstrated enhanced fear responses following a single context pre-exposure in the conditioning context. One week following fear learning, saline rats with 2 or 7min of context pre-exposure prior to fear conditioning also demonstrated enhanced amphetamine-induced locomotor response relative to MAM animals. Dopamine neuron recordings showed fear learning-induced reductions in spontaneous dopamine neural activity in MAM rats that was further reduced by amphetamine. Apomorphine administration confirmed that reductions in dopamine neuron activity in MAM animals resulted from over excitation, or depolarization block. These data show a behavioral insensitivity to contextual stimuli in MAM rats that coincide with a less dynamic dopamine response after fear learning.
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A Possible Link between Anxiety and Schizophrenia and a Possible Role of Anhedonia. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2018; 2018:5917475. [PMID: 29593903 PMCID: PMC5822762 DOI: 10.1155/2018/5917475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 12/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
In the prodromal phase of schizophrenia, severe alterations of the visual appearance of the environment have been found, accompanied by a state of intense anxiety. The present study considers the possibility that these alterations really exist in the appearance of objects, but that healthy people do not see them. The image of the world that we see is continuously deformed and fragmented by foreshortenings, partial overlapping, and so on and must be constantly reassembled and interpreted; otherwise, it could change so much that we would hardly recognize it. Since pleasure has been found to be involved in visual and cognitive information processing, the possibility is considered that anhedonia (the reduction of the ability to feel pleasure) might interfere with the correct reconstruction and interpretation of the image of the environment and alter its appearance. The possibility is also considered that these alterations might make the environment hostile, might at times evoke the sensation of being trapped by a predator, and might be the cause of the anxiety that accompanies them. According to some authors, they might also induce delusional ideas, in an attempt to restore meaning in a world that has become chaotic and frightening.
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McLean SL, Harte MK, Neill JC, Young AM. Dopamine dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex relates to cognitive deficits in the sub-chronic PCP-model for schizophrenia: A preliminary investigation. J Psychopharmacol 2017; 31:660-666. [PMID: 28441905 DOI: 10.1177/0269881117704988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dopamine dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Sub-chronic phencyclidine (scPCP) treatment produces cognitive impairments in rodents and is a thoroughly validated animal model for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of PFC dopamine in scPCP-induced deficits in a cognitive task of relevance to the disorder, novel object recognition (NOR). METHODS Twelve adult female Lister Hooded rats received scPCP (2 mg/kg) or vehicle via the intraperitoneal route twice daily for 7 days, followed by 7 days washout. In vivo microdialysis was carried out prior to, during and following the NOR task. RESULTS Vehicle rats successfully discriminated between novel and familiar objects and this was accompanied by a significant increase in dopamine in the PFC during the retention trial ( p < 0.01). scPCP produced a significant deficit in NOR ( p < 0.05 vs. control) and no PFC dopamine increase was observed. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate an increase in dopamine during the retention trial in vehicle rats that was not observed in scPCP-treated rats accompanied by cognitive disruption in the scPCP group. This novel finding suggests a mechanism by which cognitive deficits are produced in this animal model and support its use for investigating disorders in which PFC dopamine is central to the pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L McLean
- 1 School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - Michael K Harte
- 2 Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Joanna C Neill
- 2 Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Andrew Mj Young
- 3 Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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Saleam J, Moustafa AA. The Influence of Divine Rewards and Punishments on Religious Prosociality. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1149. [PMID: 27536262 PMCID: PMC4971023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A common finding across many cultures has been that religious people behave more prosocially than less (or non-) religious people. Numerous priming studies have demonstrated that the activation of religious concepts via implicit and explicit cues (e.g., 'God,' 'salvation,' among many others) increases prosociality in religious people. However, the factors underlying such findings are less clear. In this review we discuss hypotheses (e.g., the supernatural punishment hypothesis) that explain the religion-prosociality link, and also how recent findings in the empirical literature converge to suggest that the divine rewards (e.g., heaven) and punishments (e.g., hell) promised by various religious traditions may play a significant role. In addition, we further discuss inconsistencies in the religion-prosociality literature, as well as existing and future psychological studies which could improve our understanding of whether, and how, concepts of divine rewards and punishments may influence prosociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Saleam
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia
| | - Ahmed A. Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia
- Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia
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Puviani L, Rama S. A System Computational Model of Implicit Emotional Learning. Front Comput Neurosci 2016; 10:54. [PMID: 27378898 PMCID: PMC4906031 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Nowadays, the experimental study of emotional learning is commonly based on classical conditioning paradigms and models, which have been thoroughly investigated in the last century. Unluckily, models based on classical conditioning are unable to explain or predict important psychophysiological phenomena, such as the failure of the extinction of emotional responses in certain circumstances (for instance, those observed in evaluative conditioning, in post-traumatic stress disorders and in panic attacks). In this manuscript, starting from the experimental results available from the literature, a computational model of implicit emotional learning based both on prediction errors computation and on statistical inference is developed. The model quantitatively predicts (a) the occurrence of evaluative conditioning, (b) the dynamics and the resistance-to-extinction of the traumatic emotional responses, (c) the mathematical relation between classical conditioning and unconditioned stimulus revaluation. Moreover, we discuss how the derived computational model can lead to the development of new animal models for resistant-to-extinction emotional reactions and novel methodologies of emotions modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Puviani
- Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio EmiliaModena, Italy
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Huang H, Ya J, Wu Z, Wen C, Zheng S, Tian C, Ren H, Carlson S, Yu H, Chen F, Jianhong W. Dose-Dependent Changes in Auditory Sensory Gating in the Prefrontal Cortex of the Cynomolgus Monkey. Med Sci Monit 2016; 22:1752-60. [PMID: 27218151 PMCID: PMC4920095 DOI: 10.12659/msm.898938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sensory gating, often described as the ability to filter out irrelevant information that is repeated in close temporal proximity, is essential for the selection, processing, and storage of more salient information. This study aimed to test the effect of sensory gating under anesthesia in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of monkeys following injection of bromocriptine, haloperidol, and phencyclidine (PCP). MATERIAL AND METHODS We used an auditory evoked potential that can be elicited by sound to examine sensory gating during treatment with haloperidol, bromocriptine, and PCP in the PFC in the cynomolgus monkey. Scalp electrodes were located in the bilateral PFC and bilateral temporal, bilateral parietal, and occipital lobes. Administration of bromocriptine (0.313 mg/kg, 0.625 mg/kg, and 1.25 mg/kg), haloperidol (0.001 mg/kg, 0.01 mg/kg, and 0.05 mg/kg), and the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonist PCP (0.3 mg/kg) influenced sensory gating. RESULTS We demonstrated the following: (1) Administration of mid-dose bromocriptine disrupted sensory gating (N100) in the right temporal lobe, while neither low-dose nor high-dose bromocriptine impaired gating. (2) Low-dose haloperidol impaired gating in the right prefrontal cortex. Mid-dose haloperidol disrupted sensory gating in left occipital lobe. High-dose haloperidol had no obvious effect on sensory gating. (3) Gating was impaired by PCP in the left parietal lobe. CONCLUSIONS Our studies showed that information processing was regulated by the dopaminergic system, which might play an important role in the PFC. The dopaminergic system influenced sensory gating in a dose- and region-dependent pattern, which might modulate the different stages that receive further processing due to novel information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Huang
- Second Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliation Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Jinrong Ya
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Zhe Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Chunmei Wen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Suyue Zheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliation Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China (mainland)
| | - Chaoyang Tian
- , Hainan Jingang Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Haikou, Hainan, China (mainland)
| | - Hui Ren
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliation Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Synnöve Carlson
- Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hualin Yu
- Second Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliation Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Radiology, People's Hospital of Hainan, Haikou, Hainan, China (mainland)
| | - Wang Jianhong
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China (mainland)
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Klanker M, Fellinger L, Feenstra M, Willuhn I, Denys D. Regionally distinct phasic dopamine release patterns in the striatum during reversal learning. Neuroscience 2016; 345:110-123. [PMID: 27185487 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2015] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Striatal dopamine (DA) plays a central role in reward-related learning and behavioral adaptation to changing environments. Recent studies suggest that rather than being broadcast as a uniform signal throughout the entire region, DA release dynamics diverge between different striatal regions. In a previous study, we showed that phasic DA release patterns in the ventromedial striatum (VMS) rapidly adapt during reversal learning. However, it is unknown how DA dynamics in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) are modulated during such adaptive behavior. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to measure phasic DA release in the DLS during spatial reversal learning. In the DLS, we observed minor DA release after the onset of a visual cue signaling reward availability, followed by more pronounced DA release during more proximal reward cues (e.g., lever extension) and execution of the operant response (i.e., lever press), both in rewarded and non-rewarded trials. These release dynamics (minor DA after onset of the predictive visual cue, prominent DA during the operant response) did not change significantly during or following a reversal of response-reward contingencies. Notably, the DA increase to the lever press did not reflect a general signal related to the initiation of any motivated motor response, as we did not observe DA release when rats initiated nose pokes into the food receptacle during inter-trial intervals. This suggests that DA release in the DLS occurs selectively during the initiation and execution of a learned operant response. Together with our previous results obtained in the VMS, these findings reveal distinct phasic DA release patterns during adaptation of established behavior in DLS and VMS. The VMS DA signal, which is highly sensitive to reversal of response-reward contingences, may provide a teaching signal to guide reward-related learning and facilitate behavioral adaptation, whereas DLS DA may reflect a 'response execution signal' largely independent of outcome, that may be involved in initiation and energizing of operant behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Klanker
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Lisanne Fellinger
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthijs Feenstra
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Damiaan Denys
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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Sadacca BF, Jones JL, Schoenbaum G. Midbrain dopamine neurons compute inferred and cached value prediction errors in a common framework. eLife 2016; 5:e13665. [PMID: 26949249 PMCID: PMC4805544 DOI: 10.7554/elife.13665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Midbrain dopamine neurons have been proposed to signal reward prediction errors as defined in temporal difference (TD) learning algorithms. While these models have been extremely powerful in interpreting dopamine activity, they typically do not use value derived through inference in computing errors. This is important because much real world behavior - and thus many opportunities for error-driven learning - is based on such predictions. Here, we show that error-signaling rat dopamine neurons respond to the inferred, model-based value of cues that have not been paired with reward and do so in the same framework as they track the putative cached value of cues previously paired with reward. This suggests that dopamine neurons access a wider variety of information than contemplated by standard TD models and that, while their firing conforms to predictions of TD models in some cases, they may not be restricted to signaling errors from TD predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian F Sadacca
- Intramural Research program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Joshua L Jones
- Intramural Research program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- Intramural Research program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
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17
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A Possible Role of Anhedonia as Common Substrate for Depression and Anxiety. DEPRESSION RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2016; 2016:1598130. [PMID: 27042346 PMCID: PMC4793100 DOI: 10.1155/2016/1598130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2015] [Revised: 01/30/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Depression and anxiety are often comorbid, in up to 70% of cases, and the level of one or the other may fluctuate, leading now to a diagnosis of depression, now to a diagnosis of anxiety. For these reasons, and for the presence of many other common factors, it has been suggested that both are part of the same continuum of problems and that they have a common substrate. This paper proposes the possibility that anhedonia may be an important component of this possible common substrate, and it tries to identify the mechanism with which anhedonia could contribute to causing both depression and anxiety. It also proposes an explanation why an intense pleasure could improve both depression and anxiety.
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18
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Lin SH, Chen KC, Lee SY, Chiu NT, Lee IH, Chen PS, Yeh TL, Lu RB, Chen CC, Liao MH, Yang YK. The association between heroin expenditure and dopamine transporter availability--a single-photon emission computed tomography study. Psychiatry Res 2015; 231:292-7. [PMID: 25659472 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Revised: 05/16/2014] [Accepted: 01/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
One of the consequences of heroin dependency is a huge expenditure on drugs. This underlying economic expense may be a grave burden for heroin users and may lead to criminal behavior, which is a huge cost to society. The neuropsychological mechanism related to heroin purchase remains unclear. Based on recent findings and the established dopamine hypothesis of addiction, we speculated that expenditure on heroin and central dopamine activity may be associated. A total of 21 heroin users were enrolled in this study. The annual expenditure on heroin was assessed, and the availability of the dopamine transporter (DAT) was assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using [(99m)TC]TRODAT-1. Parametric and nonparametric correlation analyses indicated that annual expenditure on heroin was significantly and negatively correlated with the availability of striatal DAT. After adjustment for potential confounders, the predictive power of DAT availability was significant. Striatal dopamine function may be associated with opioid purchasing behavior among heroin users, and the cycle of spiraling dysfunction in the dopamine reward system could play a role in this association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Hsien Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Kao Chin Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Dou-Liou Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Yu Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Nan Tsing Chiu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - I Hui Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Po See Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Dou-Liou Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan
| | - Tzung Lieh Yeh
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ru-Band Lu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Chieh Chen
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Mei-Hsiu Liao
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yen Kuang Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
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19
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Patogeneza uzależnień – problem wciąż aktualny. ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ADDICTION 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/s0867-4361(14)70011-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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20
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Abstract
Deficits of attention, emotion, and cognition occur in individuals with alcohol abuse and addiction. This review elucidates the concepts of attention, emotion, and cognition and references research on the underlying neural networks and their compromise in alcohol use disorder. Neuroimaging research on adolescents with family history of alcoholism contributes to the understanding of pre-existing brain structural conditions and characterization of cognition and attention processes in high-risk individuals. Attention and cognition interact with other brain functions, including perceptual selection, salience, emotion, reward, and memory, through interconnected neural networks. Recent research reports compromised microstructural and functional network connectivity in alcoholism, which can have an effect on the dynamic tuning between brain systems, e.g., the frontally based executive control system, the limbic emotion system, and the midbrain-striatal reward system, thereby impeding cognitive flexibility and behavioral adaptation to changing environments. Finally, we introduce concepts of functional compensation, the capacity to generate attentional resources for performance enhancement, and brain structure recovery with abstinence. An understanding of the neural mechanisms of attention, emotion, and cognition will likely provide the basis for better treatment strategies for developing skills that enhance alcoholism therapy adherence and quality of life, and reduce the propensity for relapse.
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21
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Anselme P. Dopamine, motivation, and the evolutionary significance of gambling-like behaviour. Behav Brain Res 2013; 256:1-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.07.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2013] [Revised: 07/21/2013] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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22
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D(1)-like receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell regulate the expression of contextual fear conditioning and activity of the anterior cingulate cortex in rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2013; 16:1045-57. [PMID: 22964037 DOI: 10.1017/s146114571200082x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Although dopamine-related circuits are best known for their roles in appetitive motivation, consistent data have implicated this catecholamine in some forms of response to stressful situations. In fact, projection areas of the ventral tegmental area, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, are well established to be involved in the acquisition and expression of fear conditioning, while less is known about the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in these processes. In the present study, we initially investigated the involvement of the mPFC and NAc in the expression of conditioned fear, assessing freezing behaviour and Fos protein expression in the brains of rats exposed to a context, light or tone previously paired with footshocks. Contextual and cued stimuli were able to increase the time of the freezing response while only the contextual fear promoted a significant increase in Fos protein expression in the mPFC and caudal NAc. We then examined the effects of specific dopaminergic agonists and antagonists injected bilaterally into the posterior medioventral shell subregion of the NAc (NAcSh) on the expression of contextual fear. SKF38393, quinpirole and sulpiride induced no behavioural changes, but the D1-like receptor antagonist SCH23390 increased the freezing response of the rats and selectively reduced Fos protein expression in the anterior cingulate cortex and rostral NAcSh. These findings confirm the involvement of the NAcSh in the expression of contextual fear memories and indicate the selective role of NAcSh D1-like receptors and anterior cingulate cortex in this process.
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23
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Evidence that conditioned avoidance responses are reinforced by positive prediction errors signaled by tonic striatal dopamine. Behav Brain Res 2013; 241:112-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2012] [Revised: 06/23/2012] [Accepted: 06/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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24
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Matsumoto Y, Hirashima D, Mizunami M. Analysis and modeling of neural processes underlying sensory preconditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 101:103-13. [PMID: 23380289 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2012] [Revised: 01/22/2013] [Accepted: 01/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sensory preconditioning (SPC) is a procedure to demonstrate learning to associate between relatively neutral sensory stimuli in the absence of an external reinforcing stimulus, the underlying neural mechanisms of which have remained obscure. We address basic questions about neural processes underlying SPC, including whether neurons that mediate reward or punishment signals in reinforcement learning participate in association between neutral sensory stimuli. In crickets, we have suggested that octopaminergic (OA-ergic) or dopaminergic (DA-ergic) neurons participate in memory acquisition and retrieval in appetitive or aversive conditioning, respectively. Crickets that had been trained to associate an odor (CS2) with a visual pattern (CS1) (phase 1) and then to associate CS1 with water reward or quinine punishment (phase 2) exhibited a significantly increased or decreased preference for CS2 that had never been paired with the US, demonstrating successful SPC. Injection of an OA or DA receptor antagonist at different phases of the SPC training and testing showed that OA-ergic or DA-ergic neurons do not participate in learning of CS2-CS1 association in phase 1, but that OA-ergic neurons participate in learning in phase 2 and memory retrieval after appetitive SPC training. We also obtained evidence suggesting that association between CS2 and US, which should underlie conditioned response of crickets to CS2, is formed in phase 2, contrary to the standard theory of SPC assuming that it occurs in the final test. We propose models of SPC to account for these findings, by extending our model of classical conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukihisa Matsumoto
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
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25
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Subsecond dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens predicts conditioned punishment and its successful avoidance. J Neurosci 2013; 32:14804-8. [PMID: 23077064 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3087-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The mesolimbic dopamine system is believed to be a pathway that processes rewarding information. While previous studies have also implicated a general role for dopamine in punishment and its avoidance, the precise nature of subsecond dopamine release during these phenomena remains unknown. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to investigate whether subsecond dopamine release events in the nucleus accumbens encode cues predicting the avoidance of punishment during behavior maintained in a signaled footshock avoidance procedure. In this task, rats could initiate an avoidance response by pressing a lever within a warning period, preventing footshock. Alternatively, once footshocks commenced, animals could initiate an escape response by pressing the lever, terminating footshock. This design allowed us to assess subsecond dopamine release events during the presentation of a warning signal, safety periods, and two distinct behavioral responses. We found that release consistently increased upon presentation of the warning signal in a manner that reliably predicted successful punishment avoidance. We also observed subsecond dopamine release during the safety period, as occurs following the receipt of reward. Conversely, we observed a decrease in release at the warning signal during escape responses. Because of this finding, we next assessed dopamine release in a conditioned fear model. As seen during escape responses, we observed a time-locked decrease in dopamine release upon presentation of a cue conditioned to inescapable footshock. Together, these data show that subsecond fluctuations in mesolimbic dopamine release predict when rats will successfully avoid punishment and differentially encode cues related to aversive outcomes.
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26
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Anselme P. Modularity of mind and the role of incentive motivation in representing novelty. Anim Cogn 2012; 15:443-59. [PMID: 22526694 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0499-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2011] [Revised: 04/07/2012] [Accepted: 04/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Animal and human brains contain a myriad of mental representations that have to be successfully tracked within fractions of a second in a large number of situations. This retrieval process is hard to explain without postulating the massive modularity of cognition. Assuming that the mind is massively modular, it is then necessary to understand how cognitive modules can efficiently represent dynamic environments-in which some modules may have to deal with change-induced novelty and uncertainty. Novelty of a stimulus is a problem for a module when unknown, significant stimuli do not satisfy the module's processing criteria-or domain specificity-and cannot therefore be included in its database. It is suggested that the brain mechanisms of incentive motivation, recruited when faced with novelty and uncertainty, induce transient variations in the domain specificity of cognitive modules in order to allow them to process information they were not prepared to learn. It is hypothesised that the behavioural transitions leading from exploratory activity to habit formation are correlated with (and possibly caused by) the organism's ability to counter novelty-induced uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Anselme
- Département de Psychologie, Cognition et Comportement, Université de Liège, 5 Boulevard du Rectorat (B 32), Liège, Belgium.
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27
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Cacace S, Plescia F, Barberi I, Cannizzaro C. Acetaldehyde oral self-administration: evidence from the operant-conflict paradigm. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2012; 36:1278-87. [PMID: 22324727 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01725.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2011] [Accepted: 11/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acetaldehyde (ACD), ethanol's first metabolite, has been reported to interact with the dopaminergic reward system, and with the neural circuits involved in stress response. Rats self-administer ACD directly into cerebral ventricles, and multiple intracerebroventricular infusions of ACD produce conditioned place preference. Self-administration has been largely employed to assess the reinforcing and addictive properties of most drugs of abuse. In particular, operant conditioning is a valid model to investigate drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior in rats. METHODS This study was aimed at the evaluation of (i) the motivational properties of oral ACD in the induction and maintenance of an operant-drinking behavior; (ii) ACD effect in a conflict situation employing the punishment-based Geller-Seifter procedure; and (iii) the onset of a relapse drinking behavior, following ACD deprivation. The lever-pressing procedure in a sound-attenuated operant-conditioning chamber was scheduled into 3 different periods: (i) training-rewarded responses with a fixed ratio 1; (ii) conflict-rewarded responses periodically associated with a 0.2 mA foot-shock; and (iii) relapse-rewarded lever presses following 1-week ACD abstinence. RESULTS Our results show that oral self-administrated ACD induced: a higher rate of punished responses in Geller-Seifter procedures; and the establishment of a relapse behavior following ACD deprivation. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, our results indicate that ACD is able to induce an operant-drinking behavior, which is also maintained besides the conflict procedure and enhanced by the deprivation effect, supporting the hypothesis that ACD itself possesses motivational properties, such as alcohol and other substances of abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Cacace
- Department of Science for Health Promotion G. D'Alessandro, Section of Pharmacology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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28
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Grillo L. Might the inability to feel pleasure (anhedonia) explain the symptoms of major depression and schizophrenia, including unmotivated anxiety, delusions and hallucinations? Med Hypotheses 2011; 78:98-101. [PMID: 22036091 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2011.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2011] [Revised: 09/07/2011] [Accepted: 10/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Inability to enjoy normally pleasurable experiences (anhedonia) is a symptom common both to major depression and schizophrenia. It also regularly accompanies and follows stress, and its presence in the two mental illnesses could depend on the fact that both are facilitated and often preceded by stressful events. Anhedonia might possibly accompany stress because the loss of the pleasure of aiming for a goal and achieving it (including defending oneself and escaping from a danger) could lead to immobility, and immobility (playing dead) offers the extreme chance of safety when an animal is facing the worst possible stressful situation--being seized by a predator--as in this case any movement can further stimulate the predator's aggressiveness. Perceiving and connecting sensory information also gives pleasure, and this appears to enhance the clarity of sensations and is an important factor in learning. We propose that anhedonia, by reducing or eliminating the pleasure, might jeopardize the usual appearance of the environment, which must not only be clearly perceived but also continuously interpreted (for instance a foreshortening, or something far off seen as small, must not be seen as a real deformation; the same holds for words, where the meaning has to be grasped from the single letters, and so on). Consequently, anhedonia could in some cases make the environment's image strange, distorted and frightening, and this could cause anxiety, confusion, and give problems in contacts with people and things. As correct information about images and sounds can inhibit visual and auditory hallucinations (considering them, like delusions, as attempts to reconstruct and make sense again of a world that is becoming confused and alien), we propose that anhedonia, interfering with the correct perceiving and processing of sensations, may facilitate them.
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Latent inhibition-related dopaminergic responses in the nucleus accumbens are disrupted following neonatal transient inactivation of the ventral subiculum. Neuropsychopharmacology 2011; 36:1421-32. [PMID: 21430650 PMCID: PMC3096811 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2011.26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia would result from a defective connectivity between several integrative regions as a consequence of neurodevelopmental failure. Various anomalies reminiscent of early brain development disturbances have been observed in patients' left ventral subiculum of the hippocampus (SUB). Numerous data support the hypothesis of a functional dopaminergic dysregulation in schizophrenia. The common target structure for the action of antipsychotics appears to be a subregion of the ventral striatum, the dorsomedial shell part of the nucleus accumbens. Latent inhibition, a cognitive marker of interest for schizophrenia, has been found to be disrupted in acute patients. The present study set out to investigate the consequences of a neonatal functional inactivation of the left SUB by tetrodotoxin (TTX) in 8-day-old rats for the latent inhibition-related dopaminergic responses, as monitored by in vivo voltammetry in freely moving adult animals (11 weeks) in the left core and dorsomedial shell parts of the nucleus accumbens in an olfactory aversion procedure. Results obtained during the retention session of a three-stage latent inhibition protocol showed that the postnatal unilateral functional blockade of the SUB was followed in pre-exposed TTX-conditioned adult rats by a disruption of the behavioral expression of latent inhibition and induced a total and a partial reversal of the latent inhibition-related dopaminergic responses in the dorsomedial shell and core parts of the nucleus accumbens, respectively. The present data suggest that neonatal inactivation of the SUB has more marked consequences for the dopaminergic responses recorded in the dorsomedial shell part, than in the core part of the nucleus accumbens. These findings may provide new insight into the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
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Parkes SL, Westbrook RF. Role of the basolateral amygdala and NMDA receptors in higher-order conditioned fear. Rev Neurosci 2011; 22:317-33. [DOI: 10.1515/rns.2011.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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31
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Abstract
Temporal contiguity between two stimuli is insufficient for the establishment of a predictive relation between those stimuli. Rather, learning about predictive relations is influenced by a prediction error mechanism: the discrepancy between actual and expected outcomes. Although the neural substrates of contiguous stimuli presentation have been the focus of research for decades, relatively little empirical evidence exists with regard to the neural mechanisms of prediction error. Recent work has implicated the neurotransmitter dopamine in regulation of predictive learning. If dopamine modulates prediction error then it should do so despite the nature (appetitive or aversive) of the biological stimuli that serve to drive learning. The exact role of dopamine in appetitive and aversive predictive learning, however, remains the focus of continuous debate. This review focuses on the behavioural, neuropharmacological and electrophysiological evidence implicating dopamine in prediction error in appetitive and aversive predictive learning. In addition, recent work in the area of fear conditioning implicating other neurochemical substrates, namely opioids, in the process of prediction error is discussed. Finally, some predictions are made with regard to the neurochemical circuitry involved in modulating learning and behaviour based on prediction error.
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Dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens of animals self-administering drugs of abuse. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2010; 3:29-71. [PMID: 21161749 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2009_27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Abuse of psychoactive substances can lead to drug addiction. In animals, addiction is best modeled by drug self-administration paradigms. It has been proposed that the crucial common denominator for the development of drug addiction is the ability of drugs of abuse to increase extracellular concentrations of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Studies using in vivo microdialysis and chronoamperometry in the behaving animal have demonstrated that drugs of abuse increase tonic dopamine concentrations in the NAcc. However, it is known that dopamine neurons respond to reward-related stimuli on a subsecond timescale. Thus, it is necessary to collect neurochemical information with this level of temporal resolution, as achieved with in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), to fully understand the role of phasic dopamine release in normal behavior and drug addiction. We review studies that investigated the effects of drugs of abuse on NAcc dopamine levels in freely moving animals using in vivo microdialysis, chronoamperometry, and FSCV. After a brief introduction of dopamine signal transduction and anatomy and a section on current theories on the role of dopamine in natural goal-directed behavior, a discussion of techniques for the in vivo assessment of extracellular dopamine in behaving animals is presented. Then, we review studies using these techniques to investigate changes in phasic and tonic dopamine signaling in the NAcc during (1) response-dependent and -independent administration of abused drugs, (2) the presentation of drug-conditioned stimuli and operant behavior in self-administration paradigms, (3) drug withdrawal, and (4) cue-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. These results are then integrated with current ideas on the role of dopamine in addiction with an emphasis on a model illustrating phasic and tonic NAcc dopamine signaling during different stages of drug addiction. This model predicts that phasic dopamine release in response to drug-related stimuli will be enhanced over stimuli associated with natural reinforcers, which may result in aberrant goal-directed behaviors contributing to drug addiction.
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Zellner MR, Ranaldi R. How conditioned stimuli acquire the ability to activate VTA dopamine cells: a proposed neurobiological component of reward-related learning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2009; 34:769-80. [PMID: 19914285 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2009] [Revised: 11/09/2009] [Accepted: 11/10/2009] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The ability to learn about conditioned stimuli (CS) associated with rewards is a crucial adaptive mechanism. Activity in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system, as well as in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), is correlated with responding to and learning about CSs. The mechanism by which VTA neurons become activated by signals associated with conditioned stimuli is not fully understood. Our model suggests that NMDA receptor stimulation in the VTA allows originally weak glutamate signals carrying information about environmental stimuli, coincident with strong excitation correlated with primary rewards, to be strengthened and thereby acquire the ability to activate VTA neurons in themselves, producing approach. Furthermore, once synaptic strengthening occurs, the model suggests that NMDA receptor stimulation in VTA is not necessary for the expression of reward-related learning. In this review we survey evidence that VTA cells respond to cues associated with primary rewards, that this responding is acquired, and that the VTA possesses the attributes to function as a site of integration of signals of primary and conditioned stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret R Zellner
- Laboratory of Neurobiology & Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
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Huertas E, Ponce G, Koeneke MA, Poch C, España-Serrano L, Palomo T, Jiménez-Arriero MA, Hoenicka J. The D2 dopamine receptor gene variant C957T affects human fear conditioning and aversive priming. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2009; 9:103-9. [PMID: 19900188 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2009.00543.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Polymorphisms of DRD2 and ANKK1 have been associated with psychiatric syndromes where there is believed to be an underlying learning process deficit such as addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychopathy. We investigated the effects of the DRD2 C957T and ANKK1 TaqIA single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), which have been associated with psychopathic traits in alcoholic patients, on fear conditioning and aversive priming in healthy volunteers. We found that the DRD2 C957T SNP, but not the ANKK1 TaqIA SNP, was associated with both differential conditioning of the skin conductance response and the aversive priming effect. There were no differences between the genotype groups with respect to the extinction of the skin-conductance conditioned response. These results suggest that the C957T SNP could be related to learning differences associated with the risk of developing psychiatric disorders in individuals that are carriers of the C homozygous genotype. Our genetic data raise the possibility that the dopaminergic system functional variations determined by this SNP could affect fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Huertas
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid 28223, Spain
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Moustafa AA, Myers CE, Gluck MA. A neurocomputational model of classical conditioning phenomena: a putative role for the hippocampal region in associative learning. Brain Res 2009; 1276:180-95. [PMID: 19379717 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2008] [Revised: 03/31/2009] [Accepted: 04/09/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Some existing models of hippocampal function simulate performance in classical conditioning tasks using the error backpropagation algorithm to guide learning (Gluck, M.A., and Myers, C.E., (1993). Hippocampal mediation of stimulus representation: a computational theory. Hippocampus, 3(4), 491-516.). This algorithm is not biologically plausible because it requires information to be passed backward through layers of nodes and assumes that the environment provides information to the brain about what correct outputs should be. Here, we show that the same information-processing function proposed for the hippocampal region in the Gluck and Myers (1993) model can also be implemented in a network without using the backpropagation algorithm. Instead, our newer instantiation of the theory uses only (a) Hebbian learning methods which match more closely with synaptic and associative learning mechanisms ascribed to the hippocampal region and (b) a more plausible representation of input stimuli. We demonstrate here that this new more biologically plausible model is able to simulate various behavioral effects, including latent inhibition, acquired equivalence, sensory preconditioning, negative patterning, and context shift effects. In addition, the newer model is able to address some new phenomena including the effect of the number of training trials on blocking and overshadowing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- Memory Disorders Project and Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
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36
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Martinez RCR, Oliveira AR, Macedo CE, Molina VA, Brandão ML. Involvement of dopaminergic mechanisms in the nucleus accumbens core and shell subregions in the expression of fear conditioning. Neurosci Lett 2009; 446:112-6. [PMID: 18835326 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.09.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2008] [Revised: 09/19/2008] [Accepted: 09/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The involvement of dopamine (DA) mechanisms in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) in fear conditioning has been proposed by many studies that have challenged the view that the NAC is solely involved in the modulation of appetitive processes. However, the role of the core and shell subregions of the NAC in aversive conditioning remains unclear. The present study examined DA release in these NAC subregions using microdialysis during the expression of fear memory. Guide cannulae were implanted in rats in the NAC core and shell. Five days later, the animals received 10 footshocks (0.6 mA, 1 s duration) in a distinctive cage A (same context). On the next day, dialysis probes were inserted through the guide cannulae into the NAC core and shell subregions, and the animals were behaviorally tested for fear behavior either in the same context (cage A) or in a novel context (cage B). Dialysates were collected every 5 min for 90 min and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The rats exhibited a significant fear response in cage A but not in cage B. Moreover, increased DA levels in both NAC subregions were observed 5-25 min after the beginning of the test when the animals were tested in the same context compared with accumbal DA levels from rats tested in the different context. These findings suggest that DA mechanisms in both the NAC core and shell may play an important role in the expression of contextual fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C R Martinez
- Instituto de Neurociências & Comportamento-INeC, Campus USP, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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37
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Weitemier AZ, Murphy NP. Accumbal dopamine and serotonin activity throughout acquisition and expression of place conditioning: correlative relationships with preference and aversion. Eur J Neurosci 2009; 29:1015-26. [PMID: 19245370 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2009.06652.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The ability of addictive drugs to induce adaptations in mesolimbic dopamine (DA) activity offers an attractive neurobiological explanation for enhanced incentive motivation toward drug-associated stimuli in addiction. However, direct evidence supporting this is sparse. By tracking neurochemical activity within the mouse nucleus accumbens via microdialysis during repeated pairing of morphine with environmental stimuli, we reveal a predictive relationship between enhanced DA responses to morphine and subsequent preference towards a morphine-paired stimulus. A similar relationship for serotonin (5-HT) was observed, suggesting that these neuromodulatory systems work in concert. During expression of preference towards a morphine-paired stimulus, extracellular DA was not enhanced but was negatively associated with this behavior on a subject-by-subject basis. In contrast, avoidance of an aversively-paired stimulus (the opiate antagonist naloxone) was associated with enhanced extracellular DA levels, and also the balance between DA and 5-HT responses. These findings reveal a tangible predictive relationship between drug-induced neural adaptations and conditioned behavior, and emphasize that DA activity is not generalized to all subcomponents of behavior conditioned by addictive drugs. They further provide evidence for an active role of DA-5-HT interactions in the expression of learned behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Z Weitemier
- Molecular Neuropathology Research Group, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wakoshi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
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Delgado MR, Li J, Schiller D, Phelps EA. The role of the striatum in aversive learning and aversive prediction errors. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008; 363:3787-800. [PMID: 18829426 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroeconomic studies of decision making have emphasized reward learning as critical in the representation of value-driven choice behaviour. However, it is readily apparent that punishment and aversive learning are also significant factors in motivating decisions and actions. In this paper, we review the role of the striatum and amygdala in affective learning and the coding of aversive prediction errors (PEs). We present neuroimaging results showing aversive PE-related signals in the striatum in fear conditioning paradigms with both primary (shock) and secondary (monetary loss) reinforcers. These results and others point to the general role for the striatum in coding PEs across a broad range of learning paradigms and reinforcer types.
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39
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Modeling dopamine activity by Reinforcement Learning methods: implications from two recent models. Artif Intell Rev 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s10462-007-9036-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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40
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Abstract
Many lesion studies report an amazing variety of deficits in behavioral functions that cannot possibly be encoded in great detail by the relatively small number of midbrain dopamine neurons. Although hoping to unravel a single dopamine function underlying these phenomena, electrophysiological and neurochemical studies still give a confusing, mutually exclusive, and partly contradictory account of dopamine's role in behavior. However, the speed of observed phasic dopamine changes varies several thousand fold, which offers a means to differentiate the behavioral relationships according to their time courses. Thus dopamine is involved in mediating the reactivity of the organism to the environment at different time scales, from fast impulse responses related to reward via slower changes with uncertainty, punishment, and possibly movement to the tonic enabling of postsynaptic motor, cognitive, and motivational systems deficient in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram Schultz
- Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DY, United Kingdom.
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Ikegami A, Olsen CM, D'Souza MS, Duvauchelle CL. Experience-dependent effects of cocaine self-administration/conditioning on prefrontal and accumbens dopamine responses. Behav Neurosci 2007; 121:389-400. [PMID: 17469929 PMCID: PMC2565684 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.2.389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Experiments were performed to examine the effects of cocaine self-administration and conditioning experience on operant behavior, locomotor activity, and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) dopamine (DA) responses. Sensory cues were paired with alternating cocaine and nonreinforcement during 12 (limited training) or 40 (long-term training) daily operant sessions. After limited training, NAcc DA responses to cocaine were significantly enhanced in the presence of cocaine-associated cues compared with nonreward cues and significantly depressed after cocaine-paired cues accompanied a nonreinforced lever response. PFC DA levels were generally nonresponsive to cues after the same training duration. However, after long-term training, cocaine-associated cues increased the magnitude of cocaine-stimulated PFC DA levels significantly over levels observed with nonreinforcement cues. Conversely, conditioned cues no longer influenced NAcc DA levels after long-term training. In addition, cocaine-stimulated locomotor activity was enhanced by cocaine-paired cues after long-term, but not after limited, training. Findings demonstrate that cue-induced cocaine expectation exerts a significant impact on dopaminergic and behavioral systems, progressing from mesolimbic to mesocortical regions and from latent to patent behaviors as cocaine and associative experiences escalate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiko Ikegami
- College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-1074, USA
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Ramírez-Lugo L, Núñez-Jaramillo L, Bermúdez-Rattoni F. Taste Memory Formation: Role of Nucleus Accumbens. Chem Senses 2006; 32:93-7. [PMID: 16914504 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjl023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
When a novel taste has been associated with postingestive malaise, animals recognize this taste as aversive. This associative learning is known as conditioned taste aversion. However, when an animal consumes a novel taste and no aversive consequences follow, it becomes recognized as a safe signal, leading to an increase in its consumption in subsequent presentations. In this review, we will discuss the results related to the taste memory formation focusing particularly on the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). The NAcc keeps projections with amygdala, insular cortex, parabrachial nucleus, and nucleus of the solitary tract areas important for taste memory formation. We will review the evidence relating to how the NAcc could be involved in taste memory formation, due to its role in the taste memory trace formation and its role in the association of the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus, and finally the retrieval of taste memory. In this context, we will review the participation of the cholinergic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic systems in the NAcc during taste memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leticia Ramírez-Lugo
- Departamento de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiologia Celular, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 70-253, 04510 Mexico, DF, Mexico
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Cropley VL, Fujita M, Innis RB, Nathan PJ. Molecular imaging of the dopaminergic system and its association with human cognitive function. Biol Psychiatry 2006; 59:898-907. [PMID: 16682268 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 227] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2005] [Revised: 10/07/2005] [Accepted: 03/06/2006] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has recently been used to examine dopamine (DA) function and its relationship with cognition in human subjects. This article will review PET and SPECT studies that have explored the relationship between cognitive processes and components of the DA system (pre-, intra-, and postsynaptic) in healthy and patient populations such as Parkinson's disease (PD), schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, and aging. It is demonstrated that DA activity modulates a range of frontal executive-type cognitive processes such as working memory, attentional functioning, and sequential organization, and alterations of DA within the fronto-striato-thalamic circuits might contribute to the cognitive impairments observed in PD, schizophrenia, and normal aging. Although associations between DA and cognitive measures need to be considered within the context of fronto-striato-thalamic circuitry, it is suggested that striatal (especially caudate) DA activity, particularly via D2 receptors, might be important for response inhibition, temporal organization of material, and motor performance, whereas cortical DA transmission via D1 receptors might be important for maintaining and representing on-going behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa L Cropley
- Department of Physiology, Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Monash Centre for Brain and Behaviour, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
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Samson HH, Chappell AM. Effects of Raclopride in the Core of the Nucleus Accumbens on Ethanol Seeking and Consumption: The Use of Extinction Trials to Measure Seeking. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 28:544-9. [PMID: 15100604 DOI: 10.1097/01.alc.0000121649.81642.3f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A previous study using a sipper procedure of ethanol self-administration found that blockade of the D2 dopamine (DA) receptors in the nucleus accumbens resulted in a reduction in ethanol-seeking behavior with only slight effects on ethanol drinking. However, because of procedural matters in that study, it was unclear as to the extent of the reduction in seeking behavior that occurred. This study expanded that study to examine in more depth the role of DA transmission in the nucleus accumbens in ethanol-seeking and consummatory behaviors. METHODS Male Long-Evans rats were initiated to self-administer 10% ethanol with a sipper-tube procedure. Once initiated, in a once-a-day session, pressing a lever 30 times resulted in a sipper tube containing the ethanol solution being made available for 20 min. By using extinction trials in which no sipper was presented and responses were recorded for 20 min, a measure of ethanol seeking, with no effects of consumption, could be obtained. Bilateral microinjections of 1.0, 3.0, and 10.0 microg of raclopride into the nucleus accumbens were tested on both consummatory and extinction trials. RESULTS There were significant decreases in ethanol-seeking responses at both the 3.0- and 10.0-microg doses of raclopride, whereas no effects of those doses on consumption were observed. The effects on extinction responding were the same for the first run of responses as for total responding, without effecting rates of responding. CONCLUSIONS These findings replicate and expand the initial study with this model of ethanol self-administration and indicate that DA transmission at the D2 receptor in the nucleus accumbens is important for processing information related to stimulus control and goal-directed behavior. The results also suggest that DA has at most a minor role in controlling ethanol consumption once a drinking bout has begun.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman H Samson
- Center for the Neurobehavioral Study of Alcohol, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1083, USA.
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Kareken DA, Claus ED, Sabri M, Dzemidzic M, Kosobud AEK, Radnovich AJ, Hector D, Ramchandani VA, O'Connor SJ, Lowe M, Li TK. Alcohol-Related Olfactory Cues Activate the Nucleus Accumbens and Ventral Tegmental Area in High-Risk Drinkers: Preliminary Findings. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 28:550-7. [PMID: 15100605 DOI: 10.1097/01.alc.0000122764.60626.af] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The mesocorticolimbic dopamine system is implicated in motivation and reward and may be involved in the development of alcoholism. METHODS We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to alcohol-related olfactory stimuli (AROS; odors of beer and whiskey) and non-alcohol-related olfactory stimuli (NAROS; odors of grass and leather) in 10 high-risk (HR) drinkers (average drinks per week, 19.99; SD, 6.99; all with > or = 2 first- or second-degree alcoholic relatives) and 5 low-risk (LR) social drinking controls (drinks per week, 2.82; SD, 2.87; 1 subject had 1 second-degree alcoholic relative). Data were analyzed with SPM99 and random effects analysis by using regions of interest and corrected cluster statistics (p < 0.05) to focus on the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). RESULTS In HR subjects, there was a greater BOLD signal increase in the NAc during AROS than during clean air. BOLD signal increases during AROS were also greater in the NAc than the signal increases induced by NAROS. The AROS signal was significantly greater than the NAROS signal in a small number of voxels in the VTA. Finally, the AROS/NAROS difference signal was larger in HR drinkers in both the NAc and VTA. CONCLUSIONS Alcoholic olfactory cues may invoke the dopaminergic mesocorticolimbic system to a greater degree than nonalcoholic odors and could be effective tools in exploring the role of the dopamine system in susceptibility to alcoholism.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Kareken
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA.
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O'Brien CP, Gardner EL. Critical assessment of how to study addiction and its treatment: human and non-human animal models. Pharmacol Ther 2006; 108:18-58. [PMID: 16183393 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2005.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2005] [Accepted: 06/17/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Laboratory models, both animal and human, have made enormous contributions to our understanding of addiction. For addictive disorders, animal models have the great advantage of possessing both face validity and a significant degree of predictive validity, already demonstrated. Another important advantage to this field is the ability of reciprocal interplay between preclinical and clinical experiments. These models have made important contributions to the development of medications to treat addictive disorders and will likely result in even more advances in the future. Human laboratory models have gone beyond data obtained from patient histories and enabled investigators to make direct observations of human drug self-administration and test the effects of putative medications on this behavior. This review examines in detail some animal and human models that have led not only to important theories of addiction mechanisms but also to medications shown to be effective in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles P O'Brien
- Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Mental Illness Research and Education Center, 3900 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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47
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Young AMJ, Moran PM, Joseph MH. The role of dopamine in conditioning and latent inhibition: what, when, where and how? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2005; 29:963-76. [PMID: 16045987 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2004] [Revised: 02/16/2005] [Accepted: 02/16/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
It is well established that dopamine is released in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) in animals in rewarding or reinforcing situations, and widely believed that this release is the substrate of, or at least closely related to, the experience of reward. The demonstration of conditioned release of dopamine by stimuli conditioned to primary rewards has reinforced this view. However, a number of observations do not sit comfortably with this interpretation, most notably that dopamine is released equally effectively in NAC by aversive stimuli, and stimuli conditioned to them. Furthermore, additional release of dopamine is seen during conditioning, even if motivational stimuli of either type are not involved. It is suggested here that one important action of NAC dopamine release is to restore the salience of potential conditioned stimuli, when this has been reduced by prior un-reinforced experience. The paradigm of latent inhibition (LI) demonstrates a behavioural effect of this type, and extensive studies on the role of dopamine in LI have been undertaken by us and others. Those studies are reviewed here, together with some previously unpublished data, to demonstrate that (1) amphetamine disruption of LI is indeed a function of calcium-dependant dopamine release in the NAC at the time of conditioning; (2) other drugs acting on LI via changes in dopamine transmission act at the same locus; (3) the disruptive effect of indirect dopamine agonists on LI can be prevented by either D-1 selective receptor antagonists, or D-2 selective receptor antagonists. It is concluded that dopamine release in these very varied behavioural contexts (reward, punishment, conditioning, modulation of salience) must be differentiated in some way, and that this should be investigated. An alternative explanation, if they are not differentiated, would be that the release in fact does have the same functional significance in each case. We suggest that this common significance might be the broadening of attention to take in potentially conditionable stimuli, which have previously been devalued.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M J Young
- Behavioural Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
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48
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Mehta MA, Gumaste D, Montgomery AJ, McTavish SFB, Grasby PM. The effects of acute tyrosine and phenylalanine depletion on spatial working memory and planning in healthy volunteers are predicted by changes in striatal dopamine levels. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 180:654-63. [PMID: 16163534 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-004-2128-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2004] [Accepted: 12/02/2004] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dopamine (DA) is considered important in the modulation of tasks of spatial working memory. However, the findings from studies in humans to date are mixed. While this may be due to the characteristics of the tasks used, it is also possible that these findings are explained by variable central effects of the manipulations used. OBJECTIVE To test the effects of acute tyrosine and phenylalanine depletion (TPD, which reduces synthesis and release of brain DA) on cognitive function and relate changes in performance accuracy to the central effects of TPD measured with [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET). METHODS Fourteen participants were given tests of spatial working memory, planning, verbal memory span and trial-and-error learning after acute TPD, seven of whom also received PET scans to measure changes in striatal DA levels. RESULTS Although TPD produced a clear reduction in tyrosine and phenylalanine availability to the brain, no impairments on any of the cognitive tests were observed. However, changes in spatial working memory and planning accuracy after TPD showed a highly significant relationship with the changes in striatal DA levels. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that the effects of TPD on spatial working memory and planning may be unreliable due to the variability of the changes in brain DA levels achieved with this manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitul A Mehta
- PET Psychiatry, Cyclotron Building, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, London, W12 0NN, UK.
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49
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Peleg-Raibstein D, Pezze MA, Ferger B, Zhang WN, Murphy CA, Feldon J, Bast T. Activation of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the medial prefrontal cortex by N-methyl-d-aspartate stimulation of the ventral hippocampus in rats. Neuroscience 2005; 132:219-32. [PMID: 15780480 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2004.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/21/2004] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Many behavioral functions-including sensorimotor, attentional, memory, and emotional processes-have been associated with hippocampal processes and with dopamine transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This suggests a functional interaction between hippocampus and prefrontal dopamine. The anatomical substrate for such an interaction is the intimate interconnection between the ventral hippocampus and the dopamine innervation of the mPFC. The present study yielded direct neurochemical evidence for an interaction between ventral hippocampus and prefrontal dopamine transmission in rats by demonstrating that subconvulsive stimulation of the ventral hippocampus with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA; 0.5 mug/side) activates dopamine transmission in the mPFC. Postmortem measurements revealed that bilateral NMDA stimulation of the ventral hippocampus, resulting in locomotor hyperactivity, increased the homovanillic acid/dopamine ratio, an index of dopamine transmission, in the mPFC; indices of dopamine transmission in any of five additionally examined forebrain regions (amygdala, nucleus accumbens shell/core, lateral prefrontal cortex, caudate putamen) were unaltered. In vivo microdialysis measurements in freely moving rats corroborated the suggested activation of prefrontal dopamine transmission by demonstrating that unilateral NMDA stimulation of the ventral hippocampus increased extracellular dopamine in the ipsilateral mPFC. The suggested influence of the ventral hippocampus on prefrontal dopamine may be an important mechanism for hippocampo-prefrontal interactions in normal behavioral processes. Moreover, it indicates that aberrant hippocampal activity, as found in neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders, may contribute to disruption of certain cognitive and emotional functions which are extremely sensitive to imbalanced prefrontal dopamine transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Peleg-Raibstein
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, 8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
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50
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Cassaday HJ, Nelson AJD, Norman C. Haloperidol can increase responding to both discrete and contextual cues in trace conditioned rats. Behav Brain Res 2005; 158:31-42. [PMID: 15680192 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2004] [Revised: 08/09/2004] [Accepted: 08/11/2004] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Haloperidol has been shown to enhance attentional selectivity in conditioning procedures. For example, in latent inhibition (LI) it improves animals' ability to treat as irrelevant, stimuli that have previously been presented without consequence. The present study tested whether this finding would generalize to other procedures that present animals with weak predictors. We therefore used a trace conditioning procedure to present rats with a conditioned stimulus (CS) weakened through temporal discontiguity (rather than preexposure in LI) and a flashing light background provided an alternative experimental stimulus. In Experiment 1, a noise CS was paired contiguously (at '0 s') with food or at a 10 s trace interval. In Experiment 2, the trace interval was lengthened to 20 s. In both experiments, haloperidol treatment generally reduced responding in 0 s contiguous groups. By contrast, 0.03 mg/kg haloperidol enhanced conditioning, selectively, to the weakly predictive trace CS, though it was without effect on responding within the trace interval. In addition, again at 0.03 mg/kg, haloperidol significantly increased excitatory conditioning to contextual stimuli in trace groups relative to contiguous groups. At the shorter (10 s) Experiment 1 trace, this result was shown in the extinction test of conditioning to the background stimulus. At the longer (20 s) Experiment 2 trace, this result was shown in the acquisition of responding to the box context in the inter-trial-interval. The demonstration that low dose haloperidol can increase conditioning is novel. This increase was seen selectively with stimuli (both trace-conditioned and contextual) that should have been treated as weak predictors so these results are contrary to what was expected on the basis of haloperidol effects on stimuli weakened through pre-exposure. The possibility that increased contextual conditioning could be relevant to the interpretation of haloperidol-induced enhancement of LI is discounted. However, it is suggested that this result could nonetheless reflect cognitive enhancement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen J Cassaday
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
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