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Manza P, Tomasi D, Vines L, Sotelo D, Yonga MV, Wang GJ, Volkow ND. Brain connectivity changes to fast versus slow dopamine increases. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:924-932. [PMID: 38326458 PMCID: PMC11039764 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01803-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The rewarding effects of stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate (MP) depend crucially on how fast they raise dopamine in the brain. Yet how the rate of drug-induced dopamine increases impacts brain network communication remains unresolved. We manipulated route of MP administration to generate fast versus slow dopamine increases. We hypothesized that fast versus slow dopamine increases would result in a differential pattern of global brain connectivity (GBC) in association with regional levels of dopamine D1 receptors, which are critical for drug reward. Twenty healthy adults received MP intravenously (0.5 mg/kg; fast dopamine increases) and orally (60 mg; slow dopamine increases) during simultaneous [11C]raclopride PET-fMRI scans (double-blind, placebo-controlled). We tested how GBC was temporally associated with slow and fast dopamine increases on a minute-to-minute basis. Connectivity patterns were strikingly different for slow versus fast dopamine increases, and whole-brain spatial patterns were negatively correlated with one another (rho = -0.54, pspin < 0.001). GBC showed "fast>slow" associations in dorsal prefrontal cortex, insula, posterior thalamus and brainstem, caudate and precuneus; and "slow>fast" associations in ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, and frontopolar cortex (pFDR < 0.05). "Fast>slow" GBC patterns showed significant spatial correspondence with D1 receptor availability (estimated via normative maps of [11C]SCH23390 binding; rho = 0.22, pspin < 0.05). Further, hippocampal GBC to fast dopamine increases was significantly negatively correlated with self-reported 'high' ratings to intravenous MP across individuals (r(19) = -0.68, pbonferroni = 0.015). Different routes of MP administration produce divergent patterns of brain connectivity. Fast dopamine increases are uniquely associated with connectivity patterns that have relevance for the subjective experience of drug reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Manza
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Dardo Tomasi
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leah Vines
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Diana Sotelo
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Michele-Vera Yonga
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Gene-Jack Wang
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nora D Volkow
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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2
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Valyear MD, Brown A, Deyab G, Villaruel FR, Lahlou S, Caporicci-Dinucci N, Chaudhri N. Augmenting glutamatergic, but not dopaminergic, activity in the nucleus accumbens shell disrupts responding to a discrete alcohol cue in an alcohol context. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:1500-1518. [PMID: 38185906 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Discrete alcohol cues and contexts are relapse triggers for people with alcohol use disorder exerting particularly powerful control over behaviour when they co-occur. Here, we investigated the neural substrates subserving the capacity for alcohol-associated contexts to elevate responding to an alcohol-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS). Specifically, rats were trained in a distinct 'alcohol context' to respond by entering a fluid port during a discrete auditory CS that predicted the delivery of alcohol and were familiarized with a 'neutral context' wherein alcohol was never available. When conditioned CS responding was tested by presenting the CS without alcohol, we found that augmenting glutamatergic activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell by microinfusing α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) reduced responding to an alcohol CS in an alcohol, but not neutral, context. Further, AMPA microinfusion robustly affected behaviour, attenuating the number, duration and latency of CS responses selectively in the alcohol context. Although dopaminergic inputs to the NAc shell were previously shown to be necessary for CS responding in an alcohol context, here, chemogenetic excitation of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons and their inputs to the NAc shell did not affect CS responding. Critically, chemogenetic excitation of VTA dopamine neurons affected feeding behaviour and elevated c-fos immunoreactivity in the VTA and NAc shell, validating the chemogenetic approach. These findings enrich our understanding of the substrates underlying Pavlovian responding for alcohol and reveal that the capacity for contexts to modulate responding to discrete alcohol cues is delicately underpinned by the NAc shell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milan D Valyear
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alexa Brown
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ghislaine Deyab
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Franz R Villaruel
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Soraya Lahlou
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nina Caporicci-Dinucci
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nadia Chaudhri
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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3
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Schafer KM, Wilson-Lemoine E, Campione M, Dougherty S, Melia R, Joiner T. Loneliness partially mediates the relation between substance use and suicidality in Veterans. MILITARY PSYCHOLOGY 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38294712 DOI: 10.1080/08995605.2024.2307669] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
America has experienced a rapid increase in loneliness, substance use, and suicidality. This increase is particularly deleterious for Veterans, who, as compared to nonmilitary-connected civilians, experience elevated rates of loneliness, substance use, and suicidality. In this project we investigated the link between loneliness, substance use, and suicidality, paying particular attention to the mediational role of loneliness between substance use and suicidality. 1,469 Veterans (male, n = 1004, 67.2%; female, n = 457, 32.3%; transgender/non-binary/prefer not to say, n = 8, 0.5%) answered online surveys in the Mental Health and Well-Being Project. Items assessed participants on psychosocial antecedents of health and wellness. Pearson correlations and mediational models were used to determine if loneliness, substance use, and suicidality were related and if loneliness mediated the link between substance use and suicidality. Results indicated that loneliness, substance use, and suicidality were significantly and positively related (rs = .33-.42, ps < .01). Additionally, loneliness partially mediated the link between substance use and suicidality (β = .08 [.06-.10]), suggesting that, within the context of substance use in Veterans, loneliness may account for significant variance in suicidality. Together findings suggest the Veterans Health Administration should support, fund, and study community engagement activities that could reduce the development or intensity of substance use, loneliness, and suicidality in Veterans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Musacchio Schafer
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
- GRECC Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Emma Wilson-Lemoine
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
- Department of Psychology, Kings College, London, UK
| | - Marie Campione
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Sean Dougherty
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Ruth Melia
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Thomas Joiner
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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4
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Manza P, Tomasi D, Shokri-Kojori E, Zhang R, Kroll D, Feldman D, McPherson K, Biesecker C, Dennis E, Johnson A, Yuan K, Wang WT, Yonga MV, Wang GJ, Volkow ND. Neural circuit selective for fast but not slow dopamine increases in drug reward. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6408. [PMID: 37938560 PMCID: PMC10632365 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41972-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The faster a drug enters the brain, the greater its addictive potential, yet the brain circuits underlying the rate dependency to drug reward remain unresolved. With simultaneous PET-fMRI we linked dynamics of dopamine signaling, brain activity/connectivity, and self-reported 'high' in 20 adults receiving methylphenidate orally (results in slow delivery) and intravenously (results in fast delivery) (trial NCT03326245). We estimated speed of striatal dopamine increases to oral and IV methylphenidate and then tested where brain activity was associated with slow and fast dopamine dynamics (primary endpoint). We then tested whether these brain circuits were temporally associated with individual 'high' ratings to methylphenidate (secondary endpoint). A corticostriatal circuit comprising the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and insula and their connections with dorsal caudate was activated by fast (but not slow) dopamine increases and paralleled 'high' ratings. These data provide evidence in humans for a link between dACC/insula activation and fast but not slow dopamine increases and document a critical role of the salience network in drug reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Manza
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Dardo Tomasi
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ehsan Shokri-Kojori
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rui Zhang
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Danielle Kroll
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dana Feldman
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Katherine McPherson
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Catherine Biesecker
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Evan Dennis
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Allison Johnson
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kai Yuan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710071, PR China
| | - Wen-Tung Wang
- Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Michele-Vera Yonga
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Gene-Jack Wang
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nora D Volkow
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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5
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Fraser KM, Collins VL, Wolff AR, Ottenheimer DJ, Bornhoft KN, Pat F, Chen BJ, Janak PH, Saunders BT. Contexts facilitate dynamic value encoding in the mesolimbic dopamine system. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.05.565687. [PMID: 37961363 PMCID: PMC10635154 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.05.565687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Adaptive behavior in a dynamic environment often requires rapid revaluation of stimuli that deviates from well-learned associations. The divergence between stable value-encoding and appropriate behavioral output remains a critical test to theories of dopamine's function in learning, motivation, and motor control. Yet how dopamine neurons are involved in the revaluation of cues when the world changes to alter our behavior remains unclear. Here we make use of pharmacology, in vivo electrophysiology, fiber photometry, and optogenetics to resolve the contributions of the mesolimbic dopamine system to the dynamic reorganization of reward-seeking. Male and female rats were trained to discriminate when a conditioned stimulus would be followed by sucrose reward by exploiting the prior, non-overlapping presentation of a separate discrete cue - an occasion setter. Only when the occasion setter's presentation preceded the conditioned stimulus did the conditioned stimulus predict sucrose delivery. As a result, in this task we were able to dissociate the average value of the conditioned stimulus from its immediate expected value on a trial-to-trial basis. Both the activity of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons and dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens were essential for rats to successfully update behavioral responding in response to the occasion setter. Moreover, dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens following the conditioned stimulus only occurred when the occasion setter indicated it would predict reward. Downstream of dopamine release, we found that single neurons in the nucleus accumbens dynamically tracked the value of the conditioned stimulus. Together these results reveal a novel mechanism within the mesolimbic dopamine system for the rapid revaluation of motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt M Fraser
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | | | - Amy R Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota
| | | | | | - Fiona Pat
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Bridget J Chen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Patricia H Janak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Benjamin T Saunders
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota
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6
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DeBaker MC, Mitten EH, Rose TR, Marron Fernandez de Velasco E, Gao R, Lee AM, Wickman K. RGS6 negatively regulates inhibitory G protein signaling in dopamine neurons and positively regulates binge-like alcohol consumption in mice. Br J Pharmacol 2023; 180:2140-2155. [PMID: 36929333 PMCID: PMC10504421 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Drugs of abuse, including alcohol, increase dopamine in the mesocorticolimbic system via actions on dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Increased dopamine transmission can activate inhibitory G protein signalling pathways in VTA dopamine neurons, including those controlled by GABAB and D2 receptors. Members of the R7 subfamily of regulator of G protein signalling (RGS) proteins can regulate inhibitory G protein signalling, but their influence on VTA dopamine neurons is unclear. Here, we investigated the influence of RGS6, an R7 RGS family memberthat has been implicated in the regulation of alcohol consumption in mice, on inhibitory G protein signalling in VTA dopamine neurons. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We used molecular, electrophysiological and genetic approaches to probe the impact of RGS6 on inhibitory G protein signalling in VTA dopamine neurons and on binge-like alcohol consumption in mice. KEY RESULTS RGS6 is expressed in adult mouse VTA dopamine neurons and it modulates inhibitory G protein signalling in a receptor-dependent manner, tempering D2 receptor-induced somatodendritic currents and accelerating deactivation of synaptically evoked GABAB receptor-dependent responses. RGS6-/- mice exhibit diminished binge-like alcohol consumption, a phenotype replicated in female (but not male) mice lacking RGS6 selectively in VTA dopamine neurons. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS RGS6 negatively regulates GABAB - and D2 receptor-dependent inhibitory G protein signalling pathways in mouse VTA dopamine neurons and exerts a sex-dependent positive influence on binge-like alcohol consumption in adult mice. As such, RGS6 may represent a new diagnostic and/or therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot C. DeBaker
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Eric H. Mitten
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Timothy R. Rose
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | | | - Runbo Gao
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Anna M. Lee
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Kevin Wickman
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
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Bacharach SZ, Martin DA, Stapf CA, Sun F, Li Y, Cheer JF, Calu DJ. Decreased Ventral Tegmental Area CB1R Signaling Reduces Sign Tracking and Shifts Cue-Outcome Dynamics in Rat Nucleus Accumbens. J Neurosci 2023; 43:4684-4696. [PMID: 37208179 PMCID: PMC10286939 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1486-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Sign-tracking (ST) rats show enhanced cue sensitivity before drug experience that predicts greater discrete cue-induced drug seeking compared with goal-tracking or intermediate rats. Cue-evoked dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a neurobiological signature of sign-tracking behaviors. Here, we examine a critical regulator of the dopamine system, endocannabinoids, which bind the cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1R) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to control cue-evoked striatal dopamine levels. We use cell type-specific optogenetics, intra-VTA pharmacology, and fiber photometry to test the hypothesis that VTA CB1R receptor signaling regulates NAc dopamine levels to control sign tracking. We trained male and female rats in a Pavlovian lever autoshaping (PLA) task to determine their tracking groups before testing the effect of VTA → NAc dopamine inhibition. We found that this circuit is critical for mediating the vigor of the ST response. Upstream of this circuit, intra-VTA infusions of rimonabant, a CB1R inverse agonist, during PLA decrease lever and increase food cup approach in sign-trackers. Using fiber photometry to measure fluorescent signals from a dopamine sensor, GRABDA (AAV9-hSyn-DA2m), we tested the effects of intra-VTA rimonabant on NAc dopamine dynamics during autoshaping in female rats. We found that intra-VTA rimonabant decreased sign-tracking behaviors, which was associated with increases in NAc shell, but not core, dopamine levels during reward delivery [unconditioned stimulus (US)]. Our results suggest that CB1R signaling in the VTA influences the balance between the conditioned stimulus-evoked and US-evoked dopamine responses in the NAc shell and biases behavioral responding to cues in sign-tracking rats.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Substance use disorder (SUD) is a chronically relapsing psychological disorder that affects a subset of individuals who engage in drug use. Recent research suggests that there are individual behavioral and neurobiological differences before drug experience that predict SUD and relapse vulnerabilities. Here, we investigate how midbrain endocannabinoids regulate a brain pathway that is exclusively involved in driving cue-motivated behaviors of sign-tracking rats. This work contributes to our mechanistic understanding of individual vulnerabilities to cue-triggered natural reward seeking that have relevance for drug-motivated behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Z Bacharach
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - David A Martin
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - Cassie A Stapf
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - Fangmiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at PKU, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at PKU, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Joseph F Cheer
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
| | - Donna J Calu
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
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8
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Valyear MD, LeCocq MR, Brown A, Villaruel FR, Segal D, Chaudhri N. Learning processes in relapse to alcohol use: lessons from animal models. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:393-416. [PMID: 36264342 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06254-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Alcohol use is reliably preceded by discrete and contextual stimuli which, through diverse learning processes, acquire the capacity to promote alcohol use and relapse to alcohol use. OBJECTIVE We review contemporary extinction, renewal, reinstatement, occasion setting, and sex differences research within a conditioning framework of relapse to alcohol use to inform the development of behavioural and pharmacological therapies. KEY FINDINGS Diverse learning processes and corresponding neurobiological substrates contribute to relapse to alcohol use. Results from animal models indicate that cortical, thalamic, accumbal, hypothalamic, mesolimbic, glutamatergic, opioidergic, and dopaminergic circuitries contribute to alcohol relapse through separable learning processes. Behavioural therapies could be improved by increasing the endurance and generalizability of extinction learning and should incorporate whether discrete cues and contexts influence behaviour through direct excitatory conditioning or occasion setting mechanisms. The types of learning processes that most effectively influence responding for alcohol differ in female and male rats. CONCLUSION Sophisticated conditioning experiments suggest that diverse learning processes are mediated by distinct neural circuits and contribute to relapse to alcohol use. These experiments also suggest that gender-specific behavioural and pharmacological interventions are a way towards efficacious therapies to prevent relapse to alcohol use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milan D Valyear
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Dr. Penfield, Room N8/5, Montréal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.
| | - Mandy R LeCocq
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Alexa Brown
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Franz R Villaruel
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Diana Segal
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Nadia Chaudhri
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
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9
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Leppla CA, Keyes LR, Glober G, Matthews GA, Batra K, Jay M, Feng Y, Chen HS, Mills F, Delahanty J, Olson JM, Nieh EH, Namburi P, Wildes C, Wichmann R, Beyeler A, Kimchi EY, Tye KM. Thalamus sends information about arousal but not valence to the amygdala. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:477-499. [PMID: 36522481 PMCID: PMC9928937 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06284-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (MGN) have both been shown to be necessary for the formation of associative learning. While the role that the BLA plays in this process has long been emphasized, the MGN has been less well-studied and surrounded by debate regarding whether the relay of sensory information is active or passive. OBJECTIVES We seek to understand the role the MGN has within the thalamoamgydala circuit in the formation of associative learning. METHODS Here, we use optogenetics and in vivo electrophysiological recordings to dissect the MGN-BLA circuit and explore the specific subpopulations for evidence of learning and synthesis of information that could impact downstream BLA encoding. We employ various machine learning techniques to investigate function within neural subpopulations. We introduce a novel method to investigate tonic changes across trial-by-trial structure, which offers an alternative approach to traditional trial-averaging techniques. RESULTS We find that the MGN appears to encode arousal but not valence, unlike the BLA which encodes for both. We find that the MGN and the BLA appear to react differently to expected and unexpected outcomes; the BLA biased responses toward reward prediction error and the MGN focused on anticipated punishment. We uncover evidence of tonic changes by visualizing changes across trials during inter-trial intervals (baseline epochs) for a subset of cells. CONCLUSION We conclude that the MGN-BLA projector population acts as both filter and transferer of information by relaying information about the salience of cues to the amygdala, but these signals are not valence-specified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris A Leppla
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Laurel R Keyes
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Gordon Glober
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Gillian A Matthews
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Kanha Batra
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Maya Jay
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Yu Feng
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Hannah S Chen
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Fergil Mills
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Jeremy Delahanty
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Jacob M Olson
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Edward H Nieh
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Praneeth Namburi
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Craig Wildes
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Romy Wichmann
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Anna Beyeler
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Eyal Y Kimchi
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Kay M Tye
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
- SNL-KT, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
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10
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Collins V, Bornhoft KN, Wolff A, Sinha S, Saunders BT. Hierarchical cue control of cocaine seeking in the face of cost. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:461-476. [PMID: 36069951 PMCID: PMC10131580 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06218-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Addiction is characterized by intermittent drug seeking despite rising costs. This behavior is heavily influenced by environmental stimuli that signal drug availability and reinforce drug seeking. OBJECTIVE To establish the relationship between three key aspects of human drug use in rats: the intermittent, binge nature of drug intake, the motivational conflict of drug seeking in the face of escalating negative costs, and the ability of different drug cues to interact to modulate relapse. METHODS Male and female rats were trained to self-administer cocaine on an intermittent access schedule, where brief drug-availability states were signaled by a shift in the ambient lighting of the environment, and cocaine infusions were signaled by a separate proximal discrete cue. Rats then went through a conflict procedure, where foot shock intensity associated with cocaine seeking was escalated until intake was suppressed. We then completed relapse tests where the drug-delivery cue was noncontingently presented alone, or in the context of dynamic drug-availability state transitions. RESULTS Intermittent access spurred psychomotor sensitization and binge-like cocaine intake. The intensity of binge-like drug taking during training was predictive of later drug seeking despite escalating costs during conflict. In relapse tests, the ability of a proximal discrete drug cue to trigger relapse was gated by the presence of a global cue signaling drug-availability state transitions. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the pattern of drug intake plays a role in many features of addiction, including modifying an individual's willingness to endure high costs associated with drug seeking. Furthermore, our studies indicate that drug-related sensory information can be hierarchically organized to exert a dynamic modulating influence on drug-seeking motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Val Collins
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kaisa N Bornhoft
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Amy Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sonal Sinha
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Benjamin T Saunders
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Medical Discovery Team On Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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11
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Xu LX, Geng XM, Zhang JL, Guo XY, Potenza MN, Zhang JT. Neuromodulation treatments of problematic use of the Internet. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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12
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Finnell JE, Ferrario CR. Intra-NAc insulin reduces the motivation for food and food intake without altering cue-triggered food-seeking. Physiol Behav 2022; 254:113892. [PMID: 35753434 PMCID: PMC10583176 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Insulin receptors are expressed throughout the adult brain, and insulin from the periphery reaches the central nervous system. In humans and rodents, actions of insulin in the brain decrease food intake. Furthermore, insulin receptor activation alters dopamine and glutamate transmission within mesolimbic regions that influence food-seeking and feeding including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Here we determined how intra-NAc insulin affects conditioned approach (a measure of cue-triggered food-seeking), free food intake, and the motivation to obtain food in hungry rats using Pavlovian and instrumental approaches. Intra-NAc insulin did not affect conditioned approach but did reduce home cage chow intake immediately following conditioned approach testing. Consistent with reduced chow intake, intra-NAc insulin also reduced the motivation to work for flavored food pellets (assessed by a progressive ratio procedure). This effect was partially reversed by insulin receptor blockade and was not driven by insulin-induced sickness or malaise. Taken together, these data show that insulin within the NAc does not alter behavioral responses to a food cue, but instead reduces the motivation to work for and consume food in hungry animals. These data are discussed in light of insulin's role in the regulation of feeding, and its dysregulation by obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie E Finnell
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - Carrie R Ferrario
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, United States; Psychology Department (Biopsychology), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109, United States.
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13
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Chemogenetics as a neuromodulatory approach to treating neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders. Mol Ther 2022; 30:990-1005. [PMID: 34861415 PMCID: PMC8899595 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemogenetics enables precise, non-invasive, and reversible modulation of neural activity via the activation of engineered receptors that are pharmacologically selective to endogenous or exogenous ligands. With recent advances in therapeutic gene delivery, chemogenetics is poised to support novel interventions against neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders. To evaluate its translational potential, we performed a scoping review of applications of chemogenetics that led to the reversal of molecular and behavioral deficits in studies relevant to neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders. In this review, we present these findings and discuss the potential and challenges for using chemogenetics as a precision medicine-based neuromodulation strategy.
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14
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The role of context on responding to an alcohol-predictive cue in female and male rats. Alcohol 2022; 99:70-81. [PMID: 34742865 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In male rats, physical contexts that are associated with alcohol can amplify the response to a discrete, alcohol-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS), and amplify prime-induced reinstatement. Here, we examined these effects as a function of biological sex. Male and female Long-Evans rats were acclimated to drinking ethanol (15% v/v) in their home cages. Next, they were trained to associate an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) (10 s; white noise or clicker; 15 trials per session) with ethanol delivery (0.2 mL per CS; 3.0 mL per session) into a fluid port for oral intake. Training occurred in a distinctive context containing specific visual, olfactory, and tactile stimuli. During alternating sessions, rats were exposed to a second context wherein they did not receive ethanol. At test, CS trials occurred in both contexts without ethanol delivery. Rats then underwent extinction using repeated unreinforced presentations of the CS in both contexts. An alcohol-primed reinstatement test was then conducted, in which 0.2 mL of ethanol was presented at the start of the session and during the first CS trial, after which no ethanol was delivered for the remainder of the session. At both test and reinstatement, male rats made significantly more CS port-entries in the context associated with alcohol delivery than in the context in which alcohol was never experienced. Unlike males, female rats made a similar number of CS port-entries at the test in both the alcohol context and the neutral context. The reinstatement observed in female rats was also not affected by context. These findings suggest that the capacity of an alcohol-associated context to modulate responding to a discrete, alcohol-predictive cue is less pronounced in female than male rats.
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15
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The Role of Context Conditioning in the Reinstatement of Responding to an Alcohol-Predictive Conditioned Stimulus. Behav Brain Res 2021; 423:113686. [PMID: 34852244 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Re-exposure to an unconditioned stimulus (US) can reinstate extinguished conditioned responding elicited by a conditioned stimulus (CS). We tested the hypothesis that the reinstatement of responding to an appetitive CS is driven by an excitatory association formed between the US and the context that the US was ingested in during US re-exposure. Male, Long-Evans rats were acclimated to drinking alcohol (15%, v/v) in the home-cage, then trained to associate an auditory CS with an alcohol-US that was delivered into a fluid port for oral intake. During subsequent extinction sessions, the CS was presented as before, but without alcohol. After extinction, rats were re-exposed to alcohol as in training, but without the CS (alcohol re-exposure). 24h later at test, the CS was presented as in training, but without alcohol. First, we tested the effect of extinguishing the context-alcohol association, formed during alcohol re-exposure, on reinstatement. Conducting four context extinction sessions across four days (spaced extinction) after the alcohol re-exposure session did not impact reinstatement. However, four context extinction sessions conducted across two days (massed extinction) prevented reinstatement. Next, we conducted alcohol re-exposure in a context that either differed from, or was the same as, the test context. One alcohol re-exposure session in a different context did not affect reinstatement, however, three alcohol re-exposure sessions in a different context significantly reduced reinstatement during the first CS trial. These results partially support the view that a context-US association formed during US re-exposure drives the reinstatement of responding to an appetitive, alcohol-predictive CS.
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16
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Poisson CL, Engel L, Saunders BT. Dopamine Circuit Mechanisms of Addiction-Like Behaviors. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:752420. [PMID: 34858143 PMCID: PMC8631198 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.752420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Addiction is a complex disease that impacts millions of people around the world. Clinically, addiction is formalized as substance use disorder (SUD), with three primary symptom categories: exaggerated substance use, social or lifestyle impairment, and risky substance use. Considerable efforts have been made to model features of these criteria in non-human animal research subjects, for insight into the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Here we review evidence from rodent models of SUD-inspired criteria, focusing on the role of the striatal dopamine system. We identify distinct mesostriatal and nigrostriatal dopamine circuit functions in behavioral outcomes that are relevant to addictions and SUDs. This work suggests that striatal dopamine is essential for not only positive symptom features of SUDs, such as elevated intake and craving, but also for impairments in decision making that underlie compulsive behavior, reduced sociality, and risk taking. Understanding the functional heterogeneity of the dopamine system and related networks can offer insight into this complex symptomatology and may lead to more targeted treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carli L. Poisson
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Liv Engel
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Benjamin T. Saunders
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
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17
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Egervari G, Siciliano CA, Whiteley EL, Ron D. Alcohol and the brain: from genes to circuits. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:1004-1015. [PMID: 34702580 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use produces wide-ranging and diverse effects on the central nervous system. It influences intracellular signaling mechanisms, leading to changes in gene expression, chromatin remodeling, and translation. As a result of these molecular alterations, alcohol affects the activity of neuronal circuits. Together, these mechanisms produce long-lasting cellular adaptations in the brain that in turn can drive the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide an update on alcohol research, focusing on multiple levels of alcohol-induced adaptations, from intracellular changes to changes in neural circuits. A better understanding of how alcohol affects these diverse and interlinked mechanisms may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and to the development of much-needed novel and efficacious treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor Egervari
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Cody A Siciliano
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
| | - Ellanor L Whiteley
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Dorit Ron
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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18
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Beacher NJ, Washington KA, Werner CT, Zhang Y, Barbera G, Li Y, Lin DT. Circuit Investigation of Social Interaction and Substance Use Disorder Using Miniscopes. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:762441. [PMID: 34675782 PMCID: PMC8523886 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.762441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorder (SUD) is comorbid with devastating health issues, social withdrawal, and isolation. Successful clinical treatments for SUD have used social interventions. Neurons can encode drug cues, and drug cues can trigger relapse. It is important to study how the activity in circuits and embedded cell types that encode drug cues develop in SUD. Exploring shared neurobiology between social interaction (SI) and SUD may explain why humans with access to social treatments still experience relapse. However, circuitry remains poorly characterized due to technical challenges in studying the complicated nature of SI and SUD. To understand the neural correlates of SI and SUD, it is important to: (1) identify cell types and circuits associated with SI and SUD, (2) record and manipulate neural activity encoding drug and social rewards over time, (3) monitor unrestrained animal behavior that allows reliable drug self-administration (SA) and SI. Miniaturized fluorescence microscopes (miniscopes) are ideally suited to meet these requirements. They can be used with gradient index (GRIN) lenses to image from deep brain structures implicated in SUD. Miniscopes can be combined with genetically encoded reporters to extract cell-type specific information. In this mini-review, we explore how miniscopes can be leveraged to uncover neural components of SI and SUD and advance potential therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J. Beacher
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Kayden A. Washington
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Craig T. Werner
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States
| | - Yan Zhang
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Giovanni Barbera
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
| | - Da-Ting Lin
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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19
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Kolesov DV, Sokolinskaya EL, Lukyanov KA, Bogdanov AM. Molecular Tools for Targeted Control of Nerve Cell Electrical Activity. Part II. Acta Naturae 2021; 13:17-32. [PMID: 35127143 PMCID: PMC8807539 DOI: 10.32607/actanaturae.11415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In modern life sciences, the issue of a specific, exogenously directed manipulation of a cell's biochemistry is a highly topical one. In the case of electrically excitable cells, the aim of the manipulation is to control the cells' electrical activity, with the result being either excitation with subsequent generation of an action potential or inhibition and suppression of the excitatory currents. The techniques of electrical activity stimulation are of particular significance in tackling the most challenging basic problem: figuring out how the nervous system of higher multicellular organisms functions. At this juncture, when neuroscience is gradually abandoning the reductionist approach in favor of the direct investigation of complex neuronal systems, minimally invasive methods for brain tissue stimulation are becoming the basic element in the toolbox of those involved in the field. In this review, we describe three approaches that are based on the delivery of exogenous, genetically encoded molecules sensitive to external stimuli into the nervous tissue. These approaches include optogenetics (overviewed in Part I), as well as chemogenetics and thermogenetics (described here, in Part II), which is significantly different not only in the nature of the stimuli and structure of the appropriate effector proteins, but also in the details of experimental applications. The latter circumstance is an indication that these are rather complementary than competing techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. V. Kolesov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow, 117997 Russia
| | - E. L. Sokolinskaya
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow, 117997 Russia
| | - K. A. Lukyanov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow, 117997 Russia
| | - A. M. Bogdanov
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow, 117997 Russia
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20
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Domi E, Domi A, Adermark L, Heilig M, Augier E. Neurobiology of alcohol seeking behavior. J Neurochem 2021; 157:1585-1614. [PMID: 33704789 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences. A main challenge of addiction treatment is to prevent relapse, which occurs in more than >50% of newly abstinent patients with alcohol disorder within 3 months. In people suffering from alcohol addiction, stressful events, drug-associated cues and contexts, or re-exposure to a small amount of alcohol trigger a chain of behaviors that frequently culminates in relapse. In this review, we first present the preclinical models that were developed for the study of alcohol seeking behavior, namely the reinstatement model of alcohol relapse and compulsive alcohol seeking under a chained schedule of reinforcement. We then provide an overview of the neurobiological findings obtained using these animal models, focusing on the role of opioids systems, corticotropin-release hormone and neurokinins, followed by dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurotransmissions in alcohol seeking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esi Domi
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Ana Domi
- Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Louise Adermark
- Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Markus Heilig
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Eric Augier
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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21
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Liu Y, McNally GP. Dopamine and relapse to drug seeking. J Neurochem 2021; 157:1572-1584. [PMID: 33486769 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The actions of dopamine are essential to relapse to drug seeking but we still lack a precise understanding of how dopamine achieves these effects. Here we review recent advances from animal models in understanding how dopamine controls relapse to drug seeking. These advances have been enabled by important developments in understanding the basic neurochemical, molecular, anatomical, physiological and functional properties of the major dopamine pathways in the mammalian brain. The literature shows that although different forms of relapse to seeking different drugs of abuse each depend on dopamine, there are distinct dopamine mechanisms for relapse. Different circuit-level mechanisms, different populations of dopamine neurons and different activity profiles within these dopamine neurons, are important for driving different forms of relapse. This diversity highlights the need to better understand when, where and how dopamine contributes to relapse behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Liu
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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