Functional connectivity in reward-related networks is associated with individual differences in gambling strategies in male Lister hooded rats

Individual differences in training time in the rat gambling task are unrelated to subsequent decision-making strategies

Introduction

Decision-making requires individuals to perceive probabilities and risks associated with different options. The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is a widely used instrument that assesses decision-making under uncertainty and risk by varying monetary reinforcer/loss contingencies. The rat gambling task (rGT), based on the IGT, is a preclinical test using varying number of palatable reinforcers as wins and different duration of timeouts as punishment, mimicking losses. The rGT requires extensive operant training prior to the free choice sessions. The aim of the present study was to investigate if task acquisition and number of training days affected subsequent individual differences in decision-making strategies in the rGT, and if behavioral profiles impacted on task learning.

Method

Training time and performance of 70 male Lister Hooded rats from previously published studies were herein used to investigate whether learning time affected later decision-making strategies in the free choice rGT. Behavioral profiles generated from a subset of animals were used to study the impact of underlying behavior on learning time.

Results

There were differences in training days between fast, intermediate and slow learners. However, time required to acquire the rGT did not affect subsequent decision-making strategies in the free choice rGT. Finally, learning time was independent of underlying behavioral profiles.

Discussion

In conclusion, neither decision-making strategies in the rGT nor behavioral profiles were correlated or differed between animals with different learning speed. This suggests that the large variation in training time between animals is unrelated to subsequent decision-making strategies during free choice rGT. Such information is valuable for researchers using the rGT.

Age-dependent effects of oxytocin in brain regions enriched with oxytocin receptors

Although intranasal oxytocin administration to tap into central functions is the most commonly used non-invasive means for exploring oxytocin's role in human cognition and behavior, the way by which intranasal oxytocin acts on the brain is not yet fully understood. Recent research suggests that brain regions densely populated with oxytocin receptors may play a central role in intranasal oxytocin's action mechanisms in the brain. In particular, intranasal oxytocin may act directly on (subcortical) regions rich in oxytocin receptors via binding to these receptors while only indirectly affecting other (cortical) regions via their neural connections to oxytocin receptor-enriched regions. Aligned with this notion, the current study adopted a novel approach to test 1) whether the connections between oxytocin receptor-enriched regions (i.e., the thalamus, pallidum, caudate nucleus, putamen, and olfactory bulbs) and other regions in the brain were responsive to intranasal oxytocin administration, and 2) whether oxytocin-induced effects varied as a function of age. Forty-six young (24.96 ± 3.06 years) and 44 older (69.89 ± 2.99 years) participants were randomized, in a double-blind procedure, to self-administer either intranasal oxytocin or placebo before resting-state fMRI. Results supported age-dependency in the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on connectivity between oxytocin receptor-enriched regions and other regions in the brain. Specifically, compared to placebo, oxytocin decreased both connectivity density and connectivity strength of the thalamus for young participants while it increased connectivity density and connectivity strength of the caudate for older participants. These findings inform the mechanisms underlying the effects of exogenous oxytocin on brain function and highlight the importance of age in these processes.

CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY FOLLOWING INTENSIVE ATTENTION TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. A PILOT STUDY

Objective

To explore functional connectivity after intensive attention training in the chronic phase after traumatic brain injury as clinical evidence indicates that intensive attention training improves attention dysfunction in persons with traumatic brain injury.

Design and subjects

A case series study. Two young adults, 13- and 18-months post traumatic brain injury, with traumatic brain injury induced attention deficits were assigned to 20 h of intensive attention training and neuroimaging.

Methods

Functional magnetic resonance imaging during a psychomotor vigilance test was conducted pre- and post-intervention.

Results

The neuroimaging indicated both increased and decreased connectivity density in frontal, posterior and subcortical brain regions, for some regions with separate change patterns for left and right hemisphere respectively, and an overall reduction in variability in functional connectivity.

Conclusion

The changed and decreased variability of functional connectivity in various brain regions, captured by fMRI during a psychomotor vigilance test after direct attention training in a small sample of persons with traumatic brain injury, suggests further studies of functional connectivity changes in neural networks.

Exploring decision-making strategies in the Iowa gambling task and rat gambling task

Decision-making requires that individuals perceive the probabilities and risks associated with different options. Experimental human and animal laboratory testing provide complimentary insights on the psychobiological underpinnings of decision-making. The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is a widely used instrument that assesses decision-making under uncertainty and risk. In the task participants are faced with a choice conflict between cards with varying monetary reinforcer/loss contingencies. The rat gambling task (rGT) is a pre-clinical version using palatable reinforcers as wins and timeouts mimicking losses. However, interspecies studies elaborating on human and rat behavior in these tasks are lacking. This study explores decision-making strategies among young adults (N = 270) performing a computerized version of the IGT, and adult outbred male Lister Hooded rats (N = 72) performing the rGT. Both group and individual data were explored by normative scoring approaches and subgroup formations based on individual choices were investigated. Overall results showed that most humans and rats learned to favor the advantageous choices, but to a widely different extent. Human performance was characterized by both exploration and learning as the task progressed, while rats showed relatively consistent pronounced preferences for the advantageous choices throughout the task. Nevertheless, humans and rats showed similar variability in individual choice preferences during end performance. Procedural differences impacting on the performance in both tasks and their potential to study different aspects of decision-making are discussed. This is a first attempt to increase the understanding of similarities and differences regarding decision-making processes in the IGT and rGT from an explorative perspective.

Individual strategies in the rat gambling task are related to voluntary alcohol intake, but not sexual behavior, and can be modulated by naltrexone

INTRODUCTION

Gambling disorder (GD) is the first non-substance or behavioral addiction to be included in substance-related and addictive disorders in DSM-5. Since GD is a younger phenomenon relative to alcohol and substance use disorders, little is known about potential unique features in GD and to what extent characteristics are shared with alcohol and substance use disorders. The rat gambling task (rGT) is used to study decision-making in rats. This study aimed to identify individual differences in rGT strategies and explore the stability of these strategies over time. Moreover, motor impulsivity, sexual behavior, and voluntary alcohol intake were examined in rats with different rGT strategies. Finally, the response to naltrexone on performance in rats with different rGT strategies was investigated.

METHODS

Male Lister hooded rats (n = 40) underwent repeated testing in the rGT, repeated copulatory behavioral tests, and 7 weeks of voluntary alcohol intake through a modified intermittent two-bottle free-choice paradigm. Finally, rats were treated with naltrexone prior to testing in the rGT.

RESULTS

The results revealed individual choice strategies in the rGT that were stable over time, even after multiple interruptions and other behavioral testing. The rats with a risky choice strategy displayed higher motor impulsivity and voluntary alcohol intake than the other groups. No difference in sexual behavior was found between the different rGT groups. Finally, in all rats irrespectively of rGT strategy, treatment with naltrexone decreased the number of completed trials and premature responses, and increased omissions, which indicates an overall lowered motivation.

DISCUSSION

In conclusion, rats with risky rGT strategies had higher voluntary alcohol intake but not elevated sexual behavior, indicating shared underlying mechanisms between rGT strategies and alcohol intake but not natural rewards in terms of sexual behavior. Finally, naltrexone treatment resulted in an overall lowered motivation in the rGT.