Behavioural brain research
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective medical therapy in alleviating motor symptoms in moderate to severe Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, there are still remaining questions regarding the mechanisms of this action. ⋯ In addition, we found the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) did not increase after HFS-STN, while the expression of TH in the substantia nigra increased significantly compared to the 6-OHDA lesioned group. This suggested that STN-HFS could reverse motor deficits against 6-OHDA-induced lesion through increasing striatal dopamine release by modulating the expression of TH, without rescuing dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc.
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In order to investigate the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the consolidation of spatial memory, we examined the relationship between the increase of hippocampal BDNF and the establishment of long-term spatial memory in spontaneous place recognition test in rats. The test consisted of a sample phase, delay interval, and a test phase, and preferred exploration of the object in a novel place compared with that in a familiar place was assessed in the test phase. ⋯ In experiment 2, we used a shorter sample phase condition (5 min) in which control rats did not show any preference for the novel place object in the test phase after 24h delay, and found that BDNF treatment immediately after the sample phase caused rats' significant preference for it. Results suggest an important role of hippocampal BDNF as a product of protein synthesis that is required for the consolidation of spatial memory.
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Recurrent opiate use combined with environmental cues, in which the drug was administered, provokes cue-induced drug craving and conditioned drug reward. Drug abuse craving is frequently linked with stimuli from a prior drug-taking environment via classical conditioning and associative learning. We modeled the conditioned morphine reward process by using acquisition and extinction of conditioned place preference (CPP) in C57BL/6 mice. ⋯ Changes in dendritic morphology and spine quantity were examined in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) Core and Shell neurons. In the NAcCore only, morphine CPP/extinguished mice produced less dendritic arborization, and a decrease in neuronal activity marker c-Fos compared to the morphine CPP/sham extinction group. Extinction of morphine CPP is associated with decreased structural complexity of dendrites in the NAcCore and may represent a substrate for learning induced structural plasticity relevant to addiction.
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Dopamine dysregulation syndrome in Parkinson's disease has been attributed to dopamine replacement therapies and/or a lesion of the dopaminergic system. Dopaminergic neuronal loss targets the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). We hypothesize that dopamine replacement therapy is responsible for the potential reinforcement effect in Parkinson's disease, by acting on the neuronal reward circuitry. ⋯ However bromocriptine induced CPP only at a dose of 3mg/kg in both animal groups. Moreover cocaine, which is known to increase dopamine release, induced reinforcing effects in both 6-OHDA-lesioned and sham rats. Our data show a lack of involvement of aVTA dopamine neurons in the motivational effects of bromocriptine, pramipexole and cocaine.
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Behavioral inhibition (BI) is an anxiety vulnerability factor associated with hypervigilance to novel stimuli, threat, and ambiguous cues. The progression from anxiety risk to a clinical disorder is unknown, although the acquisition of defensive learning and avoidance may be a critical feature. As the expression of avoidance is also central to anxiety development, the present study examined avoidance acquisition as a function of inhibited temperament using classical eyeblink conditioning. ⋯ BI individuals demonstrated enhanced acquisition overall, while partial reinforcement training significantly distinguished between BI and NI groups. Enhanced learning in BI may be a function of an increased defensive learning capacity, or sensitivity to uncertainty. Further work examining the influence of BI on learning acquisition is important for understanding individual differences in disorder etiology in anxiety vulnerable cohorts.