RESUMO
Genetic variation accounts for much of the risk for developing a substance use disorder, but the underlying genetic factors and their genetic effector mechanisms are mostly unknown. Inbred mouse strains exhibit substantial and heritable differences in the extent of voluntary cocaine self-administration. Computational genetic analysis of cocaine self-administration data obtained from twenty-one inbred strains identified Nav1, a member of the neuron navigator family that regulates dendrite formation and axonal guidance, as a candidate gene. To test this genetic hypothesis, we generated and characterized Nav1 knockout mice. Consistent with the genetic prediction, Nav1 knockout mice exhibited increased voluntary cocaine intake and had increased motivation for cocaine consumption. Immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, and transcriptomic studies were performed as a starting point for investigating the mechanism for the Nav1 knockout effect. Nav1 knockout mice had a reduced inhibitory synapse density in their cortex, increased excitatory synaptic transmission in their cortex and hippocampus, and increased excitatory neurons in a deep cortical layer. Collectively, our results indicate that Nav1 regulates the response to cocaine, and we identified Nav1 knockout induced changes in the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic balance in the cortex and hippocampus that could contribute to this effect.
Assuntos
Cocaína , Camundongos , Animais , Cocaína/farmacologia , Transmissão Sináptica , Neurônios , Camundongos Knockout , HipocampoRESUMO
AIMS: Alcohol use disorder is highly heterogeneous. One approach to understanding this heterogeneity is the identification of drinker subtypes. A candidate classification consists of reward and relief subtypes. The current study examines a novel self-report measure of reward, relief, and habit drinking for its clinical correlates and subjective response (SR) to alcohol administration. METHODS: Non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers (n = 140) completed the brief reward, relief, habit drinking scale (RRHDS). A subset of this sample (n = 67) completed an intravenous alcohol administration. Individuals were classified into drinker subtypes. A crowdsourced sample of heavy drinkers (n = 187) completed the RRHDS and a validated reward relief drinking scale to compare drinking classification results. RESULTS: The majority of the sample was classified as reward drinkers (n = 100), with fewer classified as relief (n = 19) and habit (n = 21) drinkers. Relief and habit drinkers reported greater tonic alcohol craving compared to reward drinkers. Reward drinkers endorsed drinking for enhancement, while relief drinkers endorsed drinking for coping. Regarding the alcohol administration, the groups differed in negative mood, such that relief/habit drinkers reported a decrease in negative mood during alcohol administration, compared to reward drinkers. The follow-up crowdsourcing study found a 62% agreement in reward drinker classification between measures and replicated the tonic craving findings. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that reward drinkers are dissociable from relief/habit drinkers using the brief measure. However, relief and habit drinkers were not successfully differentiated, which suggests that these constructs may overlap phenotypically. Notably, measures of dysphoric mood were better at detecting group differences than measures capturing alcohol's rewarding effects.
Assuntos
Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/psicologia , Alcoolismo/psicologia , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Recompensa , Administração Intravenosa , Adulto , Intoxicação Alcoólica , Alcoolismo/classificação , Depressores do Sistema Nervoso Central/administração & dosagem , Depressores do Sistema Nervoso Central/farmacologia , Fissura , Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico de Transtornos Mentais , Etanol/administração & dosagem , Etanol/farmacologia , Feminino , Seguimentos , Hábitos , Humanos , Individualidade , Masculino , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The Allostatic Model proposes that Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is associated with a transition in the motivational structure of alcohol drinking: from positive reinforcement in early-stage drinking to negative reinforcement in late-stage dependence. However, direct empirical support for this preclinical model from human experiments is limited. This study tests predictions derived from the Allostatic Model in humans. Specifically, this study tested whether alcohol use severity (1) independently predicts subjective responses to alcohol (SR; comprised of stimulation/hedonia, negative affect, sedation and craving domains), and alcohol self-administration and 2) moderates associations between domains of SR and alcohol self-administration. Heavy drinking participants ranging in severity of alcohol use and problems (N = 67) completed an intravenous alcohol administration paradigm combining an alcohol challenge (target BrAC = 60 mg%), with progressive ratio self-administration. Alcohol use severity was associated with greater baseline negative affect, sedation, and craving but did not predict changes in any SR domain during the alcohol challenge. Alcohol use severity also predicted greater self-administration. Craving during the alcohol challenge strongly predicted self-administration and sedation predicted lower self-administration. Neither stimulation, nor negative affect predicted self-administration. This study represents a novel approach to translating preclinical neuroscientific theories to the human laboratory. As expected, craving predicted self-administration and sedation was protective. Contrary to the predictions of the Allostatic Model, however, these results were inconsistent with a transition from positively to negatively reinforced alcohol consumption in severe AUD. Future studies that assess negative reinforcement in the context of an acute stressor are warranted.
Assuntos
Alcoolismo/psicologia , Depressores do Sistema Nervoso Central/administração & dosagem , Etanol/administração & dosagem , Motivação/efeitos dos fármacos , Adulto , Afeto/efeitos dos fármacos , Testes Respiratórios , Fissura , Feminino , Humanos , Hipnóticos e Sedativos/administração & dosagem , Masculino , Modelos Psicológicos , Reforço Psicológico , Índice de Gravidade de DoençaRESUMO
Neuroimaging studies in animal models and human subjects have each revealed that relatively low striatal dopamine D2-like receptor binding potential is associated with poor impulse control and with vulnerability for addiction-related behaviors. These studies cannot, however, disambiguate the roles for various pools of D2 receptors found in the striatum (e.g., those expressed on medium spiny striato-pallidal neurons vs on dopamine-releasing nerve terminals) in these behavioral outcomes. To clarify the role of the latter pool, namely, D2 autoreceptors, we studied mice carrying a conditional DRD2 gene, with or without Cre-recombinase expressed under the transcriptional control of the dopamine transporter gene locus (autoDrd2-KO, n = 19 and controls, n = 21). These mice were tested for locomotor response to cocaine, and spatial reversal learning was assessed in operant conditioning chambers. As predicted, compared to control mice, autoDrd2-KO animals demonstrated heightened sensitivity to the locomotor stimulating effect of cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), confirming previous research using a similar genetic model. In the spatial reversal learning task, autoDrd2-KO mice were slower to reach a learning criterion and had difficulty sustaining a prolonged nose poke response, measurements conceptually related to impaired response inhibition. Rate of learning of the initial discrimination and latencies to collect rewards, to initiate trials and to produce a response were unaffected by genetic deletion of D2 autoreceptors, discarding possible motor and motivational factors. Together, these findings confirm the role of D2 autoreceptors in reversal learning and suggest a broader involvement in behavioral inhibition mechanisms.
Assuntos
Neurônios Dopaminérgicos/fisiologia , Comportamento Impulsivo , Receptores de Dopamina D2/fisiologia , Reversão de Aprendizagem , Animais , Autorreceptores/fisiologia , Cocaína/administração & dosagem , Condicionamento Operante/efeitos dos fármacos , Masculino , Camundongos Knockout , Desempenho Psicomotor/efeitos dos fármacos , Receptores de Dopamina D2/genética , Reversão de Aprendizagem/efeitos dos fármacos , Aprendizagem Espacial/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Substance use disorders continue to impose increasing medical, financial and emotional burdens on society in the form of morbidity and overdose, family disintegration, loss of employment and crime, while advances in prevention and treatment options remain limited. Importantly, not all individuals exposed to abused substances effectively develop the disease. Genetic factors play a significant role in determining addiction vulnerability and interactions between innate predisposition, environmental factors and personal experiences are also critical. Thus, understanding individual differences that contribute to the initiation of substance use as well as on long-term maladaptations driving compulsive drug use and relapse propensity is of critical importance to reduce this devastating disorder. In this paper, we discuss current topics in the field of addiction regarding individual vulnerability related to behavioral endophenotypes, neural circuits, as well as genetics and epigenetic mechanisms. Expanded knowledge of these factors is of importance to improve and personalize prevention and treatment interventions in the future.
Assuntos
Comportamento Aditivo/genética , Epigênese Genética/genética , Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/genética , Animais , Endofenótipos/metabolismo , Humanos , IndividualidadeRESUMO
By analyzing multitissue gene expression and genome-wide genetic variation data in samples from a vervet monkey pedigree, we generated a transcriptome resource and produced the first catalog of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in a nonhuman primate model. This catalog contains more genome-wide significant eQTLs per sample than comparable human resources and identifies sex- and age-related expression patterns. Findings include a master regulatory locus that likely has a role in immune function and a locus regulating hippocampal long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), whose expression correlates with hippocampal volume. This resource will facilitate genetic investigation of quantitative traits, including brain and behavioral phenotypes relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Assuntos
Chlorocebus aethiops/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Variação Genética , Locos de Características Quantitativas/genética , Animais , Encéfalo/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Chlorocebus aethiops/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Estudo de Associação Genômica Ampla , Genótipo , Humanos , Fenótipo , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo ÚnicoRESUMO
RATIONALE: Drug addiction can be described as aberrant allocation of effort toward acquiring drug, despite associated costs. It is unclear if this behavioral pattern results from an overvaluation of reward or to an altered sensitivity to costs. OBJECTIVE: Present experiments assessed reward sensitivity and effortful choice in rats following 1 week of withdrawal from methamphetamine (mAMPH). METHODS: Rats were treated with either saline or an escalating dose mAMPH regimen, then tested after a week without the drug. In experiment 1, rats were given a free choice between water and various concentrations of sucrose solution to assess general reward sensitivity. In experiment 2, rats were presented with a choice between lever-pressing for sucrose pellets on a progressive ratio schedule or consuming freely-available chow. RESULTS: In experiment 1, we found no differences in sucrose preference between mAMPH- and saline-pretreated rats. In experiment 2, when selecting between two options, mAMPH-pretreated rats engaged in less lever-pressing for sucrose pellets (p < 0.01) and switched from this preferred reward to the chow sooner than saline-pretreated rats (p < 0.05). This effect was not consistent with general reward devaluation or loss of motivation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that mAMPH exposure and withdrawal lead to steeper discounting of reward value by effort, an effect that is consistent with the effect of mAMPH on discounting by delay, and which may reflect an underlying shared mechanism.
Assuntos
Estimulantes do Sistema Nervoso Central/farmacologia , Comportamento de Escolha/efeitos dos fármacos , Desvalorização pelo Atraso/efeitos dos fármacos , Metanfetamina/farmacologia , Recompensa , Síndrome de Abstinência a Substâncias/psicologia , Animais , Comportamento de Escolha/fisiologia , Desvalorização pelo Atraso/fisiologia , Masculino , Motivação/efeitos dos fármacos , Motivação/fisiologia , Ratos , Ratos Long-Evans , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
The procurement and consumption of palatable, calorie-dense foods is influenced by the nutritional and hedonic value of foods. Although many factors can influence the control over behavior by foods rich in sugar and fat, emerging evidence indicates that biological sex may play a particularly crucial role in the types of foods individuals seek out, as well as the level of motivation individuals will exert to obtain those foods. However, a systematic investigation of food-seeking and consumption that disentangles the effects of the major sex-biasing factors, including sex chromosome complement and organizational and activational effects of sex hormones, has yet to be conducted. Using the four core genotypes mouse model system, we separated and quantified the effects of sex chromosome complement and gonadal sex on consumption of and motivation to obtain a highly palatable solution [sweetened condensed milk (SCM)]. Gonadectomized mice with an XY sex chromosome complement, compared with those with two X chromosomes, independent of gonadal sex, appeared to be more sensitive to the reward value of the SCM solution and were more motivated to expend effort to obtain it, as evidenced by their dramatically greater expended effort in an instrumental task with progressively larger response-to-reward ratios. Gonadal sex independently affected free consumption of the solution but not motivation to obtain it. These data indicate that gonadal and chromosomal sex effects independently influence reward-related behaviors, contributing to sexually dimorphic patterns of behavior related to the pursuit and consumption of rewards.
Assuntos
Condicionamento Operante , Preferências Alimentares , Caracteres Sexuais , Cromossomos Sexuais/genética , Animais , Feminino , Genótipo , Hormônios Esteroides Gonadais/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Recompensa , Proteína da Região Y Determinante do Sexo/genética , PaladarRESUMO
The relationship between risk-taking behavior and substance dependence has proven to be complex, particularly when examining across participants expressing a range of substance use problem severity. While main indices of risk-taking in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) positively associate with problematic alcohol use in adolescent populations (e.g., MacPherson, Magidson, Reynolds, Kahler, & Lejuez, 2010), several studies have observed a negative relationship when examining behavior within adult substance using populations (Ashenhurst, Jentsch, & Ray, 2011; Campbell, Samartgis, & Crowe, 2013). To examine potential mechanisms that underlie this negative relationship, we implemented multilevel regression models on trial-by-trial BART data gathered from 295 adult problem drinkers. These models accounted for participant behavior on trials following balloon bursts or cash outs as indices of loss and reward reactivity, respectively, and included control variables including age, IQ, and individual delay discounting rate. Results revealed that individual trial pumping was significantly predicted by trial number, and by whether or not the previous trial was a big burst or a big cash out (i.e., large magnitude of potential gains) in a manner consistent with a "near-miss" effect. Furthermore, severity of alcohol problems moderated the effect of a previous trial big burst, but not of a big cash out, on subsequent trial behavior such that those with greater severity demonstrated relative insensitivity to this "near-miss" effect. These results extend previous studies suggesting that alcohol abusers are less risky on the BART by specifying a mechanism underlying this pattern, namely, diminished reactivity to large magnitude losses.
Assuntos
Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/epidemiologia , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Álcool/epidemiologia , Recompensa , Assunção de Riscos , Adulto , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/psicologia , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Álcool/psicologia , Desvalorização pelo Atraso , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise de Regressão , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Addictions are often characterized as forms of impulsive behavior. That said, it is often noted that impulsivity is a multidimensional construct, spanning several psychological domains. This review describes the relationship between varieties of impulsivity and addiction-related behaviors, the nature of the causal relationship between the two, and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that promote impulsive behaviors. We conclude that the available data strongly support the notion that impulsivity is both a risk factor for, and a consequence of, drug and alcohol consumption. While the evidence indicating that subtypes of impulsive behavior are uniquely informative--either biologically or with respect to their relationships to addictions--is convincing, multiple lines of study link distinct subtypes of impulsivity to low dopamine D2 receptor function and perturbed serotonergic transmission, revealing shared mechanisms between the subtypes. Therefore, a common biological framework involving monoaminergic transmitters in key frontostriatal circuits may link multiple forms of impulsivity to drug self-administration and addiction-related behaviors. Further dissection of these relationships is needed before the next phase of genetic and genomic discovery will be able to reveal the biological sources of the vulnerability for addiction indexed by impulsivity.
Assuntos
Comportamento Aditivo , Encéfalo/efeitos dos fármacos , Suscetibilidade a Doenças , Comportamento Impulsivo , Neurônios/efeitos dos fármacos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/psicologia , Pesquisa Translacional Biomédica , Animais , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Regulação para Baixo/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurônios/metabolismo , Receptores de Dopamina D2/metabolismo , Fatores de Risco , Neurônios Serotoninérgicos/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurônios Serotoninérgicos/metabolismo , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/epidemiologia , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/metabolismo , Transmissão Sináptica/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Genetic variants in DTNBP1 encoding the protein dysbindin-1 have often been associated with schizophrenia and with the cognitive deficits prominent in that disorder. Because impaired function of the hippocampus is thought to play a role in these memory deficits and because NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity in this region is a proposed biological substrate for some hippocampal-dependent memory functions in schizophrenia, we hypothesized that reduced dysbindin-1 expression would lead to impairments in NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity and in contextual fear conditioning. Acute slices from male mice carrying 0, 1, or 2 null mutant alleles of the Dtnbp1 gene were prepared, and field recordings from the CA1 striatum radiatum were obtained before and after tetanization of Schaffer collaterals of CA3 pyramidal cells. Mice homozygous for the null mutation in Dtnbp1 exhibited significantly reduced NMDAR-dependent synaptic potentiation compared to wild type mice, an effect that could be rescued by bath application of the NMDA receptor coagonist glycine (10 µM). Behavioral testing in adult mice revealed deficits in hippocampal memory processes. Homozygous null mice exhibited lower conditional freezing, without a change in the response to shock itself, indicative of a learning and memory deficit. Taken together, these results indicate that a loss of dysbindin-1 impairs hippocampal plasticity which may, in part, explain the role dysbindin-1 plays in the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Transporte/metabolismo , Condicionamento Psicológico/fisiologia , Medo/fisiologia , Potenciação de Longa Duração/genética , Receptores de N-Metil-D-Aspartato/metabolismo , Sinapses/genética , Análise de Variância , Animais , Biofísica , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Disbindina , Proteínas Associadas à Distrofina , Estimulação Elétrica , Fármacos Atuantes sobre Aminoácidos Excitatórios/farmacologia , Reação de Congelamento Cataléptica/fisiologia , Hipocampo/citologia , Técnicas In Vitro , Potenciação de Longa Duração/efeitos dos fármacos , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Endogâmicos DBA , Camundongos Knockout , Sinapses/fisiologiaRESUMO
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is encountered among patients with epilepsy at a significantly higher rate than in the general population. Mechanisms of epilepsy-ADHD comorbidity remain largely unknown. We investigated whether a model of chronic epilepsy in rats produces signs of ADHD, and thus, whether it can be used for studying mechanisms of this comorbidity. Epilepsy was induced in male Wistar rats via pilocarpine status epilepticus. Half of the animals exhibited chronic ADHD-like abnormalities, particularly increased impulsivity and diminished attention in the lateralized reaction-time task. These impairments correlated with the suppressed noradrenergic transmission in locus coeruleus outputs. The other half of animals exhibited depressive behavior in the forced swimming test congruently with the diminished serotonergic transmission in raphe nucleus outputs. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depressive behavior appeared mutually exclusive. Therefore, the pilocarpine model of epilepsy affords a system for reproducing and studying mechanisms of comorbidity between epilepsy and both ADHD and/or depression.
Assuntos
Transtorno do Deficit de Atenção com Hiperatividade/complicações , Sintomas Comportamentais/etiologia , Epilepsia/complicações , Animais , Transtorno do Deficit de Atenção com Hiperatividade/induzido quimicamente , Transtorno do Deficit de Atenção com Hiperatividade/patologia , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Doença Crônica , Comportamento Compulsivo/induzido quimicamente , Convulsivantes/toxicidade , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Epilepsia/induzido quimicamente , Epilepsia/patologia , Lateralidade Funcional/efeitos dos fármacos , Resposta de Imobilidade Tônica/efeitos dos fármacos , Cloreto de Lítio/toxicidade , Masculino , Estimulação Luminosa , Pilocarpina/toxicidade , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Tempo de Reação/efeitos dos fármacos , Natação/psicologiaRESUMO
RATIONALE: Various dimensions of impulsivity have been linked to substance abuse and dependence, both as consequences of, and as predisposing factors to addiction. With respect to the latter, they may be quantitative indicators of liability for substance use disorders (SUD) and aid in determining underlying genetic influences. We have previously determined that inhibitory control over impulsive responding, as measured by a reversal learning task, is heritable and under substantial genetic control, however their role as explaining variables for aspects of SUD have not been well explored. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test for an association between genetically determined differences in inhibitory control and addiction-related phenotypes, such that phenotypes of poor inhibitory control would predict propensity for elevated operant drug-seeking and -taking behaviors. METHODS: Mice from BxD strains with either good reversal learning (GRL) or poor reversal learning (PRL) ability were tested for intravenous cocaine self-administration under FR1, FR2, and FR5 reinforcement schedules. Additionally, locomotor responses to experimenter-delivered cocaine were assessed. RESULTS: Compared to GRL strains, PRL strains acquired self-administration behavior more rapidly and administered cocaine at greater rates under all schedules of reinforcement, without any differences in discrimination index. In addition, PRL mice also exhibited increased responding during time-out periods. PRL strains also showed larger locomotor responses to 10 or 20 mg/kg injections of cocaine. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that heritable strain differences in inhibitory control do influence drug self-administration, thus suggest that genetically driven impulsivity of this type may predispose susceptibility to drug abuse and addiction.
Assuntos
Comportamento Animal/efeitos dos fármacos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Cocaína/psicologia , Cocaína/administração & dosagem , Inibição Psicológica , Reversão de Aprendizagem/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Condicionamento Operante , Feminino , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos , Atividade Motora/efeitos dos fármacos , Reforço Psicológico , AutoadministraçãoRESUMO
Deep insights into the structural, molecular and functional phenotypes underlying addiction have been made possible through in vivo neuroimaging techniques implemented in non-human and human primates. In addition to providing evidence that many of the neural alterations detected in stimulant-dependent individuals can emerge solely through experience with drugs, these studies have identified potential biological phenotypes that influence addiction liability. Here, we review recent advances that have been made in understanding the pathophysiology of stimulant addiction using neuroimaging techniques in non-human primates. Evidence indicates that dysfunction of the dopamine system can be both a cause and consequence of stimulant use and that this bi-directional relationship may be mediated by the ability of individuals to exert inhibitory control over behaviors. Further, recent data has demonstrated an involvement of the serotonin system in addiction-related behaviors and neurobiology, suggesting that the relationship between dopamine and serotonin systems may be altered in addiction. This approach aids in the development of novel targets that can be used in the treatment of addiction.
Assuntos
Comportamento Aditivo , Inibição Psicológica , Neuroimagem , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/complicações , Animais , Comportamento Aditivo/diagnóstico , Comportamento Aditivo/etiologia , Comportamento Aditivo/metabolismo , Dopamina/metabolismo , Humanos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/diagnósticoRESUMO
Mouse models carrying Disc1 mutations may provide insights into how Disc1 genetic variations contribute to schizophrenia (SZ) susceptibility. Disc1 mutant mice show behavioral and cognitive disturbances reminiscent of SZ. To dissect the synaptic mechanisms underlying these phenotypes, we examined electrophysiological properties of cortical neurons from two mouse models, the first expressing a truncated mouse Disc1 (mDisc1) protein throughout the entire brain, and the second expressing a truncated human Disc1 (hDisc1) protein in forebrain regions. We obtained whole-cell patch clamp recordings to examine how altered expression of Disc1 protein changes excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmissions onto cortical pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex in 4-7 month-old mDisc1 and hDisc1 mice. In both mDisc1 and hDisc1 mice, the frequency of spontaneous EPSCs was greater than in wild-type littermate controls. Male mice from both lines were more affected by the Disc1 mutation than were females, exhibiting increases in the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory events. Changes in spontaneous IPSCs were only observed in the mDisc1 model and were sex-specific, with diminished cortical GABAergic neurotransmission, a well-documented characteristic of SZ, occurring only in male mDisc1 mice. In contrast, female mDisc1 mice showed an increase in the frequency of small-amplitude sIPSCs. These findings indicate that truncations of Disc1 alter glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission both commonly and differently in the models and some of the effects are sex-specific, revealing how altered Disc1 expression may contribute to behavioral disruptions and cognitive deficits of SZ.
Assuntos
Lobo Frontal/fisiopatologia , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/genética , Esquizofrenia/genética , Esquizofrenia/patologia , Deleção de Sequência/genética , Transmissão Sináptica/genética , Fatores Etários , Análise de Variância , Animais , Proteína Quinase Tipo 2 Dependente de Cálcio-Calmodulina/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Feminino , Lobo Frontal/patologia , Humanos , Técnicas In Vitro , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Transgênicos , Técnicas de Patch-Clamp , Caracteres Sexuais , Potenciais Sinápticos/genéticaRESUMO
Behavioral genetic studies of humans have associated variation in the DTNBP1 gene with schizophrenia and its cognitive deficit phenotypes. The protein encoded by DTNBP1, dysbindin-1, is expressed in forebrain neurons where it interacts with proteins mediating vesicular trafficking and exocytosis. It has been shown that loss of dysbindin-1 results in a decrease in glutamate release in the prefrontal cortex; however the mechanisms underlying this decrease are not fully understood. In order to investigate this question, we evaluated dysbindin-1 null mutant mice, using electrophysiological recordings of prefrontal cortical neurons, imaging studies of vesicles, calcium dynamics and Western blot measures of synaptic proteins and Ca(2+) channels. Dysbindin-1 null mice showed a decrease in the ready releasable pool of synaptic vesicles, decreases in quantal size, decreases in the probability of release and deficits in the rate of endo- and exocytosis compared with wild-type controls. Moreover, the dysbindin-1 null mice show decreases in the [Ca(2+)]i,expression of L- and N-type Ca(2+)channels and several proteins involved in synaptic vesicle trafficking and priming. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms of action of dysbindin-1.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Ácido Glutâmico/metabolismo , Mutação/genética , Neurônios/citologia , Sinapses/metabolismo , Animais , Animais Recém-Nascidos , Biofísica , Cálcio/metabolismo , Canais de Cálcio/metabolismo , Disbindina , Proteínas Associadas à Distrofina , Estimulação Elétrica , Potenciais Pós-Sinápticos Excitadores/efeitos dos fármacos , Potenciais Pós-Sinápticos Excitadores/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/genética , Técnicas In Vitro , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Transgênicos , Técnicas de Patch-Clamp , Cloreto de Potássio/farmacologia , Córtex Pré-Frontal/citologia , Probabilidade , Compostos de Piridínio/metabolismo , Compostos de Amônio Quaternário/metabolismo , Sinapses/efeitos dos fármacos , Sinapses/ultraestrutura , Vesículas Sinápticas/metabolismo , Sinaptossomos/efeitos dos fármacos , Sinaptossomos/metabolismoRESUMO
Prevalent use of bisphenol-A (BPA) in the manufacture of resins, plastics and paper products has led to frequent exposure of most people to this endocrine disruptor. Some rodent studies have suggested that BPA can exert detrimental effects on brain development. However as rodent models cannot be relied on to predict consequences of human exposure to BPA during development, it is important to investigate the effects of BPA on non-human primate brain development. Previous research suggests that BPA preferentially targets dopamine neurons in ventral mesencephalon and glutamatergic neurons in hippocampus, so the present work examined the susceptibility of these systems to low dose BPA exposure at the fetal and juvenile stages of development in non-human primates. Exposure of pregnant rhesus monkeys to relatively low levels of BPA during the final 2 months of gestation, induced abnormalities in fetal ventral mesencephalon and hippocampus. Specifically, light microscopy revealed a decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing (dopamine) neurons in the midbrain of BPA-exposed fetuses and electron microscopy identified a reduction in spine synapses in the CA1 region of hippocampus. In contrast, administration of BPA to juvenile vervet monkeys (14-18 months of age) was without effect on these indices, or on dopamine and serotonin concentrations in striatum and prefrontal cortex, or on performance of a cognitive task that tests working memory capacity. These data indicate that BPA exerts an age-dependent detrimental impact on primate brain development, at blood levels within the range measured in humans having only environmental contact with BPA.
Assuntos
Compostos Benzidrílicos/toxicidade , Região CA1 Hipocampal/efeitos dos fármacos , Espinhas Dendríticas/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurônios Dopaminérgicos/efeitos dos fármacos , Disruptores Endócrinos/toxicidade , Mesencéfalo/efeitos dos fármacos , Fenóis/toxicidade , Efeitos Tardios da Exposição Pré-Natal , Sinapses/efeitos dos fármacos , Fatores Etários , Animais , Comportamento Animal/efeitos dos fármacos , Biomarcadores/metabolismo , Região CA1 Hipocampal/embriologia , Região CA1 Hipocampal/metabolismo , Região CA1 Hipocampal/patologia , Região CA1 Hipocampal/fisiologia , Chlorocebus aethiops , Espinhas Dendríticas/metabolismo , Espinhas Dendríticas/patologia , Dopamina/metabolismo , Neurônios Dopaminérgicos/metabolismo , Neurônios Dopaminérgicos/patologia , Feminino , Idade Gestacional , Macaca mulatta , Masculino , Exposição Materna/efeitos adversos , Mesencéfalo/embriologia , Mesencéfalo/metabolismo , Mesencéfalo/patologia , Gravidez , Serotonina/metabolismo , Sinapses/metabolismo , Sinapses/patologia , Tirosina 3-Mono-Oxigenase/metabolismoRESUMO
The NIH-funded CNTRICS initiative has coordinated efforts to promote the vertical translation of novel procognitive molecules from testing in mice, rats and non-human primates, to clinical efficacy in patients with schizophrenia. CNTRICS highlighted improving construct validation of tasks across species to increase the likelihood that the translation of a candidate molecule to humans will be successful. Other aspects of cross-species behaviors remain important however. This review describes cognitive tasks utilized across species, providing examples of differences and similarities of innate behavior between species, as well as convergent construct and predictive validity. Tests of attention, olfactory discrimination, reversal learning, and paired associate learning are discussed. Moreover, information on the practical implication of species differences in drug development research is also provided. The issues covered here will aid in task development and utilization across species as well as reinforcing the positive role preclinical research can have in developing procognitive treatments for psychiatric disorders.
Assuntos
Transtornos Cognitivos/tratamento farmacológico , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Pesquisa Translacional Biomédica , Animais , Aprendizagem por Associação/efeitos dos fármacos , Transtornos Cognitivos/etiologia , Humanos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Esquizofrenia/complicações , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
We have developed an association-based approach using classical inbred strains of mice in which we correct for population structure, which is very extensive in mice, using an efficient mixed-model algorithm. Our approach includes inbred parental strains as well as recombinant inbred strains in order to capture loci with effect sizes typical of complex traits in mice (in the range of 5% of total trait variance). Over the last few years, we have typed the hybrid mouse diversity panel (HMDP) strains for a variety of clinical traits as well as intermediate phenotypes and have shown that the HMDP has sufficient power to map genes for highly complex traits with resolution that is in most cases less than a megabase. In this essay, we review our experience with the HMDP, describe various ongoing projects, and discuss how the HMDP may fit into the larger picture of common diseases and different approaches.
Assuntos
Camundongos Endogâmicos/genética , Animais , Bases de Dados Genéticas , CamundongosRESUMO
Schizophrenia is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder that is associated with a number of structural and functional neurophenotypes. DTNBP1, the gene encoding dysbindin-1, is a promising candidate gene for schizophrenia. Use of a mouse model carrying a large genomic deletion exclusively within the dysbindin gene permits a direct investigation of the gene in isolation. Here, we use manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to explore the regional alterations in brain structure and function caused by loss of the gene encoding dysbindin-1. We report novel findings that uniquely inform our understanding of the relationship of dysbindin-1 to known schizophrenia phenotypes. First, in mutant mice, analysis of the rate of manganese uptake into the brain over a 24-hour period, putatively indexing basal cellular activity, revealed differences in dopamine rich brain regions, as well as in CA1 and dentate subregions of the hippocampus formation. Finally, novel tensor-based morphometry techniques were applied to the mouse MRI data, providing evidence for structural volume deficits in cortical regions, subiculum and dentate gyrus, and the striatum of dysbindin mutant mice. The affected cortical regions were primarily localized to the sensory cortices in particular the auditory cortex. This work represents the first application of manganese-enhanced small animal imaging to a mouse model of schizophrenia endophenotypes, and a novel combination of functional and structural measures. It revealed both hypothesized and novel structural and functional neural alterations related to dysbindin-1.