Amphetamine increases motivation of humans and mice as measured by breakpoint, but does not affect an Electroencephalographic biomarker

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2024 Jan 2. doi: 10.3758/s13415-023-01150-z. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTranslation of drug targets from preclinical studies to clinical trials has been aided by cross-species behavioral tasks, but evidence for brain-based engagement during task performance is still required. Cross-species progressive ratio breakpoint tasks (PRBTs) measure motivation-related behavior and are pharmacologically and clinically sensitive. We recently advanced elevated parietal alpha power as a cross-species electroencephalographic (EEG) biomarker of PRBT engagement. Given that amphetamine increases breakpoint in mice, we tested its effects on breakpoint and parietal alpha power in both humans and mice. Twenty-three healthy participants performed the PRBT with EEG after amphetamine or placebo in a double-blind design. C57BL/6J mice were trained on PRBT with EEG (n = 24) and were treated with amphetamine or vehicle. A second cohort of mice was trained on PRBT without EEG (n = 40) and was treated with amphetamine or vehicle. In humans, amphetamine increased breakpoint. In mice, during concomitant EEG, 1 mg/kg of amphetamine significantly decreased breakpoint. In cohort 2, however, 0.3 mg/kg of amphetamine increased breakpoint consistent with human findings. Increased alpha power was observed in both species as they reached breakpoint, replicating previous findings. Amphetamine did not affect alpha power in either species. Amphetamine increased effort in humans and mice...
Source: Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: research