Single prolonged stress decreases sign-tracking and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking.

Single prolonged stress decreases sign-tracking and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking.
Behav Brain Res. 2018 Aug 02;:
Authors: Fitzpatrick CJ, Jagannathan L, Lowenstein E, Robinson TE, Becker JB, Morrow JD
Abstract
Exposure to prolonged, uncontrollable stress reduces reward-seeking behavior, resulting in anhedonia in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. However, it is unclear to what degree stressed subjects lose interest in rewards themselves or in reward-related cues that instigate reward-seeking behavior. In the present study, we investigated the effects of single prolonged stress (SPS) on cue-directed behavior in two different procedures: Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to SPS and tested for the acquisition of sign-tracking (cue-directed) and goal-tracking (reward-directed) behaviors during a PCA procedure. In Experiment 2, rats were exposed to SPS and tested for the expression of sign- and goal-tracking as well as cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Because dopaminergic activity in the nucleus accumbens is known to play a central role in many cue-directed behaviors, including both sign-tracking and cue-induced reinstatement, Experiment 3 used in vivo microdialysis to measure the effect of SPS on baseline and evoked dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. SPS decreased sign-tracking and in...

Source: Behavioural Brain Research - August 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Fitzpatrick CJ, Jagannathan L, Lowenstein E, Robinson TE, Becker JB, Morrow JD Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research