scholarly journals Individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to social cues

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jonathan D. Morrow
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach ◽  
Conditioned Approach

AbstractResearch on the attribution of incentive salience to drug cues has furthered our understanding of drug self-administration in animals as well as drug relapse and craving in humans. The influence of peers and other social cues on drug-seeking has garnered more attention recently, but few studies have investigated the ability of social cues to gain incentive-motivational value. In the present study, a Pavlovian conditioned approach procedure was used to identify rats that are more (sign-trackers) or less (goal-trackers) prone to attribute incentive salience to food reward cues. A novel procedure then employed social ‘peers’ to compare the tendency of sign-trackers and goal-trackers to attribute incentive salience to social reward cues. Social behavior of sign-trackers and goal-trackers was also compared using social interaction and choice tests. Finally, basal levels of plasma oxytocin were measured in sign-trackers and goal-trackers, because oxytocin is known to modulate the mesolimbic reward system and social behavior. Compared to goal-trackers, sign-trackers attributed more incentive salience to social cues and exhibited more prosocial behaviors. No group differences were observed in baseline plasma oxytocin levels. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate a concordance of individual variation in social behavior, the attribution of incentive salience to social cues following peer interaction, and attribution of incentive salience to food cues. This general tendency to attribute motivational value to reward cues has important implications for the pathophysiology of addiction and other disorders of reward learning.

scholarly journals Sensitivity to food and cocaine cues are independent traits in a large sample of heterogeneous stock rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. King ◽  
Jordan A. Tripi ◽  
Alesa R. Hughson ◽  
Aidan P. Horvath ◽  
Alexander C. Lamparelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Heterogeneous Stock ◽  
Conditioned Approach ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Conditioned Cue Preference

AbstractSensitivity to cocaine and its associated stimuli (“cues”) are important factors in the development and maintenance of addiction. Rodent studies suggest that this sensitivity is related, in part, to the propensity to attribute incentive salience to food cues, which, in turn, contributes to the maintenance of cocaine self-administration, and cue-induced relapse of drug-seeking. Whereas each of these traits has established links to drug use, the relatedness between the individual traits themselves has not been well characterized in preclinical models. To this end, the propensity to attribute incentive salience to a food cue was first assessed in two distinct cohorts of 2716 outbred heterogeneous stock rats (HS; formerly N:NIH). We then determined whether each cohort was associated with performance in one of two paradigms (cocaine conditioned cue preference and cocaine contextual conditioning). These measure the unconditioned locomotor effects of cocaine, as well as conditioned approach and the locomotor response to a cocaine-paired floor or context. There was large individual variability and sex differences among all traits, but they were largely independent of one another in both males and females. These findings suggest that these traits may contribute to drug-use via independent underlying neuropsychological processes.

scholarly journals Sensitivity to food and cocaine cues are independent traits in a large sample of heterogeneous stock rats

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. King ◽  
Jordan A. Tripi ◽  
Alesa R. Hughson ◽  
Aidan P. Horvath ◽  
Alexander C. Lamparelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Heterogeneous Stock ◽  
Conditioned Approach ◽  
The Individual

AbstractSensitivity to cocaine and its associated stimuli (“cues”) are important factors in the development and maintenance of addiction. Rodent studies suggest that this sensitivity is related, in part, to the propensity to attribute incentive salience to food cues, which, in turn, contributes to the maintenance of cocaine self-administration, and cue-induced relapse of drug-seeking. Whereas each of these traits has established links to drug use, the relatedness between the individual traits themselves has not been well characterized in preclinical models. To this end, the propensity to attribute incentive salience to a food cue was first assessed in a large population of 2716 outbred heterogeneous stock rats. We then determined whether this was associated with performance in two paradigms (cocaine conditioned cue preference and cocaine contextual conditioning). These measure the unconditioned locomotor effects of cocaine, as well as conditioned approach and the locomotor response to a cocaine-paired floor or context. There was large individual variability and sex differences among all traits, but they were largely independent of one another in both males and females. These findings suggest that these traits may contribute to drug-use via independent underlying neuropsychological processes.

scholarly journals Effects of the cannabinoid receptor agonist CP-55,940 on incentive salience attribution

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Gheidi ◽  
Lora M. Cope ◽  
Christopher J. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Benjamin N. Froehlich ◽  
Rachel Atkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cannabinoid Receptor ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Prelimbic Cortex ◽  
Sign Tracking ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach ◽  
Conditioned Approach ◽  
Cp 55,940 ◽  
Goal Tracking ◽  
Cannabinoid Agonist

AbstractPavlovian conditioned approach paradigms are used to characterize the nature of motivational behaviors in response to stimuli as either directed toward the cue (i.e., sign-tracking) or the site of reward delivery (i.e., goal-tracking). Recent evidence has shown that activity of the endocannabinoid system increases dopaminergic activity in the mesocorticolimbic system, and other studies have shown that sign-tracking behaviors are dependent on dopamine. Therefore, we hypothesized that administration of a cannabinoid agonist would increase sign-tracking and decrease goal-tracking behaviors. Forty-seven adult male Sprague Dawley rats were given a low, medium, or high dose of the cannabinoid agonist CP-55,940 (N=12 per group) or saline (N=11) before Pavlovian conditioned approach training. A separate group of rats (N=32) were sacrificed after PCA training for measurement of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) using in situ hybridization. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, CP-55,940 dose-dependently decreased sign-tracking and increased goal-tracking behavior. CB1 expression was higher in sign-trackers compared to goal-trackers in the prelimbic cortex, but there were no significant differences in CB1 or FAAH expression in the infralimbic cortex, dCA1, dCA3, dorsal dentate gyrus, or amygdala. These results demonstrate that cannabinoid signaling can specifically influence behavioral biases toward sign- or goal-tracking. Pre-existing differences in CB1 expression patterns, particularly in the prelimbic cortex, could contribute to individual differences in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to reward cues.

scholarly journals The lateral hypothalamus and orexinergic transmission in the paraventricular thalamus promote the attribution of incentive salience to reward-associated cues

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua L Haight ◽  
Paolo Campus ◽  
Cristina E Maria-Rios ◽  
Allison M Johnson ◽  
Marin S Klumpner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Response ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Incentive Salience ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Conditioned Reward ◽  
Hypothalamic Area ◽  
Sign Tracking ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach ◽  
Conditioned Approach

AbstractRationalePrior research suggests that inputs from the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) contribute to the attribution of incentive salience to Pavlovian-conditioned reward cues. However, a causal role for the LHA in this phenomenon has not been demonstrated. In addition, it is unknown which hypothalamic neurotransmitter or peptide system(s) are involved in mediating incentive salience attribution.ObjectivesTo examine: 1) the role of the LHA in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues, and 2) the role of orexinergic signaling in the PVT on the expression of Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) behavior, a reflection of incentive salience attribution.MethodsMale Sprague-Dawley rats received bilateral excitotoxic lesions of the LHA prior to the acquisition of Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) behavior. A separate cohort of male rats acquired PavCA behavior and were characterized as sign-trackers (STs) or goal-trackers (GTs) based on their conditioned response. The orexin 1 receptor (OX1r) antagonist SB-334867, or the orexin 2 receptor (OX2r) antagonist TCS-OX2-29, were then administered directly into the PVT to assess the effects of these pharmacological agents on the expression of PavCA behavior and on the conditioned reinforcing properties of the Pavlovian reward cue.ResultsLesions of the LHA before training attenuated the development of lever-directed (sign-tracking) behaviors in the PavCA paradigm, without affecting magazine-directed (goal-tracking) behaviors. In STs, administration of the OX1r antagonist into the PVT reduced lever-directed behaviors and increased magazine-directed behaviors; while administration of the OX2r antagonist only reduced lever-directed behaviors. Further, OX2r, but not OX1r, antagonism was able to reduce the incentive motivational value of the conditioned stimulus on a conditioned reinforcement test in STs. The behavior of GTs was unaffected by orexinergic antagonism in the PVT.ConclusionsThe LHA is necessary for the attribution of incentive salience to reward cues and, thereby, the development of a sign-tracking conditioned response. Furthermore, blockade of orexin signaling in the PVT attenuates the incentive value of a Pavlovian reward cue. These data suggest that hypothalamic orexin inputs to the PVT are a key component of the circuitry that encodes the incentive motivational value of reward cues and promotes maladaptive cue-driven behaviors.

scholarly journals Using a robotic fish to investigate individual differences in social responsiveness in the guppy

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 181026 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bierbach ◽  
Tim Landgraf ◽  
Pawel Romanczuk ◽  
Juliane Lukas ◽  
Hai Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Social Responsiveness ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Test Environment ◽  
Biomimetic Robots

Responding towards the actions of others is one of the most important behavioural traits whenever animals of the same species interact. Mutual influences among interacting individuals may modulate the social responsiveness seen and thus make it often difficult to study the level and individual variation in responsiveness. Here, open-loop biomimetic robots that provide standardized, non-interactive social cues can be a useful tool. These robots are not affected by the live animal's actions but are assumed to still represent valuable and biologically relevant social cues. As this assumption is crucial for the use of biomimetic robots in behavioural studies, we hypothesized (i) that meaningful social interactions can be assumed if live animals maintain individual differences in responsiveness when interacting with both a biomimetic robot and a live partner. Furthermore, to study the level of individual variation in social responsiveness, we hypothesized (ii) that individual differences should be maintained over the course of multiple tests with the robot. We investigated the response of live guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) when allowed to interact either with a biomimetic open-loop-controlled fish robot—‘Robofish’—or with a live companion. Furthermore, we investigated the responses of live guppies when tested three times with Robofish. We found that responses of live guppies towards Robofish were weaker compared with those of a live companion, most likely as a result of the non-interactive open-loop behaviour of Robofish. Guppies, however, were consistent in their individual responses between a live companion and Robofish, and similar individual differences in response towards Robofish were maintained over repeated testing even though habituation to the test environment was detectable. Biomimetic robots like Robofish are therefore a useful tool for the study of social responsiveness in guppies and possibly other small fish species.

Size of Human Figures Drawn before and after Stress

1969 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lowell Cooper ◽  
Joseph Caston
Keyword(s):  
Individual Variation ◽  
Heart Surgery ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Human Figure ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Post Stress

This study measured the effect of a real stress, the announcement of impending heart surgery, on the size of the human figure. The H-T-P was administered before and after the announcement of the operation, with matched controls being told they would not need the operation ( Ns = 10). While the individual variation in coping styles obscured group differences, there was a trend for post-stress drawings by the operated group to be larger than their pre-stress drawings.

scholarly journals Nicotine-enhanced Pavlovian conditioned approach is resistant to omission of expected outcome

2018 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 16-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sierra J. Stringfield ◽  
Charlotte A. Boettiger ◽  
Donita L. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Pavlovian Conditioned Approach ◽  
Expected Outcome ◽  
Conditioned Approach

scholarly journals Individual variation in the propensity to attribute incentive salience to a food cue: Influence of sex

2015 ◽  
Vol 278 ◽  
pp. 462-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle K. Pitchers ◽  
Shelly B. Flagel ◽  
Elizabeth G. O’Donnell ◽  
Leah C. Solberg Woods ◽  
Martin Sarter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Variation ◽  
Incentive Salience
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