Attentional capacities prior to drug exposure predict motivation to self-administer nicotine.
Psychopharmacology. 2018-04-27; 235(7): 2041-2050
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-4901-0
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Vandaele Y(1)(2), Noe E(1)(2), Cador M(1)(2), Dellu-Hagedorn F(3)(4), Caille S(5)(6).
Author information:
(1)Université de Bordeaux, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives
d’Aquitaine, BP31, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
(2)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5287-Institut de
Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
(3)Université de Bordeaux, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives
d’Aquitaine, BP31, F-33076, Bordeaux, France. .
(4)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5287-Institut de
Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
.
(5)Université de Bordeaux, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives
d’Aquitaine, BP31, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
.
(6)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5287-Institut de
Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, F-33076, Bordeaux, France.
.
RATIONALE: Nicotine can enhance attention and attribution of incentive salience
to nicotine-associated stimuli. However, it is not clear whether inter-individual
differences in attentional capacities prior to any exposure could play a role in
vulnerability to nicotine self-administration. We further explored this
vulnerability through pre-existing inter-individual differences in attention to a
reward-predictive cue in drug-free animals.
METHODS: A cued version of the Fixed Consecutive Number schedule (FCN16cue) of
reinforcement task was used to assess attention. This task consists in completing
a long chain of sequential lever presses to obtain a reward, and examines the
rats’ ability to pay attention to a cue light that signals its availability. Rats
were then trained to self-administer nicotine intravenously (30 μg/kg/0.1 mL).
Drug-taking and seeking behaviors were investigated.
RESULTS: Our results showed important inter-individual differences in response
for nicotine during the progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. By comparing
rats in the lower and upper quartiles of the mean breaking point, we showed that
high-motivated rats were also more sensitive to the reinforcing properties of
nicotine than low-motivated ones. We found that while both groups did not differ
in premature responding in the FCN16cue task, high-motivated rats were more
efficient in taking the cue light into account than low-motivated rats as shown
by a higher proportion of optimal chains, indicating a higher level of attention
to the reward-predictive cue. Moreover, it was positively correlated with higher
motivation for nicotine, a hallmark of nicotine addiction.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that higher attention to reward-associated
cues prior to drug taking predicts vulnerability to nicotine-reinforcing
properties.