A multivariate regressor of patterned dopamine release predicts relapse to cocaine.

Understanding mesolimbic dopamine adaptations underlying vulnerability to drug relapse is essential to inform prognostic tools for effective treatment strategies. However, technical limitations have hindered the direct measurement of sub-second dopamine release in vivo for prolonged periods of time, making it difficult to gauge the weight that these dopamine abnormalities have in determining future relapse incidence. Here, we use the fluorescent sensor GrabDA to record, with millisecond resolution, every single cocaine-evoked dopamine transient in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of freely moving mice during self-administration.

Impairments in operant probabilistic reversal learning in BTBR T+tf/J male and female mice.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents with two core symptoms, impairments in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRBs). RRBs are commonly linked to a lack of behavioral flexibility, having a significant negative impact on daily functioning for ASD individuals and their caregivers. Commonly utilized tests of behavioral flexibility employ a traditional deterministic reward approach where choices are either correct or incorrect throughout testing.

Acute serotonin 1B/1A receptor activation impairs behavioral flexibility in C57BL/6J mice.

Pharmacological activation of the serotonin (5-HT) 1B and 5-HT1A receptors has been shown to induce OCD-like perseverative circling and locomotor stereotypy in rodents. Although, several studies have examined how activation of these receptors facilitates these motor-associated OCD-like behaviors, it is not known how acute 5-HT1B and 5-HT1A activation impacts behavioral inflexibility, a common trait related to OCD. The current study examined how acute 5-HT1B/1A receptor agonist RU24969 treatment at 0.

Serotonin 6 receptor modulation reduces locomotor activity in C57BL/6J mice.

The serotonin 6 receptor (5-HT6) is a more recently identified therapeutic target for several neuropsychiatric disorders. While the 5-HT6 receptor has gained interest as a target for novel therapeutics, determining the basic sex differences is lacking in the literature. To address this, the present study examined the effects of 5-HT6 receptor modulation on locomotor activity and open field measures of anxiety in C57BL/6J mice.

Serotonin 6 receptor blockade reduces repetitive behavior in the BTBR mouse model of autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the expression of restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) and impairments in social recognition and communication. Previous studies have found that specific serotonin (5-HT) receptor modulation can attenuate repetitive behaviors expressed in specific mouse strains. The present study examined how 5-HT6 receptor blockade impacts the expression of repetitive behaviors in two different mouse strains that demonstrate elevated restricted, repetitive behavior and impairments in social behavior.

Differences in the expression of restricted repetitive behaviors in female and male BTBR T + tf/J mice.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the expression of restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) and impairments in social recognition and communication. Epidemiological studies demonstrate males are three times more likely than females to be affected. Although this is the case, more recent studies suggest females may be underrepresented in these numbers due to standard clinical measures of RRBs and social behaviors.