Antagonism of nucleus accumbens M(2) muscarinic receptors disrupts operant responding for sucrose under a progressive ratio reinforcement schedule.
Diverse cholinergic signaling mechanisms regulate the excitability of striatal principal neurons and modulate striatal-dependent behavior. These effects are mediated, in part, by action at muscarinic receptors (mAChR), subtypes of which exhibit distinct patterns of expression across striatal neuronal populations. Non-selective mAChR blockade within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been shown to disrupt operant responding for food and to inhibit food consumption. However, the specific receptor subtypes mediating these effects are not known. Thus, we evaluated effects of intra-NAc infusions of pirenzepine and methoctramine, mAChR antagonisits with distinct binding affinity profiles, on operant responding for sucrose reward under a progressive ratio (PR) reinforcement schedule. Moderate to high doses of methoctramine disrupted operant responding and reduced behavioral breakpoint. In contrast, pirenzepine failed to impact operant performance at any dose tested. Methoctramine failed to affect latencies to complete appetitive-consummatory response sequences or to impact measures of acoustic startle, suggesting that its' disruptive effects on operant behavior were not consequent to gross motor impairment. Since methoctramine has a greater affinity for M(2) receptors compared to pirenzepine, which has a greater relative affinity for M(1) and M(3) receptors, these findings suggest that M(2) mAChRs within the NAc regulate behavioral processes underling the acquisition of reward.
Cousens
Graham A
GA
Department of Psychology and Program in Cognitive and Neuroscience Studies, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105, United States. cousens@macalester.edu
Beckley
Jacob T
JT
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects*; D003959:Diamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects*; D010890:Pirenzepine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic / Q000187:drug effects; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013395:Sucrose
D003959:Diamines; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D010890:Pirenzepine; D013395:Sucrose; C054938:methoctramine