title: Performance deficits of NK1 receptor knockout mice in the 5-choice serial reaction-time task: effects of d-amphetamine, stress and time of day.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The neurochemical status and hyperactivity of mice lacking functional substance P-preferring NK1 receptors (NK1R-/-) resemble abnormalities in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Here we tested whether NK1R-/- mice express other core features of ADHD (impulsivity and inattentiveness) and, if so, whether they are diminished by d-amphetamine, as in ADHD. Prompted by evidence that circadian rhythms are disrupted in ADHD, we also compared the performance of mice that were trained and tested in the morning or afternoon.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 5-Choice Serial Reaction-Time Task (5-CSRTT) was used to evaluate the cognitive performance of NK1R-/- mice and their wildtypes. After training, animals were tested using a long (LITI) and a variable (VITI) inter-trial interval: these tests were carried out with, and without, d-amphetamine pretreatment (0.3 or 1 mg/kg i.p.). NK1R-/- mice expressed greater omissions (inattentiveness), perseveration and premature responses (impulsivity) in the 5-CSRTT. In NK1R-/- mice, perseveration in the LITI was increased by injection-stress but reduced by d-amphetamine. Omissions by NK1R-/- mice in the VITI were unaffected by d-amphetamine, but premature responses were exacerbated by this psychostimulant. Omissions in the VITI were higher, overall, in the morning than the afternoon but, in the LITI, premature responses of NK1R-/- mice were higher in the afternoon than the morning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In addition to locomotor hyperactivity, NK1R-/- mice express inattentiveness, perseveration and impulsivity in the 5-CSRTT, thereby matching core criteria for a model of ADHD. Because d-amphetamine reduced perseveration in NK1R-/- mice, this action does not require functional NK1R. However, the lack of any improvement of omissions and premature responses in NK1R-/- mice given d-amphetamine suggests that beneficial effects of this psychostimulant in other rodent models, and ADHD patients, need functional NK1R. Finally, our results reveal experimental variables (stimulus parameters, stress and time of day) that could influence translational studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ting Carrie
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dudley
authors.forename: Ruth K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Weir
authors.forename: Ewelina M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Grabowska
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peña-Oliver
authors.forename: Tamzin L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Ripley
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.forename: S Clare
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Stanford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000145:classification*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000187:drug effects*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1 / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018040:Receptors, Neurokinin-1; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D003913:Dextroamphetamine