title: Pulling habits out of rats: adenosine 2A receptor antagonism in dorsomedial striatum rescues meth-amphetamine-induced deficits in goal-directed action.
abstract: Addiction is characterized by a persistent loss of behavioral control resulting in insensitivity to negative feedback and abnormal decision-making. Here, we investigated the influence of methamphetamine (METH)-paired contextual cues on decision-making in rats. Choice between goal-directed actions was sensitive to outcome devaluation in a saline-paired context but was impaired in the METH-paired context, a deficit that was also found when negative feedback was provided. Reductions in c-Fos-related immunoreactivity were found in dorsomedial striatum (DMS) but not dorsolateral striatum after exposure to the METH context suggesting this effect reflected a loss specifically in goal-directed control in the METH context. This reduction in c-Fos was localized to non-enkephalin-expressing neurons in the DMS, likely dopamine D1-expressing direct pathway neurons, suggesting a relative change in control by the D1-direct versus D2-indirect pathways originating in the DMS may have been induced by METH-context exposure. To test this suggestion, we infused the adenosine 2A receptor antagonist ZM241385 into the DMS prior to test to reduce activity in D2 neurons relative to D1 neurons in the hope of reducing the inhibitory output from this region of the striatum. We found that this treatment fully restored sensitivity to negative feedback in a test conducted in the METH-paired context. These results suggest that drug exposure alters decision-making by downregulation of the circuitry mediating goal-directed action, an effect that can be ameliorated by acute A2Areceptor inhibition in this circuit.
authors.affiliation: Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Teri M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Furlong
authors.affiliation: Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Alva S A
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Supit
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Corbit
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, UNSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Killcross
authors.affiliation: Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Bernard W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Balleine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects*; D003463:Cues; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006040:Goals; D006184:Habits; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058915:Purinergic P1 Receptor Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D058915:Purinergic P1 Receptor Antagonists; D008694:Methamphetamine; D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: Adenosine 2A receptor; dorsolateral striatum; dorsomedial striatum; drug seeking; goal-directed action; habit; methamphetamine