Alcohol-Preferring Rats Show Goal Oriented Behaviour to Food Incentives but Are Neither Sign-Trackers Nor Impulsive

Abstract

Drug addiction is often associated with impulsivity and altered behavioural responses to both primary and conditioned rewards. Here we investigated whether selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats show differential levels of impulsivity and conditioned behavioural responses to food incentives. P and NP rats were assessed for impulsivity in the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), a widely used translational task in humans and other animals, as well as Pavlovian conditioned approach to measure sign- and goal-tracking behaviour. Drug-naïve P and NP rats showed similar levels of impulsivity on the 5-CSRTT, assessed by the number of premature, anticipatory responses, even when the waiting interval to respond was increased. However, unlike NP rats, P rats were faster to enter the food magazine and spent more time in this area. In addition, P rats showed higher levels of goal-tracking responses than NP rats, as measured by the number of magazine nose-pokes during the presentation of a food conditioned stimulus. By contrast, NP showed higher levels of sign-tracking behaviour than P rats. Following a 4-week exposure to intermittent alcohol we confirmed that P rats had a marked preference for, and consumed more alcohol than, NP rats, but were not more impulsive when re-tested in the 5-CSRTT. These findings indicate that high alcohol preferring and drinking P rats are neither intrinsically impulsive nor do they exhibit impulsivity after exposure to alcohol. However, P rats do show increased goal-directed behaviour to food incentives and this may be associated with their strong preference for alcohol.

The origins of individual differences in how learning is expressed in rats: A general-process perspective.

“…Of course, it remains possible that these appetitive reinforcers generate individual differences in dopamine release (see Cameron, Wightman, & Carelli, 2014 ; McCutcheon, Beeler, & Roitman, 2012 ). Nevertheless, it is of interest to note that rats that have been selectively bred to prefer alcohol are more likely to engage in goal-tracking, and less likely to engage in sign-tracking, than their nonalcohol preferring counterparts ( Peña-Oliver et al, 2015 ). These results suggest an important link between a propensity to prefer alcohol and goal-tracking based on a food reinforcer.…”

TLR4 signaling in VTA dopaminergic neurons regulates impulsivity through tyrosine hydroxylase modulation

“… 6 , 7 However, impulsivity is a multidimensional construct with a heterogeneous relationship to drug use 5 , 6 , 30 and the genes involved in the predisposition to become alcohol-dependent and their function are still unclear. Using the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) to measure impulsivity, Pena-Oliver et al 31 have recently concluded that alcohol-preferring P rats are not intrinsically impulsive nor do they exhibit impulsivity after exposure to alcohol. Rather, their strong alcohol preference reflects increased goal-directed behavior to food incentives.…”

Standardized instruments to assess the relationship between impulsivity and risk behaviors in adolescents: systematic review

“…Alguns dos estudos aqui apresentados usaram instrumentos que entendem a impulsividade como parte do comportamento do adolescente enquanto outros, um componente da personalidade e, portanto, mais relacionado a algo que acompanha a constituição do jeito de ser do adolescente para além do comportamento. Tal achado corrobora a literatura (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1977;Moeller et al, 2001;Peña-Oliver et al, 2015;Vasconcelos et al, 2012).…”

“…A impulsividade não tem uma concordância quanto a sua definição (Dir, Coskunpinar, & Cyders, 2014; International Society for Research on Impulsivity, 2017). Alguns estudiosos (Moeller, Barratt, Dougherty, Schmitz, & Swann, 2001;Peña-Oliver et al, 2015;Vasconcelos, Malloy-Diniz, & Correa, 2012) afirmam que é um construto multidimensional (biológico e comportamental). Outros (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1977;Vasconcelos et al, 2012), referem que é uma dimensão da personalidade (enquanto modo de pensar, sentir e agir).…”