Incentive loss and hippocampal gene expression in inbred Roman high- (RHA-I) and Roman low- (RLA-I) avoidance rats

Dopamine, Noradrenaline and Differences in Sexual Behavior between Roman High and Low Avoidance Male Rats: A Microdialysis Study in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

“…In this regard, it is pertinent to recall that a higher dopaminergic tone is considered to be responsible, at least in part, of many of the different and even opposite behavioral traits present in RHA and RLA rats. Accordingly, RHA rats are active copers, highly impulsive, novelty and sensation seekers and are prone to intake and abuse several classes of drugs of addiction, while RLA rats are reactive copers, hyperemotional and are prone to develop depressive-like symptoms (Zeier et al, 1978; Giorgi et al, 1994, 2003b, 2007; Corda et al, 1997, 2014; Escorihuela et al, 1999; Steimer and Driscoll, 2003; Lecca et al, 2004; Giménez-Llort et al, 2005; Carrasco et al, 2008; Fattore et al, 2009; Moreno et al, 2010; Coppens et al, 2012; Díaz-Morán et al, 2012; Sabariego et al, 2013; Manzo et al, 2014a,b; Oliveras et al, 2015), including the higher sexual motivation and better copulatory performance of sexually naïve and experienced RHA rats vs. RHA rats (Sanna et al, 2015). The higher increase in the concentrations of extracellular dopamine found in the dialysate from the mPFC of sexually naïve and experienced RHA rats resembles the higher extracellular dopamine concentrations found in the dialysate from the nucleus accumbens of sexually naïve and experienced RHA rats with respect to their RLA counterparts (Sanna et al, 2015).…”

Behavioral neuroscience of psychological pain

“…Recent studies have identified molecular pathways that could play a role in complex behavioral traits known to be divergent in Roman rats (Fernández-Teruel et al, 2002;Sabariego et al, 2011). In this vein, Sabariego et al (2013) exposed Roman rats to reward devaluation in the goal box of a straight alley and observed an iSNC effect in RLA-I rats, but not in RHA-I rats. This behavioral divergence was accompanied by differences in the hippocampal expression of genes such as TAAR2, THAP1, PKD2L1, and NANOS, which have been related to schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and drug addiction.…”

Neonatal handling decreases unconditioned anxiety, conditioned fear, and improves two-way avoidance acquisition: a study with the inbred Roman high (RHA-I)- and low-avoidance (RLA-I) rats of both sexes

“…In fact, RLAs (both from the outbred lines and from the inbred strain) are more anxious and/or fearful than their RHA counterparts in a wide series of unconditioned and conditioned tests/tasks (e.g., Ferré et al, 1995b ; Escorihuela et al, 1999 ; Steimer and Driscoll, 2003 , 2005 ; Driscoll et al, 2009 ; López-Aumatell et al, 2009a , b ; Díaz-Morán et al, 2012 ; Martinez-Membrives et al, 2015 ). Moreover, RLA rats display enhanced frustration responses following reward down-shift (e.g., Torres et al, 2005 ; Rosas et al, 2007 ; Sabariego et al, 2013 ) and higher stress-induced HPA-axis and prolactin responses than RHAs (e.g., Steimer and Driscoll, 2003 , 2005 ; Carrasco et al, 2008 ; Díaz-Morán et al, 2012 ). To sum up, it is commonly accepted that, compared with RHAs, RLAs rats display increased anxiety, fearfulness, stress sensitivity, and a predominantly passive (reactive) coping style when facing situations involving conflict (e.g., Steimer and Driscoll, 2003 , 2005 ; Díaz-Morán et al, 2012 ).…”