Vasopressin potentiation in the performance of a learned appetitive task: Reversal by a pressor antagonist analog of vasopressin

doi:10.1016/0091-3057(83)90294-0

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

Volume 18, Issue 4, April 1983, Pages 645-647

https://doi.org/10.1016/0091-3057(83)90294-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

Rats were tested in a simple one-trial water-finding task for the effects of arginine vasopressin (AVP) on performance of an appetitive task. On the training day, each animal was exposed for 5 min to a novel open-field environment that contained a water-tube located in an alcove set into one of the walls of the enclosure. Immediately upon removal from the enclosure, the animals received a subcutaneous injection of either AVP (1 μg/rat) or vehicle solution. When water-deprived and tested 48 hr later, vasopressin-treated rats found the water tube reliably faster than controls. In other groups of animals, this potentiation in learned performance was prevented by concurrently treating the rats with a vasopressin analog having potent pressor antagonist properties. These results are consistent with the notion that vasopressin may play a role in memory consolidation, but peripheral visceral factors may mediate this action.

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Intranasal vasopressin expedites dishonesty in women
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Citation Excerpt :
As discussed above, AVP might reduce negative emotion and/or enhance positive emotion associated with altruistic dishonesty in the current round, which would reinforce enhanced dishonesty in the following rounds, rendering escalation of dishonest behaviors. In line with this conjecture, previous animal studies have demonstrated the role of AVP in reinforcement learning, such that AVP could reverse a learning deficit (Sparber et al., 1988), facilitate appetitively motivated learning (Messing and Sparber, 1985; Sara et al., 1982), and potentiate the performance of a learned appetitive task (Ettenberg et al., 1983). In the current study, intranasal AVP might blunt the negative emotional experience of the immorality and/or incent the prosocial reward, both of which might reinforce altruistic lying and result in the escalation of dishonesty.
As an integral ingredient of human sociality, dishonesty can be both egocentric and altruistic, as well as gradually escalate. Here, we examined the influence of arginine vasopressin (AVP), a neuropeptide associated with human prosocial behaviors, on dishonest behaviors in men and women. In this double-blind and placebo-controlled study, 101 participants were randomized to administration of either 20 IU intranasal AVP or placebo. We used a two-party task to manipulate the incentive structure of dishonesty in the way of self-/other-serving repeatedly. For lies that benefit both themselves and others, women receiving intranasal AVP lied more than women receiving intranasal placebo and men receiving intranasal AVP. The dishonest behavior of women treated with AVP gradually escalated with repetition over time. These results suggest that AVP selectively regulates the escalation of dishonesty in women, contingent on the motivation of dishonesty. Our findings provide insight into gender-specific modulations of AVP on human dishonest behavior.
Assessment of attention in male and female Brattleboro rats using a self-paced five-choice serial reaction time task
2013, Brain Research
Citation Excerpt :
However, the majority of studies conducted in BRAT rats report deficits in learning, memory, and prepulse inhibition (see the Introduction section). Moreover, the present findings are consistent with previous studies that have reported improvements in learning after administration of vasopressin in non-vasopressin deficient rats (Packard and Ettenberg, 1985; Ettenberg et al., 1983; Sara et al., 1982). The female BRAT rats exhibited significantly poorer attention accuracy than those of female HZ and LE rats.
The Brattleboro rat is a mutant variation of the Long–Evans strain that exhibits negligible central nervous system levels of vasopressin, a neuropeptide that may influence behavioral and cognitive processes. Compared to Long–Evans rats, Brattleboro rats exhibit diminished fear conditioning and have impairments in spatial memory and sensory gating. The present study sought to further evaluate the cognitive profile of vasopressin-deficient rats by studying attention in male and female Brattleboro and heterozygous rats using a self-paced version of the five-choice serial reaction time task. Male Brattleboro rats required significantly more sessions to meet the training criteria than those by heterozygotic and Long–Evans (wild type) rats. Female Brattleboro rats displayed significantly poorer attention accuracy compared to heterozygotic and Long–Evans rats. Taken together, the present findings add further evidence that vasopressin deficiency diminishes cognitive functioning.
Early impairment in a water-finding test in a longitudinal study of the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
2013, Brain Research
Citation Excerpt :
The water-finding test has been described as a latent memory and learning paradigm that is related to the attention process and the ability to sort visuospatial information (Ichihara et al., 1993; Nishida et al., 1997; Wang et al., 2007). This learning paradigm does not require motivation to train animals in the training trials, and the animals can freely explore the environment (Ettenberg et al., 1983; Ichihara et al., 1993; Mouri et al., 2007). We expected the behavioral deficits that were observed in the water-finding test to better reflect the cognitive failures and the forgetfulness that are witnessed in the everyday life of patients in the early stages of AD compared to other conventional tasks, including the MWM or fear conditioning.
Behavioral assessments of mouse models of neurodegenerative disorders are useful for investigating the molecular basis of the pathologies of the diseases. Here, we investigated the utility of a water-finding test using a video tracking system as a tool for evaluating cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease model mice. Transgenic mice expressing mutant amyloid precursor protein that incorporated the Swedish mutation (Tg2576 mice) were tested for behavioral alterations at 3, 5, 6, or 10 months of age. Tg2576 mice, which are widely used as a model of Alzheimer's disease, exhibited significant cognitive deficits in the water-finding test as early as 5 months of age. The impairments progressively worsened at 6 and 10 months of age. In addition, we analyzed spontaneous physical activities, such as locomotor activity, in the home-cage environment with an automated video analysis system (HomeCageScan). Our longitudinal study revealed that spontaneous behavior was altered in the Tg2576 mice, starting at the age of 10 months. Impairment in the Morris water maze (MWM) task was also first observed in the Tg2576 mice at the age of 10 months. These results indicated that the ability to perform the water-finding test was more susceptible to age-related cognitive deterioration in Tg2576 mice than the MWM test. We therefore propose that the water-finding test is a rapid and sensitive method that can be used to assess cognitive and/or behavioral deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
Pharmacological treatment of PTSD - Established and new approaches
2012, Neuropharmacology
Citation Excerpt :
Following this line of reasoning, it would also be conceivable that other classes of compounds that block HPA activity, such as vasopressin antagonists, e.g., V1b antagonists, could be of utility. Interestingly, vasopressin has been shown to affect consolidation processes, either directly or indirectly (e.g., Ettenberg et al., 1982), further strengthening the case. However, it should also be noted that individuals with lower peritraumatic cortisol levels have an increased likelihood for developing PTSD (Yehuda, 2004).
A large proportion of humans will experience a traumatic event at least once in their lifetime, with up to 10% then going on to developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this review we will discuss established pharmacological interventions for PTSD as well as highlight novel therapeutic strategies undergoing extensive pre-clinical research as well as ongoing clinical research. Such strategies include prophylactic treatments and use of pharmacotherapy as adjunctive treatment with established trauma-focused psychological therapies. These potential treatment approaches include modulation of stress effects on memory consolidation after trauma (e.g., glucocorticoid, corticotropin-releasing factor and norepinephrine signalling modulators), as well as putative cognitive enhancers that target mechanisms of conditioned fear extinction and reconsolidation (e.g., glucocorticoid receptor modulators and modulators of glutamate signalling such as positive allosteric modulators of glutamate receptors, glycine transporter inhibitors, or glycine agonists). We will discuss evidence for and against these potential novel treatment strategies and their limitations.
This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder’.
Arginine vasopressin gene expression changes within the nucleus accumbens during environment elicited cocaine-conditioned response in rats
2010, Neuropharmacology
Citation Excerpt :
Furthermore, the agonist, AVP 4-9, increased the expression of the conditioning response. It was previously shown that rats receiving a post-conditioning injection of AVP found a water tube faster than saline injected in a novel open field environment (Ettenberg et al., 1983a,b), an effect that is reversed by the use of an AVP antagonist (Ettenberg et al., 1983b). Recently, it was also demonstrated that NC-1900, a novel AVP 4-9 fragment analog, facilitated memory retention and retrieval in a step-through-type passive avoidance test (Sato et al., 2004).
It is known that changes in gene expression within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) occur during cocaine dependence development. However, identification of specific genes involved in cocaine conditioning awaits further investigation. We conducted a high throughput gene expression profile analysis of the NAc, during different stages of the environment-elicited cocaine conditioning. Rats were assigned to two different environmental conditions. Cocaine conditioned group received a cocaine injection (10 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to being placed in the activity chambers. Control rats received saline injections before being exposed to their environment. Both groups received a saline injection in their home cage. Conditioning training lasted for 10 days. Animals were then re-exposed to their previously paired environments only on day 12 (test session). We found that the gene for arginine vasopressin (AVP) was differentially expressed on experimental subjects during all stages of environment-elicited cocaine conditioning. To further validate our molecular results, biochemical and immunolocalization experiments were conducted. We found the presence of AVP within accumbal fibers and changes in AVP protein levels following cocaine conditioning. Moreover, we tested the effects of accumbal microinfusions of either AVP receptor V_1A agonist [pGlu⁴, Cyt6, Arg⁸] AVP 4-9 1.0 ng/0.5 μl, or V_1A antagonist (CH2) 5[Tyr (Me) 2] AVP, 1.0 ng/0.5 μl or vehicle solution (0.9% saline solution) during different stages of the cocaine conditioning. Blockade of V_1A receptors within the NAc during acquisition interrupted the expression of the conditioned response, while activation leads to an increase in this response. Our findings propose a new role for AVP in cocaine addiction.
References
2004, Advances in Pharmacology

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Vasopressin potentiation in the performance of a learned appetitive task: Reversal by a pressor antagonist analog of vasopressin

Abstract

Neurosci Lett

Lancet

Brain Res

Regul Pept

Lancet

Lancet

Physiol Behav

Lancet

Behav Biol

Design of potent antagonists of the vasopressor response to arginine vasopressin

J Med Chem

Effect of lysine vasopressin and ACTH 4–10 on conditioned avoiddance behavior of hypophysectomized rats

Neuroendocrinology

Intra- and extrahypothalamic vasopressin and oxytocin pathways in the rat: Pathway to the limbic system, medulla oblongata and spinal cord

Cell Tissue Res

Influence of anterior pituitary on avoidance learning and escape behavior

Am J Physiol