Name: a procedure to study stress-induced relapse of heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence
Uploaded: 2022-03-23T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the Natural Sciences &#38; Engineering Council Discovery Program (US: RGPIN-2016-06694).

All rats are treated according to the guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Approval for all the experimental procedures was granted by the Concordia University Animal Research Ethics Committee.
1. Animals
<ol>
	<li>Acquire Long Evans rats weighing 275-300 g (males) or 225-250 g (females). Double house rats in standard plastic cages with corncob bedding and shredded paper until surgery.</li>
	<li>Keep the rats on a reversed light-dark cycle (lights off at 9:30 A...

<ol>
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A., de Wit, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Challenges+for+translational+psychopharmacology+research--some+basic+principles.">Challenges for translational psychopharmacology research--some basic principles.</a> Psychopharmacology (Berl). 199 (3), 291-301 (2008).</li><li>Sinha, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=How+does+stress+increase+risk+of+drug+abuse+and+relapse.">How does stress increase risk of drug abuse and relapse.</a> Psychopharmacology. 158, 343-359 (2001).</li><li>Cheskin, L. J., Hess, J. M., Henningfield, J., Gorelick, D. 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V., Minier-Toribio, A., Shekara, A., Bossert, J. M., Shaham, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effect+of+the+dopamine+stabilizer+(-)-OSU6162+on+potentiated+incubation+of+opioid+craving+after+electric+barrier-induced+voluntary+abstinence.">Effect of the dopamine stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 on potentiated incubation of opioid craving after electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence.</a> Neuropsychopharmacology. 45 (5), 770-779 (2020).</li><li>Pelloux, Y., Everitt, B. J., Dickinson, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Compulsive+drug+seeking+by+rats+under+punishment:+effects+of+drug+taking+history.">Compulsive drug seeking by rats under punishment: effects of drug taking history.</a> Psychopharmacology (Berl). 194 (1), 127-137 (2007).</li><li>Marchant, N. J., Campbell, E. J., Kaganovsky, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Punishment+of+alcohol-reinforced+responding+in+alcohol+preferring+P+rats+reveals+a+bimodal+population:+Implications+for+models+of+compulsive+drug+seeking.">Punishment of alcohol-reinforced responding in alcohol preferring P rats reveals a bimodal population: Implications for models of compulsive drug seeking.</a> Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology &amp; Biological Psychiatry. 87, 68-77 (2018).</li><li>Krasnova, I. N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Incubation+of+methamphetamine+and+palatable+food+craving+after+punishment-induced+abstinence.">Incubation of methamphetamine and palatable food craving after punishment-induced abstinence.</a> Neuropsychopharmacology. 39 (8), 2008-2016 (2014).</li><li>Panlilio, L. 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J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High+impulsivity+predicts+relapse+to+cocaine-seeking+after+punishment-induced+abstinence.">High impulsivity predicts relapse to cocaine-seeking after punishment-induced abstinence.</a> Biological Psychiatry. 65 (10), 851-856 (2009).</li><li>Sedki, F., D'Cunha, T., Shalev, U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+procedure+to+study+the+effect+of+prolonged+food+restriction+on+heroin+seeking+in+abstinent+rats.">A procedure to study the effect of prolonged food restriction on heroin seeking in abstinent rats.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE. (81), e50751 (2013).</li><li>Venniro, M., Caprioli, D., Shaham, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Animal+models+of+drug+relapse+and+craving:+From+drug+priming-induced+reinstatement+to+incubation+of+craving+after+voluntary+abstinence.">Animal models of drug relapse and craving: From drug priming-induced reinstatement to incubation of craving after voluntary abstinence.</a> Progress in Brain Research. 224, 25-52 (2016).</li><li>Deroche-Gamonet, V., Piazza, P. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Psychobiology+of+cocaine+addiction:+Contribution+of+a+multi-symptomatic+animal+model+of+loss+of+control.">Psychobiology of cocaine addiction: Contribution of a multi-symptomatic animal model of loss of control.</a> Neuropharmacology. 76, 437-449 (2014).</li><li>Pelloux, Y., Everitt, B. 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There are two important demonstrations in this paper. First, the validation of the punishment-imposed abstinence using the seek and take chain with heroin. Second, it was demonstrated that stress-induced relapse could be observed in a punishment-imposed abstinence procedure. These are important demonstrations because (i) The punishment-induced abstinence procedure more closely mimics the human condition as it results in voluntary abstinence, i.e., not due to extinction of drug-seeking or forced removal from the drug-taki...

Relapse is the most challenging problem in the treatment of drug use1,2. However, only a handful of pharmacological treatments are approved to help avoid relapse in humans3. The opioid epidemic that North America is currently facing is a striking example of it, and it demands considering different approaches on animal models of relapse to opioids.
Acute stress has been shown to be a key trigger to relapse in humans4. One environmental stressor that is often associated with drug addiction is food deprivation. Drug users often choose to allocate resources towards obtaining drugs instead of food. Caloric deficit has been shown to be correlated with higher relapse to cigarettes5 and alcohol6 use. Due to ethical and practical issues, animal models have been developed over the last decades to facilitate research in the field. In animal models, acute food deprivation has been demonstrated to robustly reinstate extinguished heroin seeking7. Currently, most animal models of relapse are based on abstinence procedures that are either not representative of human abstinence (e.g., extinction-based models) or encompass only the small percentage of drug users that are forced to abstain due to incarceration or inpatient treatment (e.g., forced abstinence models). The main reason drug users choose to abstain is the negative consequences associated with drug-seeking and taking8. Punishment-imposed abstinence is an animal model that mimics the negative consequences associated with drug-seeking on self-imposed abstinence in humans. This model introduces an aversive stimulus, e.g., a mild footshock, with drug-seeking or taking, which leads the animal to stop taking the drug voluntarily. Another procedure that incorporates negative consequences for drug-seeking is the electrical barrier conflict model for drug abstinence and relapse9. The rat must cross an electrical barrier to perform the operant behavior linked with drug self-administration. The model was used successfully to demonstrate voluntary abstinence and relapse to psychostimulant and opioid drugs10,11. However, under the electrical barrier procedure, drug-seeking efforts are always associated with an aversive event, unlike the human condition. Moreover, drug-taking itself might overlap with the electrical footshock as the animal returns to the safe area following the infusion by crossing the barrier again.
Punishment-imposed abstinence has been used with other drugs of abuse such as cocaine12, alcohol13, methamphetamine14, remifentanil15, but it was never applied to heroin-trained animals. The model has been used to study relapse induced by priming14 and drug-associated cues16, but it was not integrated into a stress-induced relapse procedure. The procedure described here is used to demonstrate acute food deprivation-induced relapse to heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence in male rats.

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			<td>Anafen Injection 100 mg/mL Vial/50 mL</td>
			<td>MERIAL Canada, Inc.</td>
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			<td>anti-inflammatory drug</td>
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			<td>Balance arm</td>
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			<td>H29-01</td>
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			<td>Cannulae (22 G, 5-up)</td>
			<td>Plastics One</td>
			<td>C313G-5up</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Environment connection board &#38; Linc cable</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H03-04</td>
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			<td>Fixed speed infusion pump (3.3 RPM)</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>A73-01-3.3</td>
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			<td>SE-1134</td>
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			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
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			<td>Software</td>
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			<td>Habitest universal Linc</td>
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			<td>Heroin HCl</td>
			<td>National Institute for Drug Abuse, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>House light-Rat</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H11-01R</td>
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			<td>Isofluorane USP 99.9% Vial/250 mL</td>
			<td>Fresenius Kabi Canada Ltd</td>
			<td>2237518</td>
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			<td>Liquid Swivels, Plastic, 22 G</td>
			<td>Lomir Biomedical, Inc.</td>
			<td>RSP1</td>
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			<td>Rat test cage</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
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			<td>Operant conditioning chambers</td>
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			<td>Retractable lever-Rat</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H23-17RA</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Silastic tubing (ID 0.02, OD 0.037)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific (Canada)</td>
			<td>1118915A</td>
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			<td>Single high-bright cue-Rat</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H11-03R</td>
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			<td>Sound attenuation boxes</td>
			<td>Concordia University</td>
			<td>Home made</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Stainless steal grid floor</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H10-11R-TC-SF</td>
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			<td>System controller 2</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>SYS CTRL 2</td>
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			<td>System power base</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H01-01</td>
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			<td>Tone module 2.9 KHz</td>
			<td>Coulbourn Instruments</td>
			<td>H12-02R-2.9</td>
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			<td>Tygon tubing (ID 0.02, OD 0.060)</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>63018-044</td>
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a procedure to study stress-induced relapse of heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence

The punishment-imposed abstinence procedure models the self-imposed abstinence that humans initiate due to the adverse consequences associated with drug-taking. This model has been implemented in experiments using different types of substances of abuse such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and alcohol. However, punishment-induced abstinence in heroin-trained animals has not been demonstrated. Furthermore, acute stress is a key trigger for relapse in humans and animal models. It was previously demonstrated that acute food deprivation robustly induced reinstatement of extinguished cocaine and heroin seeking. The procedure described here can be used to assess the effects of acute stress exposure on heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence. A total of 8 rats were implanted with chronic intravenous (i.v.) catheters and trained to self-administer heroin (0.1 mg/kg/infusion) for 18 days under a seek-take chained schedule. Completing the seek link gave access to the take lever, which was paired with a heroin infusion. The seek lever was programmed with a variable interval 60 schedule of reinforcement (VI60), and the take lever was programmed with a fixed-ratio 1 reinforcement schedule (FR1). Following self-administration training, a mild foot shock was delivered on 30% of the completed seek links instead of the extension of the take lever. Footshock intensity was increased by 0.1 mA per daily session from 0.2 mA to 1.0 mA. Heroin-seeking tests were performed after 24 h of food deprivation (FD) or sated conditions. Rats under acute food deprivation condition robustly increased heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence.

Male rats demonstrated an increase in seek lever presses as the schedule of reinforcement increased over the training days, and a reliable, consistent number of heroin infusions over training days (Figure 1). During punishment, rats decreased the number of seek lever presses and infusions with the increase of footshock intensity over 8 punishment days (Figure 2). Food-deprivation condition significantly increased heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinenc...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence at JoVE.com

A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence

A procedure that demonstrates a robust acute food deprivation-induced relapse to heroin seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence is described. A punishment-imposed abstinence model was successfully implemented using the seek and take chain schedule for heroin self-administration. Heroin-seeking tests are then performed following 24 h of food-deprivation stress.

The punishment-imposed abstinence procedure models the self-imposed abstinence that humans initiate due to the adverse consequences associated with ...

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