Naslov
Preferential consumption of psychostimulants in Drosophila melanogaster: introduction of self- administration paradigm

Autori
Selimović, Azra ; Filošević, Ana ; Andretić Waldowski, Rozi

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Skup
6th Croatian Neuroscience Congress

Mjesto i datum
Osijek, Hrvatska, 16.09.2017. - 18.09.2017

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Podatak o recenziji nije dostupan

Ključne riječi
addiction, psychostimulants, self-administration, reward, Drosophila melanogaster

Sažetak
Drug addiction is a complex behavior and in the lab it can be studied on model animals as a simple endophenotype, one of which is self- administration. Several addiction-related endophenotypes have been shown in Drosophila melanogaster indicating that flies are good model for studying neuronal mechanisms of addiction. Flies will self-administer ethanol– containing food suggesting that ethanol has a rewarding effect on behavior. Psychostimulants cocaine (COC) and methamphetamine (METH) induce mechanisms of neuronal plasticity evident as locomotor sensitization, however it is not known if flies will voluntary administer COC or METH. Our hypothesis is that if psychostimulants have a rewarding effect on flies, then they will self-administer these drugs. To measure voluntary administration of psychostimulants in Drosophila we use the two- choice Capillary Feeder (CAFE) assay, where flies can choose between capillaries with drug- food or a non-drug food. Preference Index is calculated based on the amount of food consumed each day for several days. Since self- administration is type of operant conditioning, we pare a drug with a cue to measure the influence on the PI value. To study the effects of relapse we measure self-administration after a period of deprivation and we study the motivation for self-administration by combining the drug with an aversive, bitter tasting substance, quinine. We show that PI for COC is positive and increases over consecutive days, while PI for METH is initially significantly higher than for COC, but then decreased over consecutive days. After period of abstinence from COC-containing food flies rapidly return to the same or greater PI, suggesting relapse-like effect. Psychostimulants affect motivation for drug consumption as flies overcame bitter tasting quinine to obtain COC. These results suggest that in Drosophila, as in vertebrates, COC and METH act on neuronal mechanisms regulating rewarding behavior and motivation for drug taking. Further research will be focused on screening for effects of genetic mutations in likely candidate genes, as well as yet unknown functional genes, which regulate rewarding behavior and psychostimulants-induced neuronal plasticity.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

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