Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice

Summary

This protocol is intended to enable researchers to conduct experiments designed to test these aspects of addiction using the conditioned place preference and locomotor behavioral sensitization assays.

Abstract

It is thought that rewarding experiences with drugs create strong contextual associations and encourage repeated intake. In turn, repeated exposures to drugs of abuse make lasting alterations in the brain function of vulnerable individuals, and these persistent alterations likely serve to maintain the maladaptive drug seeking and taking behaviors characteristic of addiction/dependence². In rodents, reward experience and contextual associations are frequently measured using the conditioned place preference assay, or CPP, wherein preference for a previously drug-paired context is measured. Behavioral sensitization, on the other hand, is an increase in a drug-induced behavior that develops progressively over repeated exposures. Since sensitized behaviors can often be measured after several months of drug abstinence, depending on the dose and length of initial exposure, they are considered observable correlates of lasting drug-induced plasticity. Researchers have found these assays useful in determining the neurobiological substrates mediating aspects of addiction as well as assessing the potential of different interventions in disrupting these behaviors. This manuscript describes basic, effective protocols for mouse CPP and locomotor behavioral sensitization to cocaine.

Introduction

Research aimed at understanding drug addiction using animal models must take a variety of approaches to address each of the assorted components that obstruct treatment success, including reward/reinforcement/motivation and withdrawal and relapse, as well as the general persistence that further complicates these issues in addiction. Since rewarding experiences associated with taking a drug of abuse are thought to motivate subsequent use, studies focusing on drug-context associations may be particularly useful for understanding brain mechanisms that contribute to drug taking and seeking. One such assay, conditioned place preference (CPP) is a high-throughput method for ....

Protocol

All experimental procedures have been approved by the McLean Hospital Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. NOTE: The following protocol describes a single approach to CPP and locomotor sensitization, many details of which differ from other successful protocols (e.g., light- vs. dark-phase testing, consecutive vs. intermittent dosing, etc.). Novices may wish to begin with these protocols, or simply use them as guides, adapting alterations from the literature based on the experimental question(s) at hand. Automated measurement methods are described; however, it is possible to use non-automated means for each assay (i.e., video recording, hand-s....

Results

Representative results from the CPP assay are shown in Figure 6 using wild-type C57BL/6N mice at approximately nine weeks of age. The study design was a 2 x 3 mixed factorial, with a within-subjects variable of Test (pre and post) and a between-subjects variable of Treatment (saline and cocaine 5 and 10 mg/kg). A RM ANOVA showed a significant interaction between Test and Treatment (F_2,20=3.68, p<0.05), which was interpreted in lieu of significant main effects observed for both Test.......

Discussion

This protocol demonstrates methods for conditioned place preference and locomotor sensitization, each of which can be used by the average lab to assess aspects of drug-induced behavioral plasticity. As with most behavioral tests, there are additional worthy considerations beyond the basic protocol. First, each of these techniques can be conceived as having two phases, induction and expression. "Induction" covers the development of the behavior-for CPP it occurs during conditioning, and for sensitization it is the.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Cocaine Hydrochloride USP	Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals	0406-1520	Purchase and use (Schedule II controlled substance) for research purposes requires compliance and licensure according to state and federal law.
Conditioned Place Preference,  Three Compartment Apparatus with Manual Doors and Lights for Mouse	Med-Associates Inc.	MED-CPP-MS & MED-CPP-3013	Our laboratory has used these boxes; however, many alternative boxes are available & acceptable.
PAS-Home Cage Activity Monitoring Photobeam Arrays	San Diego Instruments	2325-0223 & 7500-0221	Our lab houses these arrays inside of custom built chambers, as described in the text.  There are alternatives available.
Disposable Sani-Cloth disenfecting wipes	PDI	13872