Animal Models of Aggression Flashcards
What type of drug is methylphenidate?
Dopamine uptake blocker
used for inattention
What strain of mice were aggressive?
BALB/cJ
What strain of mice were non-aggressive?
BALB/cByJ
What traits do the BALB/cJ have?
Anxious
lash out
see everything as a threat
less social
What is global inattention?
surround attention -> subconscious
What is sustained attention?
Direct attention on something constantly
What do premature reactions measure?
Impulsivity
What does omission reaction measures?
Mistakes -> inattentiveness
How do you measure compulsivity with the light training?
Poking same hole over and over again
What strain of mice need less trails for attention training?
BALB/cJ mice
Do BALB/cJ mice learn from punishment?
no
What part of the brain show changes in the BALB/cJ mice?
Changes in white matter
increased in brain stem
decreased in the striatum, sensory cortex
insular cortex
amygdala
What does a reduction in white matter lead to?
Less communication between brain regions
What can methylphenidate treat?
Low dose can treat aggressive mice to increase the time till attack and reduce rule breaking behaviours
How does low dose methylphenidate affect continuous performance task/
Improves sensitivity by decreasing the false alarm rate (improving error detection)
Do children with conduct disorders have the same attention disorder as children with ADHD?
No they have a different inattention disorder
What does RNA sequencing look at?
Wider transcriptome >2000 genes
What are the 3 GABA receptors?
GABA A - inhibitory chloride receptor
GABA B - G protein receptor inhibitory)
GABA C - excitatiry in utero
What behaviour is low levels of GABA associated with?
Aggression, poor decisions
What does the ACC regulate?
Attention, anxiety and decision making
What is the ACC GABA deficit in BALB/cJ mice related to?
Increases in the expression of gamma vinyl transferase
What is the role of gamma vinyl transferase?
Catabolic breakdown of GABA
What is the role of the ACC?
Emotional processing & cognition
What is the role of the MCC?
Cognitive control, decision making & motor output
What does the dorsal ACC control?
Cognitive control
What does the Ventral ACC control?
Emotional control
What 7 things do the ACC/MCC control?
Autonomic functions
negative emotions
positives emotions
Pain
Fear
Attention
Reward based decision making
What was unique about ACC Vs MCC size?
ACC is bigger -> a lot of weight in emotional decisions
What are 2 GABAergic interneurons in ACC/MCC?
Parvalbumin & somatostatin
What cells do PV & SOM regulate?
Pyramidal cells
What does a decrease of PV & SOM lead to?
Reduced gamma activity -> memory & cognitive impairments & reduced sociability
What brain disorder is decreased PV & SOM also linked to?
Autism
What gene could be a key E/I regulator affecting aggression?
RBFOX1
What 4 things were observed in antisocial BALB/cJ mice related to GABAergic chnages?
Reduced 1H-MRS GABA tone
Increased GABA catabolism
No change in GABA synthesis
Reduced GABAergic PV
What is low cortisone levels associated with?
Increased aggression
Increased methylation of RBFOX1
