A neurocomputational account of catalepsy sensitization induced by D2 receptor blockade in rats: context dependency, extinction, and renewal.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Repeated haloperidol treatment in rodents results in a day-to-day intensification of catalepsy (i.e., sensitization). Prior experiments suggest that this sensitization is context-dependent and resistant to extinction training.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to provide a neurobiological mechanistic explanation for these findings.

Materials and methods

We use a neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia and simulate two alternative models based on the reward prediction error and novelty hypotheses of dopamine function. We also conducted a behavioral rat experiment to adjudicate between these models. Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were challenged with 0.25 mg/kg haloperidol across multiple days and were subsequently tested in either a familiar or nove

SUBMITTER: Wiecki TV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3049926 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature