Impulsive Choice in Two Different Rat Models of ADHD-Spontaneously Hypertensive and Knockout Rats

Overview

Journal Front Neurosci

Date 2023 Feb 13

PMID 36777639

Authors

Monica S Carbajal

Asiah J C Bounmy

Olivia B Harrison

Hunter G Nolen

Samantha L Regan

Michael T Williams

Charles V Vorhees

Helen J K Sable

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Impulsivity is a symptom of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and variants in the ) gene (OMIM 616417) have been linked to ADHD. This project utilized a delay-discounting (DD) task to examine the impact of deletion in rats on impulsive choice. "Positive control" measures were also collected in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), another animal model of ADHD.

Methods: For Experiment I, rats were given the option to press one lever for a delayed reward of 3 food pellets or the other lever for an immediate reward of 1 pellet. Impulsive choice was measured as the tendency to discount the larger, delayed reward. We hypothesized that impulsive choice would be greater in the SHR and knockout (KO) rats relative to their control strains - Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and wildtype (WT) rats, respectively.

Results: The results did not completely support the hypothesis, as only the SHRs (but not the KO rats) demonstrated a decrease in the percent choice for the larger reward. Because subsequent trials did not begin until the end of the delay period regardless of which lever was selected, rats were required to wait for the next trial to start even if they picked the immediate lever. Experiment II examined whether the rate of reinforcement influenced impulsive choice by using a DD task that incorporated a 1 s inter-trial interval (ITI) immediately after delivery of either the immediate (1 pellet) or delayed (3 pellet) reinforcer. The results of Experiment II found no difference in the percent choice for the larger reward between KO and WT rats, demonstrating reinforcement rate did not influence impulsive choice in KO rats.

Discussion: Overall, there were impulsivity differences among the ADHD models, as SHRs exhibited deficits in impulsive choice, while the KO rats did not.

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