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Amphetamine increases activity but not exploration in humans and mice
Arpi Minassian1,2, Jared W Young3,4, Zackary A Cope3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 200 West Arbor Drive, La Jolla, Mailcode 8620, San Diego, CA, 92103-8620, USA. aminassian@ucsd.edu.
Psychopharmacology
|October 10, 2015
Summary
Amphetamine increased motor activity in humans and mice, but did not replicate the heightened exploration seen in bipolar disorder (BD). This suggests amphetamine-induced hyperactivity is a limited model for BD, highlighting the need for cross-species research in neuropsychiatric diseases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Understanding neuropsychiatric diseases like bipolar disorder (BD) benefits from cross-species behavioral analysis.
- Manic BD symptoms include increased motor activity and goal-directed behavior, potentially linked to dopamine dysregulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if amphetamine administration replicates manic BD behaviors in humans and mouse models.
- Amphetamine is a norepinephrine/dopamine transporter inhibitor and dopamine releaser.
Main Methods:
- Healthy human volunteers received placebo, 10mg, or 20mg of d-amphetamine.
- Mice received varying doses of d-amphetamine or vehicle.
- Both humans and mice were assessed using the behavioral pattern monitor (BPM) for activity and exploration.
Main Results:
- In humans, 20mg amphetamine increased motor activity (acceleration) but not exploration.
- In mice, amphetamine dose-dependently increased activity, decreased exploration, and promoted linear movement.
- Cross-species results showed increased motor activity but not exploration.
Conclusions:
- Amphetamine increases motor activity in humans and mice, but not exploration, limiting its utility as a bipolar disorder model.
- The findings underscore the importance of cross-species physiological studies for validating psychiatric disease mechanisms.
- Further research is needed to refine animal models for neuropsychiatric conditions like BD.
