Impulsivity trait in the early symptomatic BACHD transgenic rat model of Huntington disease

Giuseppe Manfré; Valérie Doyère; Simon Bossi; Olaf Riess; Huu Phuc Nguyen; Nicole El Massioui

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.11.007

Impulsivity trait in the early symptomatic BACHD transgenic rat model of Huntington disease

Behav Brain Res. 2016 Feb 15:299:6-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.11.007. Epub 2015 Nov 22.

Authors

Giuseppe Manfré¹, Valérie Doyère², Simon Bossi², Olaf Riess³, Huu Phuc Nguyen³, Nicole El Massioui⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
² Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI), UMR 9197, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay F-91405, France; CNRS, Orsay F-91405, France.
³ Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
⁴ Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI), UMR 9197, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay F-91405, France; CNRS, Orsay F-91405, France. Electronic address: nicole.elmassioui@u-psud.fr.

PMID: 26592164
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.11.007

Abstract

Impulsivity trait was characterized in 3-5 months old BACHD rats, a transgenic model of Huntington disease, using (1) the delay discounting task to assess cognitive/choice impulsivity, and (2) the Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate of Responding task to evaluate motor/action impulsivity. Transgenic animals showed a high level of choice impulsivity and, to a lesser extent, action impulsivity. Our results provide the first evidence that the transgenic BACHD rat (TG5 line) displays impulsivity disorder as early as 3 months old, as described in early symptomatic HD patients, thus adding to the face validity of the rat model.

Keywords: Decision making; Executive functions; Huntington disease; Impulsivity; Transgenic rats.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal*
Decision Making
Disease Models, Animal
Huntington Disease / psychology*
Impulsive Behavior / physiology*
Male
Motor Activity / physiology
Rats
Rats, Transgenic*