Compulsive checking behavior of quinpirole-sensitized rats as an animal model of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD): form and control

Abstract

BackgroundA previous report showed that the open field behavior of rats sensitized to the dopamine agonist quinpirole satisfies 5 performance criteria for compulsive checking behavior. In an effort to extend the parallel between the drug-induced phenomenon and human obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the present study investigated whether the checking behavior of quinpirole rats is subject to interruption, which is an attribute characteristic of OCD compulsions. For this purpose, the rat's home-cage was placed into the open field at the beginning or the middle of a 2-hr test.ResultsIntroduction of the home-cage reduced checking behavior, as rats stayed inside the cage. After 40 min, checking resurfaced, as quinpirole rats exited the home-cage often. An unfamiliar cage had no such effects on quinpirole rats or saline controls.ConclusionsChecking behavior induced by quinpirole is not irrepressible but can be suspended. Results strengthen the quinpirole preparation as an animal model of OCD compulsive checking.

Cigarette smoking in obsessive-compulsive disorder and unaffected parents of OCD patients

“…Given that frontostriatal activation is positively associated with OCD symptom severity, it is possible that nicotine may increase activation of an already hyperactivated system and thus exacerbate symptoms. This effect has been demonstrated in rat studies in which the dopamine agonist quinpirole induced compulsive checking behaviors in rats [76, 77]…”

Dopamine supersensitivity correlates with D2Highstates, implying many paths to psychosis

“…Behavioral sensitization and dopamine supersensitivity also occurs in rats sensitized with the dopamine D2 agonist quinpirole (27). When the [ 3 H]domperidone method was used, quinpirole increased the proportion of D2 High states in striatal tissue from 13.6 Ϯ 3.6% (control) to 21.8 Ϯ 3.2%, an increase of 1.6-fold (Table 1).…”

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Insights from animal models

“…Hence, they searched for the spatiotemporal structure of OCD compulsions in the clinical literature and derived from it the following set of salient features of compulsive checking: (a) preoccupation with and an exaggerated hesitancy to leave the item(s) of interest; (b) presence of a ritual-like quality in the performance of checking; (c) dependence of checking activity on environmental context; (d) attachment of checking activity to stimuli with a plausible relationship to safety and security; and, (e) an ability to interrupt checking behavior temporarily. They translated those features into a set of objective criteria by identifying specific tests and quantifiable dependent variables that indexed those criteria and showed that QNP-treated rats met the stated criteria for compulsive checking (Ben Pazi et al, 2001; Dvorkin et al, 2006; Szechtman et al, 2001, 1998a; Zadicario et al, 2007). Thus, because the spatiotemporal structure of QNP-induced behavior matched the salient features of OCD checking in the human, it was proposed that the QNP preparation constitutes an animal model of OCD compulsions and compulsive checking in particular (Szechtman et al, 1998a).…”