The effects of lactation on impulsive behavior in vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro rats

Abstract

Vasopressin (AVP)-deficient Brattleboro rats develop a specific behavioral profile, which-among other things-23 include altered cognitive performance. This profile is markedly affected by alterations in neuroendocrine state 24 of the animal such as during lactation. Given the links between AVP and cognition we hypothesized that AVP de-25 ficiency may lead to changes in impulsivity that is under cognitive control and the changes might be altered by 26 lactation. Comparing virgin and lactating AVP-deficient female Brattleboro rats to their respective controls, we 27 assessed the putative lactation-dependent effects of AVP deficiency on impulsivity in the delay discounting par-28 adigm. Furthermore, to investigate the basis of such effects, we assessed possible interactions of AVP deficiency 29 with GABAergic and serotonergic signaling and stress axis activity, systems playing important roles in impulse 30 control. Our results showed that impulsivity was unaltered by AVP deficiency in virgin rats. In contrast a 31 lactation-induced increase in impulsivity was abolished by AVP deficiency in lactating females. We also found 32 that chlordiazepoxide-induced facilitation of GABAergic and imipramine-induced enhancement of serotonergic 33 activity in virgins led to increased and decreased impulsivity, respectively. In contrast, during lactation these ef-34 fects were visible only in AVP-deficient rats. These rats also exhibited increased stress axis activity compared to 35 virgin animals, an effect that was abolished by AVP deficiency. Taken together, AVP appears to play a role in the 36 regulation of impulsivity exclusively during lactation: it has an impulsivity increasing effect which is potentially 37 mediated via stress axis-dependent mechanisms and fine-tuning of GABAergic and serotonergic function. Fodor et al., 2012; Mlynarik et al., 2007). Additionally, they display so-61 cial deficits (Engelmann and Landgraf, 1994; Feifel et al., 2009; Schank, 62 2009) and impairments in cognitive performance (Aarde and Jentsch, 63 2006; Colombo et al., 1992; Varga et al., 2013 71Prior work has shown that cognitive performance can be altered by 72 changes in impulsivity (Bizot and Thiebot, 1996). Impulsivity is general-

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