Meeting Abstract

P2.135  Thursday, Jan. 5  Specific locomotion behavioral patterns associated with drug; Cocaine alters active multifarious behavior in crayfish. NATHANIEL , Thomas *; HUBER, Robert; PANKSEPP, Jaak; University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville ; Dept of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, OH ; Dept of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology, Washington State University, Pullman tinathaniel@gmail.com

A common misconception holds that only humans possess susceptibility for the reward phenomenon. This may explain why evolutionary factors have received little consideration in drug addiction research. We have previously shown that morphine or cocaine targets brain neural pathways in crayfish that serve as powerful rewards in a place preference paradigm. The current study represents an extension of our efforts to develop crayfish into a new model of drug addiction research. In the current study, we developed a crayfish model of unconditioning locomotion responses. We used this model to explore the neurochemical basis of drug unconditioned responses by exploring the effect of repeated cocaine treatments on multifarious unconditioned locomotor activity of crayfish. Our results indicate that injected cocaine wielded its effects at a number of neural sites, including the distinct alteration of circuits for active locomotion behaviors, suggesting the presence of selective effects towards specific locomotion behavioral patterns associated with the drug instead of a global effect. Our findings indicate that locomotion as a unitary phenomenon comprised of assemblage of multifarious components, which can be manipulated and separated by cocaine. Neuronal simplicity combined with the potential for elegant neuroanatomical and behavioral analyses further support the notion that the crayfish model is highly suited for comprehensive, experimental analyses of specific locomotion responses that characterized drug properties at the behavioral level.