Advancing the Spontaneous Hypertensive Rat Model of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

• Published in: Behavioral neuroscience Vol. 122; no. 2; pp. 340 - 357
• Main Authors: Kantak, K. M, Singh, T, Kerstetter, K. A, Dembro, K. A, Mutebi, M. M, Harvey, R. C, Deschepper, C. F, Dwoskin, L. P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-04-2008
• Subjects: Animal; Animal behavior; Animal memory; Animal Models; Animals; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Association Learning - physiology; Attention - physiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Brain; Cardiology. Vascular system; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Child clinical studies; Cognitive Ability; Discrimination Learning - physiology; Disease Models, Animal; Experiments; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Habits; Hypertension; Impulsive Behavior - complications; Impulsive Behavior - drug therapy; Impulsive Behavior - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Methylphenidate; Methylphenidate - therapeutic use; Neostriatum - physiology; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prefrontal Cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Inbred WKY; Rats, Mutant Strains; Rodents; Set (Psychology); Short Term Memory; methylphenidate; habit leaning; attentional set-shifting; WKY; nonspatial working memory; WKHT; SHR; Hypertension; Animal model; Rat; CNS stimulant; Hyperactivity; Psychotropic; Rodentia; Attention; Cardiovascular disease; Cognition; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Attentional disorder; Animal; Piperidine derivatives; Attention disorder with hyperactivity; Working memory; Methylphenidate
• ISSN: 0735-7044; 1939-0084
• DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.122.2.340

To advance the spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR) model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), experiments examined the SHR in tasks recognized to assess functioning of the prefrontal cortex or dorsal striatal. Tasks included odor-delayed win-shift (nonspatial working and reference memory), win-stay (habit learning), and attentional set-shifting (attention and behavioral flexibility). In Experiment 1, the SHR strain was compared with Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Wistar-Kyoto Hypertensive (WKHT) strains on the first 2 tasks. In Experiment 2, oral methylphenidate (1.5 mg/kg) and vehicle (water) were evaluated on all 3 tasks in SHR and WKY strains. Results demonstrated that the SHR made significantly more errors in the odor-delayed win-shift, win-stay, and attentional set-shifting tasks compared with the WKY. Similar performances in the WKY and WKHT indicated that deficits observed in the SHR were not related solely to hypertension. Treating the SHR with methylphenidate eliminated strain differences in all 3 tasks. These findings provide evidence that the SHR is a valid model for studying ADHD-associated neurocognitive deficits. Moreover, the current behavioral approach is appropriate to assess novel medications developed to target ADHD-associated neurocognitive deficits.