Advanced Research in Gambling, Drugs, and Junk Food
PSYC 399
Spring 2020
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Crosslisting:
NS&B 399 |
| Course Cluster: Health Studies, Service Learning |
This advanced laboratory course provides in-depth training in the experimental methods of behavioral neuroscience of motivation and reward and provides students with hands-on experience with animal research using rodent models. The capstone of the course gives students the opportunity to carry out an independent group animal research project in the lab, which may require a slightly heavier time commitment for the duration of the experiment (typically around two weeks). Students will learn how to handle rats in a behavioral neuroscience research setting and how to design and carry out an experiment to measure reward and motivation using diverse apparatuses such as operant (Skinner) boxes or conditioned place preference chambers. Research typically focuses on rodent models of gambling, diet-induced obesity, and drug addiction. The course also focuses on strengthening students' scientific writing and oral presentation skills.
In addition, the course contains a service learning component in which students will work to develop a brief presentation/talk on a topic related to gambling, eating disorders, or drug addiction. Students will practice their talk in class with the aim of presenting it to local middle and high school students, in order to provide more information and education about these topics and the state of current research surrounding them. |
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| Credit: 1.25 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM PSYC |
| Course Format: Laboratory Course | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (NS&B) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Berridge KC, Robinson TE, Aldridge JW. Dissecting components of reward: 'liking', 'wanting', and learning. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2009 Feb;9(1):65-73.
Robinson TE, Yager LM, Cogan ES, Saunders BT. On the motivational properties of reward cues: Individual differences. Neuropharmacology. 2014 Jan;76 Pt B:450-9.
Fiorillo CD, Tobler PN, Schultz W. Discrete coding of reward probability and uncertainty by dopamine neurons. Science. 2003 Mar 21;299(5614):1898-902.
Clark L, Lawrence AJ, Astley-Jones F, Gray N. Gambling near-misses enhance motivation to gamble and recruit win-related brain circuitry.Neuron. 2009 Feb 12;61(3):481-90.
Potenza MN. Review. The neurobiology of pathological gambling and drug addiction: an overview and new findings. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Oct 12;363(1507):3181-9.
Deroche-Gamonet, V., Belin, D. & Piazza, P. V. Evidence for addiction-like behavior in the rat. Science 305, 1014-1017 (2004).
Chen, B. T. et al. Rescuing cocaine-induced prefrontal cortex hypoactivity prevents compulsive cocaine seeking. Nature 496, 359-362 (2013).
Anselme, P., Robinson, M. J. F. & Berridge, K. C. Reward uncertainty enhances incentive salience attribution as sign-tracking. Behav Brain Res 238, 53-61 (2013).
Bocarsly, M. E. et al. Effects of perinatal exposure to palatable diets on body weight and sensitivity to drugs of abuse in rats. Physiol Behav 107, 568-575 (2012).
Winstanley, C. A., Cocker, P. J. & Rogers, R. D. Dopamine Modulates Reward Expectancy During Performance of a Slot Machine Task in Rats: Evidence for a 'Near-miss' Effect. Neuropsychopharmacology 36, 913-925 (2011).
Zentall, T. R. Suboptimal choice by pigeons: An analog of human gambling behavior. Behavioural Processes 103, 156-164 (2014).
McGuire, B., Baladi, M. & France, C. P. Eating high-fat chow enhances sensitization to the effects of methamphetamine on locomotion in rats. Eur J Pharmacol (2011).
van den Bos, R., Lasthuis, W., Heijer, den, E., van der Harst, J. & Spruijt, B. Toward a rodent model of the Iowa gambling task. Behav Res Methods 38, 470-478 (2006).
Anselme, P. Loss in risk-taking: Absence of optimal gain or reduction in one's own resources? Behav Brain Res 229, 443-446 (2012).
Anselme, P. & Robinson, M. J. F. What motivates gambling behavior? Insight into dopamine's role. Front Behav Neurosci 7, 182 (2013).
Robinson, M. J. F., Anselme, P., Fischer, A. M. & Berridge, K. C. Initial uncertainty in Pavlovian reward prediction persistently elevates incentive salience and extends sign-tracking to normally unattractive cues. In press (2014).
Singer, B. F., Scott-Railton, J. & Vezina, P. Unpredictable saccharin reinforcement enhances locomotor responding to amphetamine. Behav Brain Res 226, 340-344 (2012).
Saunders, B. T., Yager, L. M. & Robinson, T. E. Cue-Evoked Cocaine 'Craving': Role of Dopamine in the Accumbens Core. Journal of Neuroscience 33, 13989-14000 (2013).
Akyol, A., McMullen, S. & Langley-Evans, S. C. Glucose intolerance associated with early-life exposure to maternal cafeteria feeding is dependent upon post-weaning diet. Br. J. Nutr. 107, 964-978 (2012).
Ahmed, S. H., Avena, N. M., Berridge, K. C., Gearhardt, A. & Guillem, K. Food Addiction. Neuroscience in the 21st Century (2013).
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Examinations and Assignments:
Attendance and Participation 10%, Article Presentation 25%, Project 65% (Introduction & Methods 15%; Final Paper 25%; Talk 25%). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Participation in design, implementation, analysis, and write-up of assigned lab projects.
Please go to the following link (http://robinsonlab.research.wesleyan.edu/get-involved/), follow the instructions and complete and submit the attached form and email it to mjrobinson@wesleyan.edu, along with your CV/Resume and a brief (no more than a page) description of why you would like to take the course, how it would benefit you and what you would bring to the course. Applications are typically followed by a brief in person meeting with the Professor, before POI is accepted. |
| Instructor(s): Anderson,Beth Times: .M.W.F. 09:50AM-10:40AM; .....F. 01:20PM-03:20PM; Location: JUDD113; JUDD113; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 10 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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