Acute total sleep deprivation potentiates amphetamine-induced locomotor-stimulant effects and behavioral sensitization in mice

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that a prolonged period (48h) of paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) potentiates amphetamine (AMP)-induced behavioral sensitization, an animal model of addiction-related neuroadaptations. In the present study, we examined the effects of an acute short-term deprivation of total sleep (TSD) (6h) on AMP-induced behavioral sensitization in mice and compared them to the effects of short-term PSD (6h). Three-month-old male C57BL/6J mice underwent TSD (experiment 1—gentle handling method) or PSD (experiment 2—multiple platforms method) for 6h. Immediately after the sleep deprivation period, mice were tested in the open field for 10min under the effects of saline or 2.0mg/kg AMP. Seven days later, to assess behavioral sensitization, all of the mice received a challenge injection of 2.0mg/kg AMP and were tested in the open field for 10min. Total, peripheral, and central locomotion, and grooming duration were measured. TSD, but not PSD, potentiated the hyperlocomotion induced by an acute injection of AMP and this effect was due to an increased locomotion in the central squares of the apparatus. Similarly, TSD facilitated the development of AMP-induced sensitization, but only in the central locomotion parameter. The data indicate that an acute period of TSD may exacerbate the behavioral effects of AMP in mice. Because sleep architecture is composed of paradoxical and slow wave sleep, and 6-h PSD had no effects on AMP-induced hyperlocomotion or sensitization, our data suggest that the deprivation of slow wave sleep plays a critical role in the mechanisms that underlie the potentiating effects of TSD on both the acute and sensitized addiction-related responses to AMP.