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Diehl MM, Moscarello JM, Trask S. Behavioral outputs and overlapping circuits between conditional fear and active avoidance. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 213:107943. [PMID: 38821256 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 05/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
Aversive learning can produce a wide variety of defensive behavioral responses depending on the circumstances, ranging from reactive responses like freezing to proactive avoidance responses. While most of this initial learning is behaviorally supported by an expectancy of an aversive outcome and neurally supported by activity within the basolateral amygdala, activity in other brain regions become necessary for the execution of defensive strategies that emerge in other aversive learning paradigms such as active avoidance. Here, we review the neural circuits that support both reactive and proactive defensive behaviors that are motivated by aversive learning, and identify commonalities between the neural substrates of these distinct (and often exclusive) behavioral strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M Diehl
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | | | - Sydney Trask
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
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2
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Chu A, Gordon NT, DuBois AM, Michel CB, Hanrahan KE, Williams DC, Anzellotti S, McDannald MA. A fear conditioned cue orchestrates a suite of behaviors in rats. eLife 2024; 13:e82497. [PMID: 38770736 PMCID: PMC11219038 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Pavlovian fear conditioning has been extensively used to study the behavioral and neural basis of defensive systems. In a typical procedure, a cue is paired with foot shock, and subsequent cue presentation elicits freezing, a behavior theoretically linked to predator detection. Studies have since shown a fear conditioned cue can elicit locomotion, a behavior that - in addition to jumping, and rearing - is theoretically linked to imminent or occurring predation. A criticism of studies observing fear conditioned cue-elicited locomotion is that responding is non-associative. We gave rats Pavlovian fear discrimination over a baseline of reward seeking. TTL-triggered cameras captured 5 behavior frames/s around cue presentation. Experiment 1 examined the emergence of danger-specific behaviors over fear acquisition. Experiment 2 examined the expression of danger-specific behaviors in fear extinction. In total, we scored 112,000 frames for nine discrete behavior categories. Temporal ethograms show that during acquisition, a fear conditioned cue suppresses reward seeking and elicits freezing, but also elicits locomotion, jumping, and rearing - all of which are maximal when foot shock is imminent. During extinction, a fear conditioned cue most prominently suppresses reward seeking, and elicits locomotion that is timed to shock delivery. The independent expression of these behaviors in both experiments reveals a fear conditioned cue to orchestrate a temporally organized suite of behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Chu
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Nicholas T Gordon
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Aleah M DuBois
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Christa B Michel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Katherine E Hanrahan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - David C Williams
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Stefano Anzellotti
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
| | - Michael A McDannald
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston CollegeChestnut HillUnited States
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3
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López-Moraga A, Luyten L, Beckers T. A history of avoidance does not impact extinction learning in male rats. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:11. [PMID: 38402221 PMCID: PMC10894225 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00223-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Pervasive avoidance is one of the central symptoms of all anxiety-related disorders. In treatment, avoidance behaviors are typically discouraged because they are assumed to maintain anxiety. Yet, it is not clear if engaging in avoidance is always detrimental. In this study, we used a platform-mediated avoidance task to investigate the influence of avoidance history on extinction learning in male rats. Our results show that having the opportunity to avoid during fear acquisition training does not significantly influence the extinction of auditory-cued fear in rats subjected to this platform-mediated avoidance procedure, which constitutes a realistic approach/avoidance conflict. This holds true irrespective of whether or not avoidance was possible during the extinction phase. This suggests that imposing a realistic cost on avoidance behavior prevents the adverse effects that avoidance has been claimed to have on extinction. However, avoidance does not appear to have clear positive effects on extinction learning nor on retention either.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba López-Moraga
- Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Laura Luyten
- Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Tom Beckers
- Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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4
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McDannald MA. Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Is More than You Think It Is. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8079-8087. [PMID: 38030400 PMCID: PMC10697403 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0256-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A common neuroscience application of Pavlovian fear conditioning is to manipulate neuron-type activity, pair a cue with foot shock, then measure cue-elicited freezing in a novel context. If the manipulation reduces freezing, the neuron type is implicated in Pavlovian fear conditioning. This application reduces Pavlovian fear conditioning to a single concept. In this Viewpoint, I describe experiments supporting the view that Pavlovian fear conditioning refers to three distinct concepts: procedure, process, and behavior. An experimenter controls procedure, observes behavior, but infers process. Distinguishing these concepts is essential because: (1) a shock-paired cue can engage numerous processes and behaviors; (2) experimenter decisions about procedure influence the processes engaged and behaviors elicited; and (3) many processes are latent, imbuing the cue with properties that only manifest outside of the original conditioning setting. This means we could understand the complete neural basis of freezing, yet know little about the neural basis of fear. Neuroscientists can choose to use a variety of procedures to study a diversity of processes and behaviors. Manipulating neuron-type activity in multiple procedures can reveal specific, general, or complex neuron-type contributions to cue-elicited processes and behaviors. The results will be a broader and more detailed neural basis of fear with greater relevance to the spectrum of symptoms defining anxiety and stressor-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A McDannald
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467
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5
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Zhu Y, Xie SZ, Peng AB, Yu XD, Li CY, Fu JY, Shen CJ, Cao SX, Zhang Y, Chen J, Li XM. Distinct Circuits From the Central Lateral Amygdala to the Ventral Part of the Bed Nucleus of Stria Terminalis Regulate Different Fear Memory. Biol Psychiatry 2023:S0006-3223(23)01553-6. [PMID: 37678543 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ability to differentiate stimuli that predict fear is critical for survival; however, the underlying molecular and circuit mechanisms remain poorly understood. METHODS We combined transgenic mice, in vivo transsynaptic circuit-dissecting anatomical approaches, optogenetics, pharmacological methods, and electrophysiological recording to investigate the involvement of specific extended amygdala circuits in different fear memory. RESULTS We identified the projections from central lateral amygdala (CeL) protein kinase C δ (PKCδ)-positive neurons and somatostatin (SST)-positive neurons to GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) and glutamatergic neurons in the ventral part of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (vBNST). Prolonged optogenetic activation or inhibition of the PKCδCeL-vBNST pathway specifically reduced context fear memory, whereas the SSTCeL-vBNST pathway mainly reduced tone fear memory. Intriguingly, optogenetic manipulation of vBNST neurons that received the projection from PKCδCeL neurons exerted bidirectional regulation of context fear, whereas manipulation of vBNST neurons that received the projection from SSTCeL neurons could bidirectionally regulate both context and tone fear memory. We subsequently demonstrated the presence of δ and κ opioid receptor protein expression within the CeL-vBNST circuits, potentially accounting for the discrepancy between prolonged activation of GABAergic circuits and inhibition of downstream vBNST neurons. Finally, administration of an opioid receptor antagonist cocktail on the PKCδCeL-vBNST or SSTCeL-vBNST pathway successfully restored context or tone fear memory reduction induced by prolonged activation of the circuits. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings establish a functional role for distinct CeL-vBNST circuits in the differential regulation and appropriate maintenance of fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shi-Ze Xie
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ai-Bing Peng
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Yu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chun-Yue Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jia-Yu Fu
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chen-Jie Shen
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shu-Xia Cao
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiadong Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Ming Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Research Units for Emotion and Emotion Disorders, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
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6
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Zhou T, Li J, Cheng A, Zuo Z. Desflurane Post-treatment Reduces Hypoxic-ischemic Brain Injury via Reducing Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 in Neonatal Rats. Neuroscience 2023; 522:121-131. [PMID: 37196978 PMCID: PMC10330691 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury leads to mortality and morbidity in neonates and children. There are no effective and practical methods to attenuate this brain injury. This study determined whether desflurane, a volatile anesthetic with limited effect on the cardiovascular system, protected against HI-induced brain damage and the role of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a mediator for simulated ischemia-induced myelin damage, in this protection. Seven-day-old male and female Sprague-Dawley rats had brain HI. They were exposed to 4.8%, 7.6% or 11.4% desflurane immediately or 4.8% desflurane at 0.5, 1 or 2 h after the HI. Brain tissue loss was evaluated 7 days later. Neurological functions and brain structures of rats with HI and 4.8% desflurane post-treatment were evaluated 4 weeks after the HI. TRPA1 expression was determined by Western blotting. HC-030031, a TRPA1 inhibitor, was used to determine the role of TRPA1 in the HI-induced brain injury. HI induced brain tissue and neuronal loss, which was attenuated by all tested concentrations of desflurane. Desflurane post-treatment also improved motor function, learning and memory in rats with brain HI. Brain HI increased the expression of TRPA1 and this increase was inhibited by desflurane. TRPA1 inhibition reduced HI-induced brain tissue loss and impairment of learning and memory. However, the combination of TRPA1 inhibition and desflurane post-treatment did not preserve brain tissues, learning and memory better than TRPA1 inhibition or desflurane post-treatment alone. Our results suggest that desflurane post-treatment induces neuroprotection against neonatal HI. This effect may be mediated by inhibiting TRPA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Zhou
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
| | - Aobing Cheng
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Zhiyi Zuo
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
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7
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Loh MK, Stickling C, Schrank S, Hanshaw M, Ritger AC, Dilosa N, Finlay J, Ferrara NC, Rosenkranz JA. Liposaccharide-induced sustained mild inflammation fragments social behavior and alters basolateral amygdala activity. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:647-671. [PMID: 36645464 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06308-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Conditions with sustained low-grade inflammation have high comorbidity with depression and anxiety and are associated with social withdrawal. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is critical for affective and social behaviors and is sensitive to inflammatory challenges. Large systemic doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) initiate peripheral inflammation, increase BLA neuronal activity, and disrupt social and affective measures in rodents. However, LPS doses commonly used in behavioral studies are high enough to evoke sickness syndrome, which can confound interpretation of amygdala-associated behaviors. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS The objectives of this study were to find a LPS dose that triggers mild peripheral inflammation but not observable sickness syndrome in adult male rats, to test the effects of sustained mild inflammation on BLA and social behaviors. To accomplish this, we administered single doses of LPS (0-100 μg/kg, intraperitoneally) and measured open field behavior, or repeated LPS (5 μg/kg, 3 consecutive days), and measured BLA neuronal firing, social interaction, and elevated plus maze behavior. RESULTS Repeated low-dose LPS decreased BLA neuron firing rate but increased the total number of active BLA neurons. Repeated low-dose LPS also caused early disengagement during social bouts and less anogenital investigation and an overall pattern of heightened social caution associated with reduced gain of social familiarity over the course of a social session. CONCLUSIONS These results provide evidence for parallel shifts in social interaction and amygdala activity caused by prolonged mild inflammation. This effect of inflammation may contribute to social symptoms associated with comorbid depression and chronic inflammatory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxine K Loh
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA.,Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Courtney Stickling
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sean Schrank
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA.,Discipline of Neuroscience, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, North Chicago, USA
| | - Madison Hanshaw
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA.,Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Alexandra C Ritger
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA.,Discipline of Neuroscience, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, North Chicago, USA
| | - Naijila Dilosa
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Joshua Finlay
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nicole C Ferrara
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA.,Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - J Amiel Rosenkranz
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, IL, 60064, North Chicago, USA. .,Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA.
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8
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Rolls ET, Deco G, Huang CC, Feng J. Human amygdala compared to orbitofrontal cortex connectivity, and emotion. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 220:102385. [PMID: 36442728 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex have been implicated in emotion. To understand these regions better in humans, their effective connectivity with 360 cortical regions was measured in 171 humans from the Human Connectome Project, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography. The human amygdala has effective connectivity from few cortical regions compared to the orbitofrontal cortex: primarily from auditory cortex A5 and the related superior temporal gyrus and temporal pole regions; the piriform (olfactory) cortex; the lateral orbitofrontal cortex 47m; somatosensory cortex; the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex, and parahippocampal TF; and from the cholinergic nucleus basalis. The amygdala has effective connectivity to the hippocampus, entorhinal and perirhinal cortex; to the temporal pole; and to the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. The orbitofrontal cortex has effective connectivity from gustatory, olfactory, and temporal visual, auditory and pole cortex, and to the pregenual anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampal system, and prefrontal cortex, and provides for rewards and punishers to be used in reported emotions, and memory and navigation to goals. Given the paucity of amygdalo-neocortical connectivity in humans, it is proposed that the human amygdala is involved primarily in autonomic and conditioned responses via brainstem connectivity, rather than in reported (declarative) emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund T Rolls
- Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK; Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain Brain and Cognition, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain
| | - Chu-Chung Huang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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9
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Sounding the Alarm: Sex Differences in Rat Ultrasonic Vocalizations during Pavlovian Fear Conditioning and Extinction. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0382-22.2022. [PMID: 36443006 PMCID: PMC9797209 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0382-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Pavlovian fear conditioning is a prevalent tool in the study of aversive learning, which is a key component of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Adult rats can exhibit various threat-related behaviors, including freezing, motor responses, and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). While these responses can all signal aversion, we know little about how they relate to one another. Here we characterize USVs emitted by male and female rats during cued fear acquisition and extinction, and assess the relationship between different threat-related behaviors. We found that males consistently emitted >22 kHz calls (referred to here as "alarm calls") than females, and that alarm call frequency in males, but not females, related to the intensity of the shock stimulus. Interestingly, 25% of males and 45% of females did not emit any alarm calls at all. Males that did make alarm calls had significantly higher levels of freezing than males who did not, while no differences in freezing were observed between female Alarm callers and Non-alarm callers. Alarm call emission was also affected by the predictability of the shock; when unpaired from a tone cue, both males and females started emitting alarm calls significantly later. During extinction learning and retrieval sessions, males were again more likely than females to emit alarm calls, which followed an extinction-like reduction in frequency. Collectively these data suggest sex dependence in how behavioral readouts relate to innate and conditioned threat responses. Importantly, we suggest that the same behaviors can signal sex-dependent features of aversion.
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10
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Van Assche IA, Padilla MS, Stupart OSRP, Milton AL. Refinement of the stress-enhanced fear learning model of post-traumatic stress disorder: a behavioral and molecular analysis. Lab Anim (NY) 2022; 51:293-300. [PMID: 36266512 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-022-01054-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition for which current treatments have long-term efficacy in 50% of patients. There is a clear need for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying PTSD and the development of new treatment approaches. Analog trauma procedures in animals, such as the stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL) procedure, can be used to produce behavioral and neurobiological changes that have validity in modeling PTSD. However, by necessity, the modeling of PTSD in animals requires them to potentially experience pain and suffering. Consistent with the '3Rs' (reduction, refinement and replacement) of animal research, this study aimed to determine whether the SEFL procedure can be refined to reduce potential animal pain and suffering while retaining the same behavioral and neurobiological changes. Here we showed that PTSD-relevant changes could be produced in both behavior and the brain of rats that were group- rather than single-housed and that received lower-magnitude electric shocks in the 'trauma analog' session. We also varied the number of shock exposures in the trauma analog session, finding SEFL-susceptible and SEFL-resilient populations at all levels of shock exposure, but with greater levels of shock increasing the proportion of rats showing the SEFL-susceptible phenotype. These data demonstrate that the SEFL procedure can be used as an animal analog of PTSD with reduced potential pain and suffering to the animals and that variations in the procedure could be used to generate specific proportions of SEFL-susceptible and SEFL-resilient animals in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indra A Van Assche
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK.,Biomedical Sciences Group: Woman and Child, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mc Stephen Padilla
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Amy L Milton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK.
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11
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Pathak A, Menon SN, Sinha S. Mesoscopic architecture enhances communication across the macaque connectome revealing structure-function correspondence in the brain. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:054304. [PMID: 36559437 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.054304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Analyzing the brain in terms of organizational structures at intermediate scales provides an approach to unravel the complexity arising from interactions between its large number of components. Focusing on a wiring diagram that spans the cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus of the macaque brain, we identify robust modules in the network that provide a mesoscopic-level description of its topological architecture. Surprisingly, we find that the modular architecture facilitates rapid communication across the network, instead of localizing activity as is typically expected in networks having community organization. By considering processes of diffusive spreading and coordination, we demonstrate that the specific pattern of inter- and intramodular connectivity in the network allows propagation to be even faster than equivalent randomized networks with or without modular structure. This pattern of connectivity is seen at different scales and is conserved across principal cortical divisions, as well as subcortical structures. Furthermore, we find that the physical proximity between areas is insufficient to explain the modular organization, as similar mesoscopic structures can be obtained even after factoring out the effect of distance constraints on the connectivity. By supplementing the topological information about the macaque connectome with physical locations, volumes, and functions of the constituent areas and analyzing this augmented dataset, we reveal a counterintuitive role played by the modular architecture of the brain in promoting global coordination of its activity. It suggests a possible explanation for the ubiquity of modularity in brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Pathak
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
| | - Shakti N Menon
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
| | - Sitabhra Sinha
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
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12
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Reciprocal cortico-amygdala connections regulate prosocial and selfish choices in mice. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1505-1518. [PMID: 36280797 PMCID: PMC7613781 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01179-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Decisions that favor one's own interest versus the interest of another individual depend on context and the relationships between individuals. The neurobiology underlying selfish choices or choices that benefit others is not understood. We developed a two-choice social decision-making task in which mice can decide whether to share a reward with their conspecifics. Preference for altruistic choices was modulated by familiarity, sex, social contact, hunger, hierarchical status and emotional state matching. Fiber photometry recordings and chemogenetic manipulations demonstrated that basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons are involved in the establishment of prosocial decisions. In particular, BLA neurons projecting to the prelimbic (PL) region of the prefrontal cortex mediated the development of a preference for altruistic choices, whereas PL projections to the BLA modulated self-interest motives for decision-making. This provides a neurobiological model of altruistic and selfish choices with relevance to pathologies associated with dysfunctions in social decision-making.
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13
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Wassum KM. Amygdala-cortical collaboration in reward learning and decision making. eLife 2022; 11:e80926. [PMID: 36062909 PMCID: PMC9444241 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive reward-related decision making requires accurate prospective consideration of the specific outcome of each option and its current desirability. These mental simulations are informed by stored memories of the associative relationships that exist within an environment. In this review, I discuss recent investigations of the function of circuitry between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) orbitofrontal cortex in the learning and use of associative reward memories. I draw conclusions from data collected using sophisticated behavioral approaches to diagnose the content of appetitive memory in combination with modern circuit dissection tools. I propose that, via their direct bidirectional connections, the BLA and OFC collaborate to help us encode detailed, outcome-specific, state-dependent reward memories and to use those memories to enable the predictions and inferences that support adaptive decision making. Whereas lOFC→BLA projections mediate the encoding of outcome-specific reward memories, mOFC→BLA projections regulate the ability to use these memories to inform reward pursuit decisions. BLA projections to lOFC and mOFC both contribute to using reward memories to guide decision making. The BLA→lOFC pathway mediates the ability to represent the identity of a specific predicted reward and the BLA→mOFC pathway facilitates understanding of the value of predicted events. Thus, I outline a neuronal circuit architecture for reward learning and decision making and provide new testable hypotheses as well as implications for both adaptive and maladaptive decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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14
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Kim IT, Farb C, Hou M, Prasad S, Talley E, Cook S, Campese VD. General and Specific Aversive Modulation of Active Avoidance Require Central Amygdala. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:879168. [PMID: 35795380 PMCID: PMC9252428 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.879168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Three studies provide evidence that the central nucleus of the amygdala, a structure with a well-established role in conditioned freezing, is also required for conditioned facilitation of instrumental avoidance in rats. First, the immediate early gene c-Fos was measured following the presentation of a previously shock-paired tone in subjects trained either on an unsignaled avoidance task or not (in addition to tone only presentations in naïve controls). Significantly elevated expression of c-Fos was found in both the avoidance trained and Pavlovian trained conditions relative to naïve controls (but with no difference between the two trained conditions). In a subsequent study, intracranial infusions of muscimol into the central amygdala significantly attenuated the facilitation of shock-avoidance by a shock-paired Pavlovian cue relative to pre-operative responding. The final study used a virogenetic approach to inhibit the central amygdala prior to testing. This treatment eliminated the transfer of motivational control over shock-avoidance by both a shock-paired Pavlovian stimulus, as well as a cue paired with a perceptually distinct aversive event (i.e., klaxon). These findings provide compelling support for a role of central amygdala in producing aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian T. Kim
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Claudia Farb
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Mian Hou
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sunanda Prasad
- Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States
| | - Elyse Talley
- Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States
| | - Savannah Cook
- Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States
| | - Vincent D. Campese
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States
- *Correspondence: Vincent D. Campese
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15
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Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, Tran J, Didachos A, McNally GP. Instrumental aversion coding in the basolateral amygdala and its reversion by a benzodiazepine. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1199-1209. [PMID: 34493829 PMCID: PMC9018846 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01176-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Punishment involves learning the relationship between actions and their adverse consequences. Both the acquisition and expression of punishment learning depend on the basolateral amygdala (BLA), but how BLA supports punishment remains poorly understood. To address this, we measured calcium (Ca2+) transients in BLA principal neurons during punishment. Male rats were trained to press two individually presented levers for food; when one of these levers also yielded aversive footshock, responding on this punished lever decreased relative to the other, unpunished lever. In rats with the Ca2+ indicator GCaMP6f targeted to BLA principal neurons, we observed excitatory activity transients to the footshock punisher and inhibitory transients to lever-presses earning a reward. Critically, as rats learned punishment, activity around the punished response transformed from inhibitory to excitatory and similarity analyses showed that these punished lever-press transients resembled BLA transients to the punisher itself. Systemically administered benzodiazepine (midazolam) selectively alleviated punishment. Moreover, the degree to which midazolam alleviated punishment was associated with how much punished response-related BLA transients reverted to their pre-punishment state. Together, these findings show that punishment learning is supported by aversion-coding of instrumental responses in the BLA and that the anti-punishment effects of benzodiazepines are associated with a reversion of this aversion coding.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jenny Tran
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW Australia
| | - Angelos Didachos
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW Australia
| | - Gavan P. McNally
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW Australia
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16
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Wong AH, Wirth FM, Pittig A. Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions. Behav Res Ther 2022; 151:104056. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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17
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Phillips ML, Schmithorst VJ, Banihashemi L, Taylor M, Samolyk A, Northrup JB, English GE, Versace A, Stiffler RS, Aslam HA, Bonar L, Panigrahy A, Hipwell AE. Patterns of Infant Amygdala Connectivity Mediate the Impact of High Caregiver Affect on Reducing Infant Smiling: Discovery and Replication. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:342-352. [PMID: 34130856 PMCID: PMC8364485 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Behavioral research indicates that caregiver mood disorders and emotional instability in the early months following childbirth are associated with lower positive emotionality and higher negative emotionality in infants, but the neural mechanisms remain understudied. METHODS Using resting-state functional connectivity as a measure of the functional architecture of the early infant brain, we aimed to determine the extent to which connectivity between the amygdala, a key region supporting emotional learning and perception, and large-scale neural networks mediated the association between caregiver affect and anxiety and early infant negative emotionality and positive emotionality. Two samples of infants (first sample: n = 58; second sample: n = 31) 3 months of age underwent magnetic resonance imaging during natural sleep. RESULTS During infancy, greater resting-state functional connectivity between the amygdala and the salience network and, to a lesser extent, lower amygdala and executive control network resting-state functional connectivity mediated the effect of greater caregiver postpartum depression and trait anxiety on reducing infant smiling (familywise error-corrected p < .05). Furthermore, results from the first sample were replicated in the second, independent sample, to a greater extent for caregiver depression than for caregiver anxiety. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence of early objective neural markers that can help identify infants who are more likely to be at risk from, versus those who might be protected against, the deleterious effects of caregiver depression and anxiety and reduced positive emotionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary L. Phillips
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Vincent J. Schmithorst
- UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Layla Banihashemi
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | - Jessie B. Northrup
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - Amelia Versace
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | - Lisa Bonar
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Ashok Panigrahy
- UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Alison E. Hipwell
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, PA
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18
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Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, Lee JC, Liew SX, Weidemann G, Lovibond PF, McNally GP. Punishment insensitivity in humans is due to failures in instrumental contingency learning. eLife 2021; 10:69594. [PMID: 34085930 PMCID: PMC8177883 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Punishment maximises the probability of our individual survival by reducing behaviours that cause us harm, and also sustains trust and fairness in groups essential for social cohesion. However, some individuals are more sensitive to punishment than others and these differences in punishment sensitivity have been linked to a variety of decision-making deficits and psychopathologies. The mechanisms for why individuals differ in punishment sensitivity are poorly understood, although recent studies of conditioned punishment in rodents highlight a key role for punishment contingency detection (Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel et al., 2019). Here, we applied a novel ‘Planets and Pirates’ conditioned punishment task in humans, allowing us to identify the mechanisms for why individuals differ in their sensitivity to punishment. We show that punishment sensitivity is bimodally distributed in a large sample of normal participants. Sensitive and insensitive individuals equally liked reward and showed similar rates of reward-seeking. They also equally disliked punishment and did not differ in their valuation of cues that signalled punishment. However, sensitive and insensitive individuals differed profoundly in their capacity to detect and learn volitional control over aversive outcomes. Punishment insensitive individuals did not learn the instrumental contingencies, so they could not withhold behaviour that caused punishment and could not generate appropriately selective behaviours to prevent impending punishment. These differences in punishment sensitivity could not be explained by individual differences in behavioural inhibition, impulsivity, or anxiety. This bimodal punishment sensitivity and these deficits in instrumental contingency learning are identical to those dictating punishment sensitivity in non-human animals, suggesting that they are general properties of aversive learning and decision-making.
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19
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Kim IH, Kim N, Kim S, Toda K, Catavero CM, Courtland JL, Yin HH, Soderling SH. Dysregulation of the Synaptic Cytoskeleton in the PFC Drives Neural Circuit Pathology, Leading to Social Dysfunction. Cell Rep 2021; 32:107965. [PMID: 32726629 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are highly heritable pathologies of altered neural circuit functioning. How genetic mutations lead to specific neural circuit abnormalities underlying behavioral disruptions, however, remains unclear. Using circuit-selective transgenic tools and a mouse model of maladaptive social behavior (ArpC3 mutant), we identify a neural circuit mechanism driving dysfunctional social behavior. We demonstrate that circuit-selective knockout (ctKO) of the ArpC3 gene within prefrontal cortical neurons that project to the basolateral amygdala elevates the excitability of the circuit neurons, leading to disruption of socially evoked neural activity and resulting in abnormal social behavior. Optogenetic activation of this circuit in wild-type mice recapitulates the social dysfunction observed in ArpC3 mutant mice. Finally, the maladaptive sociability of ctKO mice is rescued by optogenetically silencing neurons within this circuit. These results highlight a mechanism of how a gene-to-neural circuit interaction drives altered social behavior, a common phenotype of several psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Il Hwan Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Namsoo Kim
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sunwhi Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Koji Toda
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Jamie L Courtland
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Henry H Yin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Scott H Soderling
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA.
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20
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Totty MS, Warren N, Huddleston I, Ramanathan KR, Ressler RL, Oleksiak CR, Maren S. Behavioral and brain mechanisms mediating conditioned flight behavior in rats. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8215. [PMID: 33859260 PMCID: PMC8050069 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87559-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental contexts can inform animals of potential threats, though it is currently unknown how context biases the selection of defensive behavior. Here we investigated context-dependent flight responses with a Pavlovian serial-compound stimulus (SCS) paradigm that evokes freeze-to-flight transitions. Similar to previous work in mice, we show that male and female rats display context-dependent flight-like behavior in the SCS paradigm. Flight behavior was dependent on contextual fear insofar as it was only evoked in a shock-associated context and was reduced in the conditioning context after context extinction. Flight behavior was only expressed to white noise regardless of temporal order within the compound. Nonetheless, rats that received unpaired SCS trials did not show flight-like behavior to the SCS, indicating it is associative. Finally, we show that pharmacological inactivation of two brain regions critical to the expression of contextual fear, the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), attenuates both contextual fear and flight responses. All of these effects were similar in male and female rats. This work demonstrates that contextual fear can summate with cued and innate fear to drive a high fear state and transition from post-encounter to circa-strike defensive modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Totty
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Naomi Warren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Isabella Huddleston
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Karthik R Ramanathan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Reed L Ressler
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Cecily R Oleksiak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA.
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21
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Takei K, Fujita K, Kashimori Y. A Neural Mechanism of Cue-Outcome Expectancy Generated by the Interaction Between Orbitofrontal Cortex and Amygdala. Chem Senses 2021; 45:15-26. [PMID: 31599930 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjz066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Taste perception is important for animals to take adequate nutrients and avoid toxins for their survival. Appetitive and aversive behaviors are produced by value evaluation of taste and taste expectation caused by other sensations. The value evaluation, coupled with a cue presentation, produces outcome expectation and guides flexible behaviors when the environment is changed. Experimental studies demonstrated distinct functional roles of basolateral amygdala (ABL) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in value evaluation and adaptive behavior. ABL is involved in generating a cue-outcome association, whereas OFC makes a contribution of generating a cue-triggered expectation to guide adaptive behavior. However, it remains unclear how ABL and OFC form their functional roles, with the learning of adaptive behavior. To address this issue, we focus on an odor discrimination task of rats and develop a computational model that consists of OFC and ABL, interacting with reward and decision systems. We present the neural mechanisms underlying the rapid formation of cue-outcome association in ABL and late behavioral adaptation mediated by OFC. Moreover, we offer 2 functions of cue-selective neurons in OFC: one is that the activation of cue-selective neurons transmits value information to decision area to guide behavior and another is that persistent activity of cue-selective neurons evokes a weak activity of taste-sensitive OFC neurons, leading to cue-outcome expectation. Our model further accounts for ABL and OFC responses caused by lesions of these areas. The results provide a computational framework of how ABL and OFC are functionally linked through their interactions with the reward and decision systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Takei
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuhisa Fujita
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Clinical Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Komatsu University, Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Kashimori
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, Japan
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22
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Strickland JA, Dileo AD, Moaddab M, Ray MH, Walker RA, Wright KM, McDannald MA. Foot shock facilitates reward seeking in an experience-dependent manner. Behav Brain Res 2021; 399:112974. [PMID: 33144178 PMCID: PMC7855116 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Animals organize reward seeking around aversive events. An abundance of research shows that foot shock, as well as a shock-associated cue, can elicit freezing and suppress reward seeking. Yet, there is evidence that experience can flip the effect of foot shock to facilitate reward seeking. Here we examined cue suppression, foot shock suppression and foot shock facilitation of reward seeking in a single behavioural setting. Male Long Evans rats received fear discrimination consisting of danger, uncertainty, and safety cues. Discrimination took place over a baseline of rewarded nose poking. With limited experience (1-2 sessions), all cues and foot shock suppressed reward seeking. With continued experience (10-16 sessions), suppression became specific to shock-associated cues, foot shock briefly suppressed, then facilitated reward seeking. Our results provide a means of assessing positive properties of foot shock, and may provide insight into maladaptive behaviour around aversive events.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Strickland
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
| | - A D Dileo
- Tufts University School of Medicine, School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M Moaddab
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - M H Ray
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - R A Walker
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - K M Wright
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - M A McDannald
- Boston College, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
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23
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Moaddab M, Ray MH, McDannald MA. Ventral pallidum neurons dynamically signal relative threat. Commun Biol 2021; 4:43. [PMID: 33420332 PMCID: PMC7794503 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01554-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventral pallidum (VP) is anatomically poised to contribute to threat behavior. Recent studies report a VP population that scales firing increases to reward but decreases firing to aversive cues. Here, we tested whether firing decreases in VP neurons serve as a neural signal for relative threat. Single-unit activity was recorded while male rats discriminated cues predicting unique foot shock probabilities. Rats' behavior and VP single-unit firing discriminated danger, uncertainty, and safety cues. Two populations of VP neurons dynamically signaled relative threat, decreasing firing according to foot shock probability during early cue presentation, but disproportionately decreasing firing to uncertain threat as foot shock drew near. One relative threat population increased firing to reward, consistent with a bi-directional signal for general value. The second population was unresponsive to reward, revealing a specific signal for relative threat. The results reinforce anatomy to reveal the VP as a neural source of a dynamic, relative threat signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Moaddab
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
| | - Madelyn H Ray
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Michael A McDannald
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
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24
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Campbell CE, Mezher AF, Eckel SP, Tyszka JM, Pauli WM, Nagel BJ, Herting MM. Restructuring of amygdala subregion apportion across adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 48:100883. [PMID: 33476872 PMCID: PMC7820032 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across development. Thus, amygdala subregions and composition may evolve with age. Our goal was to examine if amygdala subregion absolute volumes and/or relative proportion varies as a function of age, sex, or puberty in a large sample of typically developing adolescents (N = 408, 43 % female, 10-17 years). Utilizing the in vivo CIT168 atlas, we quantified 9 subregions and implemented Generalized Additive Mixed Models to capture potential non-linear associations with age and pubertal status between sexes. Only males showed significant age associations with the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA). Again, only males showed relative differences in the proportion of the BLVPL, CEN, ATA, along with lateral (LA) and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA), with age. Using a best-fit modeling approach, age, and not puberty, was found to drive these associations. The results suggest that amygdala subregions show unique variations with age in males across adolescence. Future research is warranted to determine if our findings may contribute to sex differences in mental health that emerge across adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Campbell
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2520, USA
| | - Adam F Mezher
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2520, USA
| | - Sandrah P Eckel
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA
| | - J Michael Tyszka
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Wolfgang M Pauli
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Bonnie J Nagel
- Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97239-3098, USA
| | - Megan M Herting
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
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25
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Hsiao FJ, Chen WT, Ko YC, Liu HY, Wang YF, Chen SP, Lai KL, Lin HY, Coppola G, Wang SJ. Neuromagnetic Amygdala Response to Pain-Related Fear as a Brain Signature of Fibromyalgia. Pain Ther 2020; 9:765-781. [PMID: 33090368 PMCID: PMC7648811 DOI: 10.1007/s40122-020-00206-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by impaired emotional regulation. This study explored the brain response to pain-related fear as a potential brain signature of FM. METHODS We used a conditioned fear task and magnetoencephalography to record pain-related fear responses in patients with FM. Two blocks of 30 fear responses were collected to compute the response strength in the first block and the strength difference between the first and second blocks (fear habituation). These measurements were investigated for their clinical relevance and compared with measurements obtained from healthy controls and patients with chronic migraine (CM), a different chronic pain condition often comorbid with FM. RESULTS Pain-related fear clearly activated the bilateral amygdala and anterior insula in patients with FM (n = 52), patients with CM (n = 50), and the controls (n = 30); the response strength in the first block was consistent across groups. However, fear habituation in the right amygdala decreased in the FM group (vs. CM and control groups, both p ≤ 0.001, no difference between CM and control groups). At the 3-month follow-up, the patients with FM reporting < 30% improvement in pain severity (n = 15) after pregabalin treatment exhibited lower fear habituation in the left amygdala at baseline (vs. ≥ 30% improvement, n = 22, p = 0.019). Receiver operating characteristic analysis confirmed that amygdala fear habituation is a suitable predictor of diagnosis and treatment outcomes of FM (area under the curve > 0.7). CONCLUSIONS Amygdala activation to pain-related fear is maladaptive and linked to treatment outcomes in patients with FM. Because the aberrant amygdala response was not observed in the CM group, this response is a potential brain signature of FM. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier, NCT02747940.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Jung Hsiao
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Ta Chen
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yu-Chieh Ko
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Yu Liu
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Feng Wang
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Pin Chen
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Lin Lai
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Yi Lin
- Department of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Gianluca Coppola
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome Polo Pontino, Latina, Italy
| | - Shuu-Jiun Wang
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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26
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Sun W, Yuill MB. Role of the GABA a and GABA b receptors of the central nucleus of the amygdala in compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior in male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:3759-3771. [PMID: 32875348 PMCID: PMC7686280 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05653-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Compulsive cocaine use, defined as the continued use despite the dire consequences, is a hallmark of cocaine addiction. Thus, understanding the brain mechanism regulating the compulsive cocaine-seeking and cocaine-taking behaviors is essential to understand cocaine addiction and the key to identification of the molecular targets for the development of medications against this condition. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine how the GABAa and GABAb receptors of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) regulate the compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior. METHODS Male Wistar outbred rats were trained to self-administer intravenous cocaine (0.4 mg/kg/infusion) under a chained schedule. The compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior was measured as the cocaine-seeking behavior in the face of footshock punishment. The role of the GABA receptors of CeA in the regulation of such behavior was determined by measuring the dose-dependent effects of the GABAa agonist muscimol or the GABAb agonist baclofen bilaterally microinjected into the CeA on the punished cocaine-seeking behavior. RESULTS The cocaine-seeking behavior was inhibited by footshock punishment in an intensity-dependent manner. Both muscimol and baclofen dose-dependently increased the punished cocaine-seeking behavior. However, the potency of muscimol but not baclofen was negatively correlated with the effects of punishment. CONCLUSION These data indicate that the CeA GABAa receptors play a key role in the regulation of the compulsive cocaine-seeking behavior and suggest that an increase in the function of the GABAa receptors possibly induced by cocaine or genetic factors may be an important mechanism involved in the development of or vulnerability to the compulsive cocaine use and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- WenLin Sun
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 71 S. Manassas, Memphis, TN, 38103, USA.
| | - Matt B Yuill
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 71 S. Manassas, Memphis, TN, 38103, USA
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27
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The Insula Cortex Contacts Distinct Output Streams of the Central Amygdala. J Neurosci 2020; 40:8870-8882. [PMID: 33051345 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0567-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 09/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of genetic tools has provided new means of mapping functionality in central amygdala (CeA) neuron populations based on their molecular profiles, response properties, and importantly, connectivity patterns. While abundant evidence indicates that neuronal signals arrive in the CeA eliciting both aversive and appetitive behaviors, our understanding of the anatomy of the underlying long-range CeA network remains fragmentary. In this study, we combine viral tracings, electrophysiological, and optogenetic approaches to establish in male mice, a wiring chart between the insula cortex (IC), a major sensory input region of the lateral and capsular part of the CeA (CeL/C), and four principal output streams of this nucleus. We found that retrogradely labeled output neurons occupy discrete and likely strategic locations in the CeL/C, and that they are disproportionally controlled by the IC. We identified a direct line of connection between the IC and the lateral hypothalamus (LH), which engages numerous LH-projecting CeL/C cells whose activity can be strongly upregulated on firing of IC neurons. In comparison, CeL/C neurons projecting to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are also frequently contacted by incoming IC axons, but the strength of this connection is weak. Our results provide a link between long-range inputs and outputs of the CeA and pave the way to a better understanding of how internal, external, and experience dependent information may impinge on action selection by the CeA.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our current knowledge of the circuit organization within the central amygdala (CeA), a critical regulator of emotional states, includes independent information about its long-range efferents and afferents. We do not know how incoming sensory information is appraised and routed through the CeA to the different output channels. We address this issue by using three different techniques to investigate how a sensory region, the insula cortex (IC), connects with the motor, physiological and autonomic output centers of the CeA. We uncover a strong connection between the IC and the lateral hypothalamus (LH) with a monosynaptic relay in the CeA and shed new light on the previously described functions of IC and CeA through direct projections to the LH.
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28
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Lindquist DH. Emotion in motion: A three-stage model of aversive classical conditioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 115:363-377. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Harrison PJ, Colbourne L, Harrison CH. The neuropathology of bipolar disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:1787-1808. [PMID: 30127470 PMCID: PMC6292507 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0213-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Various neuropathological findings have been reported in bipolar disorder (BD). However, it is unclear which findings are well established. To address this gap, we carried out a systematic review of the literature. We searched over 5000 publications, identifying 103 data papers, of which 81 were eligible for inclusion. Our main findings can be summarised as follows. First, most studies have relied on a limited number of brain collections, and have used relatively small sample sizes (averaging 12 BD cases and 15 controls). Second, surprisingly few studies have attempted to replicate closely a previous one, precluding substantial meta-analyses, such that the latter were all limited to two studies each, and comprising 16-36 BD cases and 16-74 controls. As such, no neuropathological findings can be considered to have been established beyond reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, there are several replicated positive findings in BD, including decreased cortical thickness and glial density in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, reduced neuronal density in some amygdalar nuclei, and decreased calbindin-positive neuron density in prefrontal cortex. Many other positive findings have also been reported, but with limited or contradictory evidence. As an important negative result, it can be concluded that gliosis is not a feature of BD; neither is there neuropathological evidence for an inflammatory process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Harrison
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK.
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
| | - Lucy Colbourne
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Charlotte H Harrison
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
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30
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Ma C, Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel P, Roughley S, Vissel B, Balleine BW, Killcross S, Bradfield LA. Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex Regulates Instrumental Conditioned Punishment, but not Pavlovian Conditioned Fear. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa039. [PMID: 34296108 PMCID: PMC8152850 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Bidirectionally aberrant medial orbitofrontal cortical (mOFC) activity has been consistently linked with compulsive disorders and related behaviors. Although rodent studies have established a causal link between mOFC excitation and compulsive-like actions, no such link has been made with mOFC inhibition. Here, we use excitotoxic lesions of mOFC to investigate its role in sensitivity to punishment; a core characteristic of many compulsive disorders. In our first experiment, we demonstrated that mOFC lesions prevented rats from learning to avoid a lever that was punished with a stimulus that coterminated with footshock. Our second experiment demonstrated that retrieval of punishment learning is also somewhat mOFC-dependent, as lesions prevented the extended retrieval of punishment contingencies relative to shams. In contrast, mOFC lesions did not prevent rats from reacquiring the ability to avoid a punished lever when it was learned prior to lesions being administered. In both experiments, Pavlovian fear conditioning to the stimulus was intact for all animals. Together, these results reveal that the mOFC regulates punishment learning and retrieval in a manner that is separate from any role in Pavlovian fear conditioning. These results imply that aberrant mOFC activity may contribute to the punishment insensitivity that is observed across multiple compulsive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra Ma
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | | | - Stephanie Roughley
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Bryce Vissel
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
- St. Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney Limited, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Bernard W Balleine
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Simon Killcross
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Laura A Bradfield
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
- St. Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney Limited, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
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31
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Geramita MA, Yttri EA, Ahmari SE. The two‐step task, avoidance, and OCD. J Neurosci Res 2020; 98:1007-1019. [DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Geramita
- Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
- Department of Biological Sciences Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA
- Center for Neural Basis of Cognition University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Eric A. Yttri
- Department of Biological Sciences Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA
- Center for Neural Basis of Cognition University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Susanne E. Ahmari
- Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
- Center for Neural Basis of Cognition University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
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32
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Olsson A, Knapska E, Lindström B. The neural and computational systems of social learning. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:197-212. [PMID: 32221497 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0276-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Learning the value of stimuli and actions from others - social learning - adaptively contributes to individual survival and plays a key role in cultural evolution. We review research across species targeting the neural and computational systems of social learning in both the aversive and appetitive domains. Social learning generally follows the same principles as self-experienced value-based learning, including computations of prediction errors and is implemented in brain circuits activated across task domains together with regions processing social information. We integrate neural and computational perspectives of social learning with an understanding of behaviour of varying complexity, from basic threat avoidance to complex social learning strategies and cultural phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
| | - Ewelina Knapska
- Laboratory of Emotions' Neurobiology, Centre of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders (BRAINCITY), Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Björn Lindström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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33
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Reciprocal connectivity between secondary auditory cortical field and amygdala in mice. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19610. [PMID: 31873139 PMCID: PMC6928164 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56092-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have examined the feedback pathway from the amygdala to the auditory cortex in conjunction with the feedforward pathway from the auditory cortex to the amygdala. However, these connections have not been fully characterized. Here, to visualize the comprehensive connectivity between the auditory cortex and amygdala, we injected cholera toxin subunit b (CTB), a bidirectional tracer, into multiple subfields in the mouse auditory cortex after identifying the location of these subfields using flavoprotein fluorescence imaging. After injecting CTB into the secondary auditory field (A2), we found densely innervated CTB-positive axon terminals that were mainly located in the lateral amygdala (La), and slight innervations in other divisions such as the basal amygdala. Moreover, we found a large number of retrogradely-stained CTB-positive neurons in La after injecting CTB into A2. When injecting CTB into the primary auditory cortex (A1), a small number of CTB-positive neurons and axons were visualized in the amygdala. Finally, we found a near complete absence of connections between the other auditory cortical fields and the amygdala. These data suggest that reciprocal connections between A2 and La are main conduits for communication between the auditory cortex and amygdala in mice.
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34
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Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, Ma C, Bradfield LA, Killcross S, McNally GP. Punishment insensitivity emerges from impaired contingency detection, not aversion insensitivity or reward dominance. eLife 2019; 8:52765. [PMID: 31769756 PMCID: PMC6890457 DOI: 10.7554/elife.52765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Our behaviour is shaped by its consequences - we seek rewards and avoid harm. It has been reported that individuals vary markedly in their avoidance of detrimental consequences, that is in their sensitivity to punishment. The underpinnings of this variability are poorly understood; they may be driven by differences in aversion sensitivity, motivation for reward, and/or instrumental control. We examined these hypotheses by applying several analysis strategies to the behaviour of rats (n = 48; 18 female) trained in a conditioned punishment task that permitted concurrent assessment of punishment, reward-seeking, and Pavlovian fear. We show that punishment insensitivity is a unique phenotype, unrelated to differences in reward-seeking and Pavlovian fear, and due to a failure of instrumental control. Subjects insensitive to punishment are afraid of aversive events, they are simply unable to change their behaviour to avoid them.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cassandra Ma
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Laura A Bradfield
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
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35
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Milton AL. Fear not: recent advances in understanding the neural basis of fear memories and implications for treatment development. F1000Res 2019; 8:F1000 Faculty Rev-1948. [PMID: 31824654 PMCID: PMC6880271 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.20053.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear is a highly adaptive emotion that has evolved to promote survival and reproductive fitness. However, maladaptive expression of fear can lead to debilitating stressor-related and anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the neural basis of fear has been extensively researched for several decades, recent technological advances in pharmacogenetics and optogenetics have allowed greater resolution in understanding the neural circuits that underlie fear. Alongside conceptual advances in the understanding of fear memory, this increased knowledge has clarified mechanisms for some currently available therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder and has identified new potential treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L. Milton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
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36
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Bessières B, Jia M, Travaglia A, Alberini CM. Developmental changes in plasticity, synaptic, glia, and connectivity protein levels in rat basolateral amygdala. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 26:436-448. [PMID: 31615855 PMCID: PMC6796789 DOI: 10.1101/lm.049866.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The basolateral complex of amygdala (BLA) processes emotionally arousing aversive and rewarding experiences. The BLA is critical for acquisition and storage of threat-based memories and the modulation of the consolidation of arousing explicit memories, that is, the memories that are encoded and stored by the medial temporal lobe. In addition, in conjunction with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the BLA plays an important role in fear memory extinction. The BLA develops relatively early in life, but little is known about the molecular changes that accompany its development. Here, we quantified relative basal expression levels of sets of plasticity, synaptic, glia, and connectivity proteins in the rat BLA at various developmental ages: postnatal day 17 (PN17, infants), PN24 (juveniles), and PN80 (young adults). We found that the levels of activation markers of brain plasticity, including phosphorylation of CREB at Ser133, CamKIIα at Thr286, pERK1/pERK2 at Thr202/Tyr204, and GluA1 at Ser831 and Ser845, were significantly higher in infant and juvenile compared with adult brain. In contrast, age increase was accompanied by a significant augmentation in the levels of proteins that mark synaptogenesis and synapse maturation, such as synaptophysin, PSD95, SynCAM, GAD65, GAD67, and GluN2A/GluN2B ratio. Finally, we observed significant age-associated changes in structural markers, including MAP2, MBP, and MAG, suggesting that the structural connectivity of the BLA increases over time. The biological differences in the BLA between developmental ages compared with adulthood suggest the need for caution in extrapolating conclusions based on BLA-related brain plasticity and behavioral studies conducted at different developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Bessières
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| | - Margaret Jia
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| | - Alessio Travaglia
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| | - Cristina M Alberini
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
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Rosenberger LA, Eisenegger C, Naef M, Terburg D, Fourie J, Stein DJ, van Honk J. The Human Basolateral Amygdala Is Indispensable for Social Experiential Learning. Curr Biol 2019; 29:3532-3537.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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38
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Berret E, Kintscher M, Palchaudhuri S, Tang W, Osypenko D, Kochubey O, Schneggenburger R. RETRACTED: Insular cortex processes aversive somatosensory information and is crucial for threat learning. Science 2019; 364:science.aaw0474. [PMID: 31097492 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw0474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Learning about threats is essential for survival. During threat learning, an innocuous sensory percept such as a tone acquires an emotional meaning when paired with an aversive stimulus such as a mild footshock. The amygdala is critical for threat memory formation, but little is known about upstream brain areas that process aversive somatosensory information. Using optogenetic techniques in mice, we found that silencing of the posterior insula during footshock reduced acute fear behavior and impaired 1-day threat memory. Insular cortex neurons respond to footshocks, acquire responses to tones during threat learning, and project to distinct amygdala divisions to drive acute fear versus threat memory formation. Thus, the posterior insula conveys aversive footshock information to the amygdala and is crucial for learning about potential dangers in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Berret
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Kintscher
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Shriya Palchaudhuri
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Wei Tang
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Denys Osypenko
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olexiy Kochubey
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ralf Schneggenburger
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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39
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Chumbley J, Steinhoff A. A computational perspective on social attachment. Infant Behav Dev 2019; 54:85-98. [PMID: 30641469 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans depend on social relationships for survival and wellbeing throughout life. Yet, individuals differ markedly in their ability to form and maintain healthy social relationships. Here we use a simple mathematical model to formalize the contention that a person's attachment style is determined by what they learn from relationships early in life. For the sake of argument, we therefore discount individual differences in the innate personality or attachment style of a child, assuming instead that all children are simply born with an equivalent, generic, hardwired desire and instinct for social proximity, and a capacity to learn. In line with the evidence, this innate endowment incorporates both simple bonding instincts and a capacity for cognitively sophisticated beliefs and generalizations. Under this assumption, we then explore how distinct attachment styles might emerge through interaction with the child's early caregivers. Our central question is, how an apparently adaptive capacity to learn can yield enduring maladaptive attachment styles that generalize to new relationships. We believe extensions of our model will ultimately help clarify the complex interacting mechanisms - both acquired and innate - that underpin individual differences in attachment styles. While our model is relatively abstract, we also attempt some connection to known biological mechanisms of attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Chumbley
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Annekatrin Steinhoff
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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40
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Schier LA, Spector AC. The Functional and Neurobiological Properties of Bad Taste. Physiol Rev 2019; 99:605-663. [PMID: 30475657 PMCID: PMC6442928 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00044.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The gustatory system serves as a critical line of defense against ingesting harmful substances. Technological advances have fostered the characterization of peripheral receptors and have created opportunities for more selective manipulations of the nervous system, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying taste-based avoidance and aversion remain poorly understood. One conceptual obstacle stems from a lack of recognition that taste signals subserve several behavioral and physiological functions which likely engage partially segregated neural circuits. Moreover, although the gustatory system evolved to respond expediently to broad classes of biologically relevant chemicals, innate repertoires are often not in register with the actual consequences of a food. The mammalian brain exhibits tremendous flexibility; responses to taste can be modified in a specific manner according to bodily needs and the learned consequences of ingestion. Therefore, experimental strategies that distinguish between the functional properties of various taste-guided behaviors and link them to specific neural circuits need to be applied. Given the close relationship between the gustatory and visceroceptive systems, a full reckoning of the neural architecture of bad taste requires an understanding of how these respective sensory signals are integrated in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey A Schier
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California ; and Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University , Tallahassee, Florida
| | - Alan C Spector
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California ; and Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University , Tallahassee, Florida
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41
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The role of the basolateral amygdala in dreaming. Cortex 2018; 113:169-183. [PMID: 30660955 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 09/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have repeatedly shown amygdala activity during sleep (REM and NREM). Consequently, various theorists propose central roles for the amygdala in dreaming - particularly in the generation of dream affects, which seem to play a major role in dream plots. However, a causal role for the amygdala in dream phenomena has never been demonstrated. The traditional first step in determining this role is to observe the functional effects of isolated lesions to the brain structure in question. However, circumscribed bilateral amygdala lesions are extremely rare. Furthermore, the treatment of the amygdala as a unitary structure is problematic, as the basolateral and centromedial amygdala (BLA and CMA) may serve very different functions. We analysed 23 dream reports collected from eight adult patients with bilateral calcification of the BLA as a result of a very rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe Disease (UWD). We compared these dream reports to 52 reports collected from 17 matched controls. Given that the BLA has been implicated in various affective processes in waking life, we predicted that the emotional content of the patients' dreams would differ from that of controls. Due to the exploratory nature of this research, a range of different dream characteristics were analysed. A principal components analysis run on all data returned three key factors, namely pleasantness, length and danger. The UWD patients' dream reports were significantly more pleasant and significantly shorter and less complex than control reports. No differences were found in levels of threat or danger. The results support some current hypotheses concerning the amygdala's role in dreaming, and call others into question. Future research should examine whether these UWD patients show generally impaired emotional episodic memory due to BLA damage, which could explain some of the current findings.
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42
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Gabard-Durnam LJ, O'Muircheartaigh J, Dirks H, Dean DC, Tottenham N, Deoni S. Human amygdala functional network development: A cross-sectional study from 3 months to 5 years of age. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 34:63-74. [PMID: 30075348 PMCID: PMC6252269 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the amygdala's role in shaping social behavior is especially important during early post-natal development, very little is known of amygdala functional development before childhood. To address this gap, this study uses resting-state fMRI to examine early amygdalar functional network development in a cross-sectional sample of 80 children from 3-months to 5-years of age. Whole brain functional connectivity with the amygdala, and its laterobasal and superficial sub-regions, were largely similar to those seen in older children and adults. Functional distinctions between sub-region networks were already established. These patterns suggest many amygdala functional circuits are intact from infancy, especially those that are part of motor, visual, auditory and subcortical networks. Developmental changes in connectivity were observed between the laterobasal nucleus and bilateral ventral temporal and motor cortex as well as between the superficial nuclei and medial thalamus, occipital cortex and a different region of motor cortex. These results show amygdala-subcortical and sensory-cortex connectivity begins refinement prior to childhood, though connectivity changes with associative and frontal cortical areas, seen after early childhood, were not evident in this age range. These findings represent early steps in understanding amygdala network dynamics across infancy through early childhood, an important period of emotional and cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- L J Gabard-Durnam
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - J O'Muircheartaigh
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences & Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Centre for the Developing Brain, Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - H Dirks
- Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, Brown University School of Engineering, Providence, USA
| | - D C Dean
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53702, USA; Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53702, USA
| | - N Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - S Deoni
- Department of Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, USA
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43
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Jean-Richard-Dit-Bressel P, Killcross S, McNally GP. Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of punishment: implications for psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:1639-1650. [PMID: 29703994 PMCID: PMC6006171 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0047-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Punishment involves learning about the relationship between behavior and its adverse consequences. Punishment is fundamental to reinforcement learning, decision-making and choice, and is disrupted in psychiatric disorders such as addiction, depression, and psychopathy. However, little is known about the brain mechanisms of punishment and much of what is known is derived from study of superficially similar, but fundamentally distinct, forms of aversive learning such as fear conditioning and avoidance learning. Here we outline the unique conditions that support punishment, the contents of its learning, and its behavioral consequences. We consider evidence implicating GABA and monoamine neurotransmitter systems, as well as corticostriatal, amygdala, and dopamine circuits in punishment. We show how maladaptive punishment processes are implicated in addictions, impulse control disorders, psychopathy, anxiety, and depression and argue that a better understanding of the cellular, circuit, and cognitive mechanisms of punishment will make important contributions to next generation therapeutic approaches.
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44
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Urien L, Xiao Z, Dale J, Bauer EP, Chen Z, Wang J. Rate and Temporal Coding Mechanisms in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex for Pain Anticipation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8298. [PMID: 29844413 PMCID: PMC5974274 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26518-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain is a complex sensory and affective experience. Through its anticipation, animals can learn to avoid pain. Much is known about passive avoidance during a painful event; however, less is known about active pain avoidance. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a critical hub for affective pain processing. However, there is currently no mechanism that links ACC activities at the cellular level with behavioral anticipation or avoidance. Here we asked whether distinct populations of neurons in the ACC can encode information for pain anticipation. We used tetrodes to record from ACC neurons during a conditioning assay to train rats to avoid pain. We found that in rats that successfully avoid acute pain episodes, neurons that responded to pain shifted their firing rates to an earlier time, whereas neurons that responded to the anticipation of pain increased their firing rates prior to noxious stimulation. Furthermore, we found a selected group of neurons that shifted their firing from a pain-tuned response to an anticipatory response. Unsupervised learning analysis of ensemble spike activity indicates that temporal spiking patterns of ACC neurons can indeed predict the onset of pain avoidance. These results suggest rate and temporal coding schemes in the ACC for pain avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Urien
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Zhengdong Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA.,Department of Instrument Science and Technology, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jahrane Dale
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Elizabeth P Bauer
- Biology Department, Barnard College Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, USA
| | - Zhe Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, 10016, USA.
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45
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Narváez M, Borroto-Escuela DO, Santín L, Millón C, Gago B, Flores-Burgess A, Barbancho MA, Pérez de la Mora M, Narváez J, Díaz-Cabiale Z, Fuxe K. A Novel Integrative Mechanism in Anxiolytic Behavior Induced by Galanin 2/Neuropeptide Y Y1 Receptor Interactions on Medial Paracapsular Intercalated Amygdala in Rats. Front Cell Neurosci 2018; 12:119. [PMID: 29765307 PMCID: PMC5938606 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety is evoked by a threatening situation and display adaptive or defensive behaviors, found similarly in animals and humans. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1 receptor (NPYY1R) and Galanin (GAL) receptor 2 (GALR2) interact in several regions of the limbic system, including the amygdala. In a previous study, GALR2 enhanced NPYY1R mediated anxiolytic actions on spatiotemporal parameters in the open field and elevated plus maze, involving the formation of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes in the amygdala. Moreover, the inclusion of complementary ethological parameters provides a more comprehensive profile on the anxiolytic effects of a treatment. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the anxiolytic effects and circuit activity modifications caused by coactivation of GALR2 and NPYY1R. Ethological measurements were performed in the open field, the elevated plus-maze and the light-dark box, together with immediate early gene expression analysis within the amygdala-hypothalamus-periaqueductal gray (PAG) axis, as well as in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) to demonstrate the formation of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes. GALR2 and NPYY1R coactivation resulted in anxiolytic behaviors such as increased rearing and head-dipping, reduced stretch attend postures and freezing compared to single agonist or aCSF injection. Neuronal activity indicated by cFos expression was decreased in the dorsolateral paracapsular intercalated (ITCp-dl) subregion of the amygdala, ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) nucleus and ventrolateral part of the periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), while increased in the perifornical nucleus of the hypothalamus (PFX) following coactivation of GALR2 and NPYY1R. Moreover, an increased density of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes was explicitly observed in ITCp-dl, following GALR2 and NPYY1R coactivation. Besides, knockdown of GALR2 was found to reduce the density of complexes in ITCp-dl. Taken together, these results open up the possibility that the increased anxiolytic activity demonstrated upon coactivation of NPYY1R and GALR2 receptor was related to actions on the ITCp-dl. GALR2-NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes may inhibit neuronal activity, by also modifying the neuronal networks of the hypothalamus and the PAG. These results indicate that GALR2/NPYY1R interactions in medial paracapsular intercalated amygdala can provide a novel integrative mechanism in anxiolytic behavior and the basis for the development of heterobivalent agonist drugs targeting GALR2/NPYY1R heteromers, especially in the ITCp-dl of the amygdala for the treatment of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Narváez
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Dasiel O Borroto-Escuela
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Biomolecular Science, Section of Physiology, University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy.,Grupo Bohío-Estudio, Observatorio Cubano de Neurociencias, Yaguajay, Cuba
| | - Luis Santín
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Carmelo Millón
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Belén Gago
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Antonio Flores-Burgess
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Miguel A Barbancho
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Miguel Pérez de la Mora
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - José Narváez
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Zaida Díaz-Cabiale
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Kjell Fuxe
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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46
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LeDoux J, Daw ND. Surviving threats: neural circuit and computational implications of a new taxonomy of defensive behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci 2018; 19:269-282. [PMID: 29593300 DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2018.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Research on defensive behaviour in mammals has in recent years focused on elicited reactions; however, organisms also make active choices when responding to danger. We propose a hierarchical taxonomy of defensive behaviour on the basis of known psychological processes. Included are three categories of reactions (reflexes, fixed reactions and habits) and three categories of goal-directed actions (direct action-outcome behaviours and actions based on implicit or explicit forecasting of outcomes). We then use this taxonomy to guide a summary of findings regarding the underlying neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, NY, USA.,Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatry Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Nathaniel D Daw
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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47
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Manassero E, Renna A, Milano L, Sacchetti B. Lateral and Basal Amygdala Account for Opposite Behavioral Responses during the Long-Term Expression of Fearful Memories. Sci Rep 2018; 8:518. [PMID: 29323226 PMCID: PMC5765149 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-19074-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Memories of fearful events can be maintained throughout the lifetime of animals. Here we showed that lesions of the lateral nucleus (LA) performed shortly after training impaired the retention of long-term memories, assessed by the concomitant measurement of two dissociable defensive responses, freezing and avoidance in rats. Strikingly, when LA lesions were performed four weeks after training, rats did not show freezing to a learned threat stimulus, but they were able to direct their responses away from it. Similar results were found when the central nucleus (CeA) was lesioned four weeks after training, whereas lesions of the basal nucleus (BA) suppressed avoidance without affecting freezing. LA and BA receive parallel inputs from the auditory cortex, and optogenetic inhibition of these terminals hampered both freezing and avoidance. We therefore propose that, at variance with the traditional serial flow of information model, long-term fearful memories recruit two parallel circuits in the amygdala, one relying on the LA-to-CeA pathway and the other relying solely on BA, which operate independently and mediate distinct defensive responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenio Manassero
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Corso Raffaello 30, I-10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Annamaria Renna
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Corso Raffaello 30, I-10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Luisella Milano
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Corso Raffaello 30, I-10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Benedetto Sacchetti
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Corso Raffaello 30, I-10125, Turin, Italy. .,National Institute of Neuroscience, Turin, Italy.
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48
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Moaddab M, Mangone E, Ray MH, McDannald MA. Adolescent Alcohol Drinking Renders Adult Drinking BLA-Dependent: BLA Hyper-Activity as Contributor to Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and Anxiety Disorders. Brain Sci 2017; 7:brainsci7110151. [PMID: 29135933 PMCID: PMC5704158 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci7110151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescent alcohol drinking increases the risk for alcohol-use disorder in adulthood. Yet, the changes in adult neural function resulting from adolescent alcohol drinking remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that adolescent alcohol drinking alters basolateral amygdala (BLA) function, making alcohol drinking BLA-dependent in adulthood. Male, Long Evans rats were given voluntary, intermittent access to alcohol (20% ethanol) or a bitter, isocaloric control solution, across adolescence. Half of the rats in each group received neurotoxic BLA lesions. In adulthood, all rats were given voluntary, intermittent access to alcohol. BLA lesions reduced adult alcohol drinking in rats receiving adolescent access to alcohol, but not in rats receiving adolescent access to the control solution. The effect of the BLA lesion was most apparent in high alcohol drinking adolescent rats. The BLA is essential for fear learning and is hyper-active in anxiety disorders. The results are consistent with adolescent heavy alcohol drinking inducing BLA hyper-activity, providing a neural mechanism for comorbid alcohol use disorder and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Moaddab
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
| | - Elizabeth Mangone
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
| | - Madelyn H Ray
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
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49
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Kim J, Zhang X, Muralidhar S, LeBlanc SA, Tonegawa S. Basolateral to Central Amygdala Neural Circuits for Appetitive Behaviors. Neuron 2017; 93:1464-1479.e5. [PMID: 28334609 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 268] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Revised: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Basolateral amygdala (BLA) principal cells are capable of driving and antagonizing behaviors of opposing valence. BLA neurons project to the central amygdala (CeA), which also participates in negative and positive behaviors. However, the CeA has primarily been studied as the site for negative behaviors, and the causal role for CeA circuits underlying appetitive behaviors is poorly understood. Here, we identify several genetically distinct populations of CeA neurons that mediate appetitive behaviors and dissect the BLA-to-CeA circuit for appetitive behaviors. Protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 1B+ BLA pyramidal neurons to dopamine receptor 1+ CeA neurons define a pathway for promoting appetitive behaviors, while R-spondin 2+ BLA pyramidal neurons to dopamine receptor 2+ CeA neurons define a pathway for suppressing appetitive behaviors. These data reveal genetically defined neural circuits in the amygdala that promote and suppress appetitive behaviors analogous to the direct and indirect pathways of the basal ganglia. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Kim
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Xiangyu Zhang
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shruti Muralidhar
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sarah A LeBlanc
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Susumu Tonegawa
- RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
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50
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Cambiaghi M, Renna A, Milano L, Sacchetti B. Reversible Inactivation of the Higher Order Auditory Cortex during Fear Memory Consolidation Prevents Memory-Related Activity in the Basolateral Amygdala during Remote Memory Retrieval. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:138. [PMID: 28790901 PMCID: PMC5524669 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent findings have shown that the auditory cortex, and specifically the higher order Te2 area, is necessary for the consolidation of long-term fearful memories and that it interacts with the amygdala during the retrieval of long-term fearful memories. Here, we tested whether the reversible blockade of Te2 during memory consolidation may affect the activity changes occurring in the amygdala during the retrieval of fearful memories. To address this issue, we blocked Te2 in a reversible manner during memory consolidation processes. After 4 weeks, we assessed the activity of Te2 and individual nuclei of the amygdala during the retrieval of long-term memories. Rats in which Te2 was inactivated upon memory encoding showed a decreased freezing and failed to show Te2-to-basolateral amygdala (BLA) synchrony during memory retrieval. In addition, the expression of the immediate early gene zif268 in the lateral, basal and central amygdala nuclei did not show memory-related enhancement. As all sites were intact upon memory retrieval, we propose that the auditory cortex represents a key node in the consolidation of fear memories and it is essential for amygdala nuclei to support memory retrieval process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cambiaghi
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of TurinTurin, Italy
| | - Annamaria Renna
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of TurinTurin, Italy
| | - Luisella Milano
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of TurinTurin, Italy
| | - Benedetto Sacchetti
- Rita Levi-Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of TurinTurin, Italy.,Institute of NeuroscienceTurin, Italy
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