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Lv QY, Chen MM, Li Y, Yu Y, Liao H. Brain circuit dysfunction in specific symptoms of depression. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:2393-2403. [PMID: 33818849 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Since the depressive disorder manifests complex and diverse symptoms clinically, its pathological mechanism and therapeutic options are difficult to determine. In recent years, the advent of optogenetics, chemogenetics and viral tracing techniques, along with the well-established rodent model of depression, has led to a shift in the focus of depression research from single molecules to neural circuits. In virtue of the powerful tools above, psychiatric disorder such as depression could be well related to the disfunction of brain's connection. Moreover, compelling studies also support that the diversity of depressive behaviour could be involved with the discrete changes in a distinct circuit of the brain. Therefore, summarising the differential changes of the neural circuits in mice with depression-like behaviour may provide a better understanding of the causal relationships between neural circuit and depressive behaviour. Here, we focus on the changes in the neural circuitry underlying various depression-like phenotypes, including motivation, despair, social avoidance and comorbid sequelae, which may provide an explanation to circuit-specific discrepancy in depression-like behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Y Lv
- New Drug Screening Center, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ming M Chen
- New Drug Screening Center, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu Li
- New Drug Screening Center, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yang Yu
- New Drug Screening Center, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hong Liao
- New Drug Screening Center, Jiangsu Center for Pharmacodynamics Research and Evaluation, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
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52
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Bali V, Simmons SC, Manning CE, Doyle MA, Rodriguez M, Stark AR, Ayala Rosario SN, Robison AJ, Mazei-Robison MS. Characterization of proinflammatory markers in the ventral tegmental area across mouse models of chronic stress. Neuroscience 2021; 461:11-22. [PMID: 33689861 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite the high prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), understanding of the biological underpinnings remains limited. Rodent models suggest that changes in activity and output of dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are important for depressive-like phenotypes. Additionally, brain inflammatory processes are thought to contribute to MDD pathology and inflammation in the VTA has been linked to changes in VTA DA neuronal activity. Thus, we sought to determine whether there is increased inflammatory signaling in the VTA following forms of chronic stress that induce depressive-like symptoms. First, we subjected male mice to either physical or vicarious chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), paradigms known to induce long-term depressive-like behavior and changes in VTA signaling. Second, we subjected male and female mice to subchronic variable stress (SCVS), a paradigm that induces depressive-like behavior only in female mice. We then isolated mRNA from the VTA and assessed proinflammatory gene regulation via RT-PCR. Our results show that physical, but not vicarious, CSDS increases interleukin 1β (IL-1β) mRNA expression and this inversely correlates with social interaction score. In contrast, IL-1β expression was unchanged in male or female mice following SCVS. No significant increases in VTA ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunochemistry were detected following CSDS that would be indicative of a robust inflammatory response. In conclusion, we show that chronic stressors distinctively alter expression of proinflammatory genes in the VTA and changes may depend on the severity and time-course of the stress exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedrana Bali
- Dept of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States; Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Sarah C Simmons
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Claire E Manning
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Marie A Doyle
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Minerva Rodriguez
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Ali R Stark
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | | | - A J Robison
- Dept of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States; Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States
| | - Michelle S Mazei-Robison
- Dept of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States; Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States.
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53
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Friedman AK. New Insights Into the Role of Ventral Hippocampus-Nucleus Accumbens Activity Encoding Stress Vulnerability. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 88:812-814. [PMID: 33153525 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Allyson K Friedman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York, and the Department of Biology, The Graduate Center, the City University of New York, New York, New York.
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Muir J, Tse YC, Iyer ES, Biris J, Cvetkovska V, Lopez J, Bagot RC. Ventral Hippocampal Afferents to Nucleus Accumbens Encode Both Latent Vulnerability and Stress-Induced Susceptibility. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 88:843-854. [PMID: 32682566 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stress is a major risk factor for depression, but not everyone responds to stress in the same way. Identifying why certain individuals are more susceptible is essential for targeted treatment and prevention. In rodents, nucleus accumbens (NAc) afferents from the ventral hippocampus (vHIP) are implicated in stress-induced susceptibility, but little is known about how this pathway might encode future vulnerability or specific behavioral phenotypes. METHODS We used fiber photometry to record in vivo activity in vHIP-NAc afferents during tests of depressive- and anxiety-like behavior in male and female mice, both before and after a sex-specific chronic variable stress protocol, to probe relationships between prestress neural activity and behavior and potential predictors of poststress behavioral adaptation. Furthermore, we examined chronic variable stress-induced alterations in vHIP-NAc activity in vivo and used ex vivo slice electrophysiology to identify the mechanism of this change. RESULTS We identified behavioral specificity of the vHIP-NAc pathway to anxiety-like and social interaction behavior. We also showed that this activity is broadly predictive of stress-induced susceptibility in both sexes, while prestress behavior is predictive only of anxiety-like behavior. We observed a stress-induced increase in in vivo vHIP-NAc activity coincident with an increase in spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. CONCLUSIONS We implicate vHIP-NAc in social interaction and anxiety-like behavior and identify markers of vulnerability in this neural signal, with elevated prestress vHIP-NAc activity predicting increased susceptibility across behavioral domains. Our findings indicate that individual differences in neural activity and behavior play a role in predetermining susceptibility to later stress, providing insight into mechanisms of vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie Muir
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yiu Chung Tse
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Eshaan S Iyer
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Julia Biris
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Joëlle Lopez
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rosemary C Bagot
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
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55
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Alteba S, Mizrachi Zer-Aviv T, Tenenhaus A, Ben David G, Adelman J, Hillard CJ, Doron R, Akirav I. Antidepressant-like effects of URB597 and JZL184 in male and female rats exposed to early life stress. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2020; 39:70-86. [PMID: 32891517 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) may increase predisposition to depression. Despite extensive research, there is still a lack of knowledge of how to optimally treat depression. We aimed to establish a role for the endocannabinoid (ECB) system within the hippocampal-nucleus accumbens (NAc) network as a possible effective target in combating the pathophysiological development of depression-like behavior and neuronal alterations that are precipitated by ELS. Male and female rats were exposed to ELS during post-natal days (P) 7-14, injected with the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 or the monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitor JZL184 for 2 weeks during late-adolescence (P45-60). Rats were tested starting at P90 for depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors as well as social preference and recognition; alterations in FAAH and MAGL activity; the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF); and plasticity in the hippocampal-NAc pathway. FAAH and MAGL inhibitors during late-adolescence prevented: (i) the long-term effects of ELS on depression- and anxiety-like behavior and the impairment in social behavior and neuronal plasticity in males and females; (ii) ELS-induced alterations in MAGL activity in males' hippocampus and females' hippocampus and NAc; and (iii) ELS-induced alterations in BDNF in males' hippocampus and NAc and females' hippocampus. Significant correlations were observed between alterations in MAGL and BDNF levels and the behavioral phenotype. The findings suggest that alterations in MAGL activity and BDNF expression in the hippocampal-NAc network contribute to the depressive-like behavioral phenotype in ELS males and females. Moreover, the study suggests FAAH and MAGL inhibitors as potential intervention drugs for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirley Alteba
- School of Psychological Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBR), University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Tomer Mizrachi Zer-Aviv
- School of Psychological Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBR), University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Adi Tenenhaus
- Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Israel
| | - Gilad Ben David
- Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Israel
| | - Jacob Adelman
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226, USA
| | - Cecilia J Hillard
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226, USA
| | - Ravid Doron
- Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Israel
| | - Irit Akirav
- School of Psychological Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBR), University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel.
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56
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Premachandran H, Zhao M, Arruda-Carvalho M. Sex Differences in the Development of the Rodent Corticolimbic System. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:583477. [PMID: 33100964 PMCID: PMC7554619 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.583477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, a growing body of research has shown sex differences in the prevalence and symptomatology of psychopathologies, such as depression, anxiety, and fear-related disorders, all of which show high incidence rates in early life. This has highlighted the importance of including female subjects in animal studies, as well as delineating sex differences in neural processing across development. Of particular interest is the corticolimbic system, comprising the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. In rodents, these corticolimbic regions undergo dynamic changes in early life, and disruption to their normative development is believed to underlie the age and sex-dependent effects of stress on affective processing. In this review, we consolidate research on sex differences in the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex across early development. First, we briefly introduce current principles on sexual differentiation of the rodent brain. We then showcase corticolimbic regional sex differences in volume, morphology, synaptic organization, cell proliferation, microglia, and GABAergic signaling, and explain how these differences are influenced by perinatal and pubertal gonadal hormones. In compiling this research, we outline evidence of what and when sex differences emerge in the developing corticolimbic system, and illustrate how temporal dynamics of its maturational trajectory may differ in male and female rodents. This will help provide insight into potential neural mechanisms underlying sex-specific critical windows for stress susceptibility and behavioral emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mudi Zhao
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maithe Arruda-Carvalho
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
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57
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Gellner AK, Voelter J, Schmidt U, Beins EC, Stein V, Philipsen A, Hurlemann R. Molecular and neurocircuitry mechanisms of social avoidance. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 78:1163-1189. [PMID: 32997200 PMCID: PMC7904739 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03649-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Humans and animals live in social relationships shaped by actions of approach and avoidance. Both are crucial for normal physical and mental development, survival, and well-being. Active withdrawal from social interaction is often induced by the perception of threat or unpleasant social experience and relies on adaptive mechanisms within neuronal networks associated with social behavior. In case of confrontation with overly strong or persistent stressors and/or dispositions of the affected individual, maladaptive processes in the neuronal circuitries and its associated transmitters and modulators lead to pathological social avoidance. This review focuses on active, fear-driven social avoidance, affected circuits within the mesocorticolimbic system and associated regions and a selection of molecular modulators that promise translational potential. A comprehensive review of human research in this field is followed by a reflection on animal studies that offer a broader and often more detailed range of analytical methodologies. Finally, we take a critical look at challenges that could be addressed in future translational research on fear-driven social avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Kathrin Gellner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jella Voelter
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 7, 26160, Bad Zwischenahn, Germany
| | - Ulrike Schmidt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry Und Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, Von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eva Carolina Beins
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Valentin Stein
- Institute of Physiology II, University Hospital Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexandra Philipsen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - René Hurlemann
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 7, 26160, Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. .,Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
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58
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Eagle AL, Manning CE, Williams ES, Bastle RM, Gajewski PA, Garrison A, Wirtz AJ, Akguen S, Brandel-Ankrapp K, Endege W, Boyce FM, Ohnishi YN, Mazei-Robison M, Maze I, Neve RL, Robison AJ. Circuit-specific hippocampal ΔFosB underlies resilience to stress-induced social avoidance. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4484. [PMID: 32901027 PMCID: PMC7479591 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17825-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress is a key risk factor for mood disorders like depression, but the stress-induced changes in brain circuit function and gene expression underlying depression symptoms are not completely understood, hindering development of novel treatments. Because of its projections to brain regions regulating reward and anxiety, the ventral hippocampus is uniquely poised to translate the experience of stress into altered brain function and pathological mood, though the cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are not fully understood. Here, we use a novel method of circuit-specific gene editing to show that the transcription factor ΔFosB drives projection-specific activity of ventral hippocampus glutamatergic neurons causing behaviorally diverse responses to stress. We establish molecular, cellular, and circuit-level mechanisms for depression- and anxiety-like behavior in response to stress and use circuit-specific gene expression profiling to uncover novel downstream targets as potential sites of therapeutic intervention in depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew L Eagle
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Claire E Manning
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Ryan M Bastle
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Paula A Gajewski
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Amber Garrison
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Alexis J Wirtz
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Seda Akguen
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Wilson Endege
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Frederick M Boyce
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yoshinori N Ohnishi
- Department of Pharmacology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Medical Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | | | - Ian Maze
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rachel L Neve
- Gene Technology Transfer Core, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alfred J Robison
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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59
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Zuloaga DG, Heck AL, De Guzman RM, Handa RJ. Roles for androgens in mediating the sex differences of neuroendocrine and behavioral stress responses. Biol Sex Differ 2020; 11:44. [PMID: 32727567 PMCID: PMC7388454 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-020-00319-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Estradiol and testosterone are powerful steroid hormones that impact brain function in numerous ways. During development, these hormones can act to program the adult brain in a male or female direction. During adulthood, gonadal steroid hormones can activate or inhibit brain regions to modulate adult functions. Sex differences in behavioral and neuroendocrine (i.e., hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis) responses to stress arise as a result of these organizational and activational actions. The sex differences that are present in the HPA and behavioral responses to stress are particularly important considering their role in maintaining homeostasis. Furthermore, dysregulation of these systems can underlie the sex biases in risk for complex, stress-related diseases that are found in humans. Although many studies have explored the role of estrogen and estrogen receptors in mediating sex differences in stress-related behaviors and HPA function, much less consideration has been given to the role of androgens. While circulating androgens can act by binding and activating androgen receptors, they can also act by metabolism to estrogenic molecules to impact estrogen signaling in the brain and periphery. This review focuses on androgens as an important hormone for modulating the HPA axis and behaviors throughout life and for setting up sex differences in key stress regulatory systems that could impact risk for disease in adulthood. In particular, impacts of androgens on neuropeptide systems known to play key roles in HPA and behavioral responses to stress (corticotropin-releasing factor, vasopressin, and oxytocin) are discussed. A greater knowledge of androgen action in the brain is key to understanding the neurobiology of stress in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ashley L Heck
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Robert J Handa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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Rosinger ZJ, De Guzman RM, Jacobskind JS, Saglimbeni B, Malone M, Fico D, Justice NJ, Forni PE, Zuloaga DG. Sex-dependent effects of chronic variable stress on discrete corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 cell populations. Physiol Behav 2020; 219:112847. [PMID: 32081812 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 01/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety and depression are strikingly more prevalent in women compared with men. Dysregulation of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) binding to its cognate receptor (CRFR1) is thought to play a critical role in the etiology of these disorders. In the present study, we investigated whether there were sex differences in the effects of chronic variable stress (CVS) on CRFR1 cells using CRFR1-GFP reporter mice experiencing a 9-day CVS paradigm. Brains were collected from CVS and stress naïve female and male mice following exposure to the open field test. This CVS paradigm effectively increased anxiety-like behavior in female and male mice. In addition, we assessed changes in activation of CRFR1 cells (co-localization with c-Fos and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB)) in stress associated brain structures, including two sexually dimorphic CRFR1 cell groups in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV/PeN; F>M) and paraventricular hypothalamus (PVN; M>F). CVS increased CRFR1-GFP cell number as well as the number of CRFR1/pCREB co-expressing cells in the female but not male AVPV/PeN. In the PVN, the number of CRFR1/pCREB co-expressing cells was overall greater in males regardless of treatment and CVS resulted in a male-specific reduction of CRFR1/c-Fos cells. In addition, CVS induced a female-specific reduction in CRFR1/c-Fos cells within the anteroventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and both sexes exhibited a reduction in CRFR1/c-Fos co-expressing cells following CVS within the ventral basolateral amygdala. Overall, these sex-specific effects of CVS on CRFR1 populations may have implications for sex differences in stress-induction of mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary J Rosinger
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Rose M De Guzman
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Jason S Jacobskind
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Brianna Saglimbeni
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Margaret Malone
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Danielle Fico
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Nicholas J Justice
- Center for Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Paolo E Forni
- Department of Biological Sciences, The RNA Institute, and the Center for Neuroscience Research, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, United States
| | - Damian G Zuloaga
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States.
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61
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Sun X, Zhang Y, Li X, Liu X, Qin C. Early-Life Neglect Alters Emotional and Cognitive Behavior in a Sex-Dependent Manner and Reduces Glutamatergic Neuronal Excitability in the Prefrontal Cortex. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:572224. [PMID: 33574771 PMCID: PMC7870800 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.572224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [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: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life neglect in critical developmental periods has been associated with emotional and cognitive consequences. Maternal separation (MS) has been commonly used as a rodent model to identify the developmental effects of child neglect. However, reports have shown considerable variability in behavioral results from MS studies in both mice and rats. Difficulties in developing reliable child neglect models have impeded advances in identifying the effects of early-life stress. Accumulating evidence shows that neuronal intrinsic excitability plays an important role in information processing and storage in the brain. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) integrates information from many cortical and subcortical structures. No studies to date have examined the impact of early-life stress on glutamatergic neuronal excitability in the PFC. This study aimed to develop a reliable child neglect rat model and observe glutamatergic neuronal excitability in the PFC. An MS with early weaning (MSEW) rat model was developed. Rats were separated from the dam for 4 h per day on postnatal days (PNDs) 2-5 and for 8 h per day on PNDs 6-16 and then weaned on PND 17. A battery of behavioral tests was used to assess anxiety-like behavior, coping behavior, working memory, spatial reference memory, and fear memory. The action potentials (APs) of glutamatergic neuronal membranes were recorded. MSEW resulted in anxiety-like behavior, a passive coping strategy and increased fear memory in male rats and decreased locomotor activity in both sexes. MSEW slightly impaired working memory during non-stressful situations in female rats but did not change spatial reference memory or associative learning under stressful circumstances in either sex. MSEW reduced the number of glutamatergic neuron APs in male rats. Our findings showed that MS with early weaning induced anxiety-like behavior in male rats. The reduced glutamatergic neuronal excitability may be associated with the emotional alteration induced by MSEW in male rats. In addition, MSEW induced adaptive modification, which depended on a non-stressful context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuping Sun
- National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, China
| | - Xianglei Li
- National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, China
| | - Xinmin Liu
- Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
| | - Chuan Qin
- National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, China
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Miller CK, Krentzel AA, Patisaul HB, Meitzen J. Metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu 5) is necessary for estradiol mitigation of light-induced anxiety behavior in female rats. Physiol Behav 2019; 214:112770. [PMID: 31830486 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety-related behaviors are influenced by steroid hormones such as 17β-estradiol and environmental stimuli such as acute stressors. For example, rats exhibit increased anxiety-related behaviors in the presence, but not the absence, of light. In females, estradiol potentially mitigates these effects. Experiments across behavioral paradigms and brain regions indicate that estradiol action can be mediated via activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors, including Group I subtype five (mGlu5). mGlu5 has been implicated in mediating estradiol's effects upon psychostimulant-induced behaviors, dopamine release and neuron phenotype in striatal regions. Whether estradiol activation of mGlu5 modulates anxiety or locomotor behavior in the absence of psychostimulants is unknown. Here we test if mGlu5 is necessary for estradiol mitigation of light-induced acute anxiety and locomotor behaviors. Ovariectomized adult female rats were pre-treated with either the mGlu5 antagonist MPEP or saline before estradiol or oil treatment. Anxiety and locomotor behaviors were assessed in the presence or absence of white light to induce high and low acute anxiety behavior phenotypes, respectively. In the presence of white light, estradiol treatment mitigated light-induced anxiety-related behaviors but not overall locomotor activity. MPEP treatment blocked estradiol effects upon light-induced anxiety-related behaviors but did not affect overall locomotor activity. In the absence of white light, estradiol or MPEP treatment did not influence anxiety-related behaviors or locomotor activity, consistent with a low anxiety phenotype. These novel findings indicate that mGlu5 activation is necessary for estradiol mitigation of anxiety-related behaviors induced by an acute stressor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiana K Miller
- Graduate Program in Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
| | - Amanda A Krentzel
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Heather B Patisaul
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - John Meitzen
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA; Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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