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Abstinence-dependent dissociable central amygdala microcircuits control drug craving. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8126-8134. [PMID: 32205443 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001615117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We recently reported that social choice-induced voluntary abstinence prevents incubation of methamphetamine craving in rats. This inhibitory effect was associated with activation of protein kinase-Cδ (PKCδ)-expressing neurons in central amygdala lateral division (CeL). In contrast, incubation of craving after forced abstinence was associated with activation of CeL-expressing somatostatin (SOM) neurons. Here we determined the causal role of CeL PKCδ and SOM in incubation using short-hairpin RNAs against PKCδ or SOM that we developed and validated. We injected two groups with shPKCδ or shCtrlPKCδ into CeL and trained them to lever press for social interaction (6 d) and then for methamphetamine infusions (12 d). We injected two other groups with shSOM or shCtrlSOM into CeL and trained them to lever press for methamphetamine infusions (12 d). We then assessed relapse to methamphetamine seeking after 1 and 15 abstinence days. Between tests, the rats underwent either social choice-induced abstinence (shPKCδ groups) or homecage forced abstinence (shSOM groups). After test day 15, we assessed PKCδ and SOM, Fos, and double-labeled expression in CeL and central amygdala medial division (CeM). shPKCδ CeL injections decreased Fos in CeL PKCδ-expressing neurons, increased Fos in CeM output neurons, and reversed the inhibitory effect of social choice-induced abstinence on incubated drug seeking on day 15. In contrast, shSOM CeL injections decreased Fos in CeL SOM-expressing neurons, decreased Fos in CeM output neurons, and decreased incubated drug seeking after 15 forced abstinence days. Our results identify dissociable central amygdala mechanisms of abstinence-dependent expression or inhibition of incubation of craving.
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152
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Salience processing by glutamatergic neurons in the ventral pallidum. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2020; 65:389-401. [PMID: 36659230 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Organisms must make sense of a constant stream of sensory inputs from both internal and external sources which compete for attention by determining which ones are salient. The ability to detect and respond appropriately to potentially salient stimuli in the environment is critical to all organisms. However, the neural circuits that process salience are not fully understood. Here, we identify a population of glutamatergic neurons in the ventral pallidum (VP) that play a unique role in salience processing. Using cell-type-specific fiber photometry, we find that VP glutamatergic neurons are robustly activated by a variety of aversion- and reward-related stimuli, as well as novel social and non-social stimuli. Inhibition of the VP glutamatergic neurons reduces the ability to detect salient stimuli in the environment, such as aversive cue, novel conspecific and novel object. Besides, VP glutamatergic neurons project to both the lateral habenula (LHb) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Together, our findings demonstrate that the VP glutamatergic neurons participate in salience processing and therefore provide a new perspective on treating several neuropsychiatric disorders, including dementia and psychosis.
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153
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Delevich K, Jaaro-Peled H, Penzo M, Sawa A, Li B. Parvalbumin Interneuron Dysfunction in a Thalamo-Prefrontal Cortical Circuit in Disc1 Locus Impairment Mice. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0496-19.2020. [PMID: 32029441 PMCID: PMC7054897 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0496-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Altered cortical excitation-inhibition (E-I) balance resulting from abnormal parvalbumin interneuron (PV IN) function is a proposed pathophysiological mechanism of schizophrenia and other major psychiatric disorders. Preclinical studies have indicated that disrupted-in-schizophrenia-1 (Disc1) is a useful molecular lead to address the biology of prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent cognition and PV IN function. To date, PFC inhibitory circuit function has not been investigated in depth in Disc1 locus impairment (LI) mouse models. Therefore, we used a Disc1 LI mouse model to investigate E-I balance in medial PFC (mPFC) circuits. We found that inhibition onto layer 2/3 excitatory pyramidal neurons in the mPFC was significantly reduced in Disc1 LI mice. This reduced inhibition was accompanied by decreased GABA release from local PV, but not somatostatin (SOM) INs, and by impaired feedforward inhibition (FFI) in the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) to mPFC circuit. Our mechanistic findings of abnormal PV IN function in a Disc1 LI model provide insight into biology that may be relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Delevich
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
- Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
| | - Hanna Jaaro-Peled
- Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287
| | - Mario Penzo
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Akira Sawa
- Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287
| | - Bo Li
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
- Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
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154
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Abstract
Anxiety and fear-related disorders are common and disabling, and they significantly increase risk for suicide and other causes of morbidity and mortality. However, there is tremendous potential for translational neuroscience to advance our understanding of these disorders, leading to novel and powerful interventions and even to preventing their initial development. This overview examines the general circuits and processes thought to underlie fear and anxiety, along with the promise of translational research. It then examines some of the data-driven "next-generation" approaches that are needed for discovery and understanding but that do not always fit neatly into established models. From one perspective, these disorders offer among the most tractable problems in psychiatry, with a great deal of accumulated understanding, across species, of neurocircuit, behavioral, and, increasingly, genetic mechanisms, of how dysregulation of fear and threat processes contributes to anxiety-related disorders. One example is the progressively sophisticated understanding of how extinction underlies the exposure therapy component of cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches, which are ubiquitously used across anxiety and fear-related disorders. However, it is also critical to examine gaps in our understanding between reasonably well-replicated examples of successful translation, areas of significant deficits in knowledge, and the role of large-scale data-driven approaches in future progress and discovery. Although a tremendous amount of progress is still needed, translational approaches to understanding, treating, and even preventing anxiety and fear-related disorders offer great opportunities for successfully bridging neuroscience discovery to clinical practice.
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155
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Robinson SL, Thiele TE. A role for the neuropeptide somatostatin in the neurobiology of behaviors associated with substances abuse and affective disorders. Neuropharmacology 2020; 167:107983. [PMID: 32027909 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.107983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, neuropeptides which display potent regulatory control of stress-related behaviors have been extensively demonstrated to play a critical role in regulating behaviors associated with substance abuse and affective disorders. Somatostatin (SST) is one neuropeptide known to significantly contribute to emotionality and stress behaviors. However, the role of SST in regulating behavior has received relatively little attention relative to other stress-involved peptides, such as neuropeptide Y or corticotrophin releasing factor. This review characterizes our current understanding of the role of SST and SST-expressing cells in general in modulating several behaviors intrinsically linked to substance abuse and affective disorders, specifically: anxiety and fear; stress and depression; feeding and drinking; and circadian rhythms. We further summarize evidence of a direct role for the SST system, and specifically somatostatin receptors 2 and 4, in substance abuse disorders. This article is part of the special issue on 'Neuropeptides'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey L Robinson
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Todd E Thiele
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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156
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Jo YS, Namboodiri VMK, Stuber GD, Zweifel LS. Persistent activation of central amygdala CRF neurons helps drive the immediate fear extinction deficit. Nat Commun 2020; 11:422. [PMID: 31969571 PMCID: PMC6976644 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14393-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear extinction is an active learning process whereby previously established conditioned responses to a conditioned stimulus are suppressed. Paradoxically, when extinction training is performed immediately following fear acquisition, the extinction memory is weakened. Here, we demonstrate that corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)-expressing neurons in the central amygdala (CeA) antagonize the extinction memory following immediate extinction training. CeA-CRF neurons transition from responding to the unconditioned stimulus to the conditioned stimulus during the acquisition of a fear memory that persists during immediate extinction training, but diminishes during delayed extinction training. Inhibition of CeA-CRF neurons during immediate extinction training is sufficient to promote enhanced extinction memories, and activation of these neurons following delay extinction training is sufficient to reinstate a previously extinguished fear memory. These results demonstrate CeA-CRF neurons are an important substrate for the persistence of fear and have broad implications for the neural basis of persistent negative affective behavioral states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong S. Jo
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA ,0000 0001 0840 2678grid.222754.4Department of Psychology, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841 Republic of Korea
| | - Vijay Mohan K. Namboodiri
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Garret D. Stuber
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA ,0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Larry S. Zweifel
- 0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA ,0000000122986657grid.34477.33Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
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157
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A brainstem-central amygdala circuit underlies defensive responses to learned threats. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:640-654. [PMID: 31758092 PMCID: PMC7042728 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0599-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Norepinephrine (NE) plays a central role in the acquisition of aversive learning via actions in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) [1, 2]. However, the function of NE in expression of aversively-conditioned responses has not been established. Given the role of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in the expression of such behaviors [3-5], and the presence of NE axons projections in this brain nucleus [6], we assessed the effects of NE activity in the CeA on behavioral expression using receptor-specific pharmacology and cell- and projection-specific chemogenetic manipulations. We found that inhibition and activation of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons decreases and increases freezing to aversively conditioned cues, respectively. We then show that locally inhibiting or activating LC terminals in CeA is sufficient to achieve this bidirectional modulation of defensive reactions. These findings support the hypothesis that LC projections to CeA are critical for the expression of defensive responses elicited by conditioned threats.
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158
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Stress peptides sensitize fear circuitry to promote passive coping. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:428-441. [PMID: 29904149 PMCID: PMC6169733 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0089-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Survival relies on optimizing behavioral responses through experience. Animals often react to acute stress by switching to passive behavioral responses when coping with environmental challenge. Despite recent advances in dissecting mammalian circuitry for Pavlovian fear, the neuronal basis underlying this form of non-Pavlovian anxiety-related behavioral plasticity remains poorly understood. Here, we report that aversive experience recruits the posterior paraventricular thalamus (PVT) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and sensitizes a Pavlovian fear circuit to promote passive responding. Site-specific lesions and optogenetic manipulations reveal that PVT-to-central amygdala (CE) projections activate anxiogenic neuronal populations in the CE that release local CRH in response to acute stress. CRH potentiates basolateral (BLA)-CE connectivity and antagonizes inhibitory gating of CE output, a mechanism linked to Pavlovian fear, to facilitate the switch from active to passive behavior. Thus, PVT-amygdala fear circuitry uses inhibitory gating in the CE as a shared dynamic motif, but relies on different cellular mechanisms (postsynaptic long-term potentiation vs. presynaptic facilitation), to multiplex active/passive response bias in Pavlovian and non-Pavlovian behavioral plasticity. These results establish a framework promoting stress-induced passive responding, which might contribute to passive emotional coping seen in human fear- and anxiety-related disorders.
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159
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Sangha S, Diehl MM, Bergstrom HC, Drew MR. Know safety, no fear. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:218-230. [PMID: 31738952 PMCID: PMC6981293 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Every day we are bombarded by stimuli that must be assessed for their potential for harm or benefit. Once a stimulus is learned to predict harm, it can elicit fear responses. Such learning can last a lifetime but is not always beneficial for an organism. For an organism to thrive in its environment, it must know when to engage in defensive, avoidance behaviors and when to engage in non-defensive, approach behaviors. Fear should be suppressed in situations that are not dangerous: when a novel, innocuous stimulus resembles a feared stimulus, when a feared stimulus no longer predicts harm, or when there is an option to avoid harm. A cardinal feature of anxiety disorders is the inability to suppress fear adaptively. In PTSD, for instance, learned fear is expressed inappropriately in safe situations and is resistant to extinction. In this review, we discuss mechanisms of suppressing fear responses during stimulus discrimination, fear extinction, and active avoidance, focusing on the well-studied tripartite circuit consisting of the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences and Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
| | - Maria M Diehl
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
| | - Hadley C Bergstrom
- Department of Psychological Science, Program in Neuroscience and Behavior, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA.
| | - Michael R Drew
- Center for Learning and Memory and Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
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160
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Li JN, Sheets PL. Spared nerve injury differentially alters parabrachial monosynaptic excitatory inputs to molecularly specific neurons in distinct subregions of the central amygdala. Pain 2020; 161:166-176. [PMID: 31479066 PMCID: PMC6940027 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Dissecting the organization of circuit pathways involved in pain affect is pivotal for understanding behavior associated with noxious sensory inputs. The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) comprises distinct populations of inhibitory GABAergic neurons expressing a wide range of molecular markers. CeA circuits are associated with aversive learning and nociceptive responses. The CeA receives nociceptive signals directly from the parabrachial nucleus (PBn), contributing to the affective and emotional aspects of pain. Although the CeA has emerged as an important node in pain processing, key questions remain regarding the specific targeting of PBn inputs to different CeA subregions and cell types. We used a multifaceted approach involving transgenic reporter mice, viral vector-mediated optogenetics, and brain slice electrophysiology to delineate cell-type-specific functional organization of the PBn-CeA pathway. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings of molecularly defined CeA neurons while optogenetically driving long-range inputs originating from PBn revealed the direct monosynaptic excitatory inputs from PBn neurons to 3 major subdivisions of the CeA: laterocapsular (CeC), lateral (CeL), and medial (CeM). Direct monosynaptic excitatory inputs from PBn targeted both somatostatin-expressing (SOM+) and corticotropin-releasing hormone expressing (CRH+) neurons in the CeA. We find that monosynaptic PBn input is preferentially organized to molecularly specific neurons in distinct subdivisions of the CeA. The spared nerve injury model of neuropathic pain differentially altered PBn monosynaptic excitatory input to CeA neurons based on molecular identity and topographical location within the CeA. These results provide insight into the functional organization of affective pain pathways and how they are altered by chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Nan Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Patrick L. Sheets
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
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161
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Somatostatin receptors (SSTR1-5) on inhibitory interneurons in the barrel cortex. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 225:387-401. [PMID: 31873798 PMCID: PMC6957562 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-02011-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory interneurons in the cerebral cortex contain specific proteins or peptides characteristic for a certain interneuron subtype. In mice, three biochemical markers constitute non-overlapping interneuron populations, which account for 80–90% of all inhibitory cells. These interneurons express parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SST), or vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). SST is not only a marker of a specific interneuron subtype, but also an important neuropeptide that participates in numerous biochemical and signalling pathways in the brain via somatostatin receptors (SSTR1-5). In the nervous system, SST acts as a neuromodulator and neurotransmitter affecting, among others, memory, learning, and mood. In the sensory cortex, the co-localisation of GABA and SST is found in approximately 30% of interneurons. Considering the importance of interactions between inhibitory interneurons in cortical plasticity and the possible GABA and SST co-release, it seems important to investigate the localisation of different SSTRs on cortical interneurons. Here, we examined the distribution of SSTR1-5 on barrel cortex interneurons containing PV, SST, or VIP. Immunofluorescent staining using specific antibodies was performed on brain sections from transgenic mice that expressed red fluorescence in one specific interneuron subtype (PV-Ai14, SST-Ai14, and VIP-Ai14 mice). SSTRs expression on PV, SST, and VIP interneurons varied among the cortical layers and we found two patterns of SSTRs distribution in L4 of barrel cortex. We also demonstrated that, in contrast to other interneurons, PV cells did not express SSTR2, but expressed other SSTRs. SST interneurons, which were not found to make chemical synapses among themselves, expressed all five SSTR subtypes.
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162
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Kovner R, Oler JA, Kalin NH. Cortico-Limbic Interactions Mediate Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses Relevant to Psychopathology. Am J Psychiatry 2019; 176:987-999. [PMID: 31787014 PMCID: PMC7014786 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19101064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Cortico-limbic circuits provide a substrate for adaptive behavioral and emotional responses. However, dysfunction of these circuits can result in maladaptive responses that are associated with psychopathology. The prefrontal-limbic pathways are of particular interest because they facilitate interactions among emotion, cognition, and decision-making functions, all of which are affected in psychiatric disorders. Regulatory aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are especially relevant to human psychopathology, as the PFC, in addition to its functions, is more recent from an evolutionary perspective and is considerably more complex in human and nonhuman primates compared with other species. This review provides a neuroanatomical and functional perspective of selected regions of the limbic system, the medial temporal lobe structures-the hippocampus and amygdala as well as regions of the PFC. Beyond the specific brain regions, emphasis is placed on the structure and function of critical PFC-limbic circuits, linking alterations in the processing of information across these pathways to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of various psychiatric illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rothem Kovner
- Department of Neuroscience and Kavli Institute of Neuroscience,
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn
| | - Jonathan A. Oler
- Department of Psychiatry and HealthEmotions Research Institute,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
| | - Ned H. Kalin
- Department of Psychiatry and HealthEmotions Research Institute,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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163
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Hartley ND, Gaulden AD, Báldi R, Winters ND, Salimando GJ, Rosas-Vidal LE, Jameson A, Winder DG, Patel S. Dynamic remodeling of a basolateral-to-central amygdala glutamatergic circuit across fear states. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:2000-2012. [PMID: 31712775 PMCID: PMC6884697 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0528-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Acquisition and extinction of learned fear responses utilize conserved but flexible neural circuits. Here we show that acquisition of conditioned freezing behavior is associated with dynamic remodeling of relative excitatory drive from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) away from corticotropin releasing factor-expressing (CRF+) centrolateral amygdala neurons, and toward non-CRF+ (CRF-) and somatostatin-expressing (SOM+) neurons, while fear extinction training remodels this circuit back toward favoring CRF+ neurons. Importantly, BLA activity is required for this experience-dependent remodeling, while directed inhibition of the BLA-centrolateral amygdala circuit impairs both fear memory acquisition and extinction memory retrieval. Additionally, ectopic excitation of CRF+ neurons impairs fear memory acquisition and facilities extinction, whereas CRF+ neuron inhibition impairs extinction memory retrieval, supporting the notion that CRF+ neurons serve to inhibit learned freezing behavior. These data suggest that afferent-specific dynamic remodeling of relative excitatory drive to functionally distinct subcortical neuronal output populations represents an important mechanism underlying experience-dependent modification of behavioral selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nolan D Hartley
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrew D Gaulden
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Rita Báldi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Nathan D Winters
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gregory J Salimando
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Luis Eduardo Rosas-Vidal
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Alexis Jameson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Danny G Winder
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sachin Patel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
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164
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The association between serotonin transporter availability and the neural correlates of fear bradycardia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:25941-25947. [PMID: 31772023 PMCID: PMC6925990 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1904843116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Reduced expression of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) is associated with susceptibility to stress-related psychopathology, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We investigated whether an aberrant physiological and neural response to threat underlies this increased vulnerability. In a cross-species approach, we investigated the association between genetically encoded differences in 5-HTT expression and the neural correlates of fear bradycardia, a defensive response linked to vigilance. In both humans and rats, reduced 5-HTT expression was associated with exaggerated bradycardia or bradycardia-associated freezing, reduced activity of the medial prefrontal cortex, and increased threat-induced amygdala-periaqueductal grey connectivity and central amygdala somatostatin neuron activity. We have delineated a previously unknown neurogenetic mechanism underlying individual differences in the expression of anticipatory threat responses, contributing to stress sensitivity. Susceptibility to stress-related psychopathology is associated with reduced expression of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT), particularly in combination with stress exposure. Aberrant physiological and neuronal responses to threat may underlie this increased vulnerability. Here, implementing a cross-species approach, we investigated the association between 5-HTT expression and the neural correlates of fear bradycardia, a defensive response linked to vigilance and action preparation. We tested this during threat anticipation induced by a well-established fear conditioning paradigm applied in both humans and rodents. In humans, we studied the effect of the common 5-HTT-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) on bradycardia and neural responses to anticipatory threat during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning in healthy volunteers (n = 104). Compared with homozygous long-allele carriers, the 5-HTTLPR short-allele carriers displayed an exaggerated bradycardic response to threat, overall reduced activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and increased threat-induced connectivity between the amygdala and periaqueductal gray (PAG), which statistically mediated the effect of the 5-HTTLPR genotype on bradycardia. In parallel, 5-HTT knockout (KO) rats also showed exaggerated threat-related bradycardia and behavioral freezing. Immunohistochemistry indicated overall reduced activity of glutamatergic neurons in the mPFC of KO rats and increased activity of central amygdala somatostatin-positive neurons, putatively projecting to the PAG, which—similarly to the human population—mediated the 5-HTT genotype’s effect on freezing. Moreover, the ventrolateral PAG of KO rats displayed elevated overall activity and increased relative activation of CaMKII-expressing projection neurons. Our results provide a mechanistic explanation for previously reported associations between 5-HTT gene variance and a stress-sensitive phenotype.
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165
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Regulation of Hippocampal Memory by mTORC1 in Somatostatin Interneurons. J Neurosci 2019; 39:8439-8456. [PMID: 31519824 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0728-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Translational control of long-term synaptic plasticity via Mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) is crucial for hippocampal learning and memory. The role of mTORC1 is well characterized in excitatory principal cells but remains largely unaddressed in inhibitory interneurons. Here, we used cell-type-specific conditional knock-out strategies to alter mTORC1 function selectively in somatostatin (SOM) inhibitory interneurons (SOM-INs). We found that, in male mice, upregulation and downregulation of SOM-IN mTORC1 activity bidirectionally regulates contextual fear and spatial memory consolidation. Moreover, contextual fear learning induced a metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 (mGluR1)-mediated late long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory input synapses onto hippocampal SOM-INs that was dependent on mTORC1. Finally, the induction protocol for mTORC1-mediated late-LTP in SOM-INs regulated Schaffer collateral pathway LTP in pyramidal neurons. Therefore, mTORC1 activity in somatostatin interneurons contributes to learning-induced persistent plasticity of their excitatory synaptic inputs and hippocampal memory consolidation, uncovering a role of mTORC1 in inhibitory circuits for memory.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Memory consolidation necessitates synthesis of new proteins. Mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling is crucial for translational control involved in long-term memory and in late long-term potentiation (LTP). This is well described in principal glutamatergic pyramidal cells but poorly understood in GABAergic inhibitory interneurons. Here, we show that mTORC1 activity in somatostatin interneurons, a major subclass of GABAergic cells, is important to modulate long-term memory strength and precision. Furthermore, mTORC1 was necessary for learning-induced persistent LTP at excitatory inputs of somatostatin interneurons that depends on type I metabotropic glutamatergic receptors in the hippocampus. This effect was consistent with a newly described role of these interneurons in the modulation of LTP at Schaffer collateral synapses onto pyramidal cells.
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166
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Li KX, He M, Ye W, Simms J, Gill M, Xiang X, Jan YN, Jan LY. TMEM16B regulates anxiety-related behavior and GABAergic neuronal signaling in the central lateral amygdala. eLife 2019; 8:47106. [PMID: 31482844 PMCID: PMC6746550 DOI: 10.7554/elife.47106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
TMEM16B (ANO2) is the Ca2+-activated chloride channel expressed in multiple brain regions, including the amygdala. Here we report that Ano2 knockout mice exhibit impaired anxiety-related behaviors and context-independent fear memory, thus implicating TMEM16B in anxiety modulation. We found that TMEM16B is expressed in somatostatin-positive (SOM+) GABAergic neurons of the central lateral amygdala (CeL), and its activity modulates action potential duration and inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC). We further provide evidence for TMEM16B actions not only in the soma but also in the presynaptic nerve terminals of GABAergic neurons. Our study reveals an intriguing role for TMEM16B in context-independent but not context-dependent fear memory, and supports the notion that dysfunction of the amygdala contributes to anxiety-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Xin Li
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Mu He
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Wenlei Ye
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Jeffrey Simms
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, United States
| | - Michael Gill
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, United States
| | - Xuaner Xiang
- Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Yuh Nung Jan
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
| | - Lily Yeh Jan
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
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167
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A neural circuit for comorbid depressive symptoms in chronic pain. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:1649-1658. [PMID: 31451801 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0468-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Comorbid depressive symptoms (CDS) in chronic pain are a common health problem, but the neural circuit mechanisms underlying these symptoms remain unclear. Here we identify a novel pathway involving 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) projections from the dorsal raphe nucleus (5-HTDRN) to somatostatin (SOM)-expressing and non-SOM interneurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). The SOMCeA neurons project directly to the lateral habenula, an area known involved in depression. Inhibition of the 5-HTDRN→SOMCeA pathway produced depression-like behavior in a male mouse model of chronic pain. Activation of this pathway using pharmacological or optogenetic approaches reduced depression-like behavior in these mice. Human functional magnetic resonance imaging data showed that compared to healthy controls, functional connectivity between the CeA-containing centromedial amygdala and the DRN was reduced in patients with CDS but not in patients in chronic pain without depression. These findings indicate that a novel 5-HTDRN→SOMCeA→lateral habenula pathway may mediate at least some aspects of CDS.
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168
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Velasco ER, Florido A, Milad MR, Andero R. Sex differences in fear extinction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 103:81-108. [PMID: 31129235 PMCID: PMC6692252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite the exponential increase in fear research during the last years, few studies have included female subjects in their design. The need to include females arises from the knowledge gap of mechanistic processes underlying the behavioral and neural differences observed in fear extinction. Moreover, the exact contribution of sex and hormones in relation to learning and behavior is still largely unknown. Insights from this field could be beneficial as fear-related disorders are twice as prevalent in women compared to men. Here, we review an up-to-date summary of animal and human studies in adulthood that report sex differences in fear extinction from a structural and functional approach. Furthermore, we describe how these factors could contribute to the observed sex differences in fear extinction during normal and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R Velasco
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Florido
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - M R Milad
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
| | - R Andero
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM, Corporació Sanitaria Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain; Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
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169
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Gao Z, Wu R, Chen C, Wen B, Liu Y, Lu W, Chen N, Feng J, Fan R, Wang D, Cui S, Wang JH. Coactivations of barrel and piriform cortices induce their mutual synapse innervations and recruit associative memory cells. Brain Res 2019; 1721:146333. [PMID: 31302097 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
After associative learning, a signal induces the recall of its associated signal, or the other way around. This reciprocal retrieval of associated signals is essential for associative thinking and logical reasoning. For the cellular mechanism underlying this associative memory, we hypothesized that the formation of synapse innervations among coactivated sensory cortices and the recruitment of associative memory cells were involved in the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Our study indicated that the paired whisker and olfaction stimulations led to an odorant-induced whisker motion and a whisker-induced olfaction response, a reciprocal form of associative memory retrieval. In mice that showed the reciprocal retrieval of associated signals, their barrel and piriform cortical neurons became mutually innervated through their axon projection and new synapse formation. These piriform and barrel cortical neurons gained the ability to encode both whisker and olfaction signals based on synapse innervations from the innate input and the newly formed input. Therefore, the associated activation of sensory cortices by pairing input signals initiates their mutual synapse innervations, and the neurons innervated by new and innate synapses are recruited to be associative memory cells that encode these associated signals. Mutual synapse innervations among sensory cortices to recruit associative memory cells may compose the primary foundation for the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Our study also reveals that new synapses onto the neurons enable these neurons to encode memories to new specific signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zilong Gao
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ruixiang Wu
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Changfeng Chen
- Department of Pathophysiology, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233000, China
| | - Bo Wen
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yahui Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233000, China
| | - Wei Lu
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Na Chen
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jing Feng
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ruichen Fan
- Department of Pathophysiology, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233000, China
| | - Dangui Wang
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shan Cui
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jin-Hui Wang
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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170
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Molecular, Morphological, and Functional Characterization of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor 1-Expressing Neurons in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0087-19.2019. [PMID: 31167849 PMCID: PMC6584068 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0087-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is a brain region implicated in anxiety, stress-related disorders and the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF, Crh) acting at cognate type 1 receptors (CRF1, Crhr1) modulates inhibitory and excitatory synaptic transmission in the CeA. Here, we used CRF1:GFP reporter mice to characterize the morphological, neurochemical and electrophysiological properties of CRF1-expressing (CRF1+) and CRF1-non-expressing (CRF1-) neurons in the CeA. We assessed these two neuronal populations for distinctions in the expression of GABAergic subpopulation markers and neuropeptides, dendritic spine density and morphology, and excitatory transmission. We observed that CeA CRF1+ neurons are GABAergic but do not segregate with calbindin (CB), calretinin (CR), parvalbumin (PV), or protein kinase C-δ (PKCδ). Among the neuropeptides analyzed, Penk and Sst had the highest percentage of co-expression with Crhr1 in both the medial and lateral CeA subdivisions. Additionally, CeA CRF1+ neurons had a lower density of dendritic spines, which was offset by a higher proportion of mature spines compared to neighboring CRF1- neurons. Accordingly, there was no difference in basal spontaneous glutamatergic transmission between the two populations. Application of CRF increased overall vesicular glutamate release onto both CRF1+ and CRF1- neurons and does not affect amplitude or kinetics of EPSCs in either population. These novel data highlight important differences in the neurochemical make-up and morphology of CRF1+ compared to CRF1- neurons, which may have important implications for the transduction of CRF signaling in the CeA.
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171
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Sleep Regulation by Neurotensinergic Neurons in a Thalamo-Amygdala Circuit. Neuron 2019; 103:323-334.e7. [PMID: 31178114 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A crucial step in understanding the sleep-control mechanism is to identify sleep neurons. Through systematic anatomical screening followed by functional testing, we identified two sleep-promoting neuronal populations along a thalamo-amygdala pathway, both expressing neurotensin (NTS). Rabies-mediated monosynaptic retrograde tracing identified the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) as a major source of GABAergic inputs to multiple wake-promoting populations; gene profiling revealed NTS as a prominent marker for these CeA neurons. Optogenetic activation and inactivation of NTS-expressing CeA neurons promoted and suppressed non-REM (NREM) sleep, respectively, and optrode recording showed they are sleep active. Further tracing showed that CeA GABAergic NTS neurons are innervated by glutamatergic NTS neurons in a posterior thalamic region, which also promote NREM sleep. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated NTS knockdown in either the thalamic or CeA neurons greatly reduced their sleep-promoting effect. These results reveal a novel thalamo-amygdala circuit for sleep generation in which NTS signaling is essential for both the upstream glutamatergic and downstream GABAergic neurons.
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172
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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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173
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A Fear Memory Engram and Its Plasticity in the Hypothalamic Oxytocin System. Neuron 2019; 103:133-146.e8. [PMID: 31104950 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) release by axonal terminals onto the central nucleus of the amygdala exerts anxiolysis. To investigate which subpopulation of OT neurons contributes to this effect, we developed a novel method: virus-delivered genetic activity-induced tagging of cell ensembles (vGATE). With the vGATE method, we identified and permanently tagged a small subpopulation of OT cells, which, by optogenetic stimulation, strongly attenuated contextual fear-induced freezing, and pharmacogenetic silencing of tagged OT neurons impaired context-specific fear extinction, demonstrating that the tagged OT neurons are sufficient and necessary, respectively, to control contextual fear. Intriguingly, OT cell terminals of fear-experienced rats displayed enhanced glutamate release in the amygdala. Furthermore, rats exposed to another round of fear conditioning displayed 5-fold more activated magnocellular OT neurons in a novel environment than a familiar one, possibly for a generalized fear response. Thus, our results provide first evidence that hypothalamic OT neurons represent a fear memory engram.
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174
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Zhang CQ, McMahon B, Dong H, Warner T, Shen W, Gallagher M, Macdonald RL, Kang JQ. Molecular basis for and chemogenetic modulation of comorbidities in GABRG2-deficient epilepsies. Epilepsia 2019; 60:1137-1149. [PMID: 31087664 DOI: 10.1111/epi.15160] [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: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE γ-Aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA ) receptor subunit gene mutations are significant causes of epilepsy, which are often accompanied by various neuropsychiatric comorbidities, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. It has been suggested that the comorbidities are caused by seizures, as the comorbidities often present in severe epilepsy syndromes. However, findings from both humans and animal models argue against this conclusion. Mutations in the GABAA receptor γ2 subunit gene GABRG2 have been associated with anxiety alone or with severe epilepsy syndromes and comorbid anxiety, suggesting that a core molecular defect gives rise to the phenotypic spectrum. Here, we determined the pathophysiology of comorbid anxiety in GABRG2 loss-of-function epilepsy syndromes, identified the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) as a primary site for epilepsy comorbid anxiety, and demonstrated a potential rescue of comorbid anxiety via neuromodulation of CeA neurons. METHODS We used brain slice recordings, subcellular fractionation with Western blot, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, and a battery of behavior tests in combination with a chemogenetic approach to characterize anxiety and its underlying mechanisms in a Gabrg2+/Q390X knockin mouse and a Gabrg2+/- knockout mouse, each associated with a different epilepsy syndrome. RESULTS We found that impaired GABAergic neurotransmission in CeA underlies anxiety in epilepsy, which is due to reduced GABAA receptor subunit expression resulting from the mutations. Impaired GABAA receptor expression reduced GABAergic neurotransmission in CeA, but not in basolateral amygdala. Activation or inactivation of inhibitory neurons using a chemogenetic approach in CeA alone modulated anxietylike behaviors. Similarly, pharmacological enhancement of GABAergic signaling via γ2 subunit-containing receptors relieved the anxiety. SIGNIFICANCE Together, these data demonstrate the molecular basis for a comorbidity of epilepsy, anxiety, and suggest that impaired GABAA receptor function in CeA due to a loss-of-function mutation could at least contribute to anxiety. Modulation of CeA neurons could cause or suppress anxiety, suggesting a potential use of CeA neurons as therapeutic targets for treatment of anxiety in addition to traditional pharmacological approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Qing Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Neurosurgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Bryan McMahon
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Huancheng Dong
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Timothy Warner
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Wangzhen Shen
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Martin Gallagher
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Robert L Macdonald
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Jing-Qiong Kang
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
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175
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Abstract
Nobel laureate Nikolaas Tinbergen provided clear criteria for declaring a neuroscience problem solved, criteria which despite the passage of more than 50 years and vastly expanded neuroscience tool kits remain applicable today. Tinbergen said for neuroscientists to claim that a behavior is understood, they must correspondingly understand its (i) development and its (ii) mechanisms and its (iii) function and its (iv) evolution. Now, all four of these domains represent hotbeds of current experimental work, each using arrays of new techniques which overlap only partly. Thus, as new methodologies come online, from single-nerve-cell RNA sequencing, for example, to smart FISH, large-scale calcium imaging from cortex and deep brain structures, computational ethology, and so on, one person, however smart, cannot master everything. Our response to the likely “fracturing” of neuroscience recognizes the value of ever larger consortia. This response suggests new kinds of problems for (i) funding and (ii) the fair distribution of credit, especially for younger scientists.
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176
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Dong P, Wang H, Shen XF, Jiang P, Zhu XT, Li Y, Gao JH, Lin S, Huang Y, He XB, Xu FQ, Duan S, Lian H, Wang H, Chen J, Li XM. A novel cortico-intrathalamic circuit for flight behavior. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:941-949. [DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0391-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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177
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Yan H, Li B, Wang J. Non-equilibrium landscape and flux reveal how the central amygdala circuit gates passive and active defensive responses. J R Soc Interface 2019; 16:20180756. [PMID: 30966954 PMCID: PMC6505558 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Uncovering the underlying physical principles of biology is important for understanding the biological function yet challenging. Take an example, the animals' defensive systems are very effective to threats. However, the underlying physical mechanisms are still unclear. We developed a non-equilibrium physics framework in terms of landscape and flux to study a central lateral amygdala (CeL) neural circuit based on experimental findings. We show that the distinct active and passive defensive responses of the animals upon threats are a result of non-equilibrium phase transitions. Such non-equilibrium phase transitions result from thermodynamic symmetry breaking, which is induced dynamically by the non-equilibrium flux. This gives rise to the emergence and selection of passive and active fear defensive responses, which can be quantified by the changes on the topography of the underlying non-equilibrium landscape. We have found the strengthened synaptic transmissions to both the SOM+ and SOM- CeL neurons are necessary for the acquisition and expression of active fear responses. This suggests a way to induce active responses and facilitates the design of new therapeutic strategies for cognitive dysfunction. We have also found that sufficient energy supply is crucial for the ability of selecting the appropriate defensive responses through stabilizing functional states against fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bo Li
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, NY, USA
| | - Jin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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178
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Hardaway JA, Halladay LR, Mazzone CM, Pati D, Bloodgood DW, Kim M, Jensen J, DiBerto JF, Boyt KM, Shiddapur A, Erfani A, Hon OJ, Neira S, Stanhope CM, Sugam JA, Saddoris MP, Tipton G, McElligott Z, Jhou TC, Stuber GD, Bruchas MR, Bulik CM, Holmes A, Kash TL. Central Amygdala Prepronociceptin-Expressing Neurons Mediate Palatable Food Consumption and Reward. Neuron 2019; 102:1037-1052.e7. [PMID: 31029403 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.03.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Food palatability is one of many factors that drives food consumption, and the hedonic drive to feed is a key contributor to obesity and binge eating. In this study, we identified a population of prepronociceptin-expressing cells in the central amygdala (PnocCeA) that are activated by palatable food consumption. Ablation or chemogenetic inhibition of these cells reduces palatable food consumption. Additionally, ablation of PnocCeA cells reduces high-fat-diet-driven increases in bodyweight and adiposity. PnocCeA neurons project to the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST), parabrachial nucleus (PBN), and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), and activation of cell bodies in the central amygdala (CeA) or axons in the vBNST, PBN, and NTS produces reward behavior but did not promote feeding of palatable food. These data suggest that the PnocCeA network is necessary for promoting the reinforcing and rewarding properties of palatable food, but activation of this network itself is not sufficient to promote feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Andrew Hardaway
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
| | - Lindsay R Halladay
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA
| | - Christopher M Mazzone
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Dipanwita Pati
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Daniel W Bloodgood
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Michelle Kim
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jennifer Jensen
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jeffrey F DiBerto
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Kristen M Boyt
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Ami Shiddapur
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Ava Erfani
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Olivia J Hon
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Sofia Neira
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Christina M Stanhope
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jonathan A Sugam
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Michael P Saddoris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Greg Tipton
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Zoe McElligott
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Thomas C Jhou
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Michael R Bruchas
- Division of Basic Research, Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Center for Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Cynthia M Bulik
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
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Abstract
The acquisition of associated signals is commonly seen in life. The integrative storage of these exogenous and endogenous signals is essential for cognition, emotion and behaviors. In terms of basic units of memory traces or engrams, associative memory cells are recruited in the brain during learning, cognition and emotional reactions. The recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells facilitate the retrieval of memory-relevant events and the learning of reorganized unitary signals that have been acquired. The recruitment of associative memory cells is fulfilled by generating mutual synapse innervations among them in coactivated brain regions. Their axons innervate downstream neurons convergently and divergently to recruit secondary associative memory cells. Mutual synapse innervations among associative memory cells confer the integrative storage and reciprocal retrieval of associated signals. Their convergent synapse innervations to secondary associative memory cells endorse integrative cognition. Their divergent innervations to secondary associative memory cells grant multiple applications of associated signals. Associative memory cells in memory traces are defined to be nerve cells that are able to encode multiple learned signals and receive synapse innervations carrying these signals. An impairment in the recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells will lead to the memory deficit associated with neurological diseases and psychological disorders. This review presents a comprehensive diagram for the recruitment and refinement of associative memory cells for memory-relevant events in a lifetime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Hui Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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180
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A model of amygdala function following plastic changes at specific synapses during extinction. Neurobiol Stress 2019; 10:100159. [PMID: 31193487 PMCID: PMC6535631 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The synaptic networks in the amygdala have been the subject of intense interest in recent times, primarily because of the role of this structure in emotion. Fear and its extinction depend on the workings of these networks, with particular interest in extinction because of its potential to ameliorate adverse symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Here we place emphasis on the extinction networks revealed by recent techniques, and on the probable plasticity properties of their synaptic connections. We use modules of neurons representing each of the principal components identified as involved in extinction. Each of these modules consists of neural networks, containing specific ratios of excitatory and specialized inhibitory neurons as well as synaptic plasticity mechanisms appropriate for the component of the amygdala they represent. While these models can produce dynamic output, here we concentrate on the equilibrium outputs and do not model the details of the plasticity mechanisms. Pavlovian fear conditioning generates a fear memory in the lateral amygdala module that leads to activation of neurons in the basal nucleus fear module but not in the basal nucleus extinction module. Extinction protocols excite infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex neurons (IL) which in turn excite so-called extinction neurons in the amygdala, leading to the release of endocannabinoids from them and an increase in efficacy of synapses formed by lateral amygdala neurons on them. The model simulations show how such a mechanism could explain experimental observations involving the role of IL as well as endocannabinoids in different temporal phases of extinction.
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181
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182
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Gowrishankar R, Bruchas MR. Defining circuit-specific roles for G protein-coupled receptors in aversive learning. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2019; 26:146-156. [PMID: 32855999 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The encoding of negative valence in response to noxious stimuli/experiences and in turn, the behavioral representation of negative affective states is essential for survival. Recent advances in neuroscience have determined multiple sites of neural plasticity and key circuits of connectivity across these regions in mediating aversive behavior. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), owing to their neuromodulatory role, are especially important to refining our understanding of the molecular substrates involved in these circuits. In this review, we will focus on recent, contemporary findings that explore neural circuit-specific roles for neurotransmitter/peptide GPCRs and the importance of using novel approaches to illuminate the molecular mechanisms central to aversive learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raajaram Gowrishankar
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Michael R Bruchas
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.,Department of Pharmacology, Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.,Pain and Emotion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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183
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184
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In Vivo Submillisecond Two-Photon Optogenetics with Temporally Focused Patterned Light. J Neurosci 2019; 39:3484-3497. [PMID: 30833505 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1785-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 12/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To better examine circuit mechanisms underlying perception and behavior, researchers need tools to enable temporally precise control of action-potential generation of individual cells from neuronal ensembles. Here we demonstrate that such precision can be achieved with two-photon (2P) temporally focused computer-generated holography to control neuronal excitability at the supragranular layers of anesthetized and awake visual cortex in both male and female mice. Using 2P-guided whole-cell or cell-attached recordings in positive neurons expressing any of the three opsins ReaChR, CoChR, or ChrimsonR, we investigated the dependence of spiking activity on the opsin's channel kinetics. We found that in all cases the use of brief illumination (≤10 ms) induces spikes of millisecond temporal resolution and submillisecond precision, which were preserved upon repetitive illuminations up to tens of hertz. To reach high temporal precision, we used a large illumination spot covering the entire cell body and an amplified laser at high peak power and low excitation intensity (on average ≤0.2 mW/μm2), thus minimizing the risk for nonlinear photodamage effects. Finally, by combining 2P holographic excitation with electrophysiological recordings and calcium imaging using GCaMP6s, we investigated the factors, including illumination shape and intensity, opsin distribution in the target cell, and cell morphology, which affect the spatial selectivity of single-cell and multicell holographic activation. Parallel optical control of neuronal activity with cellular resolution and millisecond temporal precision should make it easier to investigate neuronal connections and find further links between connectivity, microcircuit dynamics, and brain functions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent developments in the field of optogenetics has enabled researchers to probe the neuronal microcircuit with light by optically actuating genetically encoded light-sensitive opsins expressed in the target cells. Here, we applied holographic light shaping and temporal focusing to simultaneously deliver axially confined holographic patterns to opsin-positive cells in the living mouse cortex. Parallel illumination efficiently induced action potentials with high temporal resolution and precision for three opsins of different kinetics. We extended the parallel optogenetic activation at low intensity to multiple neurons and concurrently monitored their calcium dynamics. These results demonstrate fast and temporally precise in vivo control of a neuronal subpopulation, opening new opportunities for revealing circuit mechanisms underlying brain functions.
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185
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Alhadeff AL, Su Z, Hernandez E, Klima ML, Phillips SZ, Holland RA, Guo C, Hantman AW, De Jonghe BC, Betley JN. A Neural Circuit for the Suppression of Pain by a Competing Need State. Cell 2019; 173:140-152.e15. [PMID: 29570993 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Revised: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Hunger and pain are two competing signals that individuals must resolve to ensure survival. However, the neural processes that prioritize conflicting survival needs are poorly understood. We discovered that hunger attenuates behavioral responses and affective properties of inflammatory pain without altering acute nociceptive responses. This effect is centrally controlled, as activity in hunger-sensitive agouti-related protein (AgRP)-expressing neurons abrogates inflammatory pain. Systematic analysis of AgRP projection subpopulations revealed that the neural processing of hunger and inflammatory pain converge in the hindbrain parabrachial nucleus (PBN). Strikingly, activity in AgRP → PBN neurons blocked the behavioral response to inflammatory pain as effectively as hunger or analgesics. The anti-nociceptive effect of hunger is mediated by neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling in the PBN. By investigating the intersection between hunger and pain, we have identified a neural circuit that mediates competing survival needs and uncovered NPY Y1 receptor signaling in the PBN as a target for pain suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber L Alhadeff
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Zhenwei Su
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Elen Hernandez
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michelle L Klima
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sophie Z Phillips
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ruby A Holland
- Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Caiying Guo
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Adam W Hantman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Bart C De Jonghe
- Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - J Nicholas Betley
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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186
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Cell-type specific parallel circuits in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the central nucleus of the amygdala of the mouse. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:1067-1095. [PMID: 30610368 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-01825-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The central extended amygdala (EAc) is a forebrain macrosystem which has been widely implicated in reward, fear, anxiety, and pain. Its two key structures, the lateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTL) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), share similar mesoscale connectivity. However, it is not known whether they also share similar cell-specific neuronal circuits. We addressed this question using tract-tracing and immunofluorescence to reveal the EAc microcircuits involving two neuronal populations expressing either protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) or somatostatin (SOM). PKCδ and SOM are expressed predominantly in the dorsal BSTL (BSTLD) and in the lateral/capsular parts of CeA (CeL/C). We found that, in both BSTLD and CeL/C, PKCδ+ cells are the main recipient of extra-EAc inputs from the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPB), while SOM+ cells constitute the main source of long-range projections to extra-EAc targets, including LPB and periaqueductal gray. PKCδ+ cells can also integrate inputs from the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala or insular cortex. Within EAc, PKCδ+, but not SOM+ neurons, serve as the major source of inputs to the ventral BSTL and to the medial part of CeA. However, both cell types can be involved in mutual connections between BSTLD and CeL/C. These results unveil the pivotal positions of PKCδ+ and SOM+ neurons in organizing parallel cell-specific neuronal circuits within CeA and BSTL, but also between them, which further reinforce the notion of EAc as a structural and functional macrosystem.
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187
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Kovner R, Fox AS, French DA, Roseboom PH, Oler JA, Fudge JL, Kalin NH. Somatostatin Gene and Protein Expression in the Non-human Primate Central Extended Amygdala. Neuroscience 2019; 400:157-168. [PMID: 30610938 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.12.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Alterations in central extended amygdala (EAc) function have been linked to anxiety, depression, and anxious temperament (AT), the early-life risk to develop these disorders. The EAc is composed of the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce), the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), and the sublenticular extended amygdala (SLEA). Using a non-human primate model of AT and multimodal neuroimaging, the Ce and the BST were identified as key AT-related regions. Both areas are primarily comprised of GABAergic neurons and the lateral Ce (CeL) and lateral BST (BSTL) have among the highest expression of neuropeptides in the brain. Somatostatin (SST) is of particular interest because mouse studies demonstrate that SST neurons, along with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons, contribute to a threat-relevant EAc microcircuit. Although the distribution of CeL and BSTL SST neurons has been explored in rodents, this system is not well described in non-human primates. In situ hybridization demonstrated an anterior-posterior gradient of SST mRNA in the CeL but not the BSTL of non-human primates. Triple-labeling immunofluorescence staining revealed that SST protein-expressing cell bodies are a small proportion of the total CeL and BSTL neurons and have considerable co-labeling with CRF. The SLEA exhibited strong SST mRNA and protein expression, suggesting a role for SST in mediating information transfer between the CeL and BSTL. These data provide the foundation for mechanistic non-human primate studies focused on understanding EAc function in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rothem Kovner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; HealthEmotions Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Delores A French
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; HealthEmotions Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Patrick H Roseboom
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; HealthEmotions Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jonathan A Oler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; HealthEmotions Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Julie L Fudge
- Department of Psychiatry, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Ned H Kalin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; HealthEmotions Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
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188
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Mechanisms of fear learning and extinction: synaptic plasticity-fear memory connection. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:163-182. [PMID: 30415278 PMCID: PMC6374177 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5104-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The ability to memorize threat-associated cues and subsequently react to them, exhibiting escape or avoidance responses, is an essential, often life-saving behavioral mechanism that can be experimentally studied using the fear (threat) conditioning training paradigm. Presently, there is substantial evidence supporting the Synaptic Plasticity-Memory (SPM) hypothesis in relation to the mechanisms underlying the acquisition, retention, and extinction of conditioned fear memory. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this review article is to summarize findings supporting the SPM hypothesis in the context of conditioned fear control, applying the set of criteria and tests which were proposed as necessary to causally link lasting changes in synaptic transmission in corresponding neural circuits to fear memory acquisition and extinction with an emphasis on their pharmacological diversity. RESULTS The mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in fear circuits exhibit complex pharmacological profiles and satisfy all four SPM criteria-detectability, anterograde alteration, retrograde alteration, and mimicry. CONCLUSION The reviewed findings, accumulated over the last two decades, provide support for both necessity and sufficiency of synaptic plasticity in fear circuits for fear memory acquisition and retention, and, in part, for fear extinction, with the latter requiring additional experimental work.
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189
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Acute and long-lasting effects of oxytocin in cortico-limbic circuits: consequences for fear recall and extinction. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:339-354. [PMID: 30302511 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5030-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The extinction of conditioned fear responses entrains the formation of safe new memories to decrease those behavioral responses. The knowledge in neuronal mechanisms of extinction is fundamental in the treatment of anxiety and fear disorders. Interestingly, the use of pharmacological compounds that reduce anxiety and fear has been shown as a potent co-adjuvant in extinction therapy. However, the efficiency and mechanisms by which pharmacological compounds promote extinction of fear memories remains still largely unknown and would benefit from a validation based on functional neuronal circuits, and the neurotransmitters that modulate them. From this perspective, oxytocin receptor signaling, which has been shown in cortical and limbic areas to modulate numerous functions (Eliava et al. Neuron 89(6):1291-1304, 2016), among them fear and anxiety circuits, and to enhance the salience of social stimuli (Stoop Neuron 76(1):142-59, 2012), may offer an interesting perspective. Experiments in animals and humans suggest that oxytocin could be a promising pharmacological agent at adjusting memory consolidation to boost fear extinction. Additionally, it is possible that long-term changes in endogenous oxytocin signaling can also play a role in reducing expression of fear at different brain targets. In this review, we summarize the effects reported for oxytocin in cortico-limbic circuits and on fear behavior that are of relevance for the modulation and potential extinction of fear memories.
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190
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Abstract
The measurement of Pavlovian forms of fear extinction offers a relatively simple behavioral preparation that is nonetheless tractable, from a translational perspective, as an approach to study mechanisms of exposure therapy and biological underpinnings of anxiety and trauma-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Deficient fear extinction is considered a robust clinical endophenotype for these disorders and, as such, has particular significance in the current "age of RDoC (research domain criteria)." Various rodent models of impaired extinction have thus been generated with the objective of approximating this clinical, relapse prone aberrant extinction learning. These models have helped to reveal neurobiological correlates of extinction circuitry failure, gene variants, and other mechanisms underlying deficient fear extinction. In addition, they are increasingly serving as tools to investigate ways to therapeutically overcome poor extinction to support long-term retention of extinction memory and thus protection against various forms of fear relapse; modeled in the laboratory by measuring spontaneous recovery, reinstatement and renewal of fear. In the current article, we review models of impaired extinction built around (1) experimentally induced brain region and neural circuit disruptions (2) spontaneously-arising and laboratory-induced genetic modifications, or (3) exposure to environmental insults, including stress, drugs of abuse, and unhealthy diet. Collectively, these models have been instrumental in advancing in our understanding of extinction failure and underlying susceptibilities at the neural, genetic, molecular, and neurochemical levels; generating renewed interest in developing novel, targeted and effective therapeutic treatments for anxiety and trauma-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Singewald
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy, Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA
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191
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Abstract
The neural mechanisms underlying emotional valence are at the interface between perception and action, integrating inputs from the external environment with past experiences to guide the behavior of an organism. Depending on the positive or negative valence assigned to an environmental stimulus, the organism will approach or avoid the source of the stimulus. Multiple convergent studies have demonstrated that the amygdala complex is a critical node of the circuits assigning valence. Here we examine the current progress in identifying valence coding properties of neural populations in different nuclei of the amygdala, based on their activity, connectivity, and gene expression profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Pignatelli
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139 MA, USA
| | - Anna Beyeler
- Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM 1215, Université de Bordeaux, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, 33000 Bordeaux, France
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192
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Zhang X, Li B. A Pathway to Avoiding Threats? Neuron 2018; 100:780-782. [PMID: 30465764 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
How does our brain give rise to passive or active defensive responses when we are confronted with threats? In a recent study in Cell, Terburg, Scheggia and colleagues (Terburg et al., 2018) show that, in both humans and rats, a pathway originating from the amygdala can help suppress passive responses, thereby facilitating active responses to imminent threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xian Zhang
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA
| | - Bo Li
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
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193
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Meloni EG, Kaye KT, Venkataraman A, Carlezon WA. PACAP increases Arc/Arg 3.1 expression within the extended amygdala after fear conditioning in rats. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 157:24-34. [PMID: 30458282 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The stress-related neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is implicated in neuromodulation of learning and memory. PACAP can alter synaptic plasticity and has direct actions on neurons in the amygdala and hippocampus that could contribute to its acute and persistent effects on the consolidation and expression of conditioned fear. We recently demonstrated that intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of PACAP prior to fear conditioning (FC) results in initial amnestic-like effects followed by hyper-expression of conditioned freezing with repeated testing, and analyses of immediate-early gene c-Fos expression suggested that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), but not the lateral/basolateral amygdala (LA/BLA) or hippocampus, are involved in these PACAP effects. Here, we extend that work by examining the expression of the synaptic plasticity marker activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc/Arg 3.1) after PACAP administration and FC. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with cannula for ICV infusion of PACAP-38 (1.5 µg) or vehicle followed by FC and tests for conditioned freezing. One hour after FC, Arc protein expression was significantly elevated in the CeA and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), interconnected structures that are key elements of the extended amygdala, in rats that received the combination of PACAP + FC. In contrast, Arc expression within the subdivisions of the hippocampus, or the LA/BLA, were unchanged. A subpopulation of Arc-positive cells in both the CeA and BNST also express PKCdelta, an intracellular marker that has been used to identify microcircuits that gate conditioned fear in the CeA. Consistent with our previous findings, on the following day conditioned freezing behavior was reduced in rats that had been given the combination of PACAP + FC-an amnestic-like effect-and Arc expression levels had returned to baseline. Given the established role of Arc in modifying synaptic plasticity and memory formation, our findings suggest that PACAP-induced overexpression of Arc following fear conditioning may disrupt neuroplastic changes within populations of CeA and BNST neurons normally responsible for encoding fear-related cues that, in this case, results in altered fear memory consolidation. Hence, PACAP systems may represent an axis on which stress and experience-driven neurotransmission converge to alter emotional memory, and mediate pathologies that are characteristic of psychiatric illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward G Meloni
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, United States.
| | - Karen T Kaye
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, United States
| | - Archana Venkataraman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, United States
| | - William A Carlezon
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, United States
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194
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Agoglia AE, Herman MA. The center of the emotional universe: Alcohol, stress, and CRF1 amygdala circuitry. Alcohol 2018; 72:61-73. [PMID: 30220589 PMCID: PMC6165695 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The commonalities between different phases of stress and alcohol use as well as the high comorbidity between alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and anxiety disorders suggest common underlying cellular mechanisms governing the rewarding and aversive aspects of these related conditions. As an integrative center that assigns emotional salience to a wide variety of internal and external stimuli, the amygdala complex plays a major role in how alcohol and stress influence cellular physiology to produce disordered behavior. Previous work has illustrated the broad role of the amygdala in alcohol, stress, and anxiety. However, the challenge of current and future studies is to identify the specific dysregulations that occur within distinct amygdala circuits and subpopulations and the commonalities between these alterations in each disorder, with the long-term goal of identifying potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Specific intra-amygdala circuits and cell type-specific subpopulations are emerging as critical targets for stress- and alcohol-induced plasticity, chief among them the corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and CRF receptor 1 (CRF1) system. CRF and CRF1 have been implicated in the effects of alcohol in several amygdala nuclei, including the basolateral (BLA) and central amygdala (CeA); however, the precise circuitry involved in these effects and the role of these circuits in stress and anxiety are only beginning to be understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail E Agoglia
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States
| | - Melissa A Herman
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
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195
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Luchkina NV, Bolshakov VY. Diminishing fear: Optogenetic approach toward understanding neural circuits of fear control. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2018; 174:64-79. [PMID: 28502746 PMCID: PMC5681900 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2017.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2017] [Revised: 04/13/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Understanding complex behavioral processes, both learned and innate, requires detailed characterization of the principles governing signal flow in corresponding neural circuits. Previous studies were hampered by the lack of appropriate tools needed to address the complexities of behavior-driving micro- and macrocircuits. The development and implementation of optogenetic methodologies revolutionized the field of behavioral neuroscience, allowing precise spatiotemporal control of specific, genetically defined neuronal populations and their functional connectivity both in vivo and ex vivo, thus providing unprecedented insights into the cellular and network-level mechanisms contributing to behavior. Here, we review recent pioneering advances in behavioral studies with optogenetic tools, focusing on mechanisms of fear-related behavioral processes with an emphasis on approaches which could be used to suppress fear when it is pathologically expressed. We also discuss limitations of these methodologies as well as review new technological developments which could be used in future mechanistic studies of fear behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia V Luchkina
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
| | - Vadim Y Bolshakov
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
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196
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Gill BJA, Khan FA, McKhann GM. Fear Not, We Found What's Making You Anxious. Neurosurgery 2018; 83:E207-E208. [DOI: 10.1093/neuros/nyy404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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197
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Tye KM. Neural Circuit Motifs in Valence Processing. Neuron 2018; 100:436-452. [PMID: 30359607 PMCID: PMC6590698 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
How do our brains determine whether something is good or bad? How is this computational goal implemented in biological systems? Given the critical importance of valence processing for survival, the brain has evolved multiple strategies to solve this problem at different levels. The psychological concept of "emotional valence" is now beginning to find grounding in neuroscience. This review aims to bridge the gap between psychology and neuroscience on the topic of emotional valence processing. Here, I highlight a subset of studies that exemplify circuit motifs that repeatedly appear as implementational systems in valence processing. The motifs I identify as being important in valence processing include (1) Labeled Lines, (2) Divergent Paths, (3) Opposing Components, and (4) Neuromodulatory Gain. Importantly, the functionality of neural substrates in valence processing is dynamic, context-dependent, and changing across short and long timescales due to synaptic plasticity, competing mechanisms, and homeostatic need.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay M Tye
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Dept of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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198
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A central amygdala to zona incerta projection is required for acquisition and remote recall of conditioned fear memory. Nat Neurosci 2018; 21:1515-1519. [PMID: 30349111 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-018-0248-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The formation and retrieval of conditioned fear memories critically depend on the amygdala. Here we identify an inhibitory projection from somatostatin-positive neurons in the central amygdala to parvalbumin-positive neurons in the zona incerta that is required for both recent and remote fear memories. Thus, the amygdala inhibitory input to parvalbumin-positive neurons in the zona incerta, a nucleus not previously implicated in fear memory, is an essential component of the fear memory circuitry.
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199
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Terburg D, Scheggia D, Triana Del Rio R, Klumpers F, Ciobanu AC, Morgan B, Montoya ER, Bos PA, Giobellina G, van den Burg EH, de Gelder B, Stein DJ, Stoop R, van Honk J. The Basolateral Amygdala Is Essential for Rapid Escape: A Human and Rodent Study. Cell 2018; 175:723-735.e16. [PMID: 30340041 PMCID: PMC6198024 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Rodent research delineates how the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and central amygdala (CeA) control defensive behaviors, but translation of these findings to humans is needed. Here, we compare humans with natural-selective bilateral BLA lesions to rats with a chemogenetically silenced BLA. We find, across species, an essential role for the BLA in the selection of active escape over passive freezing during exposure to imminent yet escapable threat (Timm). In response to Timm, BLA-damaged humans showed increased startle potentiation and BLA-silenced rats demonstrated increased startle potentiation, freezing, and reduced escape behavior as compared to controls. Neuroimaging in humans suggested that the BLA reduces passive defensive responses by inhibiting the brainstem via the CeA. Indeed, Timm conditioning potentiated BLA projections onto an inhibitory CeA pathway, and pharmacological activation of this pathway rescued deficient Timm responses in BLA-silenced rats. Our data reveal how the BLA, via the CeA, adaptively regulates escape behavior from imminent threat and that this mechanism is evolutionary conserved across rodents and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Terburg
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Diego Scheggia
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rodrigo Triana Del Rio
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Alexandru Cristian Ciobanu
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Barak Morgan
- Global Risk Governance Program, Institute for Safety Governance and Criminology, Law Faculty, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Peter A Bos
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Gion Giobellina
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Erwin H van den Burg
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Dan J Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ron Stoop
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Jack van Honk
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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200
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Abstract
Anticipatory defensive responses to an aversive or harmful event depend on memories linking the event with the predictive environmental cues. Extensive evidence indicates that the central amygdala is essential for the acquisition and recall of such memories. The evidence came initially from studies that relied on traditional lesion and pharmacological techniques, and recently from studies in which new methodologies were used to target, record and manipulate neuronal activities with improved precision and specificity. In this review, I will discuss the current understanding of the roles of central amygdala neurons in the learning and expression of defensive behaviors, with a focus on the major neuronal populations identified on the basis of their genetic markers.
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