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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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202
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Blankvoort S, Descamps LAL, Kentros C. Enhancer-Driven Gene Expression (EDGE) enables the generation of cell type specific tools for the analysis of neural circuits. Neurosci Res 2020; 152:78-86. [PMID: 31958494 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2020.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
As in all circuits, fully understanding how neural circuits operate requires the ability to specifically manipulate individual circuit elements, i.e. particular neuronal cell types. While recent years saw the development of molecular genetic tools allowing one to control and monitor neuronal activity, progress is limited by the ability to express such transgenes specifically enough. This goal is complicated by the fact that we are only beginning to understand how many cell types exist in the mammalian brain. Obtaining neuronal cell type-specific expression requires co-opting the genetic machinery which specifies their striking diversity, typically done by making transgenic animals using promoters expressing in neurons. However, while the vast majority of genes express in the brain, they almost always express in multiple cell types, meaning native promoters are not specific enough. We have recently taken a new approach to increase the specificity of transgene expression based upon identifying the distal cis-regulatory genomic elements (i.e. enhancers) uniquely active in a brain region and combining them with a heterologous minimal promoter. Termed Enhancer-Driven Gene Expression (EDGE), it allows for the generation of transgenic animals targeting the cell types of any brain region with far greater specificity than can be obtained with native promoters. Moreover, their small size allows for the generation of cell-specific viral vectors, conceivably enabling circuit-specific manipulations to any species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Blankvoort
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Lucie A L Descamps
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Cliff Kentros
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
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203
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Torruella-Suárez ML, Vandenberg JR, Cogan ES, Tipton GJ, Teklezghi A, Dange K, Patel GK, McHenry JA, Hardaway JA, Kantak PA, Crowley NA, DiBerto JF, Faccidomo SP, Hodge CW, Stuber GD, McElligott ZA. Manipulations of Central Amygdala Neurotensin Neurons Alter the Consumption of Ethanol and Sweet Fluids in Mice. J Neurosci 2020; 40:632-647. [PMID: 31744862 PMCID: PMC6961987 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1466-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The central nucleus of the amygdala plays a significant role in alcohol use and other affective disorders; however, the genetically-defined neuronal subtypes and projections that govern these behaviors are not well known. Here we show that neurotensin neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala of male mice are activated by in vivo ethanol consumption and that genetic ablation of these neurons decreases ethanol consumption and preference in non-ethanol-dependent animals. This ablation did not impact preference for sucrose, saccharin, or quinine. We found that the most robust projection of the central amygdala neurotensin neurons was to the parabrachial nucleus, a brain region known to be important in feeding behaviors, conditioned taste aversion, and alarm. Optogenetic stimulation of projections from these neurons to the parabrachial nucleus is reinforcing, and increases ethanol drinking as well as consumption of sucrose and saccharin solutions. These data suggest that this central amygdala to parabrachial nucleus projection influences the expression of reward-related phenotypes and is a novel circuit promoting consumption of ethanol and palatable fluids.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major health burden worldwide. Although ethanol consumption is required for the development of AUD, much remains unknown regarding the underlying neural circuits that govern initial ethanol intake. Here we show that ablation of a population of neurotensin-expressing neurons in the central amygdala decreases intake of and preference for ethanol in non-dependent animals, whereas the projection of these neurons to the parabrachial nucleus promotes consumption of ethanol as well as other palatable fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - J Andrew Hardaway
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599
| | | | | | - Jeffrey F DiBerto
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599
| | | | - Clyde W Hodge
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
- Department of Psychiatry
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
- Department of Psychiatry
- Neuroscience Center, and
| | - Zoé A McElligott
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies,
- Department of Psychiatry
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599
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204
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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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205
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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: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [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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206
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Fullana M, Dunsmoor J, Schruers K, Savage H, Bach D, Harrison B. Human fear conditioning: From neuroscience to the clinic. Behav Res Ther 2020; 124:103528. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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207
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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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208
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Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor-Expressing Neurons in the Central Amygdala Influence Fear-Related Behavior. Biol Psychiatry 2019; 86:899-909. [PMID: 31420088 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The renin-angiotensin system has been implicated in posttraumatic stress disorder; however, the mechanisms responsible for this connection and the therapeutic potential of targeting the renin-angiotensin system in posttraumatic stress disorder remain unknown. Using an angiotensin receptor bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter mouse, combined with neuroanatomical, pharmacological, and behavioral approaches, we examined the role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) in fear-related behavior. METHODS Dual immunohistochemistry with retrograde labeling was used to characterize AT2R-eGFP+ cells in the amygdala of the AT2R-eGFP-BAC reporter mouse. Pavlovian fear conditioning and behavioral pharmacological analyses were used to demonstrate the effects of AT2R activation on fear memory in male C57BL/6 mice. RESULTS AT2R-eGFP+ neurons in the amygdala were predominantly expressed in the medial amygdala and the medial division of the central amygdala (CeM), with little AT2R-eGFP expression in the basolateral amygdala or lateral division of the central amygdala. Characterization of AT2R-eGFP+ neurons in the CeM demonstrated distinct localization to gamma-aminobutyric acidergic projection neurons. Mice receiving acute intra-central amygdala injections of the selective AT2R agonist compound 21 prior to tests for cued or contextual fear expression displayed less freezing. Retrograde labeling of AT2R-eGFP+ neurons projecting to the periaqueductal gray revealed AT2R-eGFP+ neuronal projections from the CeM to the periaqueductal gray, a key brain structure mediating fear-related freezing. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that CeM AT2R-expressing neurons can modulate central amygdala outputs that play a role in fear expression, providing new evidence for a novel angiotensinergic circuit in the regulation of fear.
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209
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Neural circuits for coping with social defeat. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 60:99-107. [PMID: 31837481 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
When resources, such as food, territory, and potential mates are limited, competition among animals of the same species is inevitable. Over bouts of agonistic interactions, winners and losers are determined. Losing is a traumatic experience, both physically and psychologically. Losers not only need to deploy a set of species-specific defensive behaviors to minimize the physical damage during defeat, but also adjust their behavior towards the winners to avoid future fights in which they are likely disadvantaged. The expression of defensive behaviors and the fast and long-lasting changes in behaviors accompanying defeat must be supported by a complex neural circuit. This review summarizes the brain regions that have been implicated in coping with social defeat, one centered on basolateral amygdala and the other on ventromedial hypothalamus. Gaps in our knowledge and hypotheses that may help guide future experiments are also discussed.
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210
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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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211
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Wadowski PP, Litschauer B, Seitz T, Ertl S, Löffler-Stastka H. Case-based blended eLearning scenarios-adequate for competence development or more? NEUROPSYCHIATRIE : KLINIK, DIAGNOSTIK, THERAPIE UND REHABILITATION : ORGAN DER GESELLSCHAFT OSTERREICHISCHER NERVENARZTE UND PSYCHIATER 2019; 33:207-211. [PMID: 31696411 PMCID: PMC6901430 DOI: 10.1007/s40211-019-00322-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Learning, competence development and scientific thinking in medicine need several strategies to facilitate new diagnostic and therapeutic ways. The optimal collaboration between creative thinking and biomedical informatics provides innovation for the individual patient and for a medical school or society. Utilizing the flexibilities of an e‑learning platform, a case based blended learning (CBBL) framework consisting of A) case based textbook material, B) online e‑CBL with question driven learning scenarios and C) simulated patient (SP) contact seminars was developed and implemented in multiple medical fields. Real-life clinical cases were anonymized and transferred into an interactive and an interdisciplinary eLearning platform. METHODS As an example of the offered clinical teaching-case collection, an example of a psychiatric case for the disease "posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)" is presented: a 30-year-old man with a history of insomnia with difficulties in falling asleep and sleeping through, nightmares, nervousness and psychomotor restlessness. The students are challenged to identify possible differential diagnoses and further get to know the patient's personal history (loss of relatives due to war, torture and flight from home country). Further, the students are guided through the principles of fear conditioning including translational aspects like neurotransmitter signaling of PTSD pathomechanism (translational and research aspects like dopamine transporter gene polymorphism, long term potentiation and synaptic signaling). RESULTS/CONCLUSION The case presentation comprises different learning aspects: First, declarative knowledge has to be acquired and collected in basic medical sciences, knowledge that is in fact available and can be accessed on the conscious and preconscious level in long-term memory. Second, associative learning leads to the formation of neuronal connections and is an important way of learning and discovering, founded in neural associations. Third, polythematic-crosslinking thinking is needed as ability to link information in a meaningful way. These steps are a typical intellectual ability of gifted learners and researchers that combine previously seemingly unrelated areas to each other and drive innovation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Pia Wadowski
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Division of Angiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Brigitte Litschauer
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tamara Seitz
- Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sebastian Ertl
- Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Henriette Löffler-Stastka
- Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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212
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Γ-Aminobutyric acid in adult brain: an update. Behav Brain Res 2019; 376:112224. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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213
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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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214
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µ-opioid receptor-mediated downregulation of midline thalamic pathways to basal and central amygdala. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17837. [PMID: 31780740 PMCID: PMC6882837 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54128-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain µ-opioid receptors (MOR) mediate reward and help coping with pain, social rejection, anxiety and depression. The dorsal midline thalamus (dMT) integrates visceral/emotional signals and biases behavior towards aversive or defensive states through projections to the amygdala. While a dense MOR expression in the dMT has been described, the exact cellular and synaptic mechanisms of µ-opioidergic modulation in the dMT-amygdala circuitry remain unresolved. Here, we hypothesized that MORs are important negative modulators of dMT-amygdala excitatory networks. Using retrograde tracers and targeted channelrhodopsin expression in combination with patch-clamp electrophysiology, we found that projections of dMT neurons onto both basal amygdala principal neurons (BA PN) and central amygdala (CeL) neurons are attenuated by stimulation of somatic or synaptic MORs. Importantly, dMT efferents to the amygdala drive feedforward excitation of centromedial amygdala neurons (CeM), which is dampened by MOR activation. This downregulation of excitatory activity in dMT-amygdala networks puts the µ-opioid system in a position to ameliorate aversive or defensive behavioral states associated with stress, withdrawal, physical pain or social rejection.
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215
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Maddox SA, Hartmann J, Ross RA, Ressler KJ. Deconstructing the Gestalt: Mechanisms of Fear, Threat, and Trauma Memory Encoding. Neuron 2019; 102:60-74. [PMID: 30946827 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Threat processing is central to understanding debilitating fear- and trauma-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Progress has been made in understanding the neural circuits underlying the "engram" of threat or fear memory formation that complements a decades-old appreciation of the neurobiology of fear and threat involving hub structures such as the amygdala. In this review, we examine key recent findings, as well as integrate the importance of hormonal and physiological approaches, to provide a broader perspective of how bodily systems engaged in threat responses may interact with amygdala-based circuits in the encoding and updating of threat-related memory. Understanding how trauma-related memories are encoded and updated throughout the brain and the body will ultimately lead to novel biologically-driven approaches for treatment and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A Maddox
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jakob Hartmann
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Rachel A Ross
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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216
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Oprisan SA, Clementsmith X, Tompa T, Lavin A. Dopamine receptor antagonists effects on low-dimensional attractors of local field potentials in optogenetic mice. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0223469. [PMID: 31618234 PMCID: PMC6795423 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of acute cocaine injection or dopamine (DA) receptor antagonists on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) gamma oscillations and their relationship to short term neuroadaptation that may mediate addiction. For this purpose, optogenetically evoked local field potentials (LFPs) in response to a brief 10 ms laser light pulse were recorded from 17 mice. D1-like receptor antagonist SCH 23390 or D2-like receptor antagonist sulpiride, or both, were administered either before or after cocaine. A Euclidian distance-based dendrogram classifier separated the 100 trials for each animal in disjoint clusters. When baseline and DA receptor antagonists trials were combined in a single trial, a minimum of 20% overlap occurred in some dendrogram clusters, which suggests a possible common, invariant, dynamic mechanism shared by both baseline and DA receptor antagonists data. The delay-embedding method of neural activity reconstruction was performed using the correlation time and mutual information to determine the lag/correlation time of LFPs and false nearest neighbors to determine the embedding dimension. We found that DA receptor antagonists applied before cocaine cancels out the effect of cocaine and leaves the lag time distributions at baseline values. On the other hand, cocaine applied after DA receptor antagonists shifts the lag time distributions to longer durations, i.e. increase the correlation time of LFPs. Fourier analysis showed that a reasonable accurate decomposition of the LFP data can be obtained with a relatively small (less than ten) Fourier coefficients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sorinel A. Oprisan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Xandre Clementsmith
- Department of Computer Science, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, United States of America
| | - Tamas Tompa
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States of America
- Faculty of Healthcare, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary
| | - Antonieta Lavin
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States of America
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217
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Carrero JP, Kaigler KF, Hartshorn GH, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Mu opioid receptor regulation of glutamate efflux in the central amygdala in response to predator odor. Neurobiol Stress 2019; 11:100197. [PMID: 31832510 PMCID: PMC6888766 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala plays an important role in the responses to predator threat. Glutamatergic processes in amygdala regulate the behavioral responses to predator stress, and we have found that exposure to ferret odor activates glutamatergic neurons of the basolateral amygdala [BLA] which are known to project to the central amygdala [CeA]. Therefore, we tested if predator stress would increase glutamate release in the rat CeA using in vivo microdialysis, while monitoring behavioral responses during a 1 h exposure to ferret odor. Since injections of mu opioid receptor [MOR] agonists and antagonists into the CeA modulate behavioral responses to predator odor, we locally infused the MOR agonist DAMGO or the MOR antagonist CTAP into the CeA during predator stress to examine effects on glutamate efflux and behavior. We found that ferret odor exposure increased glutamate, but not GABA, efflux in the CeA, and this effect was attenuated by tetrodotoxin. Interestingly, increases in glutamate efflux elicited by ferret odor exposure were blocked by infusion of CTAP, but CTAP did not alter the behavioral responses during predator stress. DAMGO alone enhanced glutamate efflux, but did not modulate glutamate efflux during predator stress. These studies demonstrate that ferret odor exposure, like other stressors, enhances glutamate efflux in the CeA. Further, they suggest that activation of MOR in the CeA may help shape the defensive response to predator odor and other threats. Predator odor stress increased glutamate efflux in the central amygdala. Predator stress-induced increases in glutamate were blocked by a mu opioid receptor antagonist. Blocking glutamate efflux in the amygdala did not alter behavioral responses to predator odor. Infusion of a mu opioid receptor agonist also increased glutamate efflux in the central amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Parrilla Carrero
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.,Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA
| | - Kris F Kaigler
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.,Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA
| | - George H Hartshorn
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.,Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA
| | - Jim R Fadel
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.,Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA
| | - Marlene A Wilson
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.,Columbia VA Health Care System, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA
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218
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Dedic N, Kühne C, Gomes KS, Hartmann J, Ressler KJ, Schmidt MV, Deussing JM. Deletion of CRH From GABAergic Forebrain Neurons Promotes Stress Resilience and Dampens Stress-Induced Changes in Neuronal Activity. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:986. [PMID: 31619956 PMCID: PMC6763571 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system has been implicated in stress-related psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety. Although most studies have linked CRH/CRH receptor 1 signaling to aversive, stress-like behavior, recent work has revealed a crucial role for distinct CRH circuits in maintaining positive emotional valence and appetitive responses under baseline conditions. Here we addressed whether deletion of CRH, specifically from GABAergic forebrain neurons (Crh CKO-GABA mice) differentially affects general behavior under baseline and chronic stress conditions. Expression mapping in Crh CK O-GABA mice revealed absence of Crh in GABAergic neurons of the cortex and limbic regions including the hippocampus, central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminals, but not in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus. Consequently, conditional CRH knockout animals exhibited no alterations in circadian and stress-induced corticosterone release compared to controls. Under baseline conditions, absence of Crh from forebrain GABAergic neurons resulted in social interaction deficits but had no effect on other behavioral measures including locomotion, anxiety, immobility in the forced swim test, acoustic startle response and fear conditioning. Interestingly, following exposure to chronic social defeat stress, Crh CKO-GABA mice displayed a resilient phenotype, which was accompanied by a dampened, stress-induced expression of immediate early genes c-fos and zif268 in several brain regions. Collectively our data reveals the requirement of GABAergic CRH circuits in maintaining appropriate social behavior in naïve animals and further supports the ability of CRH to promote divergent behavioral states under baseline and severe stress conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Dedic
- Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Claudia Kühne
- Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Karina S Gomes
- Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, Paulista State University, Araraquara, Brazil
| | - Jakob Hartmann
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.,Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Mathias V Schmidt
- Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan M Deussing
- Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
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219
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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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220
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Seiglie MP, Huang L, Cottone P, Sabino V. Role of the PACAP system of the extended amygdala in the acoustic startle response in rats. Neuropharmacology 2019; 160:107761. [PMID: 31493466 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.107761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety-related disorders are the most prevalent mental disorders in the world and they are characterized by abnormal responses to stressors. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide highly expressed in the extended amygdala, a brain macrostructure involved in the response to threat that includes the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). The aim of this series of experiments was to systematically elucidate the role of the PACAP system of the CeA and BNST under both control, unstressed conditions and after the presentation of a stressor in rats. For this purpose, we used the acoustic startle response (ASR), an unconscious response to sudden acoustic stimuli sensitive to changes in stress which can be used as an operationalization of the hypervigilance present in anxiety- and trauma-related disorders. We found that infusion of PACAP, but not the related peptide vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), into either the CeA or the BNST causes a dose-dependent increase in ASR. In addition, while infusion of the antagonist PACAP(6-38) into either the CeA or the BNST does not affect ASR in non-stressed conditions, it prevents the sensitization of ASR induced by an acute footshock stress. Finally, we found that footshock stress induces a significant increase in PACAP, but not VIP, levels in both of these brain areas. Altogether, these data show that the PACAP system of the extended amygdala contributes to stress-induced hyperarousal and suggest it as a potential novel target for the treatment of stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariel P Seiglie
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lillian Huang
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pietro Cottone
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Valentina Sabino
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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221
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Egan AE, Seemiller LR, Packard AEB, Solomon MB, Ulrich-Lai YM. Palatable food reduces anxiety-like behaviors and HPA axis responses to stress in female rats in an estrous-cycle specific manner. Horm Behav 2019; 115:104557. [PMID: 31310760 PMCID: PMC6765440 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 06/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Eating tasty foods dampens responses to stress - an idea reflected in the colloquial term 'comfort foods'. To study the neurobiological mechanisms by which palatable foods provide stress relief, we previously characterized a limited sucrose intake (LSI) paradigm in which male rats are given twice-daily access to 4 ml of 30% sucrose solution (vs. water as a control), and subsequently have reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis responsivity and anxiety-related behaviors. Notably, women may be more prone to 'comfort feeding' than men, and this may vary across the menstrual cycle, suggesting the potential for important sex and estrous cycle differences. In support of this idea, LSI reduces HPA axis responses in female rats during the proestrus/estrus (P/E), as opposed to the diestrus 1/diestrus 2 (D1/D2) estrous cycle stage. However, the effect of LSI on anxiety-related behaviors in females remains unknown. Here we show that LSI reduced stress-related behaviors in female rats in the elevated plus-maze and restraint tests, but not in the open field test, though only during P/E. LSI also decreased the HPA axis stress response primarily during P/E, consistent with prior findings. Finally, cFos immunolabeling (a marker of neuronal activation) revealed that LSI increased post-restraint cFos in the central amygdala medial subdivision (CeM) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis posterior subnuclei (BSTp) exclusively during P/E. These results suggest that in female rats, palatable food reduces both behavioral and neuroendocrine stress responses in an estrous cycle-dependent manner, and the CeM and BSTp are implicated as potential mediators of these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann E Egan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA
| | - Laurel R Seemiller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA
| | - Amy E B Packard
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA
| | - Matia B Solomon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA
| | - Yvonne M Ulrich-Lai
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA.
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222
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Varodayan FP, Minnig MA, Steinman MQ, Oleata CS, Riley MW, Sabino V, Roberto M. PACAP regulation of central amygdala GABAergic synapses is altered by restraint stress. Neuropharmacology 2019; 168:107752. [PMID: 31476352 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.107752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) system plays a central role in the brain's emotional response to psychological stress by activating cellular processes and circuits associated with threat exposure. The neuropeptide PACAP and its main receptor PAC1 are expressed in the rodent central amygdala (CeA), a brain region critical in negative emotional processing, and CeA PACAPergic signaling drives anxiogenic and stress coping behaviors. Despite this behavioral evidence, PACAP's effects on neuronal activity within the medial subdivision of the CeA (CeM, the major output nucleus for the entire amygdala complex) during basal conditions and after psychological stress remain unknown. Therefore, in the present study, male Wistar rats were subjected to either restraint stress or control conditions, and PACAPergic regulation of CeM cellular function was assessed using immunohistochemistry and whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology. Our results demonstrate that PACAP-38 potentiates GABA release in the CeM of naïve rats, via its actions at presynaptic PAC1. Basal PAC1 activity also enhances GABA release in an action potential-dependent manner. Notably, PACAP-38's facilitation of CeM GABA release was attenuated after a single restraint stress session, but after repeated sessions returned to the level observed in naïve animals. A single restraint session also significantly decreased PAC1 levels in the CeM, with repeated restraint sessions producing a slight recovery. Collectively our data reveal that PACAP/PAC1 signaling enhances inhibitory control of the CeM and that psychological stress can modulate this influence to potentially disinhibit downstream effector regions that mediate anxiety and stress-related behaviors. This article is part of the special issue on 'Neuropeptides'.
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Affiliation(s)
- F P Varodayan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
| | - M A Minnig
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - M Q Steinman
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - C S Oleata
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - M W Riley
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - V Sabino
- Laboratory of Addictive Disorders, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - M Roberto
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
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223
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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: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [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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224
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Phenotyping neurons activated in the mouse brain during restoration of salt debt. J Chem Neuroanat 2019; 101:101665. [PMID: 31398430 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2019.101665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Salt overconsumption contributes to hypertension, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart and kidney disease. Characterising neuronal pathways that may control salt consumption is therefore important for developing novel approaches for reducing salt overconsumption. Here, we identify neurons within the mouse central amygdala (CeA), lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN), intermediate nucleus of the solitary tract (iNTS), and caudal NTS (cNTS) that are activated and display Fos immunoreactivity in mice that have consumed salt in order to restore a salt debt, relative to salt replete and salt depleted controls. Double-label immunohistochemical studies revealed that salt restoring mice had significantly greater densities of activated enkephalin neurons within the CeA and iNTS, while statistically significant changes within the LPBN and cNTS were not observed. Furthermore, within the CeA, restoration of salt debt conferred a significant increase in the density of activated calretinin neurons, while there was no change relative to control groups in the density of activated neurons that co-expressed protein kinase C delta (PKC-δ). Taken together, these studies highlight the importance of opioid systems within the CeA and iNTS in neuronal processes associated with salt restoration, and may aid the development of future pharmacological and other strategies for reducing salt overconsumption.
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225
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Tye KM. Neural Circuit Motifs in Valence Processing. Neuron 2019; 100:436-452. [PMID: 30359607 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [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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226
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Headley DB, Kanta V, Kyriazi P, Paré D. Embracing Complexity in Defensive Networks. Neuron 2019; 103:189-201. [PMID: 31319049 PMCID: PMC6641575 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The neural basis of defensive behaviors continues to attract much interest, not only because they are important for survival but also because their dysregulation may be at the origin of anxiety disorders. Recently, a dominant approach in the field has been the optogenetic manipulation of specific circuits or cell types within these circuits to dissect their role in different defensive behaviors. While the usefulness of optogenetics is unquestionable, we argue that this method, as currently applied, fosters an atomistic conceptualization of defensive behaviors, which hinders progress in understanding the integrated responses of nervous systems to threats. Instead, we advocate for a holistic approach to the problem, including observational study of natural behaviors and their neuronal correlates at multiple sites, coupled to the use of optogenetics, not to globally turn on or off neurons of interest, but to manipulate specific activity patterns hypothesized to regulate defensive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew B Headley
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Vasiliki Kanta
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Pinelopi Kyriazi
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Denis Paré
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
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227
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Abstract
Recent advances in neuro-imaging allowed big brain-initiatives and consortia to create vast resources of brain data that can be mined by researchers for their individual projects. Exploring the relationship between genes, brain circuitry, and behavior is one of the key elements of neuroscience research. This requires fusion of spatial connectivity data at varying scales, such as whole brain correlated gene expression, structural and functional connectivity. With ever-increasing resolution, these tend to exceed the past state-of-the art in size and complexity by several orders of magnitude. Since current analytical workflows in neuroscience involve time-consuming manual data-aggregation, incorporating efficient techniques for handling big connectivity data is a necessity. We propose a novel data structure enabling the interactive exploration of heterogeneous neurobiological connectivity data with billions of edges. Based on this data structure we realized Aggregation Queries, i.e. the aggregated connectivity from, to or between brain areas allows experts to compare the multimodal networks residing at different scales, or levels of hierarchically organized anatomical atlases. Executed on-demand on volumetric gene expression and connectivity data, they allow an interactive dissection of networks in real-time and based on their spatial context. The data structure is optimized in order to be accessible directly from the hard disk, since connectivity of large-scale networks typically exceeds the memory size of current consumer level PCs. This allows experts to embed and explore their own experimental data in the framework of public data resources without the need for their own large-scale infrastructure. Our data structure outperforms state-of-the-art graph engines in retrieving connectivity of arbitrary user defined local brain areas. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by analyzing fear-related functional neuroanatomy in mice. Further, we show its versatility by comparing multimodal brain networks linked to autism. Importantly, we achieve cross-species congruence in retrieving human psychiatric traits networks, which facilitates the selection of neural substrates to be further studied in mouse models.
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228
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Kappa opioid signaling in the central nucleus of the amygdala promotes disinhibition and aversiveness of chronic neuropathic pain. Pain 2019; 160:824-832. [PMID: 30681985 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pain is associated with neuroplastic changes in the amygdala that may promote hyper-responsiveness to mechanical and thermal stimuli (allodynia and hyperalgesia) and/or enhance emotional and affective consequences of pain. Stress promotes dynorphin-mediated signaling at the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) in the amygdala and mechanical hypersensitivity in rodent models of functional pain. Here, we tested the hypothesis that KOR circuits in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) undergo neuroplasticity in chronic neuropathic pain resulting in increased sensory and affective pain responses. After spinal nerve ligation (SNL) injury in rats, pretreatment with a long-acting KOR antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI), subcutaneously or through microinjection into the right CeA, prevented conditioned place preference (CPP) to intravenous gabapentin, suggesting that nor-BNI eliminated the aversiveness of ongoing pain. By contrast, systemic or intra-CeA administration of nor-BNI had no effect on tactile allodynia in SNL animals. Using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, we found that nor-BNI decreased synaptically evoked spiking of CeA neurons in brain slices from SNL but not sham rats. This effect was mediated through increased inhibitory postsynaptic currents, suggesting tonic disinhibition of CeA output neurons due to increased KOR activity as a possible mechanism promoting ongoing aversive aspects of neuropathic pain. Interestingly, this mechanism is not involved in SNL-induced mechanical allodynia. Kappa opioid receptor antagonists may therefore represent novel therapies for neuropathic pain by targeting aversive aspects of ongoing pain while preserving protective functions of acute pain.
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229
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A bed nucleus of stria terminalis microcircuit regulating inflammation-associated modulation of feeding. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2769. [PMID: 31235690 PMCID: PMC6591327 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10715-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Loss of appetite or anorexia associated with inflammation impairs quality of life and increases morbidity in many diseases. However, the exact neural mechanism that mediates inflammation-associated anorexia is still poorly understood. Here we identified a population of neurons, marked by the expression of protein kinase C-delta, in the oval region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), which are activated by various inflammatory signals. Silencing of these neurons attenuates the anorexia caused by these inflammatory signals. Our results demonstrate that these neurons mediate bidirectional control of general feeding behaviors. These neurons inhibit the lateral hypothalamus-projecting neurons in the ventrolateral part of BNST to regulate feeding, receive inputs from the canonical feeding regions of arcuate nucleus and parabrachial nucleus. Our data therefore define a BNST microcircuit that might coordinate canonical feeding centers to regulate food intake, which could offer therapeutic targets for feeding-related diseases such as anorexia and obesity. Inflammation can reduce food intake. Here the authors show that the GABAergic pathway from bed nucleus of stria terminalis to lateral hypothalamus regulates the inflammation induced reduction in feeding in mice.
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230
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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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231
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Zhou Z, Liu X, Chen S, Zhang Z, Liu Y, Montardy Q, Tang Y, Wei P, Liu N, Li L, Song R, Lai J, He X, Chen C, Bi G, Feng G, Xu F, Wang L. A VTA GABAergic Neural Circuit Mediates Visually Evoked Innate Defensive Responses. Neuron 2019; 103:473-488.e6. [PMID: 31202540 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Innate defensive responses are essential for animal survival and are conserved across species. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays important roles in learned appetitive and aversive behaviors, but whether it plays a role in mediating or modulating innate defensive responses is currently unknown. We report that VTAGABA+ neurons respond to a looming stimulus. Inhibition of VTAGABA+ neurons reduced looming-evoked defensive flight behavior, and photoactivation of these neurons resulted in defense-like flight behavior. Using viral tracing and electrophysiological recordings, we show that VTAGABA+ neurons receive direct excitatory inputs from the superior colliculus (SC). Furthermore, we show that glutamatergic SC-VTA projections synapse onto VTAGABA+ neurons that project to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and that the CeA is involved in mediating the defensive behavior. Our findings demonstrate that aerial threat-related visual information is relayed to VTAGABA+ neurons mediating innate behavioral responses, suggesting a more general role of the VTA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Zhou
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xuemei Liu
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shanping Chen
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhijian Zhang
- Center for Brain Science, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems and State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Yuanming Liu
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Quentin Montardy
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yongqiang Tang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Pengfei Wei
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Nan Liu
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lei Li
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Ru Song
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Juan Lai
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xiaobin He
- Center for Brain Science, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems and State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Guoqiang Bi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Guoping Feng
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Fuqiang Xu
- Center for Brain Science, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems and State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
| | - Liping Wang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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232
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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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233
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Farley D, Piszczek Ł, Bąbel P. Why is running a marathon like giving birth? The possible role of oxytocin in the underestimation of the memory of pain induced by labor and intense exercise. Med Hypotheses 2019; 128:86-90. [PMID: 31203917 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Pain can be overestimated, underestimated or reported accurately at recall. The way pain is remembered seems to depend on certain factors, including the type of pain or, in other words, its cause, the context, and the meaning it has for the person suffering from it. For instance, episodes of chronic pain, as well as pain related to surgery, are often overestimated at recall. Interestingly, research shows that pain induced by parturition or marathon running is often underestimated at recall despite the fact that both are not only physically grueling but also emotionally intense experiences. However, both processes can likewise be considered positive events, as opposed to most that involve pain. On the neurophysiological level, one of the similarities between giving birth and running a marathon is the particular involvement of the oxytocin system. Oxytocin is involved both in parturition and intense exercise, for various reasons. During labor, oxytocin mediates uterine contractions, while in the case of extensive running it might be involved in the maintenance of fluid balance. It also has well-documented analgesic properties and plays an important role in memory formation and recall. It has been suggested that oxytocin modulates the output of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) during the fear recall. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that oxytocin can impair fear learning and influence the memory of both positive and negative emotionally salient stimuli. We propose that the reason for pain to be remembered in a more favorable light is the central action of oxytocin in the central nucleus of the amygdala, first and foremost during the encoding phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Farley
- Jagiellonian University, Institute of Psychology, Pain Research Group, Poland.
| | | | - Przemysław Bąbel
- Jagiellonian University, Institute of Psychology, Pain Research Group, Poland
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Shallcross J, Hámor P, Bechard AR, Romano M, Knackstedt L, Schwendt M. The Divergent Effects of CDPPB and Cannabidiol on Fear Extinction and Anxiety in a Predator Scent Stress Model of PTSD in Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:91. [PMID: 31133832 PMCID: PMC6523014 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) currently has no FDA-approved treatments that reduce symptoms in the majority of patients. The ability to extinguish fear memory associations is impaired in PTSD individuals. As such, the development of extinction-enhancing pharmacological agents to be used in combination with exposure therapies may benefit the treatment of PTSD. Both mGlu5 and CB1 receptors have been implicated in contextual fear extinction. Thus, here we tested the ability of the mGlu5 positive allosteric modulator 3-Cyano-N-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)benzamide (CDPPB) and cannabidiol (CBD) to reduce both conditioned and unconditioned fear. We used a predator-threat animal model of PTSD which we and others have previously shown to capture the heterogeneity of anxiety responses observed in humans exposed to trauma. Here, 1 week following a 10-min exposure to predator scent stress, rats were classified into stress-Susceptible and stress-Resilient phenotypes using behavioral criteria for elevated plus maze and acoustic startle response performance. Two weeks after classification, rats underwent 3 days of contextual fear extinction and were treated with vehicle, CDPPB or CBD prior to each session. Finally, the light-dark box test was employed to assess phenotypic differences and the effects of CDPPB and CBD on unconditioned anxiety. CDPBB but not CBD, reduced freezing in Susceptible rats relative to vehicle. In the light-dark box test for unconditioned anxiety, CBD, but not CDPPB, reduced anxiety in Susceptible rats. Resilient rats displayed reduced anxiety in the light-dark box relative to Susceptible rats. Taken together, the present data indicate that enhancement of mGlu5 receptor signaling in populations vulnerable to stress may serve to offset a resistance to fear memory extinction without producing anxiogenic effects. Furthermore, in a susceptible population, CBD attenuates unconditioned but not conditioned fear. Taken together, these findings support the use of predator-threat stress exposure in combination with stress-susceptibility phenotype classification as a model for examining the unique drug response profiles and altered neuronal function that emerge as a consequence of the heterogeneity of psychophysiological response to stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Shallcross
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Peter Hámor
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Allison R Bechard
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Madison Romano
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Lori Knackstedt
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Marek Schwendt
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Center for Addiction Research & Education, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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235
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Abstract
The goals of animal research in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) include better understanding the neurophysiological etiology of PTSD, identifying potential targets for novel pharmacotherapies, and screening drugs for their potential use as PTSD treatment in humans. Diagnosis of PTSD relies on a patient interview and, as evidenced by changes to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5, an adequate description of this disorder in humans is a moving target. Therefore, it may seem insurmountable to model the construct of PTSD in animals such as rodents. Fortunately, the neural circuitry involved in fear and anxiety, thought to be essential to the etiology of PTSD in humans, is highly conserved throughout evolution. Furthermore, many symptoms can be modeled using behavioral tests that have face, construct, and predictive validity. Because PTSD is precipitated by a definite traumatic experience, animal models can simulate the induction of PTSD, and test causal factors with longitudinal designs. Accordingly, several animal models of physical and psychological trauma have been established. This review discusses the widely used animal models of PTSD in rodents, and overviews their strengths and weaknesses in terms of face, construct, and predictive validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth I Flandreau
- Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401, USA.
- Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Medicine, 43 Szigony Street, Budapest, 1083, Hungary.
| | - Mate Toth
- Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401, USA
- Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Medicine, 43 Szigony Street, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
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236
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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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237
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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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238
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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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Raber J, Arzy S, Bertolus JB, Depue B, Haas HE, Hofmann SG, Kangas M, Kensinger E, Lowry CA, Marusak HA, Minnier J, Mouly AM, Mühlberger A, Norrholm SD, Peltonen K, Pinna G, Rabinak C, Shiban Y, Soreq H, van der Kooij MA, Lowe L, Weingast LT, Yamashita P, Boutros SW. Current understanding of fear learning and memory in humans and animal models and the value of a linguistic approach for analyzing fear learning and memory in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 105:136-177. [PMID: 30970272 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.015] [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: 08/24/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Fear is an emotion that serves as a driving factor in how organisms move through the world. In this review, we discuss the current understandings of the subjective experience of fear and the related biological processes involved in fear learning and memory. We first provide an overview of fear learning and memory in humans and animal models, encompassing the neurocircuitry and molecular mechanisms, the influence of genetic and environmental factors, and how fear learning paradigms have contributed to treatments for fear-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Current treatments as well as novel strategies, such as targeting the perisynaptic environment and use of virtual reality, are addressed. We review research on the subjective experience of fear and the role of autobiographical memory in fear-related disorders. We also discuss the gaps in our understanding of fear learning and memory, and the degree of consensus in the field. Lastly, the development of linguistic tools for assessments and treatment of fear learning and memory disorders is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Raber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Departments of Neurology and Radiation Medicine, and Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
| | - Shahar Arzy
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | | | - Brendan Depue
- Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Haley E Haas
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maria Kangas
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Christopher A Lowry
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Hilary A Marusak
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Jessica Minnier
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Anne-Marie Mouly
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS-UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, Université Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Andreas Mühlberger
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences, Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Seth Davin Norrholm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kirsi Peltonen
- Faculty of Social Sciences/Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Graziano Pinna
- The Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Christine Rabinak
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Youssef Shiban
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences, Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hermona Soreq
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Edmond and Lily Safra Center of Brain Science and The Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Michael A van der Kooij
- Translational Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitatsmedizin der Johannes Guttenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Leah T Weingast
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Paula Yamashita
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sydney Weber Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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240
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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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243
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Park K, Chung C. Systemic Cellular Activation Mapping of an Extinction-Impaired Animal Model. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 13:99. [PMID: 30941016 PMCID: PMC6433791 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear extinction diminishes conditioned fear responses and impaired fear extinction has been reported to be related to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We and others have reported that 129S1/SvImJ (129S1) strain of mice showed selective impairments in fear extinction following successful auditory or contextual fear conditioning. To investigate brain regions involved in the impaired fear extinction of 129S1 mice, we systemically analyzed c-Fos expression patterns before and after contextual fear conditioning and extinction. After fear conditioning, 129S1 mice showed significantly increased c-Fos expression in the medial division of the central amygdala (CEm), prelimbic (PL) cortex of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and dorsal CA3 of the hippocampus, compared to that of control C57BL/6 mice. Following fear extinction, 129S1 mice exhibited significantly more c-Fos-positive cells in the CEm, PL, and paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) than did C57BL/6 mice. These results reveal the dynamic circuitry involved in different steps of fear memory formation and extinction, thus providing candidate brain regions to study the etiology and pathophysiology underlying impaired fear extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwanghoon Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - ChiHye Chung
- Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
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244
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A Disinhibitory Microcircuit Mediates Conditioned Social Fear in the Prefrontal Cortex. Neuron 2019; 102:668-682.e5. [PMID: 30898376 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Revised: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Fear behavior is under tight control of the prefrontal cortex, but the underlying microcircuit mechanism remains elusive. In particular, it is unclear how distinct subtypes of inhibitory interneurons (INs) within prefrontal cortex interact and contribute to fear expression. We employed a social fear conditioning paradigm and induced robust social fear in mice. We found that social fear is characterized by activation of dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and is largely diminished by dmPFC inactivation. With a combination of in vivo electrophysiological recordings and fiber photometry together with cell-type-specific pharmacogenetics, we further demonstrated that somatostatin (SST) INs suppressed parvalbumin (PV) INs and disinhibited pyramidal cells and consequently enhanced dmPFC output to mediate social fear responses. These results reveal a previously unknown disinhibitory microcircuit in prefrontal cortex through interactions between IN subtypes and suggest that SST INs-mediated disinhibition represents an important circuit mechanism in gating social fear behavior.
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245
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Zelikowsky M, Hui M, Karigo T, Choe A, Yang B, Blanco MR, Beadle K, Gradinaru V, Deverman BE, Anderson DJ. The Neuropeptide Tac2 Controls a Distributed Brain State Induced by Chronic Social Isolation Stress. Cell 2019; 173:1265-1279.e19. [PMID: 29775595 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.03.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Chronic social isolation causes severe psychological effects in humans, but their neural bases remain poorly understood. 2 weeks (but not 24 hr) of social isolation stress (SIS) caused multiple behavioral changes in mice and induced brain-wide upregulation of the neuropeptide tachykinin 2 (Tac2)/neurokinin B (NkB). Systemic administration of an Nk3R antagonist prevented virtually all of the behavioral effects of chronic SIS. Conversely, enhancing NkB expression and release phenocopied SIS in group-housed mice, promoting aggression and converting stimulus-locked defensive behaviors to persistent responses. Multiplexed analysis of Tac2/NkB function in multiple brain areas revealed dissociable, region-specific requirements for both the peptide and its receptor in different SIS-induced behavioral changes. Thus, Tac2 coordinates a pleiotropic brain state caused by SIS via a distributed mode of action. These data reveal the profound effects of prolonged social isolation on brain chemistry and function and suggest potential new therapeutic applications for Nk3R antagonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moriel Zelikowsky
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - May Hui
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Tomomi Karigo
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Andrea Choe
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Bin Yang
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Mario R Blanco
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Keith Beadle
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Viviana Gradinaru
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Benjamin E Deverman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - David J Anderson
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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246
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Transient inactivation of the visual-associative nidopallium frontolaterale (NFL) impairs extinction learning and context encoding in pigeons. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 158:50-59. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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247
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Paul JR, Davis JA, Goode LK, Becker BK, Fusilier A, Meador-Woodruff A, Gamble KL. Circadian regulation of membrane physiology in neural oscillators throughout the brain. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:109-138. [PMID: 30633846 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Twenty-four-hour rhythmicity in physiology and behavior are driven by changes in neurophysiological activity that vary across the light-dark and rest-activity cycle. Although this neural code is most prominent in neurons of the primary circadian pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, there are many other regions in the brain where region-specific function and behavioral rhythmicity may be encoded by changes in electrical properties of those neurons. In this review, we explore the existing evidence for molecular clocks and/or neurophysiological rhythms (i.e., 24 hr) in brain regions outside the SCN. In addition, we highlight the brain regions that are ripe for future investigation into the critical role of circadian rhythmicity for local oscillators. For example, the cerebellum expresses rhythmicity in over 2,000 gene transcripts, and yet we know very little about how circadian regulation drives 24-hr changes in the neural coding responsible for motor coordination. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of how our understanding of circadian regulation of electrical properties may yield insight into disease mechanisms which may lead to novel chronotherapeutic strategies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodi R Paul
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Jennifer A Davis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Lacy K Goode
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Bryan K Becker
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Allison Fusilier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Aidan Meador-Woodruff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Karen L Gamble
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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248
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Abstract
Learned safety is a fear inhibitory mechanism, which regulates fear responses, promotes episodes of safety and generates positive affective states. Despite its potential as experimental model for several psychiatric illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, the molecular mechanisms of learned safety remain poorly understood, We here investigated the molecular mediators of learned safety, focusing on the characterization of miRNA expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Comparing levels of 22 miRNAs in learned safety and learned fear trained mice, six safety-related miRNAs, including three members of the miR-132/-212 family, were identified. A gain-of-function approach based upon in-vivo transfection of a specific miRNA mimic, and miR-132/212 knock-out mice as loss-of-function tool were used in order to determine the relevance of miR-132 for learned safety at the behavioral and the neuronal functional levels. Using a designated bioinformatic approach, PTEN and GAT1 were identified as potential novel miR-132 target genes and further experimentally validated. We here firstly provide evidence for a regulation of amygdala miRNA expression in learned safety and propose miR-132 as signature molecule to be considered in future preclinical and translational approaches testing the transdiagnostic relevance of learned safety as intermediate phenotype in fear and stress-related disorders.
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249
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Pereira LM, de Castro CM, Guerra LTL, Queiroz TM, Marques JT, Pereira GS. Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex Modulation of Contextual Fear Memory Is Dissociated by Inhibiting De Novo Transcription During Late Consolidation. Mol Neurobiol 2019; 56:5507-5519. [DOI: 10.1007/s12035-018-1463-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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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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