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Poggi G, Klaus F, Pryce CR. Pathophysiology in cortico-amygdala circuits and excessive aversion processing: the role of oligodendrocytes and myelination. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae140. [PMID: 38712320 PMCID: PMC11073757 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Stress-related psychiatric illnesses, such as major depressive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, present with alterations in emotional processing, including excessive processing of negative/aversive stimuli and events. The bidirectional human/primate brain circuit comprising anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala is of fundamental importance in processing emotional stimuli, and in rodents the medial prefrontal cortex-amygdala circuit is to some extent analogous in structure and function. Here, we assess the comparative evidence for: (i) Anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex<->amygdala bidirectional neural circuits as major contributors to aversive stimulus processing; (ii) Structural and functional changes in anterior cingulate cortex<->amygdala circuit associated with excessive aversion processing in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, and in medial prefrontal cortex<->amygdala circuit in rodent models of chronic stress-induced increased aversion reactivity; and (iii) Altered status of oligodendrocytes and their oligodendrocyte lineage cells and myelination in anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex<->amygdala circuits in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders and stress models. The comparative evidence from humans and rodents is that their respective anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex<->amygdala circuits are integral to adaptive aversion processing. However, at the sub-regional level, the anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex structure-function analogy is incomplete, and differences as well as similarities need to be taken into account. Structure-function imaging studies demonstrate that these neural circuits are altered in both human stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders and rodent models of stress-induced increased aversion processing. In both cases, the changes include altered white matter integrity, albeit the current evidence indicates that this is decreased in humans and increased in rodent models. At the cellular-molecular level, in both humans and rodents, the current evidence is that stress disorders do present with changes in oligodendrocyte lineage, oligodendrocytes and/or myelin in these neural circuits, but these changes are often discordant between and even within species. Nonetheless, by integrating the current comparative evidence, this review provides a timely insight into this field and should function to inform future studies-human, monkey and rodent-to ascertain whether or not the oligodendrocyte lineage and myelination are causally involved in the pathophysiology of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Poggi
- Preclinical Laboratory for Translational Research into Affective Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Federica Klaus
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
- Desert-Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Christopher R Pryce
- Preclinical Laboratory for Translational Research into Affective Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- URPP Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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2
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Smith BL, Hassler A, Lloyd KR, Reyes TM. Perinatal morphine but not buprenorphine affects gestational and offspring neurobehavioral outcomes in mice. Neurotoxicology 2023; 99:292-304. [PMID: 37981055 PMCID: PMC10842910 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
Within the national opioid epidemic, there has been an increase in the number of infants exposed to opioids in utero. Additionally, opioid agonist medications are the standard of care for women with opioid use disorder during pregnancy. Buprenorphine (BUP), a partial µ -opioid receptor agonist, has been successful in improving gestational and neonatal outcomes. However, in utero exposure has been linked to childhood cognitive and behavioral problems. Therefore, we sought to compare offspring cognitive and behavioral outcomes after prenatal exposure to a clinically relevant low dose of BUP compared to morphine (MO), a full µ -opioid receptor agonist and immediate metabolite of heroin. We used a mouse model to assess gestational and offspring outcomes. Mouse dams were injected once daily s.c. with saline (SAL, n = 12), MO (10 mg/kg, n = 15), or BUP (0.1 mg/kg, n = 16) throughout pre-gestation, gestation, and lactation until offspring were weaned on postnatal day (P)21. Offspring social interaction and exploratory behavior were assessed, along with executive function via the touchscreen 5 choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT). We then quantified P1 brain gene expression in the frontal cortex and amygdala (AMG). Perinatal MO but not BUP exposure decreased gestational weight gain and was associated with dystocia. In adolescent offspring, perinatal MO but not BUP exposure increased social exploration in males and grooming behavior in females. In the 5CSRTT, male MO exposed offspring exhibited increased impulsive action errors compared to male BUP offspring. In the AMG of P1 MO exposed offspring, we observed an increase in gene expression of targets related to activity of microglia. Importantly, both MO and BUP caused acute hyperlocomotion in the dams to a similar degree, indicating that the selected doses are comparable, in accordance with previous dose comparisons on analgesic and reward efficacy. These data suggest that compared to MO, low dose BUP improves gestational outcomes and has less of an effect on the neonatal offspring brain and later adolescent and adult behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany L Smith
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY, USA.
| | - Ally Hassler
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Kelsey R Lloyd
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Teresa M Reyes
- Department of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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3
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Chen L, Wang Y, Wu Z, Shan Y, Li T, Hung SC, Xing L, Zhu H, Wang L, Lin W, Li G. Four-dimensional mapping of dynamic longitudinal brain subcortical development and early learning functions in infants. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3727. [PMID: 37349301 PMCID: PMC10287661 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38974-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain subcortical structures are paramount in many cognitive functions and their aberrations during infancy are predisposed to various neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, making it highly essential to characterize the early subcortical normative growth patterns. This study investigates the volumetric development and surface area expansion of six subcortical structures and their associations with Mullen scales of early learning by leveraging 513 high-resolution longitudinal MRI scans within the first two postnatal years. Results show that (1) each subcortical structure (except for the amygdala with an approximately linear increase) undergoes rapid nonlinear volumetric growth after birth, which slows down at a structure-specific age with bilaterally similar developmental patterns; (2) Subcortical local area expansion reveals structure-specific and spatiotemporally heterogeneous patterns; (3) Positive associations between thalamus and both receptive and expressive languages and between caudate and putamen and fine motor are revealed. This study advances our understanding of the dynamic early subcortical developmental patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangjun Chen
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Ya Wang
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Zhengwang Wu
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Yue Shan
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Tengfei Li
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Sheng-Che Hung
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Lei Xing
- UNC Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 116 Manning Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Hongtu Zhu
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Weili Lin
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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4
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Silveira LM, Tavares LRR, Baptista-de-Souza D, Carmona IM, Carneiro de Oliveira PE, Nunes-de-Souza RL, Canto-de-Souza A. Anterior cingulate cortex, but not amygdala, modulates the anxiogenesis induced by living with conspecifics subjected to chronic restraint stress in male mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1077368. [PMID: 36688134 PMCID: PMC9853544 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1077368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cohabitation with a partner undergoing chronic restraint stress (CRE) induces anxiogenic-like behaviors through emotional contagion. We hypothesized that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the amygdala would be involved in the modulation of this emotional process. This study investigated the role of the ACC and amygdala in empathy-like behavior (e.g., anxiety-like responses) induced by living with a mouse subjected to CRE. Male Swiss mice were housed in pairs for 14 days and then allocated into two groups: cagemate stress (one animal of the pair was subjected to 14 days of restraint stress) and cagemate control (no animal experienced stress). Twenty-four hours after the last stress session, cagemates had their brains removed for recording FosB labeling in the ACC and amygdala (Exp.1). In experiments 2 and 3, 24 h after the last stress session, the cagemates received 0.1 μL of saline or cobalt chloride (CoCl2 1 mM) into the ACC or amygdala, and then exposed to the elevated plus-maze (EPM) for recording anxiety. Results showed a decrease of FosB labeling in the ACC without changing immunofluorescence in the amygdala of stress cagemate mice. Cohabitation with mice subjected to CRE provoked anxiogenic-like behaviors. Local inactivation of ACC (but not the amygdala) reversed the anxiogenic-like effects induced by cohabitation with a partner undergoing CRE. These results suggest the involvement of ACC, but not the amygdala, in anxiety induced by emotional contagion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Maria Silveira
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Graduate Program in Psychology, Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH)-Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ligia Renata Rodrigues Tavares
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)/Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniela Baptista-de-Souza
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil,Institute of Neuroscience and Behaviour, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Isabela Miranda Carmona
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)/Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Eduardo Carneiro de Oliveira
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Graduate Program in Psychology, Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH)-Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)/Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil,Institute of Neuroscience and Behaviour, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Azair Canto-de-Souza
- Psychobiology Group, Department of Psychology/Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH), Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Graduate Program in Psychology, Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH)-Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)/Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil,Institute of Neuroscience and Behaviour, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil,*Correspondence: Azair Canto-de-Souza, ;
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5
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Clinton SM, Unroe KA, Shupe EA, McCoy CR, Glover ME. Resilience to Stress: Lessons from Rodents about Nature versus Nurture. Neuroscientist 2022; 28:283-298. [PMID: 33567987 PMCID: PMC11092422 DOI: 10.1177/1073858421989357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Individual differences in human temperament influence how we respond to stress and can confer vulnerability (or resilience) to emotional disorders. For example, high levels of behavioral inhibition in children predict increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders in later life. The biological underpinnings of temperament are unknown, although improved understanding can offer insight into the pathogenesis of emotional disorders. Our laboratory has used a rat model of temperamental differences to study neurodevelopmental factors that lead to a highly inhibited, stress vulnerable phenotype. Selective breeding for high versus low behavioral response to novelty created two rat strains that exhibit dramatic behavior differences over multiple domains relevant to emotional disorders. Low novelty responder (bLR) rats exhibit high levels of behavioral inhibition, passive stress coping, anhedonia, decreased sociability and vulnerability to chronic stress compared to high novelty responders (bHRs). On the other hand, bHRs exhibit high levels of behavioral dis-inhibition, active coping, and aggression. This review article summarizes our work with the bHR/bLR model showing the developmental emergence of the bHR/bLR phenotypes, the role the environment plays in shaping it, and the involvement of epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation that mediate differences in emotionality and stress reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Clinton
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Keaton A. Unroe
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Shupe
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Chelsea R. McCoy
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Matthew E. Glover
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
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6
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Kaplan G, Xu H, Abreu K, Feng J. DNA Epigenetics in Addiction Susceptibility. Front Genet 2022; 13:806685. [PMID: 35145550 PMCID: PMC8821887 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.806685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Addiction is a chronically relapsing neuropsychiatric disease that occurs in some, but not all, individuals who use substances of abuse. Relatively little is known about the mechanisms which contribute to individual differences in susceptibility to addiction. Neural gene expression regulation underlies the pathogenesis of addiction, which is mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA modifications. A growing body of work has demonstrated distinct DNA epigenetic signatures in brain reward regions that may be associated with addiction susceptibility. Furthermore, factors that influence addiction susceptibility are also known to have a DNA epigenetic basis. In the present review, we discuss the notion that addiction susceptibility has an underlying DNA epigenetic basis. We focus on major phenotypes of addiction susceptibility and review evidence of cell type-specific, time dependent, and sex biased effects of drug use. We highlight the role of DNA epigenetics in these diverse processes and propose its contribution to addiction susceptibility differences. Given the prevalence and lack of effective treatments for addiction, elucidating the DNA epigenetic mechanism of addiction vulnerability may represent an expeditious approach to relieving the addiction disease burden.
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7
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van Onselen R, Downing TG. Neonatal Reserpine Administration Produces Widespread Neuronal Losses and ⍺-Synuclein Inclusions in a Rat Model. Neurotox Res 2021; 39:1762-1770. [PMID: 34727322 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-021-00434-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Historically, reserpine was widely used as an antihypertensive drug. However, severe motor and non-motor symptoms such as dyskinesia and depression led to the discontinuation of reserpine as a first-line treatment for hypertension. Reserpine functions by inhibiting vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), reducing sequestration of monoamines into synaptic vesicles. The consequent reduction in monoamines, most notably dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, in the central nervous system, causes well-defined symptoms such as catalepsy, hypoactivity and sedation in animals, and these motor and non-motor symptoms are well defined for reserpine treatment. However, no gross neuropathological changes in response to reserpine treatment have been reported previously in any animal model. In contrast, reducing VMAT2 expression in genetically modified VMAT2 LO mice leads to the production of ⍺-synuclein-positive aggregates and progressive nigrostriatal neuronal loss. These VMAT2 LO mice have reduced VMAT2 functionality during critical brain developmental stages and this could be the key to producing a reserpine model with matching histopathologies. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of neonatal reserpine administration on brain histology. We report here that a single dose of 5 mg kg-1 reserpine administered subcutaneously to neonatal rats on postnatal day 3 leads to widespread neuronal loss in various brain regions including the substantia nigra pars compacta, ventral tegmental area, striatum, hippocampus, locus coeruleus, amygdala and cerebral cortex, and the presence of ⍺-synuclein-positive inclusions in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the dorsal striatum within 30 days of administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rianita van Onselen
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, 6019, South Africa
| | - Tim G Downing
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, 6019, South Africa.
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8
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Life and Death of Immature Neurons in the Juvenile and Adult Primate Amygdala. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22136691. [PMID: 34206571 PMCID: PMC8268704 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22136691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, a large population of immature neurons has been documented in the paralaminar nucleus of the primate amygdala. A substantial fraction of these immature neurons differentiate into mature neurons during postnatal development or following selective lesion of the hippocampus. Notwithstanding a growing number of studies on the origin and fate of these immature neurons, fundamental questions about the life and death of these neurons remain. Here, we briefly summarize what is currently known about the immature neurons present in the primate ventral amygdala during development and in adulthood, as well as following selective hippocampal lesions. We provide evidence confirming that the distribution of immature neurons extends to the anterior portions of the entorhinal cortex and layer II of the perirhinal cortex. We also provide novel arguments derived from stereological estimates of the number of mature and immature neurons, which support the view that the migration of immature neurons from the lateral ventricle accompanies neuronal maturation in the primate amygdala at all ages. Finally, we propose and discuss the hypothesis that increased migration and maturation of neurons in the amygdala following hippocampal dysfunction may be linked to behavioral alterations associated with certain neurodevelopmental disorders.
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9
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Hanson JL, Nacewicz BM. Amygdala Allostasis and Early Life Adversity: Considering Excitotoxicity and Inescapability in the Sequelae of Stress. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:624705. [PMID: 34140882 PMCID: PMC8203824 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.624705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA), such as child maltreatment or child poverty, engenders problems with emotional and behavioral regulation. In the quest to understand the neurobiological sequelae and mechanisms of risk, the amygdala has been of major focus. While the basic functions of this region make it a strong candidate for understanding the multiple mental health issues common after ELA, extant literature is marked by profound inconsistencies, with reports of larger, smaller, and no differences in regional volumes of this area. We believe integrative models of stress neurodevelopment, grounded in "allostatic load," will help resolve inconsistencies in the impact of ELA on the amygdala. In this review, we attempt to connect past research studies to new findings with animal models of cellular and neurotransmitter mediators of stress buffering to extreme fear generalization onto testable research and clinical concepts. Drawing on the greater impact of inescapability over unpredictability in animal models, we propose a mechanism by which ELA aggravates an exhaustive cycle of amygdala expansion and subsequent toxic-metabolic damage. We connect this neurobiological sequela to psychosocial mal/adaptation after ELA, bridging to behavioral studies of attachment, emotion processing, and social functioning. Lastly, we conclude this review by proposing a multitude of future directions in preclinical work and studies of humans that suffered ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Brendon M. Nacewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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10
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Sullivan RM, Opendak M. Neurobiology of Infant Fear and Anxiety: Impacts of Delayed Amygdala Development and Attachment Figure Quality. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:641-650. [PMID: 33109337 PMCID: PMC7914291 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness and are more likely to emerge during childhood compared with most other psychiatric disorders. While research on children is the gold standard for understanding the behavioral expression of anxiety and its neural circuitry, the ethical and technical limitations in exploring neural underpinnings limit our understanding of the child's developing brain. Instead, we must rely on animal models to build strong methodological bridges for bidirectional translation to child development research. Using the caregiver-infant context, we review the rodent literature on early-life fear development to characterize developmental transitions in amygdala function underlying age-specific behavioral transitions. We then describe how this system can be perturbed by early-life adversity, including reduced efficacy of the caregiver as a safe haven. We suggest that greater integration of clinically informed animal research enhances bidirectional translation to permit new approaches to therapeutics for children with early onset anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
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11
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Bliss-Moreau E, Rudebeck PH. Animal models of human mood. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 120:574-582. [PMID: 33007355 PMCID: PMC10474843 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans' everyday experience of the world is influenced by our moods. Moods are consciously accessible affective states that extend over time that are characterized by their valence and arousal. They also likely have a long evolutionary heritage and serve as an important adaptive affective mechanism. When they become maladaptive or overly biased, pathological affective states such as depression can emerge. Despite the importance of moods for human experience, little is known about their causal neurobiological mechanisms. In humans, limitations related to methods and interpretations of the data prevent causal investigations into the origins of mood, highlighting the importance of animal models. Nonhuman primates that share key neuroanatomical, affective, and social features with humans will be essential to uncovering their foundation. Identifying and validating mood-like states in animals is, however, challenging not least because mood is a human construct requiring verbal communication. Here we outline a theoretical framework for animal models of human mood, drawing upon established psychological literature where it exists before reviewing the extant studies of non-human primate models of mood-like states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- Department of Psychology, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Peter H Rudebeck
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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12
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Premachandran H, Zhao M, Arruda-Carvalho M. Sex Differences in the Development of the Rodent Corticolimbic System. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:583477. [PMID: 33100964 PMCID: PMC7554619 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.583477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, a growing body of research has shown sex differences in the prevalence and symptomatology of psychopathologies, such as depression, anxiety, and fear-related disorders, all of which show high incidence rates in early life. This has highlighted the importance of including female subjects in animal studies, as well as delineating sex differences in neural processing across development. Of particular interest is the corticolimbic system, comprising the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. In rodents, these corticolimbic regions undergo dynamic changes in early life, and disruption to their normative development is believed to underlie the age and sex-dependent effects of stress on affective processing. In this review, we consolidate research on sex differences in the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex across early development. First, we briefly introduce current principles on sexual differentiation of the rodent brain. We then showcase corticolimbic regional sex differences in volume, morphology, synaptic organization, cell proliferation, microglia, and GABAergic signaling, and explain how these differences are influenced by perinatal and pubertal gonadal hormones. In compiling this research, we outline evidence of what and when sex differences emerge in the developing corticolimbic system, and illustrate how temporal dynamics of its maturational trajectory may differ in male and female rodents. This will help provide insight into potential neural mechanisms underlying sex-specific critical windows for stress susceptibility and behavioral emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mudi Zhao
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maithe Arruda-Carvalho
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Secomandi N, Franceschi Biagioni A, Kostarelos K, Cellot G, Ballerini L. Thin graphene oxide nanoflakes modulate glutamatergic synapses in the amygdala cultured circuits: Exploiting synaptic approaches to anxiety disorders. NANOMEDICINE-NANOTECHNOLOGY BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2020; 26:102174. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2020.102174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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14
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During infant maltreatment, stress targets hippocampus, but stress with mother present targets amygdala and social behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22821-22832. [PMID: 31636210 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907170116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Infant maltreatment increases vulnerability to physical and mental disorders, yet specific mechanisms embedded within this complex infant experience that induce this vulnerability remain elusive. To define critical features of maltreatment-induced vulnerability, rat pups were reared from postnatal day 8 (PN8) with a maltreating mother, which produced amygdala and hippocampal deficits and decreased social behavior at PN13. Next, we deconstructed the maltreatment experience to reveal sufficient and necessary conditions to induce this phenotype. Social behavior and amygdala deficits (volume, neurogenesis, c-Fos, local field potential) required combined chronic high corticosterone and maternal presence (not maternal behavior). Hippocampal deficits were induced by chronic high corticosterone regardless of social context. Causation was shown by blocking corticosterone during maltreatment and suppressing amygdala activity during social behavior testing. These results highlight (1) that early life maltreatment initiates multiple pathways to pathology, each with distinct causal mechanisms and outcomes, and (2) the importance of social presence on brain development.
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Risperidone Ameliorates Prefrontal Cortex Neural Atrophy and Oxidative/Nitrosative Stress in Brain and Peripheral Blood of Rats with Neonatal Ventral Hippocampus Lesion. J Neurosci 2019; 39:8584-8599. [PMID: 31519825 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1249-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Reduction of the dendritic arbor length and the lack of dendritic spines in the pyramidal cells of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are prevalent pathological features in schizophrenia (SZ). Neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion (NVHL) in male rats reproduces these neuronal characteristics and here we describe how this is a consequence of BDNF/TrkB pathway disruption. Moreover, COX-2 proinflammatory state, as well as Nrf-2 antioxidant impairment, triggers oxidative/nitrosative stress, which also contributes to dendritic spine impairments in the PFC. Interestingly, oxidative/nitrosative stress was also detected in the periphery of NVHL animals. Furthermore, risperidone treatment had a neurotrophic effect on the PFC and antioxidant effects on the brain and periphery of NVHL animals; these cellular effects were related to behavioral improvement. Our data highlight the link between brain development and immune response, as well as several other factors to understand mechanisms related to the pathophysiology of SZ.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Prefrontal cortex dysfunction in schizophrenia can be a consequence of morphological abnormalities and oxidative/nitrosative stress, among others. Here, we detailed how impaired plasticity-related pathways and oxidative/nitrosative stress are part of the dendritic spine pathology and their modulation by atypical antipsychotic risperidone treatment in rats with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion. Moreover, we found that animals with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion had oxidative/nitrosative stress in the brain as well as in the peripheral blood, an important issue for the translational approaches of this model. Then, risperidone restored plasticity and reduced oxidative/nitrosative stress of prefrontal cortex pyramidal cells, and ultimately improved the behavior of lesioned animals. Moreover, risperidone had differential effects than the brain on peripheral blood oxidative/nitrosative stress.
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16
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Effect of propionic acid on the morphology of the amygdala in adolescent male rats and their behavior. Micron 2019; 125:102732. [PMID: 31437571 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2019.102732] [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: 06/02/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder is a group of life-long developmental syndromes, characterized by stereotypic behavior, restricted, communication deficits, cognitive and social impairments. Autism spectrum disorder is heritable state, provided by the mutations of well-conserved genes; however, it has been increasingly accepted, that most of such states are the result of complex interaction between individual's genetic profile and the environment that he/she is exposed to. Gut microbiota plays one of the central roles in the etiology of autism. Propionic acid is one of the most abundant short-chain fatty acids, made by enteric bacteria. Propionic acid has many positive functions and acts as the main mediator between nutrition, gut microbiota and brain physiology. However, increased level of propionic acid is associated with various neurological pathologies, including autism. It is proposed that some types of autism might be partially related with alterations in propionic acid metabolism. The amygdala, the main component of social brain, via its large interconnections with fronto-limbic neural system, plays one of the key roles in social communications, emotional memory and emotional processing. Social behavior is a hot topic in autism research. As to anxiety, it is not the main characteristics of ASD, but represents one of the most common its co morbidities. Several theoretical reasons compatible with amygdala dysfunction have been suggested to account for socio-emotional disturbances in autism. In the present study, using adolescent male Wistar rats, the effect of acute administration of low dose of propionic acid on social behavior, anxiety-like behavior and the structure/ultrastructure of central nucleus of amygdale was described. In addition to qualitative analysis, on electron microscopic level the quantitative analysis of some parameters of synapses was performed. Behavior was assessed 2, 24 and 48 hours after treatment. The results revealed that even single and relatively low dose of propionic acid is sufficient to produce fast and relatively long lasting (48 h after treatment) decrease of social motivation, whereas asocial motivation and emotional sphere remain unaffected. Morphological analyses of propionic acid-treated brain revealed the reduced neuron number and the increase of the number of glial cells. Electron microscopically, in some neurons the signs of apoptosis and chromatolysis were detected. Glial alterations were more common. Particularly, the activation of astrocytes and microglia were often observed. Pericapillary glia was the most changed. Neuronal, glial and presynaptic mitochondria showed substantial structural diversities, mainly in terms of size and form. Total number of the area of presynaptic profile was significantly decreased. Some axons were moderately demyelinated. In general, the data indicate that even low dose of propionic acid produces in adolescent rodents immediate changes in social behavior, and structural/ultrastructural alterations in amygdala. Ultrastructural alterations may reflect moderate modifications in functional networks of social brain.
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17
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Sorrells SF, Paredes MF, Velmeshev D, Herranz-Pérez V, Sandoval K, Mayer S, Chang EF, Insausti R, Kriegstein AR, Rubenstein JL, Manuel Garcia-Verdugo J, Huang EJ, Alvarez-Buylla A. Immature excitatory neurons develop during adolescence in the human amygdala. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2748. [PMID: 31227709 PMCID: PMC6588589 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10765-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The human amygdala grows during childhood, and its abnormal development is linked to mood disorders. The primate amygdala contains a large population of immature neurons in the paralaminar nuclei (PL), suggesting protracted development and possibly neurogenesis. Here we studied human PL development from embryonic stages to adulthood. The PL develops next to the caudal ganglionic eminence, which generates inhibitory interneurons, yet most PL neurons express excitatory markers. In children, most PL cells are immature (DCX+PSA-NCAM+), and during adolescence many transition into mature (TBR1+VGLUT2+) neurons. Immature PL neurons persist into old age, yet local progenitor proliferation sharply decreases in infants. Using single nuclei RNA sequencing, we identify the transcriptional profile of immature excitatory neurons in the human amygdala between 4-15 years. We conclude that the human PL contains excitatory neurons that remain immature for decades, a possible substrate for persistent plasticity at the interface of the hippocampus and amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn F Sorrells
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Mercedes F Paredes
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Dmitry Velmeshev
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Vicente Herranz-Pérez
- Laboratory of Comparative Neurobiology, Institute Cavanilles, University of Valencia, CIBERNED, 46980, Valencia, Spain
- Predepartamental Unit of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Kadellyn Sandoval
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Simone Mayer
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Edward F Chang
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Ricardo Insausti
- Human Neuroanatomy Laboratory, School of Medicine and CRIB, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02006, Albacete, Spain
| | - Arnold R Kriegstein
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - John L Rubenstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Rock Hall, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158-2324, USA
| | - Jose Manuel Garcia-Verdugo
- Laboratory of Comparative Neurobiology, Institute Cavanilles, University of Valencia, CIBERNED, 46980, Valencia, Spain
| | - Eric J Huang
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Arturo Alvarez-Buylla
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
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18
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Moreton E, Baron P, Tiplady S, McCall S, Clifford B, Langley-Evans S, Fone K, Voigt J. Impact of early exposure to a cafeteria diet on prefrontal cortex monoamines and novel object recognition in adolescent rats. Behav Brain Res 2019; 363:191-198. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Revised: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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19
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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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20
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Opendak M, Sullivan RM. Unique infant neurobiology produces distinctive trauma processing. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 36:100637. [PMID: 30889546 PMCID: PMC6969239 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Trauma experienced in early life has unique neurobehavioral outcomes related to later life psychiatric sequelae. Recent evidence has further highlighted the context of infant trauma as critical, with trauma experienced within species-atypical aberrations in caregiving quality as particularly detrimental. Using data from primarily rodent models, we review the literature on the interaction between trauma and attachment in early life, which highlights the role of the caregiver's presence in engagement of attachment brain circuitry and suppressing threat processing by the amygdala. Together these data suggest that infant trauma processing and its enduring effects are impacted by both the immaturity of brain areas for processing trauma and the unique functioning of the early-life brain, which is biased towards forming robust attachments regardless of the quality of care. Understanding the critical role of the caregiver in further altering early life brain processing of trauma is important for developing age-relevant treatment and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA.
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
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21
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Social touch during development: Long-term effects on brain and behavior. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 95:202-219. [PMID: 30278194 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, our goal is to explore what is known about the role of social touch during development. We first address the neural substrates of social touch and the role of tactile experience in neural development. We discuss natural variation in early exposure to social touch, followed by a discussion on experimental manipulations of social touch during development and "natural experiments", such as early institutionalization. We then consider the role of other developmental and experiential variables that predict social touch in adults. Throughout, we propose and consider new theoretical models of the role of social touch during development on later behavior and neurobiology.
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22
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Neuron numbers increase in the human amygdala from birth to adulthood, but not in autism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:3710-3715. [PMID: 29559529 PMCID: PMC5889677 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1801912115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Remarkably little is known about the postnatal cellular development of the human amygdala. It plays a central role in mediating emotional behavior and has an unusually protracted development well into adulthood, increasing in size by 40% from youth to adulthood. Variation from this typical neurodevelopmental trajectory could have profound implications on normal emotional development. We report the results of a stereological analysis of the number of neurons in amygdala nuclei of 52 human brains ranging from 2 to 48 years of age [24 neurotypical and 28 autism spectrum disorder (ASD)]. In neurotypical development, the number of mature neurons in the basal and accessory basal nuclei increases from childhood to adulthood, coinciding with a decrease of immature neurons within the paralaminar nucleus. Individuals with ASD, in contrast, show an initial excess of amygdala neurons during childhood, followed by a reduction in adulthood across nuclei. We propose that there is a long-term contribution of mature neurons from the paralaminar nucleus to other nuclei of the neurotypical human amygdala and that this growth trajectory may be altered in ASD, potentially underlying the volumetric changes detected in ASD and other neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric disorders.
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23
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Janthakhin Y, Rincel M, Costa AM, Darnaudéry M, Ferreira G. Maternal high-fat diet leads to hippocampal and amygdala dendritic remodeling in adult male offspring. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 83:49-57. [PMID: 28595087 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Revised: 04/07/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Early-life exposure to calorie-dense food, rich in fat and sugar, contributes to the increasing prevalence of obesity and its associated adverse cognitive and emotional outcomes at adulthood. It is thus critical to determine the impact of such nutritional environment on neurobehavioral development. In animals, maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption impairs hippocampal function in adult offspring, but its impact on hippocampal neuronal morphology is unknown. Moreover, the consequences of perinatal HFD exposure on the amygdala, another important structure for emotional and cognitive processes, remain to be established. In rats, we show that adult offspring from dams fed with HFD (45% from fat, throughout gestation and lactation) exhibit atrophy of pyramidal neuron dendrites in both the CA1 of the hippocampus and the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Perinatal HFD exposure also impairs conditioned odor aversion, a task highly dependent on BLA function, without affecting olfactory or malaise processing. Neuronal morphology and behavioral alterations elicited by perinatal HFD are not associated with body weight changes but with higher plasma leptin levels at postnatal day 15 and at adulthood. Taken together, our results suggest that perinatal HFD exposure alters hippocampal and amygdala neuronal morphology which could participate to memory alterations at adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoottana Janthakhin
- INRA, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France
| | - Marion Rincel
- INRA, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France
| | - Anna-Maria Costa
- INRA, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France
| | - Muriel Darnaudéry
- INRA, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France.
| | - Guillaume Ferreira
- INRA, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology, UMR 1286, Bordeaux, France.
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24
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Debiec J, Sullivan RM. The neurobiology of safety and threat learning in infancy. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 143:49-58. [PMID: 27826033 PMCID: PMC5418109 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
What an animal needs to learn to survive is altered dramatically as they change from dependence on the parent for protection to independence and reliance on self-defense. This transition occurs in most altricial animals, but our understanding of the behavioral neurobiology has mostly relied on the infant rat. The transformation from dependence to independence occurs over three weeks in pups and is accompanied by complex changes in responses to both natural and learned threats and the supporting neural circuitry. Overall, in early life, the threat system is quiescent and learning is biased towards acquiring attachment related behaviors to support attachment to the caregiver and proximity seeking. Caregiver-associated cues learned in infancy have the ability to provide a sense of safety throughout lifetime. This attachment/safety system is activated by learning involving presumably pleasurable stimuli (food, warmth) but also painful stimuli (tailpinch, moderate shock). At about the midway point to independence, pups begin to have access to the adult-like amygdala-dependent threat system and amygdala-dependent responses to natural dangers such as predator odors. However, pups have the ability to switch between the infant and adult-like system, which is controlled by maternal presence and modification of stress hormones. Specifically, if the pup is alone, it will learn fear but if with the mother it will learn attachment (10-15days of age). As pups begin to approach weaning, pups lose access to the attachment system and rely only on the amygdala-dependent threat system. However, pups learning system is complex and exhibits flexibility that enables the mother to override the control of the attachment circuit, since newborn pups may acquire threat responses from the mother expressing fear in their presence. Together, these data suggest that the development of pups' threat learning system is not only dependent upon maturation of the amygdala, but it is also exquisitely controlled by the environment. Most notably the mother can switch pup learning between attachment to threat learning in a moment's notice. This enables the mother to navigate pup's learning about the world and what is threatening and what is safe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacek Debiec
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, United States.
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25
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Infantile Amnesia: A Critical Period of Learning to Learn and Remember. J Neurosci 2017; 37:5783-5795. [PMID: 28615475 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0324-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Infantile amnesia, the inability of adults to recollect early episodic memories, is associated with the rapid forgetting that occurs in childhood. It has been suggested that infantile amnesia is due to the underdevelopment of the infant brain, which would preclude memory consolidation, or to deficits in memory retrieval. Although early memories are inaccessible to adults, early-life events, such as neglect or aversive experiences, can greatly impact adult behavior and may predispose individuals to various psychopathologies. It remains unclear how a brain that rapidly forgets, or is not yet able to form long-term memories, can exert such a long-lasting and important influence. Here, with a particular focus on the hippocampal memory system, we review the literature and discuss new evidence obtained in rats that illuminates the paradox of infantile amnesia. We propose that infantile amnesia reflects a developmental critical period during which the learning system is learning how to learn and remember.
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26
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Enduring Neural and Behavioral Effects of Early Life Adversity in Infancy: Consequences of Maternal Abuse and Neglect, Trauma and Fear. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-017-0112-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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27
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Opendak M, Gould E, Sullivan R. Early life adversity during the infant sensitive period for attachment: Programming of behavioral neurobiology of threat processing and social behavior. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 25:145-159. [PMID: 28254197 PMCID: PMC5478471 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2016] [Revised: 01/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals, including humans, require a highly coordinated and flexible system of social behavior and threat evaluation. However, trauma can disrupt this system, with the amygdala implicated as a mediator of these impairments in behavior. Recent evidence has further highlighted the context of infant trauma as a critical variable in determining its immediate and enduring consequences, with trauma experienced from an attachment figure, such as occurs in cases of caregiver-child maltreatment, as particularly detrimental. This review focuses on the unique role of caregiver presence during early-life trauma in programming deficits in social behavior and threat processing. Using data primarily from rodent models, we describe the interaction between trauma and attachment during a sensitive period in early life, which highlights the role of the caregiver's presence in engagement of attachment brain circuitry and suppressing threat processing by the amygdala. These data suggest that trauma experienced directly from an abusive caregiver and trauma experienced in the presence of caregiver cues produce similar neurobehavioral deficits, which are unique from those resulting from trauma alone. We go on to integrate this information into social experience throughout the lifespan, including consequences for complex scenarios, such as dominance hierarchy formation and maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA.
| | - Elizabeth Gould
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Regina Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA; Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
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Schayek R, Maroun M. Dissociation in the effects of stress and D1 receptors activation on basolateral amygdalar LTP in juvenile and adult animals. Neuropharmacology 2017; 113:511-518. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Revised: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Al Aïn S, Perry RE, Nuñez B, Kayser K, Hochman C, Brehman E, LaComb M, Wilson DA, Sullivan RM. Neurobehavioral assessment of maternal odor in developing rat pups: implications for social buffering. Soc Neurosci 2017; 12:32-49. [PMID: 26934130 PMCID: PMC5033694 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1159605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Social support can attenuate the behavioral and stress hormone response to threat, a phenomenon called social buffering. The mother's social buffering of the infant is one of the more robust examples; yet we understand little about the neurobiology. Using a rodent model, we explore the neurobiology of social buffering by assessing neural processing of the maternal odor, a major cue controlling social buffering in rat pups. We used pups before (postnatal day (PN) 7) and after (PN14, PN23) the functional emergence of social buffering. Pups were injected with 14C 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) and presented with the maternal odor, a control preferred odor incapable of social buffering (acetophenone), or no odor. Brains were removed, processed for autoradiography and brain areas identified as important in adult social buffering were assessed, including the amygdala basolateral complex (Basolateral Amygdala [BLA]), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Results suggest dramatic changes in the processing of maternal odor. PN7 pups show mPFC and ACC activation, although PN14 pups showed no activation of the mPFC, ACC, or BLA. All brain areas assessed were recruited by PN23. Additional analysis suggests substantial changes in functional connectivity across development. Together, these results imply complex nonlinear transitions in the neurobiology of social buffering in early life that may provide insight into the changing role of the mother in supporting social buffering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syrina Al Aïn
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rosemarie E. Perry
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Neuroscience and Physiology, NYU Sackler Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bestina Nuñez
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
| | - Kassandra Kayser
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
| | - Chase Hochman
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elizabeth Brehman
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Miranda LaComb
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Donald A. Wilson
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Shi Y, Budin F, Yapuncich E, Rumple A, Young JT, Payne C, Zhang X, Hu X, Godfrey J, Howell B, Sanchez MM, Styner MA. UNC-Emory Infant Atlases for Macaque Brain Image Analysis: Postnatal Brain Development through 12 Months. Front Neurosci 2017; 10:617. [PMID: 28119564 PMCID: PMC5222830 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 12/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational anatomical atlases have shown to be of immense value in neuroimaging as they provide age appropriate reference spaces alongside ancillary anatomical information for automated analysis such as subcortical structural definitions, cortical parcellations or white fiber tract regions. Standard workflows in neuroimaging necessitate such atlases to be appropriately selected for the subject population of interest. This is especially of importance in early postnatal brain development, where rapid changes in brain shape and appearance render neuroimaging workflows sensitive to the appropriate atlas choice. We present here a set of novel computation atlases for structural MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging as crucial resource for the analysis of MRI data from non-human primate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) data in early postnatal brain development. Forty socially-housed infant macaques were scanned longitudinally at ages 2 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months in order to create cross-sectional structural and DTI atlases via unbiased atlas building at each of these ages. Probabilistic spatial prior definitions for the major tissue classes were trained on each atlas with expert manual segmentations. In this article we present the development and use of these atlases with publicly available tools, as well as the atlases themselves, which are publicly disseminated to the scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yundi Shi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Eva Yapuncich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Ashley Rumple
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jeffrey T Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Christa Payne
- Division of Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory School of Medicine Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Riverside Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Jodi Godfrey
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Brittany Howell
- Department of Child Psychology, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Mar M Sanchez
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA, USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
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Effects of Repeated Stress on Age-Dependent GABAergic Regulation of the Lateral Nucleus of the Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:2309-23. [PMID: 26924679 PMCID: PMC4946062 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 01/25/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The adolescent age is associated with lability of mood and emotion. The onset of depression and anxiety disorders peaks during adolescence and there are differences in symptomology during adolescence. This points to differences in the adolescent neural circuitry that underlies mood and emotion, such as the amygdala. The human adolescent amygdala is more responsive to evocative stimuli, hinting to less local inhibitory regulation of the amygdala, but this has not been explored in adolescents. The amygdala, including the lateral nucleus (LAT) of the basolateral amygdala complex, is sensitive to stress. The amygdala undergoes maturational processes during adolescence, and therefore may be more vulnerable to harmful effects of stress during this time period. However, little is known about the effects of stress on the LAT during adolescence. GABAergic inhibition is a key regulator of LAT activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test whether there are differences in the local GABAergic regulation of the rat adolescent LAT, and differences in its sensitivity to repeated stress. We found that LAT projection neurons are subjected to weaker GABAergic inhibition during adolescence. Repeated stress reduced in vivo endogenous and exogenous GABAergic inhibition of LAT projection neurons in adolescent rats. Furthermore, repeated stress decreased measures of presynaptic GABA function and interneuron activity in adolescent rats. In contrast, repeated stress enhanced glutamatergic drive of LAT projection neurons in adult rats. These results demonstrate age differences in GABAergic regulation of the LAT, and age differences in the mechanism for the effects of repeated stress on LAT neuron activity. These findings provide a substrate for increased mood lability in adolescents, and provide a substrate by which adolescent repeated stress can induce distinct behavioral outcomes and psychiatric symptoms.
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Social Isolation During Postweaning Development Causes Hypoactivity of Neurons in the Medial Nucleus of the Male Rat Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:1929-40. [PMID: 26677945 PMCID: PMC4869062 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Children exposed to neglect or social deprivation are at heightened risk for psychiatric disorders and abnormal social patterns as adults. There is also evidence that prepubertal neglect in children causes abnormal metabolic activity in several brain regions, including the amygdala area. The medial nucleus of the amygdala (MeA) is a key region for performance of social behaviors and still undergoes maturation during the periadolescent period. As such, the normal development of this region may be disrupted by social deprivation. In rodents, postweaning social isolation causes a range of deficits in sexual and agonistic behaviors that normally rely on the posterior MeA (MeAp). However, little is known about the effects of social isolation on the function of MeA neurons. In this study, we tested whether postweaning social isolation caused abnormal activity of MeA neurons. We found that postweaning social isolation caused a decrease of in vivo firing activity of MeAp neurons, and reduced drive from excitatory afferents. In vitro electrophysiological studies found that postweaning social isolation caused a presynaptic impairment of excitatory input to the dorsal MeAp, but a progressive postsynaptic reduction of membrane excitability in the ventral MeAp. These results demonstrate discrete, subnucleus-specific effects of social deprivation on the physiology of MeAp neurons. This pathophysiology may contribute to the disruption of social behavior after developmental social deprivation, and may be a novel target to facilitate the treatment of social disorders.
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Fareri DS, Tottenham N. Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2016; 19:233-47. [PMID: 27174149 PMCID: PMC4912892 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 03/28/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one's social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic S Fareri
- Gordon F. Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 11530, United States.
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States
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McCoy CR, Golf SR, Melendez-Ferro M, Perez-Costas E, Glover ME, Jackson NL, Stringfellow SA, Pugh PC, Fant AD, Clinton SM. Altered metabolic activity in the developing brain of rats predisposed to high versus low depression-like behavior. Neuroscience 2016; 324:469-484. [PMID: 26979051 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Revised: 02/27/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in human temperament can increase the risk of psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety. Our laboratory utilized a rat model of temperamental differences to assess neurodevelopmental factors underlying emotional behavior differences. Rats selectively bred for low novelty exploration (Low Responders, LR) display high levels of anxiety- and depression-like behavior compared to High Novelty Responder (HR) rats. Using transcriptome profiling, the present study uncovered vast gene expression differences in the early postnatal HR versus LR limbic brain, including changes in genes involved in cellular metabolism. These data led us to hypothesize that rats prone to high (versus low) anxiety/depression-like behavior exhibit distinct patterns of brain metabolism during the first weeks of life, which may reflect disparate patterns of synaptogenesis and brain circuit development. Thus, in a second experiment we examined activity of cytochrome C oxidase (COX), an enzyme responsible for ATP production and a correlate of metabolic activity, to explore functional energetic differences in the HR/LR early postnatal brain. We found that HR rats display higher COX activity in the amygdala and specific hippocampal subregions compared to LRs during the first 2 weeks of life. Correlational analysis examining COX levels across several brain regions and multiple early postnatal time points suggested desynchronization in the developmental timeline of the limbic HR versus LR brain during the first two postnatal weeks. These early divergent COX activity levels may reflect altered circuitry or synaptic activity in the early postnatal HR/LR brain, which could contribute to the emergence of their distinct behavioral phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea R McCoy
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Samantha R Golf
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Miguel Melendez-Ferro
- Department of Surgery, 1600 7 Ave S., ACC300, University of Alabama-Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Emma Perez-Costas
- Department of Pediatrics, 1600 7 Ave S., ACC502, University of Alabama-Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Matthew E Glover
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Nateka L Jackson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Sara A Stringfellow
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Phyllis C Pugh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
| | - Andrew D Fant
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599, USA
| | - Sarah M Clinton
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, 1720 7th Ave S., SC 745, University of Alabama-Birmingham AL, USA
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35
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Deal AL, Erickson KJ, Shiers SI, Burman MA. Limbic system development underlies the emergence of classical fear conditioning during the third and fourth weeks of life in the rat. Behav Neurosci 2016; 130:212-30. [PMID: 26820587 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Classical fear conditioning creates an association between an aversive stimulus and a neutral stimulus. Although the requisite neural circuitry is well understood in mature organisms, the development of these circuits is less well studied. The current experiments examine the ontogeny of fear conditioning and relate it to neuronal activation assessed through immediate early gene (IEG) expression in the amygdala, hippocampus, perirhinal cortex, and hypothalamus of periweanling rats. Rat pups were fear conditioned, or not, during the third or fourth weeks of life. Neuronal activation was assessed by quantifying expression of FBJ osteosarcoma oncogene (FOS) using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in Experiment 1. Fos and early growth response gene-1 (EGR1) expression was assessed using qRT-PCR in Experiment 2. Behavioral data confirm that both auditory and contextual fear continue to emerge between PD 17 and 24. The IEG expression data are highly consistent with these behavioral results. IHC results demonstrate significantly more FOS protein expression in the basal amygdala of fear-conditioned PD 23 subjects compared to control subjects, but no significant difference at PD 17. qRT-PCR results suggest specific activation of the amygdala only in older subjects during auditory fear expression. A similar effect of age and conditioning status was also observed in the perirhinal cortex during both contextual and auditory fear expression. Overall, the development of fear conditioning occurring between the third and fourth weeks of life appears to be at least partly attributable to changes in activation of the amygdala and perirhinal cortex during fear conditioning or expression. (PsycINFO Database Record
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36
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Opendak M, Sullivan RM. Unique neurobiology during the sensitive period for attachment produces distinctive infant trauma processing. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2016; 7:31276. [PMID: 27837581 PMCID: PMC5106868 DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v7.31276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 07/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trauma has neurobehavioral effects when experienced at any stage of development, but trauma experienced in early life has unique neurobehavioral outcomes related to later life psychiatric sequelae. Recent evidence has further highlighted the context of infant trauma as a critical variable in determining its immediate and enduring consequences. Trauma experienced from an attachment figure, such as occurs in cases of caregiver child maltreatment, is particularly detrimental. METHODS Using data primarily from rodent models, we review the literature on the interaction between trauma and attachment in early life, which highlights the role of the caregiver's presence in engagement of attachment brain circuitry and suppressing threat processing by the amygdala. We then consider how trauma with and without the caregiver produces long-term changes in emotionality and behavior, and suggest that these experiences initiate distinct pathways to pathology. RESULTS Together these data suggest that infant trauma processing and its enduring effects are impacted by both the immaturity of brain areas for processing trauma and the unique functioning of the early-life brain, which is biased toward processing information within the attachment circuitry. CONCLUSION An understanding of developmental differences in trauma processing as well as the critical role of the caregiver in further altering early life brain processing of trauma is important for developing age-relevant treatment and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.,Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA;
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.,Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Abstract
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis provides physiological adaptations to various environmental stimuli in mammals. These stimuli including maternal care, diet, immune challenge, stress, and others have the potential to stably modify or program the functioning of the HPA axis when experienced early in life or at later critical stages of development. Epigenetic mechanisms mediate the biological embedding of environmental stimuli or conditions. These changes are influenced by the genotype and both, environment and genotype contribute to the development of a specific phenotype with regard to the stress response that might be more susceptible or resilient to the development of mental conditions. The effects of stress might be a result of cumulative stress or a mismatch between the environments experienced early in life versus the conditions much later. These effects including the associated epigenetic modifications are potentially reversible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan P Buschdorf
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michael J Meaney
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.,Canadian Neuroepigenetics Network, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Ehrlich DE, Josselyn SA. Plasticity-related genes in brain development and amygdala-dependent learning. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2015; 15:125-43. [PMID: 26419764 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Revised: 09/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Learning about motivationally important stimuli involves plasticity in the amygdala, a temporal lobe structure. Amygdala-dependent learning involves a growing number of plasticity-related signaling pathways also implicated in brain development, suggesting that learning-related signaling in juveniles may simultaneously influence development. Here, we review the pleiotropic functions in nervous system development and amygdala-dependent learning of a signaling pathway that includes brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), extracellular signaling-related kinases (ERKs) and cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB). Using these canonical, plasticity-related genes as an example, we discuss the intersection of learning-related and developmental plasticity in the immature amygdala, when aversive and appetitive learning may influence the developmental trajectory of amygdala function. We propose that learning-dependent activation of BDNF, ERK and CREB signaling in the immature amygdala exaggerates and accelerates neural development, promoting amygdala excitability and environmental sensitivity later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- D E Ehrlich
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology, NYU Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - S A Josselyn
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Structural connectivity of the developing human amygdala. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0125170. [PMID: 25875758 PMCID: PMC4398350 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 03/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A large corpus of research suggests that there are changes in the manner and degree to which the amygdala supports cognitive and emotional function across development. One possible basis for these developmental differences could be the maturation of amygdalar connections with the rest of the brain. Recent functional connectivity studies support this conclusion, but the structural connectivity of the developing amygdala and its different nuclei remains largely unstudied. We examined age related changes in the DWI connectivity fingerprints of the amygdala to the rest of the brain in 166 individuals of ages 5-30. We also developed a model to predict age based on individual-subject amygdala connectivity, and identified the connections that were most predictive of age. Finally, we segmented the amygdala into its four main nucleus groups, and examined the developmental changes in connectivity for each nucleus. We observed that with age, amygdalar connectivity becomes increasingly sparse and localized. Age related changes were largely localized to the subregions of the amygdala that are implicated in social inference and contextual memory (the basal and lateral nuclei). The central nucleus’ connectivity also showed differences with age but these differences affected fewer target regions than the basal and lateral nuclei. The medial nucleus did not exhibit any age related changes. These findings demonstrate increasing specificity in the connectivity patterns of amygdalar nuclei across age.
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Stephens SBZ, Raper J, Bachevalier J, Wallen K. Neonatal amygdala lesions advance pubertal timing in female rhesus macaques. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015; 51:307-17. [PMID: 25462903 PMCID: PMC4268413 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2014] [Revised: 09/23/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Social context influences the timing of puberty in both humans and nonhuman primates, such as delayed first ovulation in low-ranking rhesus macaques, but the brain region(s) mediating the effects of social context on pubertal timing are unknown. The amygdala is important for responding to social information and thus, is a potential brain region mediating the effects of social context on pubertal timing. In this study, female rhesus macaques living in large, species-typical, social groups received bilateral neurotoxic amygdala lesions at one month of age and pubertal timing was examined beginning at 14 months of age. Pubertal timing was affected in neonatal amygdala-lesioned females (Neo-A), such that they experienced significantly earlier menarche and first ovulation than did control females (Neo-C). Duration between menarche and first ovulation did not differ between Neo-A and Neo-C females, indicating earlier first ovulation in Neo-A females was likely a consequence of earlier menarche. Social rank of Neo-A females was related to age at menarche, but not first ovulation, and social rank was not related to either event in Neo-C females. It is more likely that amygdalectomy affects pubertal timing through its modulation of GABA-ergic mechanisms rather than as a result of the removal of a social-contextual inhibition on pubertal timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon B Z Stephens
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
| | - Jessica Raper
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
| | - Kim Wallen
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
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41
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Ryan SJ, Ehrlich DE, Rainnie DG. Morphology and dendritic maturation of developing principal neurons in the rat basolateral amygdala. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 221:839-54. [PMID: 25381464 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0939-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 11/01/2014] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) assigns emotional valence to sensory stimuli, and many amygdala-dependent behaviors undergo marked development during postnatal life. We recently showed principal neurons in the rat BLA undergo dramatic changes to their electrophysiological properties during the first postnatal month, but no study to date has thoroughly characterized changes to morphology or gene expression that may underlie the functional development of this neuronal population. We addressed this knowledge gap with reconstructions of biocytin-filled principal neurons in the rat BLA at postnatal days 7 (P7), 14, 21, 28, and 60. BLA principal neurons underwent a number of morphological changes, including a twofold increase in soma volume from P7 to P21. Dendritic arbors expanded significantly during the first postnatal month and achieved a mature distribution around P28, in terms of total dendritic length and distance from soma. The number of primary dendrites and branch points were consistent with age, but branch points were found farther from the soma in older animals. Dendrites of BLA principal neurons at P7 had few spines, and spine density increased nearly fivefold by P21. Given the concurrent increase in dendritic material, P60 neurons had approximately 17 times as many total spines as P7 neurons. Together, these developmental transitions in BLA principal neuron morphology help explain a number of concomitant electrophysiological changes during a critical period in amygdala development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Ryan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30033, USA
| | - David E Ehrlich
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30033, USA
| | - Donald G Rainnie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30033, USA.
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Morgan JT, Barger N, Amaral DG, Schumann CM. Stereological study of amygdala glial populations in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder. PLoS One 2014; 9:e110356. [PMID: 25330013 PMCID: PMC4201518 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Accepted: 09/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala undergoes aberrant development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We previously found that there are reduced neuron numbers in the adult postmortem amygdala from individuals with ASD compared to typically developing controls. The current study is a comprehensive stereological examination of four non-neuronal cell populations: microglia, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and endothelial cells, in the same brains studied previously. We provide a detailed neuroanatomical protocol for defining each cell type that may be applied to other studies of the amygdala in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. We then assess whether cell numbers and average volumes differ between ASD and typically developing brains. We hypothesized that a reduction in neuron numbers in ASD might relate to altered immune function and/or aberrant microglial activation, as indicated by increased microglial number and cell body volume. Overall, average non-neuronal cell numbers and volumes did not differ between ASD and typically developing brains. However, there was evident heterogeneity within the ASD cohort. Two of the eight ASD brains displayed strong microglial activation. Contrary to our original hypothesis, there was a trend toward a positive correlation between neuronal and microglial numbers in both ASD and control cases. There were fewer oligodendrocytes in the amygdala of adult individuals with ASD ages 20 and older compared to typically developing controls. This finding may provide a possible sign of altered connectivity or impaired neuronal communication that may change across the lifespan in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T. Morgan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the M. I. N. D. Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, United States of America
| | - Nicole Barger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the M. I. N. D. Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, United States of America
| | - David G. Amaral
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the M. I. N. D. Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, United States of America
| | - Cynthia M. Schumann
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the M. I. N. D. Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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43
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Distinct effects of repeated restraint stress on basolateral amygdala neuronal membrane properties in resilient adolescent and adult rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:2114-30. [PMID: 24619244 PMCID: PMC4104329 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.60] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Revised: 02/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Severe and repeated stress has damaging effects on health, including initiation of depression and anxiety. Stress that occurs during development has long-lasting and particularly damaging effects on emotion. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays a key role in many affective behaviors, and repeated stress causes different forms of BLA hyperactivity in adolescent and adult rats. However, the mechanism is not known. Furthermore, not every individual is susceptible to the negative consequences of stress. Differences in the effects of stress on the BLA might contribute to determine whether an individual will be vulnerable or resilient to the effects of stress on emotion. The purpose of this study is to test the cellular underpinnings for age dependency of BLA hyperactivity after stress, and whether protective changes occur in resilient individuals. To test this, the effects of repeated stress on membrane excitability and other membrane properties of BLA principal neurons were compared between adult and adolescent rats, and between vulnerable and resilient rats, using in vitro whole-cell recordings. Vulnerability was defined by adrenal gland weight, and verified by body weight gain after repeated restraint stress, and fecal pellet production during repeated restraint sessions. We found that repeated stress increased the excitability of BLA neurons, but in a manner that depended on age and BLA subnucleus. Furthermore, stress resilience was associated with an opposite pattern of change, with increased slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) potential, whereas vulnerability was associated with decreased medium AHP. The opposite outcomes in these two populations were further distinguished by differences of anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze that were correlated with BLA neuronal excitability and AHP. These results demonstrate a substrate for BLA hyperactivity after repeated stress, with distinct membrane properties to target, as well as age-dependent factors that contribute to resilience to the effects of stress.
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Burman MA, Erickson KJ, Deal AL, Jacobson RE. Contextual and auditory fear conditioning continue to emerge during the periweaning period in rats. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100807. [PMID: 24977415 PMCID: PMC4076234 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders often emerge during childhood. Rodent models using classical fear conditioning have shown that different types of fear depend upon different neural structures and may emerge at different stages of development. For example, some work has suggested that contextual fear conditioning generally emerges later in development (postnatal day 23–24) than explicitly cued fear conditioning (postnatal day 15–17) in rats. This has been attributed to an inability of younger subjects to form a representation of the context due to an immature hippocampus. However, evidence that contextual fear can be observed in postnatal day 17 subjects and that cued fear conditioning continues to emerge past this age raises questions about the nature of this deficit. The current studies examine this question using both the context pre-exposure facilitation effect for immediate single-shock contextual fear conditioning and traditional cued fear conditioning using Sprague-Dawley rats. The data suggest that both cued and contextual fear conditioning are continuing to develop between PD 17 and 24, consistent with development occurring the in essential fear conditioning circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Burman
- Department of Psychology, Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Kristen J. Erickson
- Department of Psychology, Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, United States of America
| | - Alex L. Deal
- Department of Psychology, Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, United States of America
| | - Rose E. Jacobson
- Department of Biology, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, United States of America
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Negrón-Oyarzo I, Pérez MÁ, Terreros G, Muñoz P, Dagnino-Subiabre A. Effects of chronic stress in adolescence on learned fear, anxiety, and synaptic transmission in the rat prelimbic cortex. Behav Brain Res 2013; 259:342-53. [PMID: 24216268 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2013] [Revised: 10/28/2013] [Accepted: 11/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The prelimbic cortex and amygdala regulate the extinction of conditioned fear and anxiety, respectively. In adult rats, chronic stress affects the dendritic morphology of these brain areas, slowing extinction of learned fear and enhancing anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine whether rats subjected to chronic stress in adolescence show changes in learned fear, anxiety, and synaptic transmission in the prelimbic cortex during adulthood. Male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to seven days of restraint stress on postnatal day forty-two (PND 42, adolescence). Afterward, the fear-conditioning paradigm was used to study conditioned fear extinction. Anxiety-like behavior was measured one day (PND 50) and twenty-one days (PND 70, adulthood) after stress using the elevated-plus maze and dark-light box tests, respectively. With another set of rats, excitatory synaptic transmission was analyzed with slices of the prelimbic cortex. Rats that had been stressed during adolescence and adulthood had higher anxiety-like behavior levels than did controls, while stress-induced slowing of learned fear extinction in adolescence was reversed during adulthood. As well, the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials of stressed adolescent rats had significantly lower amplitudes than those of controls, although the amplitudes were higher in adulthood. Our results demonstrate that short-term stress in adolescence induces strong effects on excitatory synaptic transmission in the prelimbic cortex and extinction of learned fear, where the effect of stress on anxiety is more persistent than on the extinction of learned fear. These data contribute to the understanding of stress neurobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Negrón-Oyarzo
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile; Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Miguel Ángel Pérez
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Terreros
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Pablo Muñoz
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Alexies Dagnino-Subiabre
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
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Vázquez-Roque RA, Ubhi K, Masliah E, Flores G. Chronic cerebrolysin administration attenuates neuronal abnormalities in the basolateral amygdala induced by neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion in the rat. Synapse 2013; 68:31-8. [DOI: 10.1002/syn.21718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rubén Antonio Vázquez-Roque
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología; Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570 Puebla México
| | - Kiren Ubhi
- Department of Neurosciences; University of California; San Diego, La Jolla California 92093-0624
| | - Eliezer Masliah
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología; Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570 Puebla México
| | - Gonzalo Flores
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología; Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570 Puebla México
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Rafati A, Noorafshan A, Torabi N. Stereological study of the effects of morphine consumption and abstinence on the number of the neurons and oligodendrocytes in medial prefrontal cortex of rats. Anat Cell Biol 2013; 46:191-7. [PMID: 24179694 PMCID: PMC3811856 DOI: 10.5115/acb.2013.46.3.191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Revised: 05/26/2013] [Accepted: 06/04/2013] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantitative studies to date on the effects of opioid consumption and abstinence on the nervous system using modern stereological methods have not received enough attention. In addition, they have yielded controversial results. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of morphine, with or without abstinence, on the neurons and oligodendrocytes of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in rats using quantitative stereological methods. The male rats were divided into four groups: the first (saline [SAL]) and second (morphine [MOR]) groups were treated with saline and an escalating dose of morphine (5-20 mg/kg) for 30 days, respectively; the third (SAL+abstinence [ABS]) and fourth (MOR+ABS) groups were treated in the same manner as the previous groups plus they had a 30-day abstinence period. The results showed that the volume of the MPFC and its subdivisions decreased by approximately 15% in the MOR group compared with that in the SAL group (P<0.05). In addition, the volume decreased by approximately 24% in the MOR+ABS group compared with that in the SAL+ABS group (P<0.05). The number of neurons in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups decreased by approximately 44% and 35%, respectively, compared with that in their corresponding control groups. Moreover, the number of the oligodendrocytes in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups decreased by approximately 41% and 37%, respectively. No significant difference was noted in the number of cells in the MOR and MOR+ABS groups. In conclusion, morphine consumption leads to a permanent reduction in the number of neurons and oligodendrocytes, and no additional neuron and oligodendrocyte loss occurs after abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Rafati
- Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. ; Department of Physiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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48
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Zhang W, Rosenkranz JA. Repeated restraint stress enhances cue-elicited conditioned freezing and impairs acquisition of extinction in an age-dependent manner. Behav Brain Res 2013; 248:12-24. [PMID: 23538069 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Revised: 02/23/2013] [Accepted: 03/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Affective disorders are believed to involve dysfunction within the amygdala, a key structure for processing emotional information. Chronic stress may contribute to affective disorders such as depression and anxiety via its effects on the amygdala. Previous research has shown that chronic stress increases amygdala neuronal activity in an age-dependent manner. However, whether these distinct changes in amgydala neuronal activity are accompanied by age-dependent changes in amygdala-dependent affective behavior is unclear. In this study, we investigated how chronic stress impacts amgydala-dependent auditory fear conditioning in adolescent and adult rats in a repeated restraint model. We found that repeated restraint enhanced conditioned freezing in both adolescent and adult rats. But repeated restraint led to impaired acquisition of fear extinction only in adolescent rats. Along with previous findings, these results suggest that chronic stress may precipitate affective disorders via differential mechanisms, with different outcomes at different ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
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49
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Zhang W, Rosenkranz JA. Repeated restraint stress increases basolateral amygdala neuronal activity in an age-dependent manner. Neuroscience 2012; 226:459-74. [PMID: 22986163 PMCID: PMC3506707 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.08.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2012] [Revised: 08/22/2012] [Accepted: 08/24/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Chronic stress is a precipitating factor for affective disorders such as depression and anxiety. This is associated with the effects of chronic stress on the amygdala. Adolescents may be more vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress, which may be related to its impact on amygdala function. However, the stress-induced changes in amygdala neuronal activity, and the age-dependent impact of chronic stress on amygdala neuronal activity have not been studied in depth. In this study, we investigated how repeated restraint impacts basolateral amygdala (BLA) projection neuron activity in both adolescent and adult rats. Using in vivo extracellular recordings from anesthetized rats, we found that repeated restraint increased the number of spontaneously firing neurons in the BLA of adolescent rats, but did not significantly increase the firing rate. In contrast, repeated restraint increased the firing rate of BLA neurons in adult rats, but did not change the number of spontaneously firing neurons. This is the first direct evidence of how stress differently impacts amygdala physiology in adolescent and adult rats. These findings may shed light on the mechanism by which chronic stress may age-dependently precipitate psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Zhang
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
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50
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Akers KG, Arruda-Carvalho M, Josselyn SA, Frankland PW. Ontogeny of contextual fear memory formation, specificity, and persistence in mice. Learn Mem 2012; 19:598-604. [PMID: 23161449 DOI: 10.1101/lm.027581.112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Pinpointing the precise age when young animals begin to form memories of aversive events is valuable for understanding the onset of anxiety and mood disorders and for detecting early cognitive impairment in models of childhood-onset disorders. Although these disorders are most commonly modeled in mice, we know little regarding the development of learning and memory in this species because most previous studies have been restricted to rats. Therefore, in the present study, we constructed an ontogenetic timeline of contextual fear memory ranging from infancy to adulthood in mice. We found that the ability of mice to form long-term context-shock associations emerged ∼13-14 d of age, which is several days earlier than previously reported for rats. Although the ability to form contextual fear memories remained stable from infancy into adulthood, infant mice had shorter-lasting memories than adolescent and adult mice. Furthermore, we found that mice subjected to fetal alcohol exposure showed a delay in the developmental emergence of contextual fear memory, illustrating the utility of this ontogenetic approach in detecting developmental delays in cognitive function stemming from maladaptive early life experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine G Akers
- Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5G 1X8
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