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Dalmaz C, Barth B, Pokhvisneva I, Wang Z, Patel S, Quillfeldt JA, Mendonça Filho EJ, de Lima RMS, Arcego DM, Sassi RB, Hall GBC, Kobor MS, Meaney MJ, Silveira PP. Prefrontal cortex VAMP1 gene network moderates the effect of the early environment on cognitive flexibility in children. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 185:107509. [PMID: 34454100 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
During development, genetic and environmental factors interact to modify specific phenotypes. Both in humans and in animal models, early adversities influence cognitive flexibility, an important brain function related to behavioral adaptation to variations in the environment. Abnormalities in cognitive functions are related to changes in synaptic connectivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and altered levels of synaptic proteins. We investigated if individual variations in the expression of a network of genes co-expressed with the synaptic protein VAMP1 in the prefrontal cortex moderate the effect of early environmental quality on the performance of children in cognitive flexibility tasks. Genes overexpressed in early childhood and co-expressed with the VAMP1 gene in the PFC were selected for study. SNPs from these genes (post-clumping) were compiled in an expression-based polygenic score (PFC-ePRS-VAMP1). We evaluated cognitive performance of the 4 years-old children in two cohorts using similar cognitive flexibility tasks. In the first cohort (MAVAN) we utilized two CANTAB tasks: (a) the Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set Shift (IED) task, and (b) the Spatial Working Memory (SWM) task. In the second cohort, GUSTO, we used the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. The results show that in 4 years-old children, the PFC-ePRS-VAMP1 network moderates responsiveness to the effects of early adversities on the performance in attentional flexibility tests. The same result was observed for a spatial working memory task. Compared to attentional flexibility, reversal learning showed opposite effects of the environment, as moderated by the ePRS. A parallel ICA analysis was performed to identify relationships between whole-brain voxel based gray matter density and SNPs that comprise the PFC-ePRS-VAMP1. The early environment predicts differences in gray matter content in regions such as prefrontal and temporal cortices, significantly associated with a genetic component related to Wnt signaling pathways. Our data suggest that a network of genes co-expressed with VAMP1 in the PFC moderates the influence of early environment on cognitive function in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Dalmaz
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Depto Bioquimica e PPG CB Bioquimica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; PPG Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
| | - Barbara Barth
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Irina Pokhvisneva
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Zihan Wang
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sachin Patel
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jorge A Quillfeldt
- PPG Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Depto Biofisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Euclides J Mendonça Filho
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Randriely Merscher Sobreira de Lima
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; PPG Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Danusa M Arcego
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Roberto Britto Sassi
- Mood Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Geoffrey B C Hall
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Michael S Kobor
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, The University of British Columbia, 938 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Michael J Meaney
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Patrícia P Silveira
- Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; PPG Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
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Developmental effects of environmental enrichment on selective and auditory sustained attention. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 111:104479. [PMID: 31704636 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) has been used as a positive manipulation in different disease models. However, there is conflicting evidence reported in the literature about the effects of EE. Additionally, the time period that would be most beneficial in implementing environmental enrichment as an intervention is not clear. Our study aimed to systematically compare the prenatal, juvenile, mid-adolescence, and adulthood developmental trajectory to further the understanding of enriched environment's effects on selective and auditory sustained attention, corresponding to behavioral (conceived) and physiological-reflexive (non-conceived) measures. Rats were exposed for 21 days to enriched environment during various developmental periods and compared to age-matched controls. All groups were tested for long-term effects (at postnatal day 120 and onward) on selective and sustained attention. We found that the exposure to enriched environment during mid-adolescence has yielded the most significant and long-term pattern of effects, including selective and auditory sustained attention performance, increased foraging-like behavior and a significant decrease in corticosterone level. Similarly, the exposure to EE at juvenile period improved selective attention, increased foraging-like behavior, and reduced anxiety levels as reflected in the open field as well as in low corticosterone levels. These results specify a crucial period along the developmental trajectory for applying environmental enrichment. Mid-adolescence is suggested, in future basic and translational studies, as the sensitive time period that induces the most beneficial and long-term effects of EE on attention. The current findings suggest that the exposure to EE during mid-adolescence should be further considered and studied as behavioral alternative intervention, or as adjuvant behavioral therapy, aimed to decrease the probability to develop ADHD in post-adolescence period. This suggestion is highly relevant due to the debate regarding the pros and cons of screens usage (e.g. Facebook, online games, etc.) during early life that decreases environmental enrichment, especially, direct social interaction.
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Wang L, Zhang Y, Wang H, Li H, Zhao Z, Wang N, He B, Shi C, Zhang S, Wang J. Repeated abortion in adulthood induces cognition impairment in aged mice. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11396. [PMID: 30061639 PMCID: PMC6065382 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29827-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-related cognitive decline is one of the major aspects that impede successful aging in humans. Repeated abortion in adulthood can accelerate or aggravate cognitive deficiency during aging. Here we used repeated abortion in female mice adulthood and investigated the consequences of this treatment on cognitive performance during aging. We observed a substantial impairment of learning memory in 15 months old. This cognitive dysfunction was supported by Aβ elevation in CA region. Repeated abortion mice have uniform estrous cycles and decreased ERα expression in hypothalamus and hippocampus. Furthermore, repeated abortion not only significantly increased the HMGB1 expression in hippocampus but also increased the plasma and hippocampal protein levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. Finally, we identified that MPP-induced cell apoptosis and increased HMGB1 expression as well as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expression as following Aβ elevation. Taken together, our results identify possible molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment during aging, and demonstrated the repeated abortion in adulthood on cognitive function in aged mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Wang
- Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Haofeng Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, China
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Anatomy, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ziying Zhao
- Department of Chinese Medicine, Air Force General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Bin He
- Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Cuige Shi
- Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China.
| | - Shucheng Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China.
| | - Jiedong Wang
- Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. .,Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China.
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