1
|
Jimenez Chavez CL, Van Doren E, Scheldrup G, Rivera E, Torres-Gonzalez J, Herbert JN, Denning CJE, Khorsandi S, Garcia A, Castro M, Szumlinski KK. A subchronic history of binge-drinking elicits mild, age- and sex-selective, affective, and cognitive anomalies in C57BL/6J mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1192076. [PMID: 37600758 PMCID: PMC10435755 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1192076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Alcohol abuse is a risk factor for affective and cognitive disorders, with evidence indicating that adolescent-onset excessive drinking can result in long-term deficiencies in emotional regulation and cognition, with females more susceptible to the negative emotional and cognitive consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. However, our prior examination of the interactions between sex and the age of drinking-onset indicated minimal signs of anxiety-like behavior during alcohol withdrawal, which may have related to the concurrent anxiety testing of male and female subjects. Methods The present study addressed this potential confound by assaying for alcohol withdrawal-induced negative affect separately in males and females and expanded our investigation to include measures of spatial and working memory. Results Following 14 days of drinking under modified Drinking-in-the-Dark procedures (10, 20, and 40% alcohol v/v; 2 h/day), adolescent and adult binge-drinking mice of both sexes exhibited, respectively, fewer and more signs of negative affect in the light-dark shuttle-box and forced swim tests than their water-drinking counterparts. Adolescent-onset binge-drinking mice also exhibited signs of impaired working memory early during radial arm maze training during early alcohol withdrawal. When tested in late (30 days) withdrawal, only adult female binge-drinking mice buried more marbles than their water-drinking counterparts. However, adolescent-onset binge-drinking mice exhibited poorer spatial memory recall in a Morris water maze. Discussion These findings indicate that a subchronic (14-day) binge-drinking history induces mild, age- and sex-selective, changes in negative affect and cognition of potential relevance to understanding individual variability in the etiology and treatment of alcohol abuse and alcohol use disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C. Leonardo Jimenez Chavez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Eliyana Van Doren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Gavin Scheldrup
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Emely Rivera
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jose Torres-Gonzalez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jessica N. Herbert
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Christopher J. E. Denning
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Sarah Khorsandi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Andrew Garcia
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Marian Castro
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Karen K. Szumlinski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ojha A, Parr AC, Foran W, Calabro FJ, Luna B. Puberty contributes to adolescent development of fronto-striatal functional connectivity supporting inhibitory control. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101183. [PMID: 36495791 PMCID: PMC9730138 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is defined by puberty and represents a period characterized by neural circuitry maturation (e.g., fronto-striatal systems) facilitating cognitive improvements. Though studies have characterized age-related changes, the extent to which puberty influences maturation of fronto-striatal networks is less known. Here, we combine two longitudinal datasets to characterize the role of puberty in the development of fronto-striatal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and its relationship to inhibitory control in 106 10-18-year-olds. Beyond age effects, we found that puberty was related to decreases in rsFC between the caudate and the anterior vmPFC, rostral and ventral ACC, and v/dlPFC, as well as with rsFC increases between the dlPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) across males and females. Stronger caudate rsFC with the dlPFC and vlPFC during early puberty was associated with worse inhibitory control and slower correct responses, respectively, whereas by late puberty, stronger vlPFC rsFC with the dorsal striatum was associated with faster correct responses. Taken together, our findings suggest that certain fronto-striatal connections are associated with pubertal maturation beyond age effects, which, in turn are related to inhibitory control. We discuss implications of puberty-related fronto-striatal maturation to further our understanding of pubertal effects related to adolescent cognitive and affective neurodevelopment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amar Ojha
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Correspondence to: Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development, University of Pittsburgh, 121 Meyran Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Ashley C. Parr
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - William Foran
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Finnegan J. Calabro
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Beatriz Luna
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Jimenez Chavez CL, Coelho MA, Brewin LW, Swauncy I, Tran T, Albanese T, Laguna A, Gabriela I, Szumlinski KK. Incubation of Negative Affect during Protracted Alcohol Withdrawal Is Age-, but Not Sex-Selective. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10060405. [PMID: 32604806 PMCID: PMC7348966 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10060405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A prior history of excessive drinking induces a negative affective state in both humans and laboratory rodents, the manifestation of which varies with the age of drinking-onset. In adolescent male mice, negative affect incubates over the course of a 30-day alcohol withdrawal period. In contrast, the negative affect exhibited by adult male mice is robust at 1 day withdrawal, but dissipates with the passage of time. As females tend to consume more alcohol than males, we aimed to explore the affective disturbances exhibited by adolescent and adult C57BL/6J mice of both sexes during more protracted alcohol withdrawal and to relate any behavioral changes observed to plasma corticosterone levels as a biochemical index of stress. Male and female, adolescent and adult, mice were subjected to 14 consecutive days of binge alcohol-drinking using a multi-bottle-choice Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID) procedure (5, 10, 20 and 40% v/v). Age- and sex-matched control mice consumed water only. On either withdrawal day 1 or 70, subgroups of animals were subjected a to 1-day behavioral test battery that included the light–dark box shuttle test, marble-burying test, and Porsolt forced swim test. As expected, adolescent mice consumed more alcohol than adults and females consumed more alcohol than males. However, despite binge-like levels of alcohol consumption, we detected relatively few signs of alcohol withdrawal-induced negative affect and there was no correlation between affective behavior and circulating corticosterone levels. We discuss these findings within the context of our published work, highlighting procedural differences that might account for the relatively weak effect of binge-drinking history upon anxiety and depressive-like behavior observed herein.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C. Leonardo Jimenez Chavez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Michal A. Coelho
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Lindsey W. Brewin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Isaiah Swauncy
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Tori Tran
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Taylor Albanese
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Angie Laguna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
| | - Ivette Gabriela
- Department of Psychology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747-0001, USA;
| | - Karen K. Szumlinski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93196-9660, USA; (C.L.J.C.); (M.A.C.); (L.W.B.); (I.S.); (T.T.); (T.A.); (A.L.)
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6050, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-805-893-2984
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Hiura LC, Kelly AM, Ophir AG. Age-specific and context-specific responses of the medial extended amygdala in the developing prairie vole. Dev Neurobiol 2018; 78:1231-1245. [PMID: 30354021 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The social needs of organisms change as they mature. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms that subserve processing social interactions or how these systems develop. The medial extended amygdala (meEA) is comprised of the medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTm) and the medial amygdala (MeA). This neural complex holds great promise for understanding how the social brain processes information. We assessed expression of the immediate early gene cFos and the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) at three developmental time-points (postnatal day [PND] 2, 9, and 21) to determine how developing prairie voles process familial social contact, separation, and reunion. We demonstrate that (1) BSTm cFos responses were sensitive to separation from family units at PND 9 and PND 21, but not at PND 2; (2) MeA cFos responses were sensitive to reunion with the family, but only in PND 21 pups; (3) BSTm TH neurons did not exhibit differential responses to social condition at any age; and (4) MeA TH neurons responded strongly to social contact (remaining with family or following reunion), but only at PND 21. Our results suggest that the sub-units of the meEA become functionally responsive at different developmental time points, and are differentially activated in response to distinct social contexts. Overall, our results support the notion that interconnected regions of the meEA follow divergent developmental timelines and are sensitive to distinct properties of social contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa C Hiura
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853
| | - Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Adolescence and Reward: Making Sense of Neural and Behavioral Changes Amid the Chaos. J Neurosci 2017; 37:10855-10866. [PMID: 29118215 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1834-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a time of significant neural and behavioral change with remarkable development in social, emotional, and cognitive skills. It is also a time of increased exploration and risk-taking (e.g., drug use). Many of these changes are thought to be the result of increased reward-value coupled with an underdeveloped inhibitory control, and thus a hypersensitivity to reward. Perturbations during adolescence can alter the developmental trajectory of the brain, resulting in long-term alterations in reward-associated behaviors. This review highlights recent developments in our understanding of how neural circuits, pubertal hormones, and environmental factors contribute to adolescent-typical reward-associated behaviors with a particular focus on sex differences, the medial prefrontal cortex, social reward, social isolation, and drug use. We then introduce a new approach that makes use of natural adaptations of seasonally breeding species to investigate the role of pubertal hormones in adolescent development. This research has only begun to parse out contributions of the many neural, endocrine, and environmental changes to the heightened reward sensitivity and increased vulnerability to mental health disorders that characterize this life stage.
Collapse
|
6
|
Brown GR, Kulbarsh KD, Spencer KA, Duval C. Peri-pubertal exposure to testicular hormones organizes response to novel environments and social behaviour in adult male rats. Horm Behav 2015; 73:135-41. [PMID: 26159287 PMCID: PMC4550464 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 07/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that exposure to testicular hormones during the peri-pubertal period of life has long-term, organizational effects on adult sexual behaviour and underlying neural mechanisms in laboratory rodents. However, the organizational effects of peri-pubertal testicular hormones on other aspects of behaviour and brain function are less well understood. Here, we investigated the effects of manipulating peri-pubertal testicular hormone exposure on later behavioural responses to novel environments and on hormone receptors in various brain regions that are involved in response to novelty. Male rodents generally spend less time in the exposed areas of novel environments than females, and this sex difference emerges during the peri-pubertal period. Male Lister-hooded rats (Rattus norvegicus) were castrated either before puberty or after puberty, then tested in three novel environments (elevated plus-maze, light-dark box, open field) and in an object/social novelty task in adulthood. Androgen receptor (AR), oestrogen receptor (ER1) and corticotropin-releasing factor receptor (CRF-R2) mRNA expression were quantified in the hypothalamus, hippocampus and medial amygdala. The results showed that pre-pubertally castrated males spent more time in the exposed areas of the elevated-plus maze and light-dark box than post-pubertally castrated males, and also confirmed that peri-pubertal hormone exposure influences later response to an opposite-sex conspecific. Hormone receptor gene expression levels did not differ between pre-pubertally and post-pubertally castrated males in any of the brain regions examined. This study therefore demonstrates that testicular hormone exposure during the peri-pubertal period masculinizes later response to novel environments, although the neural mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gillian R Brown
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK.
| | - Kyle D Kulbarsh
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK
| | - Karen A Spencer
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK
| | - Camille Duval
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bastida CC, Puga F, Gonzalez-Lima F, Jennings KJ, Wommack JC, Delville Y. Chronic social stress in puberty alters appetitive male sexual behavior and neural metabolic activity. Horm Behav 2014; 66:220-7. [PMID: 24852486 PMCID: PMC4127097 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 05/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Repeated social subjugation in early puberty lowers testosterone levels. We used hamsters to investigate the effects of social subjugation on male sexual behavior and metabolic activity within neural systems controlling social and motivational behaviors. Subjugated animals were exposed daily to aggressive adult males in early puberty for postnatal days 28 to 42, while control animals were placed in empty clean cages. On postnatal day 45, they were tested for male sexual behavior in the presence of receptive female. Alternatively, they were tested for mate choice after placement at the base of a Y-maze containing a sexually receptive female in one tip of the maze and an ovariectomized one on the other. Social subjugation did not affect the capacity to mate with receptive females. Although control animals were fast to approach females and preferred ovariectomized individuals, subjugated animals stayed away from them and showed no preference. Cytochrome oxidase activity was reduced within the preoptic area and ventral tegmental area in subjugated hamsters. In addition, the correlation of metabolic activity of these areas with the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior parietal cortex changed significantly from positive in controls to negative in subjugated animals. These data show that at mid-puberty, while male hamsters are capable of mating, their appetitive sexual behavior is not fully mature and this aspect of male sexual behavior is responsive to social subjugation. Furthermore, metabolic activity and coordination of activity in brain areas related to sexual behavior and motivation were altered by social subjugation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christel C Bastida
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - Frank Puga
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Francisco Gonzalez-Lima
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Kimberly J Jennings
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Joel C Wommack
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Yvon Delville
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, A8000, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| |
Collapse
|