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Poitras M, Lebeau M, Plamondon H. The cycle of stress: A systematic review of the impact of chronic psychological stress models on the rodent estrous cycle. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105730. [PMID: 38763179 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Stress is known to impair reproduction through interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes. However, while it is well accepted that stress can alter estrous cycle regularity, a key indicator of female's HPG axis function, effects of different types of psychological stress have been inconsistent. This systematic review evaluated the impact of rodent models of psychological stress on estrous cyclicity, while reporting biological parameters pertaining to HPA or HPG axis function assessed within these studies. We performed a systematic database search and included articles that implemented a psychological stress model in rodents and reported estrous cyclicity for at least two cycles after initiation of stress. Of the 32 studies included, 62.5% reported post-stress alterations to estrous cyclicity, with Chronic Mild Stress (CMS) models showing the most conclusive effects. Twenty-five studies measured HPG or HPA axis markers, with cycle disruptions being commonly observed in parallel with altered estradiol and increased corticosterone levels. Our review highlights gaps in reporting estrous cyclicity assessments and makes recommendations to improve comparability between studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilou Poitras
- Cerebro Vascular Accidents and Behavioural Recovery Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Madison Lebeau
- Cerebro Vascular Accidents and Behavioural Recovery Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Hélène Plamondon
- Cerebro Vascular Accidents and Behavioural Recovery Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
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2
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Giovanniello J, Bravo-Rivera C, Rosenkranz A, Matthew Lattal K. Stress, associative learning, and decision-making. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 204:107812. [PMID: 37598745 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to acute and chronic stress has significant effects on the basic mechanisms of associative learning and memory. Stress can both impair and enhance associative learning depending on type, intensity, and persistence of the stressor, the subject's sex, the context that the stress and behavior is experienced in, and the type of associative learning taking place. In some cases, stress can cause or exacerbate the maladaptive behavior that underlies numerous psychiatric conditions including anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, and others. Therefore, it is critical to understand how the varied effects of stress, which may normally facilitate adaptive behavior, can also become maladaptive and even harmful. In this review, we highlight several findings of associative learning and decision-making processes that are affected by stress in both human and non-human subjects and how they are related to one another. An emerging theme from this work is that stress biases behavior towards less flexible strategies that may reflect a cautious insensitivity to changing contingencies. We consider how this inflexibility has been observed in different associative learning procedures and suggest that a goal for the field should be to clarify how factors such as sex and previous experience influence this inflexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Bravo-Rivera
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, PR 00935, United States.
| | - Amiel Rosenkranz
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, United States.
| | - K Matthew Lattal
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, United States.
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3
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Favoretto CA, Bertagna NB, Righi T, Rodolpho BT, Anjos-Santos A, Silva FBR, Bianchi PC, Cruz FC. Impacts of maternal separation stress on ethanol-related responses, anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in adolescent mice. Neurosci Lett 2023; 809:137295. [PMID: 37182574 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The present work evaluated the consequences of chronic maternal separation (MS), an animal model of early-life stress, on ethanol intake and striatal Fos expression induced by ethanol consumption. Furthermore, we analyzed MS impacts on anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors and on locomotor and plasma corticosterone responses to intraperitoneal treatment with ethanol in adolescent mice. For that, male and female C57BL/6J mice were exposed or not to MS stress, for 3 h per day, from postnatal day (PND) 1 to 14, and submitted to behavioral tests from PND 28. In Experiment 1, MS and control groups of mice were submitted to an involuntary ethanol intake protocol, and striatal Fos expression following ethanol exposure was analyzed. In Experiment 2, mice behavior was assessed in elevated plus-maze, sucrose splash, saccharin preference, and open field tests. Locomotor and plasma corticosterone responses induced by a systemic dose of ethanol (1.75 g/kg) were also evaluated. Our results demonstrated that MS increased ethanol intake only in an acute manner and did not impact ethanol-induced Fos expression in the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and shell subregions. MS did not change the parameters analyzed during elevated plus-maze, sucrose splash, preference for saccharin, and open field tests. MS did not affect locomotor activity following ethanol injection nor plasma corticosterone response to the drug. Thus, our data showed that MS transiently increased ethanol intake. However, early-life stress did not impact Fos, locomotor, or plasma corticosterone responses to the drug. In addition, MS did not affect anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in adolescent mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Favoretto
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - N B Bertagna
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - T Righi
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - B T Rodolpho
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - A Anjos-Santos
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - F B R Silva
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - P C Bianchi
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - F C Cruz
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Pharmacology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Short-Term Consequences of Single Social Defeat on Accumbal Dopamine and Behaviors in Rats. Biomolecules 2022; 13:biom13010035. [PMID: 36671420 PMCID: PMC9855991 DOI: 10.3390/biom13010035] [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: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to explore the consequences of a single exposure to a social defeat on dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens measured with a fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. We found that 24 h after a social defeat, accumbal dopamine responses, evoked by a high frequency electrical stimulation of the ventral tegmental area, were more profound in socially defeated rats in comparison with non-defeated control animals. The enhanced dopamine release was associated with the prolonged immobility time in the forced swim test. The use of the dopamine depletion protocol revealed no alteration in the reduction and recovery of the amplitude of dopamine release following social defeat stress. However, administration of dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, raclopride (2 mg/kg, i.p.), resulted in significant increase of the electrically evoked dopamine release in both groups of animals, nevertheless exhibiting less manifested effect in the defeated rats comparing to control animals. Taken together, our data demonstrated profound alterations in the dopamine transmission in the association with depressive-like behavior following a single exposure to stressful environment. These voltammetric findings pointed to a promising path for the identification of neurobiological mechanisms underlying stress-promoted behavioral abnormalities.
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Dos Anjos Rosário B, de Fátima SantanaNazaré M, de Souza DV, Le Sueur-Maluf L, Estadella D, Ribeiro DA, de Barros Viana M. The influence of sex and reproductive cycle on cocaine-induced behavioral and neurobiological alterations: a review. Exp Brain Res 2022; 240:3107-3140. [PMID: 36264315 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06479-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This systematic review (SR) was aimed at answering two questions: (1) how sex and ovarian hormones alter behavior associated with cocaine use; (2) which possible neurobiological mechanisms explain behavioral differences. Three different researchers conducted a search in PUBMED for all kinds of articles published between the years of 1991 to 2021 on the theme "reproductive cycle and cocaine", "estrous cycle and cocaine", "menstrual cycle and cocaine", "fluctuation of ovarian hormones and cocaine", "estrogen and cocaine" and "progesterone and cocaine". Sixty original studies were identified and subdivided into experimental rodent studies and clinical trials. Experimental studies were characterized by author/year, species/strain, sex/number, age/weight, dose/route/time of administration, hormonal assessment, or administration. Clinical trials were characterized by author/year, sex/number, age, exclusion criterion, dose/route of administration/time of cocaine, and hormonal assessment. Results gathered showed that rodent females develop increased consumption, seeking behavior, craving, relapse, locomotion, increases in stress and anxiety, among other behavioral alterations during peaks of estrogen. These observations are related to the direct effects played by ovarian hormones (in particularly estradiol), in dopamine, but also in serotonin neurons, and in brain regions such as the tegmental area, the nucleus accumbens, the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Increased sensitization to cocaine presented by high estradiol females was linked to the activation of a CBR1-mediated mechanism and GABA-A-dependent suppression of inhibitory synaptic activity of the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. Estradiol facilitation of cocaine-increased locomotion and self-administration was shown to require the release of glutamate and the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors subtype 5. Clinical studies also tend to point to a stimulatory effect of estradiol on cocaine sensitization and a neuroprotective effect of progesterone. In conclusion, the results of the present review indicate a need for further preclinical and clinical trials and neurobiological studies to better understand the relationship between sex and ovarian hormones on cocaine sensitization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Daniel Vitor de Souza
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luciana Le Sueur-Maluf
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Débora Estadella
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel Araki Ribeiro
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Milena de Barros Viana
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil.
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6
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Beeler JA, Burghardt NS. The Rise and Fall of Dopamine: A Two-Stage Model of the Development and Entrenchment of Anorexia Nervosa. Front Psychiatry 2022; 12:799548. [PMID: 35087433 PMCID: PMC8787068 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.799548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine has long been implicated as a critical neural substrate mediating anorexia nervosa (AN). Despite nearly 50 years of research, the putative direction of change in dopamine function remains unclear and no consensus on the mechanistic role of dopamine in AN has been achieved. We hypothesize two stages in AN- corresponding to initial development and entrenchment- characterized by opposite changes in dopamine. First, caloric restriction, particularly when combined with exercise, triggers an escalating spiral of increasing dopamine that facilitates the behavioral plasticity necessary to establish and reinforce weight-loss behaviors. Second, chronic self-starvation reverses this escalation to reduce or impair dopamine which, in turn, confers behavioral inflexibility and entrenchment of now established AN behaviors. This pattern of enhanced, followed by impaired dopamine might be a common path to many behavioral disorders characterized by reinforcement learning and subsequent behavioral inflexibility. If correct, our hypothesis has significant clinical and research implications for AN and other disorders, such as addiction and obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff A. Beeler
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, United States
- Psychology Program, The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, United States
- Biology Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Nesha S. Burghardt
- Psychology Program, The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, NY, United States
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7
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Abstract
Social stressors are known to have strong negative impacts on mental health. There is a long history of preclinical social defeat stress studies in rodents focusing on males that has produced important insights into the neural mechanisms that modulate depression- and anxiety-related behavior. Despite these impressive results, a historical weakness of rodent social stress models has been an under-representation of studies in females. This is problematic because rates of depression and anxiety are higher in women versus men. Recently there has been a surge of interest in adapting social stress methods for female rodents. Here we review new rodent models that have investigated numerous facets of social stress in females. The different models have different strengths and weaknesses, with some model systems having stronger ethological validity with other models having better access to molecular tools to manipulate neural circuits. Continued use and refinement of these complementary models will be critical for addressing gaps in understanding the function of neural circuits modulating depression- and anxiety-related behavior in females.
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8
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Miczek KA, DiLeo A, Newman EL, Akdilek N, Covington HE. Neurobiological Bases of Alcohol Consumption After Social Stress. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 54:245-281. [PMID: 34964935 PMCID: PMC9698769 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The urge to seek and consume excessive alcohol is intensified by prior experiences with social stress, and this cascade can be modeled under systematically controlled laboratory conditions in rodents and non-human primates. Adaptive coping with intermittent episodes of social defeat stress often transitions to maladaptive responses to traumatic continuous stress, and alcohol consumption may become part of coping responses. At the circuit level, the neural pathways subserving stress coping intersect with those for alcohol consumption. Increasingly discrete regions and connections within the prefrontal cortex, the ventral and dorsal striatum, thalamic and hypothalamic nuclei, tegmental areas as well as brain stem structures begin to be identified as critical for reacting to and coping with social stress while seeking and consuming alcohol. Several candidate molecules that modulate signals within these neural connections have been targeted in order to reduce excessive drinking and relapse. In spite of some early clinical failures, neuropeptides such as CRF, opioids, or oxytocin continue to be examined for their role in attenuating stress-escalated drinking. Recent work has focused on neural sites of action for peptides and steroids, most likely in neuroinflammatory processes as a result of interactive effects of episodic social stress and excessive alcohol seeking and drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus A. Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA,Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alyssa DiLeo
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Emily L. Newman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Naz Akdilek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
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9
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Newman EL, Covington HE, Leonard MZ, Burk K, Miczek KA. Hypoactive Thalamic Crh+ Cells in a Female Mouse Model of Alcohol Drinking After Social Trauma. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:563-574. [PMID: 34281710 PMCID: PMC8463500 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Comorbid stress-induced mood and alcohol use disorders are increasingly prevalent among female patients. Stress exposure can disrupt salience processing and goal-directed decision making, contributing to persistent maladaptive behavioral patterns; these and other stress-sensitive cognitive and behavioral processes rely on dynamic and coordinated signaling by midline and intralaminar thalamic nuclei. Considering the role of social trauma in the trajectory of these debilitating psychopathologies, identifying vulnerable thalamic cells may provide guidance for targeting persistent stress-induced symptoms. METHODS A novel behavioral protocol traced the progression from social trauma to the development of social defensiveness and chronically escalated alcohol consumption in female mice. Recent cell activation-measured as cFos-was quantified in thalamic cells after safe social interactions, revealing stress-sensitive corticotropin-releasing hormone-expressing (Crh+) anterior central medial thalamic (aCMT) cells. These cells were optogenetically stimulated during stress-induced social defensiveness and abstinence-escalated binge drinking. RESULTS Crh+ aCMT neurons exhibited substantial activation after social interactions in stress-naïve but not in stressed female mice. Photoactivating Crh+ aCMT cells dampened stress-induced social deficits, whereas inhibiting these cells increased social defensiveness in stress-naïve mice. Optogenetically activating Crh+ aCMT cells diminished abstinence-escalated binge alcohol drinking in female mice, regardless of stress history. CONCLUSIONS This work uncovers a role for Crh+ aCMT neurons in maladaptive stress-induced social interactions and in binge drinking after forced abstinence in female mice. This molecularly defined thalamic cell population may serve as a critical stress-sensitive hub for social deficits caused by exposure to social trauma and for patterns of excessive alcohol drinking in female populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L Newman
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | | | | | - Kelly Burk
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Klaus A Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts.
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10
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Furman O, Tsoory M, Chen A. Differential chronic social stress models in male and female mice. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:2777-2793. [PMID: 34587653 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Chronic stress creates an allostatic overload that may lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Modern causes of chronic stress in humans are mostly social in nature, relating to work and relationship stress. Research into neural and molecular mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience following chronic social stress (CSS) is ongoing and uses animal models to discover efficient prevention strategies and treatments. To date, most CSS studies have neglected the female sex and used male-focused aggression-based animal models such as chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). Accumulating evidence on sex differences suggests differences in the stress response, the prevalence of stress-related illness and in response to treatment, indicating that researchers should expand CSS investigation to include female-focused protocols alongside the popular CSDS protocols. Here, we describe a novel female mouse model of CSS and a parallel modified male mouse model of CSDS in C57BL/6 mice. These new models enable the investigation of vulnerability, coping and downstream effectors mediating short-term and long-term consequences of CSS in both sexes. Our data demonstrate differential effects on male and female mice during, soon after, and many weeks after CSS. Female mice are more prone to body weight loss during CSS and hyperactive anxious behaviour following CSS. Both sexes show reduced social interaction, but only stressed male mice show long-term changes in emotional memory and neuroendocrine function. We further discuss future avenues of research using these models to investigate mechanisms pertaining to sensitivity to CSS and treatment response profiles, in a sex-appropriate manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orit Furman
- Department of Neurobiology, The Ruhman Family Laboratory for Research on the Neurobiology of Stress, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Tsoory
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, The Ruhman Family Laboratory for Research on the Neurobiology of Stress, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
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Lopez J, Bagot RC. Defining Valid Chronic Stress Models for Depression With Female Rodents. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:226-235. [PMID: 33965195 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Women are twice as likely to experience depression than men, yet until recently, preclinical studies in rodents have focused almost exclusively on males. As interest in sex differences and sex-specific mechanisms of stress susceptibility increases, chronic stress models for inducing depression-relevant behavioral and physiological changes in male rodents are being applied to females, and several new models have emerged to include both males and females, yet not all models have been systematically validated in females. An increasing number of researchers seek to include female rodents in their experimental designs, asking the question "what is the ideal chronic stress model for depression in females?" We review criteria for assessing female model validity in light of key research questions and the fundamental distinction between studying sex differences and studying both sexes. In overviewing current models, we explore challenges inherent to establishing an ideal female chronic stress model, with particular emphasis on the need for standardization and adoption of validated behavioral tests sensitive to stress effects in females. Taken together, these considerations will empower female chronic stress models to provide a better understanding of stress susceptibility and allow the development of efficient sex-specific treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joëlle Lopez
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rosemary C Bagot
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
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12
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Korzan WJ, Summers CH. Evolution of stress responses refine mechanisms of social rank. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 14:100328. [PMID: 33997153 PMCID: PMC8105687 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Social rank functions to facilitate coping responses to socially stressful situations and conditions. The evolution of social status appears to be inseparably connected to the evolution of stress. Stress, aggression, reward, and decision-making neurocircuitries overlap and interact to produce status-linked relationships, which are common among both male and female populations. Behavioral consequences stemming from social status and rank relationships are molded by aggressive interactions, which are inherently stressful. It seems likely that the balance of regulatory elements in pro- and anti-stress neurocircuitries results in rapid but brief stress responses that are advantageous to social dominance. These systems further produce, in coordination with reward and aggression circuitries, rapid adaptive responding during opportunities that arise to acquire food, mates, perch sites, territorial space, shelter and other resources. Rapid acquisition of resources and aggressive postures produces dominant individuals, who temporarily have distinct fitness advantages. For these reasons also, change in social status can occur rapidly. Social subordination results in slower and more chronic neural and endocrine reactions, a suite of unique defensive behaviors, and an increased propensity for anxious and depressive behavior and affect. These two behavioral phenotypes are but distinct ends of a spectrum, however, they may give us insights into the troubling mechanisms underlying the myriad of stress-related disorders to which they appear to be evolutionarily linked.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cliff H Summers
- Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069 USA.,Neuroscience Group, Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA.,Veterans Affairs Research Service, Sioux Falls VA Health Care System, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 USA
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13
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Melanson B, Lapointe T, Leri F. Impact of impaired glucose metabolism on responses to a psychophysical stressor: modulation by ketamine. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:1005-1015. [PMID: 33404733 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05748-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE There is evidence that hypoglycemia, a metabolic stressor, can negatively impact mood and motivation, and can interact with other stressors to potentiate their effects on behavior and physiology. OBJECTIVES/METHODS The current study in male Sprague-Dawley rats explored the interaction between impaired glucose metabolism induced by 0, 200, or 300 mg/kg 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and a psychophysical stressor induced by forced swimming stress (FSS; 6 sessions, 10 min/session). The endpoints of interest were blood glucose levels, progressive behavioral immobility, and saccharin preference (2-bottle choice test). Furthermore, it was investigated whether pre-treatment with 0, 10, or 20 mg/kg ketamine could modify the interaction between 2-DG and FSS on these endpoints. RESULTS It was found that 2-DG increased blood glucose levels equally in all experimental groups, accelerated the immobile response to FSS, and suppressed saccharin preference 1 week following termination of stress exposure. As well, pre-treatment with ketamine blocked the effects of combined 2-DG and FSS on immobility and saccharin preference without affecting blood glucose levels and produced an anti-immobility effect that was observed during a drug-free test swim 1 week following administration. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these findings demonstrate that impaired glucose metabolism can potentiate the effects of a psychophysical stressor, and that this interaction can be modulated pharmacologically by ketamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Melanson
- Department of Psychology and Collaborative Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Thomas Lapointe
- Department of Psychology and Collaborative Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Francesco Leri
- Department of Psychology and Collaborative Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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14
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Prolonged chronic social defeat stress promotes less resilience and higher uniformity in depression-like behaviors in adult male mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 553:107-113. [PMID: 33765554 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.03.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) is widely applied to study of depression in rodents. 10-day CSDS was a most commonly employed paradigm but with high resilience ratio (∼30%), producing potential variation in depression-like behavioral symptoms. Whether prolonged period (21 days) of CSDS would promote less resilience and reduce behavioral variability remains unknown. We applied 10-day and 21-day CSDS paradigms to induce mouse model of depression and compared their resilience ratio and behavioral phenotypes. Mice under 21-day CSDS had significantly lower resilience ratio and greater changes in behavioral indicators relative to mice under 10-day CSDS. Behavioral indicators from 21-day CSDS paradigm had higher correlations and better prediction for susceptibility which indicating higher uniformity in behavioral phenotypes. Furthermore, a subset of behavioral indicators in 21-day CSDS had high prediction efficacy and should be first applied to screen susceptibility of CSDS. Thus, our study demonstrates that 21-day CSDS is a more robust paradigm inducing reliable depression-like behaviors relative to 10-day CSDS, and should be preferentially used in rodent studies of depression.
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Carlton CN, Sullivan-Toole H, Ghane M, Richey JA. Reward Circuitry and Motivational Deficits in Social Anxiety Disorder: What Can Be Learned From Mouse Models? Front Neurosci 2020; 14:154. [PMID: 32174811 PMCID: PMC7054462 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common and serious psychiatric condition that typically emerges during adolescence and persists into adulthood if left untreated. Prevailing interventions focus on modulating threat and arousal systems but produce only modest rates of remission. This gap in efficacy suggests that most mainstream treatment concepts do not sufficiently target core processes involved in the onset and maintenance of SAD. This idea has further driven the development of new theoretical models that target dopamine (DA)-driven reward circuitry and motivational deficits that appear to be systematically altered in SAD. Most of the available data linking systemic alterations in DA neurobiology to SAD in humans, although abundant, remains at the level of correlational evidence. Accordingly, the purpose of this brief review is to critically evaluate the relevance of experimental work in rodent models that link details of DA function to symptoms of social anxiety. We conclude that, despite certain systematic limitations inherent in animal models, these approaches provide useful insights into human biomarkers of social anxiety including that (1) adolescence may serve as a critical period for the convergence of neurobiological and environmental factors that modify future expectations about social reward through experience dependent changes in DA-ergic circuitry, (2) females may show unique susceptibility to social anxiety symptoms when encountering relational instability that influences DA-related neural processes, and (3) separate from fear and arousal systems, the functional neurobiology of central DA systems contribute uniquely to susceptibility and maintenance of anhedonic factors relevant to human models of SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne N Carlton
- Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Holly Sullivan-Toole
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Merage Ghane
- Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - John A Richey
- Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
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16
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Egenrieder L, Mitricheva E, Spanagel R, Noori HR. No basal or drug‐induced sex differences in striatal dopaminergic levels: a cluster and meta‐analysis of rat microdialysis studies. J Neurochem 2019; 152:482-492. [DOI: 10.1111/jnc.14911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lisamon Egenrieder
- Institute of Psychopharmacology Central Institute of Mental Health Medical Faculty Mannheim University of Heidelberg Mannheim Germany
| | | | - Rainer Spanagel
- Institute of Psychopharmacology Central Institute of Mental Health Medical Faculty Mannheim University of Heidelberg Mannheim Germany
| | - Hamid R. Noori
- Institute of Psychopharmacology Central Institute of Mental Health Medical Faculty Mannheim University of Heidelberg Mannheim Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
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17
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Bloomfield MA, McCutcheon RA, Kempton M, Freeman TP, Howes O. The effects of psychosocial stress on dopaminergic function and the acute stress response. eLife 2019; 8:46797. [PMID: 31711569 PMCID: PMC6850765 DOI: 10.7554/elife.46797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic psychosocial adversity induces vulnerability to mental illnesses. Animal studies demonstrate that this may be mediated by dopaminergic dysfunction. We therefore investigated whether long-term exposure to psychosocial adversity was associated with dopamine dysfunction and its relationship to psychological and physiological responses to acute stress. Using 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]-fluoro-l-phenylalanine ([18F]-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET), we compared dopamine synthesis capacity in n = 17 human participants with high cumulative exposure to psychosocial adversity with n = 17 age- and sex-matched participants with low cumulative exposure. The PET scan took place 2 hr after the induction of acute psychosocial stress using the Montréal Imaging Stress Task to induce acute psychosocial stress. We found that dopamine synthesis correlated with subjective threat and physiological response to acute psychosocial stress in the low exposure group. Long-term exposure to psychosocial adversity was associated with dampened striatal dopaminergic function (p=0.03, d = 0.80) and that psychosocial adversity blunted physiological yet potentiated subjective responses to acute psychosocial stress. Future studies should investigate the roles of these changes in vulnerability to mental illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Ap Bloomfield
- Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.,Translational Psychiatry Research Group, Research Department of Mental Health Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, UCL Institute of Mental Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom.,Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.,The Traumatic Stress Clinic, St Pancras Hospital, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.,National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert A McCutcheon
- Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Kempton
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tom P Freeman
- Translational Psychiatry Research Group, Research Department of Mental Health Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, UCL Institute of Mental Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver Howes
- Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
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18
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Shimamoto A, Rappeneau V, Munjal H, Farris T, Davis C, Wilson A, Edwards M, Moore C, Reynolds C, Meshul CK. Glutamate-Glutamine Transfer and Chronic Stress-Induced Sex Differences in Cocaine Responses. Neuroscience 2018; 391:104-119. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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19
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Finnell JE, Wood SK. Putative Inflammatory Sensitive Mechanisms Underlying Risk or Resilience to Social Stress. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:240. [PMID: 30416436 PMCID: PMC6212591 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been well recognized that exposure to stress can lead to the onset of psychosocial disorders such as depression. While there are a number of antidepressant therapies currently available and despite producing immediate neurochemical alterations, they require weeks of continuous use in order to exhibit antidepressant efficacy. Moreover, up to 30% of patients do not respond to typical antidepressants, suggesting that our understanding of the pathophysiology underlying stress-induced depression is still limited. In recent years inflammation has become a major focus in the study of depression as several clinical and preclinical studies have demonstrated that peripheral and central inflammatory mediators, including interleukin (IL)-1β, are elevated in depressed patients. Moreover, it has been suggested that inflammation and particularly neuroinflammation may be a direct and immediate link in the emergence of stress-induced depression due to the broad neural and glial effects that are elicited by proinflammatory cytokines. Importantly, individual differences in inflammatory reactivity may further explain why certain individuals exhibit differing susceptibility to the consequences of stress. In this review article, we discuss sources of individual differences such as age, sex and coping mechanisms that are likely sources of distinct changes in stress-induced neuroimmune factors and highlight putative sources of exaggerated neuroinflammation in susceptible individuals. Furthermore, we review the current literature of specific neural and glial mechanisms that are regulated by stress and inflammation including mitochondrial function, oxidative stress and mechanisms of glutamate excitotoxicity. Taken together, the impetus for this review is to move towards a better understanding of mechanisms regulated by inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that are capable of contributing to the emergence of depressive-like behaviors in susceptible individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie E Finnell
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Susan K Wood
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States.,WJB Dorn Veterans Administration Medical Center, Columbia, SC, United States
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20
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21
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Newman EL, Leonard MZ, Arena DT, de Almeida RMM, Miczek KA. Social defeat stress and escalation of cocaine and alcohol consumption: Focus on CRF. Neurobiol Stress 2018; 9:151-165. [PMID: 30450381 PMCID: PMC6236516 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Both the ostensibly aversive effects of unpredictable episodes of social stress and the intensely rewarding effects of drugs of abuse activate the mesocorticolimbic dopamine systems. Significant neuroadaptations in interacting stress and reward neurocircuitry may underlie the striking connection between stress and substance use disorders. In rodent models, recurring intermittent exposure to social defeat stress appears to produce a distinct profile of neuroadaptations that translates most readily to the repercussions of social stress in humans. In the present review, preclinical rodent models of social defeat stress and subsequent alcohol, cocaine or opioid consumption are discussed with regard to: (1) the temporal pattern of social defeat stress, (2) male and female protocols of social stress-escalated drug consumption, and (3) the neuroplastic effects of social stress, which may contribute to escalated drug-taking. Neuroadaptations in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and CRF modulation of monoamines in the ventral tegmental area and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are highlighted as potential mechanisms underlying stress-escalated drug consumption. However, the specific mechanisms that drive CRF-mediated increases in dopamine require additional investigation as do the stress-induced neuroadaptations that may contribute to the development of compulsive patterns of drug-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L Newman
- Psychology Dept., Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | | | | | - Rosa M M de Almeida
- Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Klaus A Miczek
- Psychology Dept., Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.,Dept. of Neuroscience, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, 02111, USA
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22
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Fitzpatrick CJ, Jagannathan L, Lowenstein ED, Robinson TE, Becker JB, Morrow JD. Single prolonged stress decreases sign-tracking and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Behav Brain Res 2018; 359:799-806. [PMID: 30077578 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to prolonged, uncontrollable stress reduces reward-seeking behavior, resulting in anhedonia in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. However, it is unclear to what degree stressed subjects lose interest in rewards themselves or in reward-related cues that instigate reward-seeking behavior. In the present study, we investigated the effects of single prolonged stress (SPS) on cue-directed behavior in two different procedures: Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to SPS and tested for the acquisition of sign-tracking (cue-directed) and goal-tracking (reward-directed) behaviors during a PCA procedure. In Experiment 2, rats were exposed to SPS and tested for the expression of sign- and goal-tracking as well as cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Because dopaminergic activity in the nucleus accumbens is known to play a central role in many cue-directed behaviors, including both sign-tracking and cue-induced reinstatement, Experiment 3 used in vivo microdialysis to measure the effect of SPS on baseline and evoked dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. SPS decreased sign-tracking and increased goal-tracking during the acquisition of PCA behavior without affecting reward consumption. In addition, SPS decreased cue-induced reinstatement without affecting cocaine self-administration. Finally, SPS decreased evoked but not baseline levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that SPS decreases the motivational, but not consummatory, aspects of reward-seeking behavior, which may result from long-term, SPS-induced reductions in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Terry E Robinson
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jill B Becker
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jonathan D Morrow
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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23
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Chronic stress sensitizes amphetamine-elicited 50-kHz calls in the rat: Dependence on positive affective phenotype and effects of long-term fluoxetine pretreatment. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2018; 171:10-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2018.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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24
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Shimamoto A. Social Defeat Stress, Sex, and Addiction-Like Behaviors. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2018; 140:271-313. [PMID: 30193707 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2018.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Social confrontation is a form of social interaction in animals where two conspecific individuals confront each other in dispute over territory, during the formation of hierarchies, and during breeding seasons. Typically, a social confrontation involves a prevailing individual and a yielding individual. The prevailing individual often exhibits aggressive postures and launches attacks, whereas the yielding individual often adopts postures of defeat. The yielding or defeated animals experience a phenomenon known as social defeat stress, in which they show exaggerated stress as well as autonomic and endocrine responses that cause impairment of both the brain and body. In laboratory settings, one can reliably generate social defeat stress by allowing a naïve (or already defeated) animal to intrude into a home cage in which its resident has already established a territory or is nursing. This resident-intruder paradigm has been widely used in both males and females to study mechanisms in the brain that underlie the stress responses. Stress has profound effects on drug reward for cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and opioids. Particularly, previous experiences with social defeat can exaggerate subsequent addiction-like behaviors. The extent of these addiction-like behaviors depends on the intensity, duration, frequency, and intermittency of the confrontation episodes. This chapter describes four types of social defeat stress: acute, repeated, intermittent, and chronic. Specifically, it focuses on social defeat stress models used in laboratories to study individual, sex, and animal strain differences in addiction-like behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, United States.
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25
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Guo L, Huang Y, Xu Y, Huang G, Gao X, Lei Y, Luo M, Xi C, Lu C. The mediating effects of depressive symptoms on the association of childhood maltreatment with non-medical use of prescription drugs. J Affect Disord 2018; 229:14-21. [PMID: 29294372 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood maltreatment might increase the risk of subsequent drug use behavior, and depressive symptoms have been reported to be associated both childhood maltreatment and non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD). This large-scale study aimed to test the mediating effects of depressive symptoms on the association of childhood maltreatment with NMUPD among Chinese adolescents. METHODS A secondary analysis of the cross-sectional data collected from 7th to 12th graders who were sampled using a multistage, stratified cluster, random sampling method in the 2015 School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey. There were 24,457 students who were invited to participate and 23,039 students' questionnaires were completed and qualified for our survey (response rate: 94.2%). RESULTS In the adjusted models without mediation, the results showed that students who reported that they had experienced emotional abuse were at a higher risk of past year use and past month use of opioids (past year: Adjusted OR [AOR] = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.05-1.10; past month: AOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.06-1.10) and sedatives (past year: AOR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.03-1.08; past month: AOR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.13-1.16). The results of mediation analyses demonstrated that there were significant standardized indirect effects of emotional abuse on opioids use and sedatives use through depressive symptoms, respectively (P < 0.001). LIMITATIONS Our study sample only included school students, and causal inference could not be examined due to the cross-sectional design. CONCLUSIONS Depressive symptoms play a significant mediator role on the association of childhood maltreatment with NMUPD. Interventions targeted at adolescents who are involved in NMUPD should pay attention to their histories of childhood maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lan Guo
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Yeen Huang
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China; Center for ADR monitoring of Guangdong, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoliang Huang
- Center for ADR monitoring of Guangdong, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Xue Gao
- Center for ADR monitoring of Guangdong, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Yiling Lei
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Min Luo
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuhao Xi
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China
| | - Ciyong Lu
- Department of Medical statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
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26
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Abstract
Stress is a precipitating factor for anxiety-related disorders, which are among the leading forms of psychiatric illness and impairment in the modern world. Rodent-based behavioral tests and models are widely used to understand the mechanisms by which stress triggers anxiety-related behaviors and to identify new treatments for anxiety-related disorders. Although substantial progress has been made and many of the key neural circuits and molecular pathways mediating stress responsiveness have been characterized, these advances have thus far failed to translate into fundamentally new treatments that are safer and more efficacious in humans. The purpose of this article is to describe methods that have been historically used for this type of research and to highlight new approaches that align with recent conceptualizations of disease symptomatology and that may ultimately prove to be more fruitful in facilitating the development of improved therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly R Lezak
- Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Galen Missig
- Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - William A Carlezon
- Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
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27
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Albrechet-Souza L, Viola TW, Grassi-Oliveira R, Miczek KA, de Almeida RMM. Corticotropin Releasing Factor in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis in Socially Defeated and Non-stressed Mice with a History of Chronic Alcohol Intake. Front Pharmacol 2017; 8:762. [PMID: 29118713 PMCID: PMC5660971 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress exposure has been identified as one risk factor for alcohol abuse that may facilitate the transition from social or regulated use to the development of alcohol dependence. Preclinical studies have shown that dysregulation of the corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) neurotransmission has been implicated in stress-related psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety, and may affect alcohol consumption. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) contains CRF-producing neurons which seem to be sensitive to stress. In this study, adult male C57BL/6 mice previously defeated in resident-intruder confrontations were evaluated in the elevated plus-maze and tail suspension test. Mice were also tested for sweet solution intake before and after social stress. After having had continuous access to ethanol (20% weight/volume) for 4 weeks, control and stressed mice had CRF type 1 (CRFR1) or type 2 (CRFR2) receptor antagonists infused into the BNST and then had access to ethanol for 24 h. In separate cohorts of control and stressed mice, we assessed mRNA levels of BNST CRF, CRFR1 and CRFR2. Stressed mice increased their intake of sweet solution after ten sessions of social defeat and showed reduced activity in the open arms of the elevated plus-maze. When tested for ethanol consumption, stressed mice persistently drank significantly more than controls during the 4 weeks of access. Also, social stress induced higher BNST CRF mRNA levels. The selective blockade of BNST CRFR1 with CP376,395 effectively reduced alcohol drinking in non-stressed mice, whereas the selective CRFR2 antagonist astressin2B produced a dose-dependent increase in ethanol consumption in both non-stressed controls and stressed mice. The 10-day episodic defeat stress used here elicited anxiety- but not depressive-like behaviors, and promoted an increase in ethanol drinking. CRF-CRFR1 signaling in the BNST seems to underlie ethanol intake in non-stressed mice, whereas CRFR2 modulates alcohol consumption in both socially defeated and non-stressed mice with a history of chronic intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Albrechet-Souza
- Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Thiago W Viola
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL) and Brain Institute (InsCer), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL) and Brain Institute (InsCer), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Klaus A Miczek
- Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Rosa M M de Almeida
- Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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28
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Establishment of a repeated social defeat stress model in female mice. Sci Rep 2017; 7:12838. [PMID: 28993631 PMCID: PMC5634448 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12811-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have employed repeated social defeat stress (RSDS) to study the neurobiological mechanisms of depression in rodents. An important limitation of RSDS studies to date is that they have been conducted exclusively in male mice due to the difficulty of initiating attack behavior directed toward female mice. Here, we establish a female mouse model of RSDS by inducing male aggression toward females through chemogenetic activation of the ventrolateral subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl). We demonstrate that females susceptible to RSDS display social avoidance, anxiety-like behavior, reduction of body weight, and elevated levels of circulating interleukin 6. In contrast, a subset of mice we term resilient only display anxiety-like behaviors after RSDS. This model allows for investigation of sex differences in the neurobiological mechanisms of defeat‒induced depression‒like behaviors. A robust female social defeat model is a critical first step in the identification and development of novel therapeutic compounds to treat depression and anxiety disorders in women.
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29
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Shimamoto A, Rappeneau V. Sex-dependent mental illnesses and mitochondria. Schizophr Res 2017; 187:38-46. [PMID: 28279571 PMCID: PMC5581986 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of some mental illnesses, including major depression, anxiety-, trauma-, and stress-related disorders, some substance use disorders, and later onset of schizophrenia, is higher in women than men. While the higher prevalence in women could simply be explained by socioeconomic determinants, such as income, social status, or cultural background, extensive studies show sex differences in biological, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacological factors contribute to females' vulnerability to these mental illnesses. In this review, we focus on estrogens, chronic stress, and neurotoxicity from behavioral, pharmacological, biological, and molecular perspectives to delineate the sex differences in these mental illnesses. Particularly, we investigate a possible role of mitochondrial function, including biosynthesis, bioenergetics, and signaling, on mediating the sex differences in psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37028-3599, United States.
| | - Virginie Rappeneau
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37028-3599, United States
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30
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Qiuxia Z, Xinlong M, Yilong Y, Hui Z, Yali W, Xiaoquan Y, Lei W, Jiahui C, Haiyan Z. JIEYUANSHEN DECOCTION EXERTS ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS ON DEPRESSIVE RAT MODEL VIA REGULATING HPA AXIS AND THE LEVEL OF AMINO ACIDS NEUROTRANSMITTER. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF TRADITIONAL, COMPLEMENTARY, AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES 2017; 14:33-46. [PMID: 28573220 PMCID: PMC5446459 DOI: 10.21010/ajtcam.v14i2.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Background: Jieyuanshen decoction (JYAS-D) - a traditional Chinese medicine was invented by Professor Nie based on classic formulas, chaihu jia longgu muli decoction has been proved as having favorable curative effects on depression in clinical practices. The aim of this study was to investigate the antidepressant effects and its molecular mechanism of JYAS-D. Materials and Methods: The model of depression was established by Chronic Unpredictable Stress. Different doses (8.2 g/kg, 16.3 g/kg, 32.7 g/kg) of JYAS-D was orally administered; Fluoxetine was orally administered with 10mg/kg. All treatments lasted for 28 days. Sucrose preference and open-field tests were adopted to observe the behavior of rats. OPA (ortho-phthalaldehyde) derivatization method was used to detect the contents of amino acid neurotransmitter. RIA (Radiation immunity analysis) method was used to measure the serum concentrations of CORT (Corticosterone), ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone) and CRH (Corticotropin-releasing hormone). ELISA (Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) method was adopted to examine the contents of Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in hippocampus. Results: Compared with the model group, sucrose preference was increased in all treatment groups. The concentration of serum CORT was reduced in the middle dose of JYAS-D and control groups; the concentration of serum ACTH was reduced in the low and high-dose of JYAS-D; the concentration of serum CRH was reduced in the middle and high-dose of JYAS-D. The content of hippocampus GR was increased in the middle and high-dose of JYAS-D; the content of hippocampus Glu (Glutamic acid) was reduced among the low, middle and high-dose of JYAS-D and fluoxetine group, the ratio of Glu/γ-GABA (y-aminobutyric acid was reduced in the low and high-dose of JYAS-D. Conclusion: JYAS-D had a significant antidepressant-like effect on rat model through regulating serum concentration of CORT, ACTH and CRH, increasing the content of hippocampus GR and regulating the equilibrium of amino acids neurotransmitter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Qiuxia
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Ma Xinlong
- Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Yang Yilong
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Zhao Hui
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Wang Yali
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Yao Xiaoquan
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Wang Lei
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Chang Jiahui
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Zou Haiyan
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
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Rappeneau V, Blaker A, Petro JR, Yamamoto BK, Shimamoto A. Disruption of the Glutamate-Glutamine Cycle Involving Astrocytes in an Animal Model of Depression for Males and Females. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:231. [PMID: 28018190 PMCID: PMC5147055 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Women are twice as likely as men to develop major depression. The brain mechanisms underlying this sex disparity are not clear. Disruption of the glutamate–glutamine cycle has been implicated in psychiatric disturbances. This study identifies sex-based impairments in the glutamate–glutamine cycle involving astrocytes using an animal model of depression. Methods: Male and female adult Long-Evans rats were exposed to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) for 21 days, using a modified resident-intruder paradigm. Territorial aggression was used for males and maternal aggression was used for females to induce depressive-like deficits for intruders. The depressive-like phenotype was assessed with intake for saccharin solution, weight gain, estrous cycle, and corticosterone (CORT). Behaviors displayed by the intruders during daily encounters with residents were characterized. Rats with daily handling were used as controls for each sex. Ten days after the last encounter, both the intruders and controls were subjected to a no-net-flux in vivo microdialysis to assess glutamate accumulation and extracellular glutamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The contralateral hemispheres were used for determining changes in astrocytic markers, including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1). Results: Both male and female intruders reduced saccharin intake over the course of CSDS, compared to their pre-stress period and to their respective controls. Male intruders exhibited submissive/defensive behaviors to territorial aggression by receiving sideways threats and bites. These males showed reductions in striatal GLT-1 and spontaneous glutamine in the NAc, compared to controls. Female intruders exhibited isolated behaviors to maternal aggression, including immobility, rearing, and selfgrooming. Their non-reproductive days were extended. Also, they showed reductions in prefrontal and accumbal GFAP+ cells and prefrontal GLT-1, compared to controls. When 10 μM of glutamate was infused, these females showed a significant accumulation of glutamate compared to controls. Infusions of glutamate reduced extracellular glutamine for both male and female intruders compared to their respective controls. Conclusion: Twenty-one days of territorial or maternal aggression produced a depressive-like phenotype and impaired astrocytes in both male and female intruders. Disruption of the glutamate–glutamine cycle in the PFC-striatal network may be linked to depressive-like deficits more in females than in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Rappeneau
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Amanda Blaker
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jeff R Petro
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Bryan K Yamamoto
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine Nashville, TN, USA
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32
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Gipson CD, Olive MF. Structural and functional plasticity of dendritic spines - root or result of behavior? GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2016; 16:101-117. [PMID: 27561549 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Dendritic spines are multifunctional integrative units of the nervous system and are highly diverse and dynamic in nature. Both internal and external stimuli influence dendritic spine density and morphology on the order of minutes. It is clear that the structural plasticity of dendritic spines is related to changes in synaptic efficacy, learning and memory and other cognitive processes. However, it is currently unclear whether structural changes in dendritic spines are primary instigators of changes in specific behaviors, a consequence of behavioral changes, or both. In this review, we first examine the basic structure and function of dendritic spines in the brain, as well as laboratory methods to characterize and quantify morphological changes in dendritic spines. We then discuss the existing literature on the temporal and functional relationship between changes in dendritic spines in specific brain regions and changes in specific behaviors mediated by those regions. Although technological advancements have allowed us to better understand the functional relevance of structural changes in dendritic spines that are influenced by environmental stimuli, the role of spine dynamics as an underlying driver or consequence of behavior still remains elusive. We conclude that while it is likely that structural changes in dendritic spines are both instigators and results of behavioral changes, improved research tools and methods are needed to experimentally and directly manipulate spine dynamics in order to more empirically delineate the relationship between spine structure and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- C D Gipson
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - M F Olive
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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33
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Tokunaga R, Shimoju R, Takagi N, Shibata H, Kurosawa M. Serotonin release in the central nucleus of the amygdala in response to noxious and innocuous cutaneous stimulation in anesthetized rats. J Physiol Sci 2016; 66:307-14. [PMID: 26668011 PMCID: PMC10717205 DOI: 10.1007/s12576-015-0426-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effect of noxious (pinching) and innocuous (stroking) stimulation of skin on serotonin (5-HT) release in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in anesthetized rats. 5-HT in the CeA was collected by microdialysis methods. Dialysate output from consecutive 10-min periods was injected into a high-performance liquid chromatograph and 5-HT was measured with an electrochemical detector. Bilateral pinching of the back for 10 min increased 5-HT release significantly; 5-HT release was also increased with stimulation of the forelimb or hindlimb. In contrast, stroking of these areas decreased 5-HT release significantly. Furthermore, simultaneous stroking and pinching produced no change in the 5-HT release. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that 5-HT release in the CeA is regulated by somatic afferent stimulation in a modality-dependent manner, and that innocuous stimulation can dampen the change in 5-HT release that occurs in response to noxious stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryota Tokunaga
- Division of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Health and Welfare Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan
| | - Rie Shimoju
- Division of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Health and Welfare Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan
| | - Noriaki Takagi
- Division of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Health and Welfare Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan
| | - Hideshi Shibata
- Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan
| | - Mieko Kurosawa
- Division of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Health and Welfare Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan.
- Center for Medical Science, International University of Health and Welfare, 2600-1 Kitakanemaru, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan.
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, International University of Health and Welfare, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8501, Japan.
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Steinman MQ, Trainor BC. Sex differences in the effects of social defeat on brain and behavior in the California mouse: Insights from a monogamous rodent. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2016; 61:92-98. [PMID: 27375045 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2016.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2016] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder, yet the use of female animal models in studying the biological basis of depression lags behind that of males. The social defeat model uses social stress to generate depression-like symptoms in order to study the neurobiological mechanisms. In general, social defeat is difficult to apply in female rodents. However, male and female California mice (Peromyscus californicus) are territorial. This allows defeat to be studied in both sexes. Males exposed to defeat tend to exhibit proactive coping mechanisms and demonstrate aggression and reduced cognitive flexibility. Females exposed to defeat engage more in reactive coping mechanisms which is highlighted by social avoidance and low aggression. Importantly, effects of defeat on social interaction behavior in females is independent of adult gonadal steroids. These behavioral phenotypes are associated with sex-specific changes in arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT), closely related peptides that regulate social behavior and stress reactivity. In brain regions associated with stress responses and social behavior, defeat induced long term decreases in AVP activity and increases in OT activity in males and females respectively. Intranasal OT administration was shown to mimic the effects of defeat-induced increases in endogenous OT activity, causing social withdrawal in undefeated females. This suggests that inhibition of OT activity could reduce the impact of stress on behavior in females. These results highlight the value of maintaining diverse rodent models in the search for sex-specific pharmacological approaches to treating mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Q Steinman
- Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, U.S.A
| | - Brian C Trainor
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A..
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35
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Kõiv K, Metelitsa M, Vares M, Tiitsaar K, Raudkivi K, Jaako K, Vulla K, Shimmo R, Harro J. Chronic variable stress prevents amphetamine-elicited 50-kHz calls in rats with low positive affectivity. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2016; 26:631-43. [PMID: 26951611 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2016.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Revised: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The relationship between stress response and positive affective states is thought to be bidirectional: whilst stress can lead to a blunted hedonic response, positive affect reduces the negative effects of stress. We have previously shown that persistently high positive affectivity as measured by 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) is protective against chronic variable stress (CVS). The present study examined the effect of CVS on 50-kHz USVs elicited by amphetamine administration, simultaneously considering the stable inter-individual differences in positive affectivity. Forty juvenile male Wistar rats were categorised as of high (HC) or low (LC) positive affectivity based on their 50-kHz USV response to imitation of rough-and-tumble play ('tickling'). As adults, the rats were subjected to four weeks of CVS, after which D-amphetamine was administered in five daily doses followed by a challenge dose (all 1mg/kg IP) nine days later. CVS reduced sucrose preference in LC-rats only. After CVS, amphetamine-elicited 50-kHz USVs were significantly reduced in LC-rats, the effect of stress in HC-rats being smaller and less consistent. In previously stressed and amphetamine-treated LC-rats, locomotor response to amphetamine was attenuated. In stressed LC-rats, DOPAC levels and dopamine turnover were increased in striatum after amphetamine treatment, and dopamine D1 receptor levels were upregulated in nucleus accumbens. LC-rats had lower isoleucine levels in frontal cortex. These results show that stress-related changes in response to amphetamine are dependent on inter-individual differences in positive affectivity both at neurochemical and behavioural levels, and further support the notion of higher vulnerability of animals with low positive affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kadri Kõiv
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mait Metelitsa
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Marten Vares
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kai Tiitsaar
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Karita Raudkivi
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Külli Jaako
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Ravila 19, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kaspar Vulla
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Narva 29, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Ruth Shimmo
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Narva 29, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Jaanus Harro
- Division of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14 A, 50411 Tartu, Estonia.
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Torres OV, O'Dell LE. Stress is a principal factor that promotes tobacco use in females. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2016; 65:260-8. [PMID: 25912856 PMCID: PMC4618274 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Tobacco use is a major economic and health problem. It is particularly concerning that women consume more tobacco products, have a more difficult time quitting smoking, and are less likely to benefit from smoking cessation therapy than men. As a result, women are at higher risk of developing tobacco-related diseases. Clinical evidence suggests that women are more susceptible to anxiety disorders, and are more likely to smoke in order to cope with stress than men. During smoking abstinence, women experience more intense anxiety than men and report that the anxiety-reducing effects of smoking are the main reason for their continued tobacco use and relapse. Consistent with this, pre-clinical studies using rodent models suggest that females display more intense stress during nicotine withdrawal than males. This review posits that in women, stress is a principal factor that promotes the initiation of tobacco use and relapse behavior during abstinence. Studies are reviewed at both the clinical and pre-clinical levels to provide support for our hypothesis that stress plays a central role in promoting tobacco use vulnerability in females. The clinical implications of this work are also considered with regard to treatment approaches and the need for more research to help reduce health disparities produced by tobacco use in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar V Torres
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, DHHS/NIH/NIDA Intramural Research Program National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224
| | - Laura E O'Dell
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USA.
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37
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Hwa LS, Shimamoto A, Kayyali T, Norman KJ, Valentino RJ, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Dissociation of μ-opioid receptor and CRF-R1 antagonist effects on escalated ethanol consumption and mPFC serotonin in C57BL/6J mice. Addict Biol 2016; 21:111-24. [PMID: 25262980 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Both the opioid antagonist naltrexone and corticotropin-releasing factor type-1 receptor (CRF-R1) antagonists have been investigated for the treatment of alcoholism. The current study examines the combination of naltrexone and CP154526 to reduce intermittent access ethanol drinking [intermittent access to alcohol (IAA)] in C57BL/6J male mice, and if these compounds reduce drinking via serotonergic mechanisms in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Systemic injections and chronic intracerebroventricular infusions of naltrexone, CP154526 or CP376395 transiently decreased IAA drinking. Immunohistochemistry revealed CRF-R1 or μ-opioid receptor immunoreactivity was co-localized in tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH)-immunoreactive neurons as well as non-TPH neurons in the DRN. Mice with a history of IAA or continuous access to alcohol were microinjected with artificial cerebral spinal fluid, naltrexone, CP154526 or the combination into the DRN or the median raphe nucleus (MRN). Either intra-DRN naltrexone or CP154526 reduced IAA in the initial 2 hours of fluid access, but the combination did not additively suppress IAA, suggesting a common mechanism via which these two compounds affect intermittent drinking. These alcohol-reducing effects were localized to the DRN of IAA drinkers, as intra-MRN injections only significantly suppressed water drinking, and continuous access drinkers were not affected by CRF-R1 antagonism. Extracellular serotonin was measured in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) using in vivo microdialysis after intra-DRN microinjections in another group of mice. Intra-DRN CP154526 increased serotonin impulse flow to the mPFC while naltrexone did not. This suggests the mPFC may not be an essential location to intermittent drinking, as evidenced by different effects on serotonin signaling to the forebrain yet similar behavioral findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara S. Hwa
- Department of Psychology; Tufts University; Medford MA USA
| | | | - Tala Kayyali
- Department of Psychology; Tufts University; Medford MA USA
| | | | - Rita J. Valentino
- Division of Stress Neurobiology; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Philadelphia PA USA
| | | | - Klaus A. Miczek
- Department of Psychology; Tufts University; Medford MA USA
- Department of Neuroscience; Tufts University; Medford MA USA
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Holly EN, Miczek KA. Ventral tegmental area dopamine revisited: effects of acute and repeated stress. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:163-86. [PMID: 26676983 PMCID: PMC4703498 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4151-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Aversive events rapidly and potently excite certain dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), promoting phasic increases in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. This is in apparent contradiction to a wealth of literature demonstrating that most VTA dopamine neurons are strongly activated by reward and reward-predictive cues while inhibited by aversive stimuli. How can these divergent processes both be mediated by VTA dopamine neurons? The answer may lie within the functional and anatomical heterogeneity of the VTA. We focus on VTA heterogeneity in anatomy, neurochemistry, electrophysiology, and afferent/efferent connectivity. Second, recent evidence for a critical role of VTA dopamine neurons in response to both acute and repeated stress will be discussed. Understanding which dopamine neurons are activated by stress, the neural mechanisms driving the activation, and where these neurons project will provide valuable insight into how stress can promote psychiatric disorders associated with the dopamine system, such as addiction and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth N Holly
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, 530 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Klaus A Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, 530 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, 02111, USA
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Snyder K, Barry M, Plona Z, Ho A, Zhang XY, Valentino RJ. The impact of social stress during adolescence or adulthood and coping strategy on cognitive function of female rats. Behav Brain Res 2015; 286:175-83. [PMID: 25746514 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.02.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Revised: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The age of stressor exposure can determine its neurobehavioral impact. For example, exposure of adolescent male rats to resident-intruder stress impairs cognitive flexibility in adulthood. The current study examined the impact of this stressor in female rats. Rats were exposed to resident-intruder stress during early adolescence (EA), mid-adolescence (MA) or adulthood (Adult). They were tested in an operant strategy-shifting task for side discrimination (SD), reversal learning (REV) and strategy set-shifting (SHIFT) the following week. Performance varied with age, stress and coping style. MA and EA rats performed SD and SHIFT better than other ages, respectively. Social stress impaired performance in rats depending on their coping strategy as determined by a short (SL) or long (LL) latency to become subordinate. SL rats were impaired in SD and REV, whereas EA-LL rats were impaired in SHIFT. These impairing effects of female adolescent stress did not endure into adulthood. Strategy set-shifting performance for female adolescents was positively correlated with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activation as indicated by c-fos expression suggesting that this region is engaged during task performance. This contrasts with the inverse relationship between these indices reported for male adolescent rats. Together, the results demonstrate that social stress produces cognitive impairments for female rats that depend on age and coping style but unlike males, the impairing effects of female adolescent social stress are immediate and do not endure into adulthood. Sex differences in the impact of adolescent social stress on cognition may reflect differences in mPFC engagement during the task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Snyder
- The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Mark Barry
- The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Zachary Plona
- The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Andrew Ho
- The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Xiao-Yan Zhang
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Rita J Valentino
- The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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40
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Han X, Albrechet-Souza L, Doyle MR, Shimamoto A, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Social stress and escalated drug self-administration in mice II. Cocaine and dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:1003-10. [PMID: 25216798 PMCID: PMC4339460 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3734-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Social defeat stress results in escalation of cocaine taking and long-term neural adaptations in rats. How the intensity and timing of social defeat stress determine these effects, particularly in mice, have not been well characterized. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the effects of mild vs. moderate intensities and durations of social stress on intravenous cocaine self-administration as well as on dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) by using in vivo microdialysis. METHODS Adult male Swiss Webster (CFW) mice experienced 10 days of social defeat stress, either mild (15 attack bites in ca. 1.8 min) or moderate (30 attack bites in ca. 3.6 min), and compared to controls that were handled daily. Subsequently, the socially stressed mice were assessed for either (1) intravenous cocaine self-administration, using several unit doses (0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0 mg/kg/infusion) under limited access conditions, or (2) neural sensitization, as determined by in vivo microdialysis of DA in the NAcSh in response to acute d-amphetamine challenge. RESULTS Social defeat stress resulted in escalated cocaine self-administration in both mild and moderate socially stressed groups. In addition, social defeat stress led to increased DA release after d-amphetamine challenge. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that both mild and moderate socially stressed mice exhibit increased cocaine taking compared to controls, and this increase is associated with escalated dopaminergic responses in the NAcSh.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Han
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, 530 Boston Ave. (Bacon Hall), Medford, MA, 02155, USA
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Shimamoto A, Holly EN, Boyson CO, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Individual differences in anhedonic and accumbal dopamine responses to chronic social stress and their link to cocaine self-administration in female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:825-34. [PMID: 25178816 PMCID: PMC4310791 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3725-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Women are twice as likely as men to develop major depressive disorder. Exposure to chronic stress can induce depression in some vulnerable individuals, while others are resistant to depressive-like symptoms after equivalent levels of chronic stress. OBJECTIVES In female rats, individual differences in saccharin intake during chronic social defeat stress may predict subsequent cocaine self-administration, and may be attributed to alterations in mesolimbic dopamine activity. METHODS Female rats were exposed to 21 days of chronic social defeat stress, during which they were evaluated for their anhedonia-like responses in the form of saccharin intake. After chronic social defeat stress, the rats were tested for behavioral cross-sensitization to cocaine and escalated cocaine self-administration in a 24-h "binge." A separate group of animals underwent in vivo microdialysis of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell to assess dopamine (DA) in response to acute cocaine challenge. RESULTS Cluster analysis revealed two phenotypes among the stressed female rats based on their saccharin intake while being exposed to stress, termed stress-resistant (SR, 28 %) and stress-sensitive (SS, 72 %). The amount of cocaine self-administered during the 24-h "binge" was positively correlated with preceding saccharin intake. The NAc DA response to a cocaine challenge was significantly lower in SR rats than in the SS and non-stressed control rats. No other significant differences were observed in behavioral cross-sensitization or cocaine self-administration prior to the "binge." CONCLUSION Female rats showed individual differences in their anhedonic-like response to chronic social defeat stress, and these differences were reliably associated with subsequent cocaine-taking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA,
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Hypothalamic vasopressin systems are more sensitive to the long term effects of social defeat in males versus females. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015; 51:122-34. [PMID: 25306217 PMCID: PMC4268083 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2014] [Revised: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Vasopressin signaling has important effects on the regulation of social behaviors and stress responses, and is considered a promising pathway to target for new therapeutics of stress-induced psychiatric disorders. Although there is evidence for sex differences in the behavioral effects of arginine vasopressin (AVP), few data have directly compared the effects of stress on endogenous AVP signaling in males and females. We used California mice (Peromyscus californicus) to study the short and long term effects of social defeat stress on AVP immunoreactive cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the posteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTmp). Acute exposure to defeat increased AVP/c-fos cells in the PVN and SON of both males and females. In contrast, there were sex differences in the long term effects of defeat. Males but not females exposed to defeat had less avp mRNA in the PVN, and in two experiments defeat reduced the number of AVP positive cells in the caudal PVN of males but not females. Interestingly, during relatively benign social encounters with a target mouse, there was a rapid decrease in AVP percent staining (including cell bodies and fibers) in the PVN of males but not females. Defeat reduced AVP percent staining in males, but did not block the socially induced decrease in percent staining. When mice were tested in resident-intruder tests, males exposed to defeat were no less aggressive than control males whereas aggression was abolished in females. However, bouts of aggression were positively correlated with the number of AVP neurons in the BNSTmp of control males but not stressed males, suggesting that different mechanisms mediate aggression in control and stressed males. These data show that while acute AVP responses to defeat are similar in males and females, the long term effects of defeat on AVP are stronger in males.
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Lukas M, de Jong TR. Conspecific Interactions in Adult Laboratory Rodents: Friends or Foes? Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2015; 30:3-24. [PMID: 27240675 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2015_428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between adult conspecifics, including sexual behaviors, affiliation, and aggression are crucial for the well-being, survival, and reproduction of mammals. This holds true for any mammalian species, but certainly for humans: An inability to optimally navigate the social system can have a strong negative impact on physical and mental health. Translational rodent models have been used for decades to unravel the neural pathways and substrates involved in normal and abnormal conspecific interactions. Researchers in the field of translational social neuroscience face a double challenge: Not only do they need to pay considerable attention to the behavioral ecology of their model species or their ancestors, they also have to expect a relatively large variability in behavior and adjust their experimental design accordingly. In this chapter, we will lay out traditional and novel rodent models and paradigms to study sexual, affiliative, and aggressive interactions among adult conspecifics. We will discuss the merits and main findings and briefly consider the most promising novel directions. Finally, we review the modulatory involvement of two major players in mammal social interaction: the central oxytocin and vasopressin system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lukas
- Molecular and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Trynke R de Jong
- Molecular and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Shansky RM. Sex differences in PTSD resilience and susceptibility: Challenges for animal models of fear learning. Neurobiol Stress 2015; 1:60-65. [PMID: 25729759 PMCID: PMC4340080 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2014.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2014] [Revised: 09/13/2014] [Accepted: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
PTSD occurs in only a small fraction of trauma-exposed individuals, but risk is twice as high in women as in men. The neurobiological basis for this discrepancy is not known, but the identification of biological determinants of resilience and susceptibility in each sex could lead to more targeted preventions and treatments. Animal models are a useful tool for dissecting the circuits and mechanisms that underlie the brain's response to stress, but the vast majority of this work has been developed and conducted in males. The limited work that does incorporate female animals is often inconsistent across labs and does not broadly reflect human populations in terms of female susceptibility to PTSD-like behaviors. In this review, we suggest that interpreting male vs. female comparisons in these models be approached carefully, since common behavioral outcome measures may in fact reflect distinct neural processes. Moreover, since the factors that determine resilience and susceptibility are likely at least in part distinct in men and women, models that take a within-sex approach to response variability may be more useful in identifying critical mechanisms for manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Shansky
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 125 NI, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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46
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Sex differences in mood disorders: perspectives from humans and rodent models. Biol Sex Differ 2014; 5:17. [PMID: 25520774 PMCID: PMC4268901 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-014-0017-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mood disorders are devastating, often chronic illnesses characterized by low mood, poor affect, and anhedonia. Notably, mood disorders are approximately twice as prevalent in women compared to men. If sex differences in mood are due to underlying biological sex differences, a better understanding of the biology is warranted to develop better treatment or even prevention of these debilitating disorders. In this review, our goals are to: 1) summarize the literature related to mood disorders with respect to sex differences in prevalence, 2) introduce the corticolimbic brain network of mood regulation, 3) discuss strategies and challenges of modeling mood disorders in mice, 4) discuss mechanisms underlying sex differences and how these can be tested in mice, and 5) discuss how our group and others have used a translational approach to investigate mechanisms underlying sex differences in mood disorders in humans and mice.
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Prevention of alcohol-heightened aggression by CRF-R1 antagonists in mice: critical role for DRN-PFC serotonin pathway. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:2874-83. [PMID: 24917195 PMCID: PMC4200498 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Revised: 06/03/2014] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol can escalate aggressive behavior in a significant subgroup of rodents, humans, and nonhuman primates. The present study investigated whether blockade of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 (CRF-R1) could prevent the emergence of alcohol-heightened aggression in mice. The serotonin (5-HT) pathway from the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by CRF-R1 was investigated as a possible target for the prevention of alcohol-heightened aggressive behavior. Male CFW mice that reliably exhibited aggressive behaviors after consuming 1 g/kg of alcohol received systemic or intra-DRN administration of CRF-R1 antagonists, CP-154,526 or MTIP, before a confrontation with a male conspecific. Blockade of DRN CRF-R1 receptors with both antagonists significantly reduced only alcohol-heightened aggression, whereas systemic administration reduced both alcohol-heightened and species-typical aggression. Next, a 5-HT1A agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, was coadministered with CP-154,526 into the DRN to temporarily disrupt 5-HT activity. This manipulation abolished the antiaggressive effects of intra-DRN CP-154,526. In the mPFC, in vivo microdialysis revealed that extracellular 5-HT levels were increased in mice that consumed alcohol and were then injected with CP-154,526, both systemically or intra-DRN. Neither alcohol nor CP-154,526 alone affected 5-HT release in the mPFC. The present results suggest the DRN as a critical site for CRF-R1 to modulate alcohol-heightened aggression via action on the serotonergic DRN-PFC pathway.
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48
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Environmental Health Factors and Sexually Dimorphic Differences in Behavioral Disruptions. Curr Environ Health Rep 2014; 1:287-301. [PMID: 25705580 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-014-0027-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Mounting evidence suggests that environmental factors-in particular, those that we are exposed to during perinatal life-can dramatically shape the organism's risk for later diseases, including neurobehavioral disorders. However, depending on the environmental insult, one sex may demonstrate greater vulnerability than the other sex. Herein, we focus on two well-defined extrinsic environmental factors that lead to sexually dimorphic behavioral differences in animal models and linkage in human epidemiological studies. These include maternal or psychosocial stress (such as social stress) and exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (such as one of the most prevalent, bisphenol A [BPA]). In general, the evidence suggests that early environmental exposures, such as BPA and stress, lead to more pronounced behavioral deficits in males than in females, whereas female neurobehavioral patterns are more vulnerable to later in life stress. These findings highlight the importance of considering sex differences and developmental timing when examining the effects of environmental factors on later neurobehavioral outcomes.
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49
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Oswald LM, Wand GS, Kuwabara H, Wong DF, Zhu S, Brasic JR. History of childhood adversity is positively associated with ventral striatal dopamine responses to amphetamine. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:2417-33. [PMID: 24448898 PMCID: PMC4040334 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3407-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Childhood exposure to severe or chronic trauma is an important risk factor for the later development of adult mental health problems, such as substance abuse. Even in nonclinical samples of healthy adults, persons with a history of significant childhood adversity seem to experience greater psychological distress than those without this history. Evidence from rodent studies suggests that early life stress may impair dopamine function in ways that increase risks for drug abuse. However, the degree to which these findings translate to other species remains unclear. OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to examine associations between childhood adversity and dopamine and subjective responses to amphetamine in humans. METHODS Following intake assessment, 28 healthy male and female adults, aged 18-29 years, underwent two consecutive 90-min positron emission tomography studies with high specific activity [(11)C]raclopride. The first scan was preceded by intravenous saline; the second by amphetamine (AMPH 0.3 mg/kg). RESULTS Consistent with prior literature, findings showed positive associations between childhood trauma and current levels of perceived stress. Moreover, greater number of traumatic events and higher levels of perceived stress were each associated with higher ventral striatal dopamine responses to AMPH. Findings of mediation analyses further showed that a portion of the relationship between childhood trauma and dopamine release may be mediated by perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS Overall, results are consistent with preclinical findings suggesting that early trauma may lead to enhanced sensitivity to psychostimulants and that this mechanism may underlie increased vulnerability for drug abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn M. Oswald
- Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA,Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Gary S. Wand
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Hiroto Kuwabara
- Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dean F. Wong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA,Department of Environmental Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shijun Zhu
- Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - James R. Brasic
- Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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Boyson CO, Holly EN, Shimamoto A, Albrechet-Souza L, Weiner LA, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Social stress and CRF-dopamine interactions in the VTA: role in long-term escalation of cocaine self-administration. J Neurosci 2014; 34:6659-67. [PMID: 24806691 PMCID: PMC4012317 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3942-13.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2013] [Revised: 03/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The nature of neuroadaptations in the genesis of escalated cocaine taking remains a topic of considerable interest. Intermittent social defeat stress induces both locomotor and dopaminergic cross-sensitization to cocaine, as well as escalated cocaine self-administration. The current study examines the role of corticotropin releasing factor receptor subtypes 1 and 2 (CRFR1, CRFR2) within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) during social defeat stress. This study investigated whether injecting either a CRFR1 or CRFR2 antagonist directly into the VTA before each social defeat would prevent the development of later (1) locomotor sensitization, (2) dopaminergic sensitization, and (3) escalated cocaine self-administration in rats. CRFR1 antagonist CP376395 (50 or 500 ng/side), CRFR2 antagonist Astressin2-B (100 or 1000 ng/side), or vehicle (aCSF) was microinjected into the VTA 20 min before social defeat stress (or handling) on days 1, 4, 7, and 10. Ten days later, rats were injected with cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and assessed for either locomotor sensitization, measured by walking activity, or dopaminergic sensitization, measured by extracellular dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) through in vivo microdialysis. Locomotor sensitization testing was followed by intravenous cocaine self-administration. Intra-VTA antagonism of CRFR1, but not CRFR2, inhibited the induction of locomotor cross-sensitization to cocaine, whereas both prevented dopaminergic cross-sensitization and escalated cocaine self-administration during a 24 h "binge." This may suggest dissociation between locomotor sensitization and cocaine taking. These data also suggest that interactions between CRF and VTA DA neurons projecting to the NAcSh are essential for the development of dopaminergic cross-sensitization to cocaine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elizabeth N. Holly
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, and
| | - Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, and
| | | | - Lindsay A. Weiner
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, and
| | - Joseph F. DeBold
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, and
| | - Klaus A. Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, and
- Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
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