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Iqbal J, Huang GD, Xue YX, Yang M, Jia XJ. The neural circuits and molecular mechanisms underlying fear dysregulation in posttraumatic stress disorder. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1281401. [PMID: 38116070 PMCID: PMC10728304 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1281401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress-associated complex and debilitating psychiatric disorder due to an imbalance of neurotransmitters in response to traumatic events or fear. PTSD is characterized by re-experiencing, avoidance behavior, hyperarousal, negative emotions, insomnia, personality changes, and memory problems following exposure to severe trauma. However, the biological mechanisms and symptomatology underlying this disorder are still largely unknown or poorly understood. Considerable evidence shows that PTSD results from a dysfunction in highly conserved brain systems involved in regulating stress, anxiety, fear, and reward circuitry. This review provides a contemporary update about PTSD, including new data from the clinical and preclinical literature on stress, PTSD, and fear memory consolidation and extinction processes. First, we present an overview of well-established laboratory models of PTSD and discuss their clinical translational value for finding various treatments for PTSD. We then highlight the research progress on the neural circuits of fear and extinction-related behavior, including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. We further describe different molecular mechanisms, including GABAergic, glutamatergic, cholinergic, and neurotropic signaling, responsible for the structural and functional changes during fear acquisition and fear extinction processes in PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javed Iqbal
- Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Geng-Di Huang
- Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan-Xue Xue
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Mei Yang
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiao-Jian Jia
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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Holter KM, Pierce BE, Gould RW. Metabotropic glutamate receptor function and regulation of sleep-wake cycles. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 168:93-175. [PMID: 36868636 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2022.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors are the most abundant family of G-protein coupled receptors and are widely expressed throughout the central nervous system (CNS). Alterations in glutamate homeostasis, including dysregulations in mGlu receptor function, have been indicated as key contributors to multiple CNS disorders. Fluctuations in mGlu receptor expression and function also occur across diurnal sleep-wake cycles. Sleep disturbances including insomnia are frequently comorbid with neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative conditions. These often precede behavioral symptoms and/or correlate with symptom severity and relapse. Chronic sleep disturbances may also be a consequence of primary symptom progression and can exacerbate neurodegeneration in disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, there is a bidirectional relationship between sleep disturbances and CNS disorders; disrupted sleep may serve as both a cause and a consequence of the disorder. Importantly, comorbid sleep disturbances are rarely a direct target of primary pharmacological treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders even though improving sleep can positively impact other symptom clusters. This chapter details known roles of mGlu receptor subtypes in both sleep-wake regulation and CNS disorders focusing on schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, AD, and substance use disorder (cocaine and opioid). In this chapter, preclinical electrophysiological, genetic, and pharmacological studies are described, and, when possible, human genetic, imaging, and post-mortem studies are also discussed. In addition to reviewing the important relationships between sleep, mGlu receptors, and CNS disorders, this chapter highlights the development of selective mGlu receptor ligands that hold promise for improving both primary symptoms and sleep disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly M Holter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Bethany E Pierce
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Robert W Gould
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States.
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Wang X, Gao C, Zhang Y, Hu S, Qiao Y, Zhao Z, Gou L, Song J, Wang Q. Overexpression of mGluR7 in the Prefrontal Cortex Attenuates Autistic Behaviors in Mice. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:689611. [PMID: 34335187 PMCID: PMC8319395 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.689611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with a range of abnormalities pertaining to socialization, communication, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Owing to its complexity, the etiology of ASD remains incompletely understood. The presynaptic G protein-coupled glutamate receptor metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGluR7) is known to be essential for synaptic transmission and is also tightly linked with ASD incidence. Herein, we report that prefrontal cortex (PFC) mGluR7 protein levels were decreased in C57BL/6J mice exposed to valproic acid (VPA) and BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J mice. The overexpression of mGluR7 in the PFC of these mice using a lentiviral vector was sufficient to reduce the severity of ASD-like behavioral patterns such that animals exhibited decreases in abnormal social interactions and communication, anxiety-like, and stereotyped/repetitive behaviors. Intriguingly, patch-clamp recordings revealed that the overexpression of mGluR7 suppressed neuronal excitability by inhibiting action potential discharge frequencies, together with enhanced action potential threshold and increased rheobase. These data offer a scientific basis for the additional study of mGluR7 as a promising therapeutic target in ASD and related neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Chao Gao
- Department of Rehabilitation, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yaodong Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Shunan Hu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yidan Qiao
- Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Zhengqin Zhao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Lingshan Gou
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Xuzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Xuzhou, China
| | - Jijun Song
- Henan Infectious Disease Hospital, The Sixth People's Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou, China
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Milton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
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