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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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2
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Wilkinson CS, Blount HL, Schwendt M, Knackstedt LA. Brain Monoamine Dysfunction in Response to Predator Scent Stress Accompanies Stress-Susceptibility in Female Rats. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1055. [PMID: 37509091 PMCID: PMC10377406 DOI: 10.3390/biom13071055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in women; however, preclinical research on PTSD has predominantly been conducted in male animals. Using a predator scent stress (PSS) rodent model of PTSD, we sought to determine if stress-susceptible female rats show altered monoamine concentrations in brain regions associated with PTSD: the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and dorsal (dHIPP) and ventral (vHIPP) hippocampus. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to a single, 10-min PSS exposure and tested for persistent anhedonia, fear, and anxiety-like behavior over four weeks. Rats were phenotyped as stress-Susceptible based on sucrose consumption in the sucrose preference task and time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze. Brain tissue was collected, and norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and their metabolites were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Stress-susceptibility in female rats was associated with increased dopamine and serotonin turnover in the mPFC. Susceptibility was also associated with elevated dopamine turnover in the NAc and increased norepinephrine in the vHIPP. Our findings suggest that stress-susceptibility after a single stress exposure is associated with long-term effects on monoamine function in female rats. These data suggest interventions that decrease monoamine turnover, such as MAOIs, may be effective in the treatment of PTSD in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney S Wilkinson
- Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Harrison L Blount
- Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Marek Schwendt
- Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for OCD and Anxiety Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Lori A Knackstedt
- Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Center for OCD and Anxiety Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Nahvi RJ, Tanelian A, Nwokafor C, Godino A, Parise E, Estill M, Shen L, Nestler EJ, Sabban EL. Transcriptome profiles associated with resilience and susceptibility to single prolonged stress in the locus coeruleus and nucleus accumbens in male sprague-dawley rats. Behav Brain Res 2023; 439:114162. [PMID: 36257560 PMCID: PMC9812303 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Although most people are subjected to traumatic stress at least once in their lifetime, only a subset develop long-lasting, stress-triggered neuropsychiatric disorders, such as PTSD. Here we examined different transcriptome profiles within the locus coeruleus (LC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) that may contribute to stress susceptibility. Sprague Dawley male rats were exposed to the single prolonged stress (SPS) model for PTSD. Two weeks later they were tested for their anxiety/avoidance behavior on the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) and were divided into high and low anxiety-like subgroups. RNA (n = 5 per group) was subsequently isolated from LC and NAc and subjected to RNAseq. Transcriptome analysis was used to identify differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) which differed by at least 50 % with significance of 0.01. The LC had more than six times the number of DEGs than the NAc. Only one DEG was regulated similarly in both locations. Many of the DEGs in the LC were associated with morphological changes, including regulation of actin cytoskeleton, growth factor activity, regulation of cell size, brain development and memory, with KEGG pathway of regulation of actin cytoskeleton. The DEGs in the NAc were primarily related to DNA repair and synthesis, and differential regulation of cytokine production. The analysis identified MTPN (myotrophin) and NR3C1 (glucocorticoid receptor) as important upstream regulators of stress susceptibility in the LC. Overall the study provides new insight into molecular pathways in the LC and NAc that are associated with anxiety-like behavior triggered by stress susceptibility or resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxanna J Nahvi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, United States
| | - Arax Tanelian
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, United States
| | - Chiso Nwokafor
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, United States
| | - Arthur Godino
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Eric Parise
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Molly Estill
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Li Shen
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Esther L Sabban
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, United States.
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Xuan SM, Su YW, Liang YM, Gao ZJ, Liu CY, Fan BF, Shi YW, Wang XG, Zhao H. mGluR5 in amygdala modulates fear memory generalization. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1072642. [PMID: 36891323 PMCID: PMC9986332 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1072642] [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: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Fear memory generalization is regarded as the core characteristic of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. However, the mechanism that contributes to the generalization of conditioned fear memory is still unclear. The generalization is generally considered to be a mismatch that occurs during memory consolidation. Methods Foot shocks and tones were given as unconditioned stress and conditioned stress, respectively for fear conditioning training. Immunofluorescence staining, western blotting and qPCR were performed to determine the expression of different genes in amygdala of mice after fear conditioning training. Cycloheximide was used as a protein synthesis inhibitor and 2-methyl-6-phenylethynyl-pyridine was injected for mGluR5 inhibition. Results Fear conditioning using caused incremental generalization, which was clearly observed during training. The density of c-Fos+ cells or the synaptic p-NMDAR expression did not differ with stress intensities. Strong-shock fear conditioning could induce significant mGluR5 de novo synthesis in the amygdala, which was not observed in the weak-shock group. Inhibition of mGluR5 impaired fear memory generalization induced by strong-shock fear conditioning, but the generalization level induced by weak-shock training was enhanced. Discussion These results indicated that mGluR5 in the amygdala is critical to the function of inappropriate fear memory generalization and suggested that this may be a potential target for the treatment of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shou-Min Xuan
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Ya-Wen Su
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi-Meng Liang
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhen-Jie Gao
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chun-Yan Liu
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Bu-Fang Fan
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan-Wei Shi
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiao-Guang Wang
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hu Zhao
- Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Asch RH, Hillmer AT, Baldassarri SR, Esterlis I. The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 as a biomarker for psychiatric disorders. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 168:265-310. [PMID: 36868631 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2022.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The role of glutamate system in the etiology and pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders has gained considerable attention in the past two decades, including dysregulation of the metabotropic glutamatergic receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5). Thus, mGlu5 may represent a promising therapeutic target for psychiatric conditions, particularly stress-related disorders. Here, we describe mGlu5 findings in mood disorders, anxiety, and trauma disorders, as well as substance use (specifically nicotine, cannabis, and alcohol use). We highlight insights gained from positron emission tomography (PET) studies, where possible, and discuss findings from treatment trials, when available, to explore the role of mGlu5 in these psychiatric disorders. Through the research evidence reviewed in this chapter, we make the argument that, not only is dysregulation of mGlu5 evident in numerous psychiatric disorders, potentially functioning as a disease "biomarker," the normalization of glutamate neurotransmission via changes in mGlu5 expression and/or modulation of mGlu5 signaling may be a needed component in treating some psychiatric disorders or symptoms. Finally, we hope to demonstrate the utility of PET as an important tool for investigating mGlu5 in disease mechanisms and treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth H Asch
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - Ansel T Hillmer
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Stephen R Baldassarri
- Yale Program in Addiction Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Irina Esterlis
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Clinical Neurosciences Division, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States
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G Modrak C, S Wilkinson C, L Blount H, Schwendt M, A Knackstedt L. The role of mGlu receptors in susceptibility to stress-induced anhedonia, fear, and anxiety-like behavior. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 168:221-264. [PMID: 36868630 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2022.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Stress and trauma exposure contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in a subset of people. A large body of preclinical work has found that the metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) family of G protein-coupled receptors regulate several behaviors that are part of the symptom clusters for both PTSD and MDD, including anhedonia, anxiety, and fear. Here, we review this literature, beginning with a summary of the wide variety of preclinical models used to assess these behaviors. We then summarize the involvement of Group I and II mGlu receptors in these behaviors. Bringing together this extensive literature reveals that mGlu5 signaling plays distinct roles in anhedonia, fear, and anxiety-like behavior. mGlu5 promotes susceptibility to stress-induced anhedonia and resilience to stress-induced anxiety-like behavior, while serving a fundamental role in the learning underlying fear conditioning. The medial prefrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and ventral hippocampus are key regions where mGlu5, mGlu2, and mGlu3 regulate these behaviors. There is strong support that stress-induced anhedonia arises from decreased glutamate release and post-synaptic mGlu5 signaling. Conversely, decreasing mGlu5 signaling increases resilience to stress-induced anxiety-like behavior. Consistent with opposing roles for mGlu5 and mGlu2/3 in anhedonia, evidence suggests that increased glutamate transmission may be therapeutic for the extinction of fear learning. Thus, a large body of literature supports the targeting of pre- and post-synaptic glutamate signaling to ameliorate post-stress anhedonia, fear, and anxiety-like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra G Modrak
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Courtney S Wilkinson
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Harrison L Blount
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Marek Schwendt
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Lori A Knackstedt
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for Addiction Research and Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
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Stress resilience-associated behaviors following predator scent stress are accompanied by upregulated nucleus accumbens mGlu5 transcription in female Sprague Dawley rats. Behav Brain Res 2022; 436:114090. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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