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Bendrath SC, Méndez HG, Dankert AM, Lerma-Cabrera JM, Carvajal F, Dornellas-Loper AP, Lee S, Neira S, Haun H, Delpire E, Navarro M, Kash TL, Thiele TE. Inhibiting CRF Projections from the Central Amygdala to Lateral Hypothalamus and Amygdala Deletion of CRF Alters Binge-Like Ethanol Drinking in a Sex-Dependent Manner. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.09.588750. [PMID: 38645149 PMCID: PMC11030312 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Background Binge alcohol drinking is a dangerous pattern of consumption that can contribute to the development of more severe alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Importantly, the rate and severity of AUDs has historically differed between men and women, suggesting that there may be sex differences in the central mechanisms that modulate alcohol (ethanol) consumption. Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is a centrally expressed neuropeptide that has been implicated in the modulation of binge-like ethanol intake, and emerging data highlight sex differences in central CRF systems. Methods In the present report we characterized CRF+ neurocircuitry arising from the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and innervating the lateral hypothalamus (LH) in the modulation of binge-like ethanol intake in male and female mice. Results Using chemogenetic tools we found that silencing the CRF+ CeA to LH circuit significantly blunted binge-like ethanol intake in male, but not female, mice. Consistently, genetic deletion of CRF from neurons of the CeA blunted ethanol intake exclusively in male mice. Furthermore, pharmacological blockade of the CRF type-1 receptor (CRF1R) in the LH significantly reduced binge-like ethanol intake in male mice only, while CRF2R activation in the LH failed to alter ethanol intake in either sex. Finally, a history of binge-like ethanol drinking blunted CRF mRNA in the CeA regardless of sex. Conclusions These observations provide novel evidence that CRF+ CeA to LH neurocircuitry modulates binge-like ethanol intake in male, but not female mice, which may provide insight into the mechanisms that guide known sex differences in binge-like ethanol intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie C Bendrath
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Hernán G Méndez
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Anne M Dankert
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | | | | | - Ana Paula Dornellas-Loper
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Sophia Lee
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Sofia Neira
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Harold Haun
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Eric Delpire
- Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Montserrat Navarro
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
| | - Todd E Thiele
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3270, USA
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7178, USA
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Ryvkin J, Omesi L, Kim YK, Levi M, Pozeilov H, Barak-Buchris L, Agranovich B, Abramovich I, Gottlieb E, Jacob A, Nässel DR, Heberlein U, Shohat-Ophir G. Failure to mate enhances investment in behaviors that may promote mating reward and impairs the ability to cope with stressors via a subpopulation of Neuropeptide F receptor neurons. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011054. [PMID: 38236837 PMCID: PMC10795991 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Living in dynamic environments such as the social domain, where interaction with others determines the reproductive success of individuals, requires the ability to recognize opportunities to obtain natural rewards and cope with challenges that are associated with achieving them. As such, actions that promote survival and reproduction are reinforced by the brain reward system, whereas coping with the challenges associated with obtaining these rewards is mediated by stress-response pathways, the activation of which can impair health and shorten lifespan. While much research has been devoted to understanding mechanisms underlying the way by which natural rewards are processed by the reward system, less attention has been given to the consequences of failure to obtain a desirable reward. As a model system to study the impact of failure to obtain a natural reward, we used the well-established courtship suppression paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster as means to induce repeated failures to obtain sexual reward in male flies. We discovered that beyond the known reduction in courtship actions caused by interaction with non-receptive females, repeated failures to mate induce a stress response characterized by persistent motivation to obtain the sexual reward, reduced male-male social interaction, and enhanced aggression. This frustrative-like state caused by the conflict between high motivation to obtain sexual reward and the inability to fulfill their mating drive impairs the capacity of rejected males to tolerate stressors such as starvation and oxidative stress. We further show that sensitivity to starvation and enhanced social arousal is mediated by the disinhibition of a small population of neurons that express receptors for the fly homologue of neuropeptide Y. Our findings demonstrate for the first time the existence of social stress in flies and offers a framework to study mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between reward, stress, and reproduction in a simple nervous system that is highly amenable to genetic manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Ryvkin
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Liora Omesi
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Yong-Kyu Kim
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Mali Levi
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Hadar Pozeilov
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Lital Barak-Buchris
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Bella Agranovich
- Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ifat Abramovich
- Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Eyal Gottlieb
- Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avi Jacob
- The Kanbar scientific equipment center. The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Dick R. Nässel
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ulrike Heberlein
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Galit Shohat-Ophir
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and the Nanotechnology Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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3
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Marshall SA, Robinson SL, Ebert SE, Companion MA, Thiele TE. Chemogenetic inhibition of corticotropin-releasing factor neurons in the central amygdala alters binge-like ethanol consumption in male mice. Behav Neurosci 2022; 136:541-550. [PMID: 35771510 PMCID: PMC9671851 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000522] [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] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Repetitive bouts of binge drinking can lead to neuroplastic events that alter ethanol's pharmacologic effects and perpetuate excessive consumption. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system is an example of ethanol-induced neuroadaptations that drive excessive ethanol consumption. Our laboratory has previously shown that CRF antagonist, when infused into the central amygdala (CeA), reduces binge-like ethanol consumption. The present study extends this research by assessing the effects of silencing CRF-producing neurons in CeA on binge-like ethanol drinking stemming from "Drinking in the Dark" (DID) procedures. CRF-ires-Cre mice underwent surgery to infuse Gi/o-coupled Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADD) virus or a control virus into either the CeA or basolateral amygdala (BLA). Gi/o-DREADD-induced CRF-neuronal inhibition in the CeA resulted in a 33% decrease in binge-like ethanol consumption. However, no effect on ethanol consumption was seen after DREADD manipulation in the BLA. Moreover, CeA CRF-neuronal inhibition had no effect on sucrose consumption. The effects of silencing CRF neurons in the CeA on ethanol consumption are not secondary to changes in motor function or anxiety-like behaviors as assessed in the open-field test (OFT). Finally, the DREADD construct's functional ability to inhibit CRF-neuronal activity was demonstrated by reduced ethanol-induced c-Fos following DREADD activation. Together, these data suggest that the CRF neurons in the CeA play an important role in binge ethanol consumption and that inhibition of the CRF-signaling pathway remains a viable target for manipulating binge-like ethanol consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Alex Marshall
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
- Biological & Biomedical Sciences Department, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Stacey L. Robinson
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Suzahn E. Ebert
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Michel A. Companion
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Todd E. Thiele
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
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Melkumyan M, Silberman Y. Subregional Differences in Alcohol Modulation of Central Amygdala Neurocircuitry. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:888345. [PMID: 35866156 PMCID: PMC9294740 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.888345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is a highly significant medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use, compulsive alcohol seeking behavior, and withdrawal symptoms in the absence of alcohol. Understanding how alcohol modulates neurocircuitry critical for long term and binge-like alcohol use, such as the central amygdala (CeA), may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat alcohol use disorder. In clinical studies, reduction in the volume of the amygdala has been linked with susceptibility to relapse to alcohol use. Preclinical studies have shown the involvement of the CeA in the effects of alcohol use, with lesions of the amygdala showing a reduction in alcohol drinking, and manipulations of cells in the CeA altering alcohol drinking. A great deal of work has shown that acute alcohol, as well as chronic alcohol exposure via intake or dependence models, alters glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission in the CeA. The CeA, however, contains heterogeneous cell populations and distinct subregional differences in neurocircuit architecture which may influence the mechanism by which alcohol modulates CeA function overall. The current review aimed to parse out the differences in alcohol effects on the medial and lateral subregions of the CeA, and what role neuroinflammatory cells and markers, the endocannabinoid system, and the most commonly studied neuropeptide systems play in mediating these effects. A better understanding of alcohol effects on CeA subregional cell type and neurocircuit function may lead to development of more selective pharmacological interventions for alcohol use disorder.
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