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Carvour HM, Roemer CA, Underwood DP, Padilla ES, Sandoval O, Robertson M, Miller M, Parsadanyan N, Perry TW, Radke AK. Mu-opioid receptor knockout on Foxp2-expressing neurons reduces aversion-resistant alcohol drinking. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.29.569252. [PMID: 38077082 PMCID: PMC10705460 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.29.569252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2024]
Abstract
Mu-opioid receptors (MORs) in the amygdala and striatum are important in addictive and rewarding behaviors. The transcription factor Foxp2 is a genetic marker of intercalated (ITC) cells in the amygdala and a subset of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs), both of which express MORs in wild-type mice and are neuronal subpopulations of potential relevance to alcohol-drinking behaviors. For the current series of studies, we characterized the behavior of mice with genetic deletion of the MOR gene Oprm1 in Foxp2-expressing neurons (Foxp2-Cre/Oprm1fl/fl). Male and female Foxp2-Cre/Oprm1fl/fl mice were generated and heterozygous Cre+ (knockout) and homozygous Cre- (control) animals were tested for aversion-resistant alcohol consumption using an intermittent access (IA) task, operant responding for a sucrose reward, conditioned place aversion (CPA) to morphine withdrawal, and locomotor sensitization to morphine. The results demonstrate that deletion of MOR on Foxp2-expressing neurons renders mice more sensitive to quinine-adulterated ethanol (EtOH). Mice with the deletion (vs. Cre- controls) also consumed less alcohol during the final sessions of the IA task, responded less for sucrose under an FR3 schedule, and were less active at baseline and following morphine injection. Foxp2-MOR deletion did not impair the ability to learn to respond for reward or develop a conditioned aversion to morphine withdrawal. Together, these investigations demonstrate that Foxp2-expressing neurons may be involved in escalation of alcohol consumption and the development of compulsive-like alcohol drinking.
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Arnold ME, Schank JR. Sex differences in neuronal activation in the cortex and midbrain during quinine-adulterated alcohol intake. Alcohol Alcohol 2024; 59:agae031. [PMID: 38742547 PMCID: PMC11091839 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agae031] [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: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
AIMS Continued alcohol consumption despite negative consequences is a core symptom of alcohol use disorder. This is modeled in mice by pairing negative stimuli with alcohol, such as adulterating alcohol solution with quinine. Mice consuming alcohol under these conditions are considered to be engaging in aversion-resistant intake. Previously, we have observed sex differences in this behavior, with females more readily expressing aversion-resistant consumption. We also identified three brain regions that exhibited sex differences in neuronal activation during quinine-alcohol drinking: ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), posterior insular cortex (PIC), and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Specifically, male mice showed increased activation in vmPFC and PIC, while females exhibited increased activation in VTA. In this study, we aimed to identify what specific type of neurons are activated in these regions during quinine-alcohol drinking. METHOD We assessed quinine-adulterated alcohol intake using the two-bottle choice procedure. We also utilized RNAscope in situ hybridization in the three brain regions that previously exhibited a sex difference to examine colocalization of Fos, glutamate, GABA, and dopamine. RESULT Females showed increased aversion-resistant alcohol consumption compared to males. We also found that males had higher colocalization of glutamate and Fos in vmPFC and PIC, while females had greater dopamine and Fos colocalization in the VTA. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these experiments suggest that glutamatergic output from the vmPFC and PIC may have a role in suppressing, and dopaminergic activity in the VTA may promote, aversion-resistant alcohol consumption. Future experiments will examine neuronal circuits that contribute to sex differences in aversion resistant consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda E Arnold
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 501 D. W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Jesse R Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, 501 D. W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA 30602, United States
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3
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Robbins TW, Banca P, Belin D. From compulsivity to compulsion: the neural basis of compulsive disorders. Nat Rev Neurosci 2024; 25:313-333. [PMID: 38594324 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00807-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Compulsive behaviour, an apparently irrational perseveration in often maladaptive acts, is a potential transdiagnostic symptom of several neuropsychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction, and may reflect the severe manifestation of a dimensional trait termed compulsivity. In this Review, we examine the psychological basis of compulsions and compulsivity and their underlying neural circuitry using evidence from human neuroimaging and animal models. Several main elements of this circuitry are identified, focused on fronto-striatal systems implicated in goal-directed behaviour and habits. These systems include the orbitofrontal, prefrontal, anterior cingulate and insular cortices and their connections with the basal ganglia as well as sensoriomotor and parietal cortices and cerebellum. We also consider the implications for future classification of impulsive-compulsive disorders and their treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor W Robbins
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Paula Banca
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Belin
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Broomer MC, Bouton ME. Infralimbic cortex plays a similar role in the punishment and extinction of instrumental behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 211:107926. [PMID: 38579897 PMCID: PMC11078610 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107926] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Learning to stop responding is a fundamental process in instrumental learning. Animals may learn to stop responding under a variety of conditions that include punishment-where the response earns an aversive stimulus in addition to a reinforcer-and extinction-where a reinforced response now earns nothing at all. Recent research suggests that punishment and extinction may be related manifestations of a common retroactive interference process. In both paradigms, animals learn to stop performing a specific response in a specific context, suggesting direct inhibition of the response by the context. This process may depend on the infralimbic cortex (IL), which has been implicated in a variety of interference-based learning paradigms including extinction and habit learning. Despite the behavioral parallels between extinction and punishment, a corresponding role for IL in punishment has not been identified. Here we report that, in a simple arrangement where either punishment or extinction was conducted in a context that differed from the context in which the behavior was first acquired, IL inactivation reduced response suppression in the inhibitory context, but not responding when it "renewed" in the original context. In a more complex arrangement in which two responses were first trained in different contexts and then extinguished or punished in the opposite one, IL inactivation had no effect. The results advance our understanding of the effects of IL in retroactive interference and the behavioral mechanisms that can produce suppression of a response.
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5
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Jacobs DS, Bogachuk AP, Moghaddam B. Orbitofrontal and Prelimbic Cortices Serve Complementary Roles in Adapting Reward Seeking to Learned Anxiety. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01139-9. [PMID: 38460582 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.1015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety is a common symptom of several mental health disorders and adversely affects motivated behaviors. Anxiety can emerge from associating risk of future harm while engaged in goal-guided actions. Using a recently developed behavioral paradigm to model this aspect of anxiety, we investigated the role of 2 cortical subregions, the prelimbic medial frontal cortex (PL) and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), which have been implicated in anxiety and outcome expectation, in flexible representation of actions associated with harm risk. METHODS A seek-take reward-guided instrumental task design was used to train animals (N = 8) to associate the seek action with a variable risk of punishment. After learning, animals underwent extinction training for this association. Fiber photometry was used to measure and compare neuronal activity in the PL and lOFC during learning and extinction. RESULTS Animals increased action suppression in response to punishment contingencies. This increase dissipated after extinction training. These behavioral changes were associated with region-specific changes in neuronal activity. PL neuronal activity preferentially adapted to the threat of punishment, whereas lOFC activity adapted to safe aspects of the task. Moreover, correlated activity between these regions was suppressed during actions associated with harm risk, suggesting that these regions may guide behavior independently under anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the PL and lOFC serve distinct but complementary roles in the representation of learned anxiety. This dissociation may provide a mechanism to explain how overlapping cortical systems are implicated in reward-guided action execution during anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Jacobs
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Alina P Bogachuk
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Bita Moghaddam
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
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Kalelkar A, Sipe G, Castro E Costa AR, Lorenzo IM, Nguyen M, Linares-Garcia I, Vazey E, Huda R. A paradigm for ethanol consumption in head-fixed mice during prefrontal cortical two-photon calcium imaging. Neuropharmacology 2024; 245:109800. [PMID: 38056524 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109800] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a hub for cognitive behaviors and is a key target for neuroadaptations in alcohol use disorders. Recent advances in genetically encoded sensors and functional microscopy allow multimodal in vivo PFC activity recordings at subcellular and cellular scales. While these methods could enable a deeper understanding of the relationship between alcohol and PFC function/dysfunction, they typically require animals to be head-fixed. Here, we present a method in mice for binge-like ethanol consumption during head-fixation. Male and female mice were first acclimated to ethanol by providing home cage access to 20% ethanol (v/v) for 4 or 8 days. After home cage drinking, mice consumed ethanol from a lick spout during head-fixation. We used two-photon calcium imaging during the head-fixed drinking paradigm to record from a large population of PFC neurons (>1000) to explore how acute ethanol affects their activity. Drinking exerted temporally heterogeneous effects on PFC activity at single neuron and population levels. Intoxication modulated the tonic activity of some neurons while others showed phasic responses around ethanol receipt. Population level activity did not show tonic or phasic modulation but tracked ethanol consumption over the minute-timescale. Network level interactions assessed through between-neuron pairwise correlations were largely resilient to intoxication at the population level while neurons with increased tonic activity showed higher synchrony by the end of the drinking period. By establishing a method for binge-like drinking in head-fixed mice, we lay the groundwork for leveraging advanced microscopy technologies to study alcohol-induced neuroadaptations in PFC and other brain circuits. This article is part of the Special Issue on "PFC circuit function in psychiatric disease and relevant models".
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Affiliation(s)
- Anagha Kalelkar
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Grayson Sipe
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ana Raquel Castro E Costa
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Ilka M Lorenzo
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - My Nguyen
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Ivan Linares-Garcia
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Elena Vazey
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Amherst, 611 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Rafiq Huda
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08904, USA.
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Silverstein SE, O'Sullivan R, Bukalo O, Pati D, Schaffer JA, Limoges A, Zsembik L, Yoshida T, O'Malley JJ, Paletzki RF, Lieberman AG, Nonaka M, Deisseroth K, Gerfen CR, Penzo MA, Kash TL, Holmes A. A distinct cortical code for socially learned threat. Nature 2024; 626:1066-1072. [PMID: 38326610 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-07008-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Animals can learn about sources of danger while minimizing their own risk by observing how others respond to threats. However, the distinct neural mechanisms by which threats are learned through social observation (known as observational fear learning1-4 (OFL)) to generate behavioural responses specific to such threats remain poorly understood. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) performs several key functions that may underlie OFL, including processing of social information and disambiguation of threat cues5-11. Here we show that dmPFC is recruited and required for OFL in mice. Using cellular-resolution microendoscopic calcium imaging, we demonstrate that dmPFC neurons code for observational fear and do so in a manner that is distinct from direct experience. We find that dmPFC neuronal activity predicts upcoming switches between freezing and moving state elicited by threat. By combining neuronal circuit mapping, calcium imaging, electrophysiological recordings and optogenetics, we show that dmPFC projections to the midbrain periaqueductal grey (PAG) constrain observer freezing, and that amygdalar and hippocampal inputs to dmPFC opposingly modulate observer freezing. Together our findings reveal that dmPFC neurons compute a distinct code for observational fear and coordinate long-range neural circuits to select behavioural responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shana E Silverstein
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Ruairi O'Sullivan
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Olena Bukalo
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dipanwita Pati
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Julia A Schaffer
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Aaron Limoges
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leo Zsembik
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Takayuki Yoshida
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - John J O'Malley
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Abby G Lieberman
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mio Nonaka
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Mario A Penzo
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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8
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Carrette L, Santos A, Brennan M, Othman D, Collazo A, George O. Antagonists of the stress and opioid systems restore the functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex during alcohol withdrawal through divergent mechanisms. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.30.560339. [PMID: 37873478 PMCID: PMC10592857 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.30.560339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Chronic alcohol consumption leads to dependence and withdrawal symptoms upon cessation, contributing to persistent use. However, the brain network mechanisms by which the brain orchestrates alcohol withdrawal and how these networks are affected by pharmacological treatments remain elusive. Recent work revealed that alcohol withdrawal produces a widespread increase in coordinated brain activity and a decrease in modularity of the whole-brain functional network using single-cell whole-brain imaging of immediate early genes. This decreased modularity and functional hyperconnectivity are hypothesized to be novel biomarkers of alcohol withdrawal in alcohol dependence, which could potentially be used to evaluate the efficacy of new medications for alcohol use disorder. However, there is no evidence that current FDA-approved medications or experimental treatments known to reduce alcohol drinking in animal models can normalize the changes in whole-brain functional connectivity. In this report, we tested the effect of R121919, a CRF1 antagonist, and naltrexone, an FDA-approved treatment for alcohol use disorder, on whole-brain functional connectivity using the cellular marker FOS combined with graph theory and advanced network analyses. Results show that both R121919 and naltrexone restored the functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex during alcohol withdrawal, but through divergent mechanisms. Specifically, R121919 increased FOS activation in the prefrontal cortex, partially restored modularity, and normalized connectivity, particularly in CRF1-rich regions, including the prefrontal, pallidum, and extended amygdala circuits. On the other hand, naltrexone decreased FOS activation throughout the brain, decreased modularity, and increased connectivity overall except for the Mu opioid receptor-rich regions, including the thalamus. These results identify the brain networks underlying the pharmacological effects of R121919 and naltrexone and demonstrate that these drugs restored different aspects of functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex, pallidum, amygdala, and thalamus during alcohol withdrawal. Notably, these effects were particularly prominent in CRF1- and Mu opioid receptors-rich regions highlighting the potential of whole-brain functional connectivity using FOS as a tool for identifying neuronal network mechanisms underlying the pharmacological effects of existing and new medications for alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- L.L.G. Carrette
- Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - A. Santos
- Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - M. Brennan
- Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - D. Othman
- Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - A. Collazo
- Beckman Institute, CalTech, Passadena, CA, United States
| | - O. George
- Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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9
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Heifets BD, Olson DE. Therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics and entactogens. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:104-118. [PMID: 37488282 PMCID: PMC10700553 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01666-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Recent clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that psychedelics and entactogens may produce both rapid and sustained therapeutic effects across several indications. Currently, there is a disconnect between how these compounds are used in the clinic and how they are studied in preclinical species, which has led to a gap in our mechanistic understanding of how these compounds might positively impact mental health. Human studies have emphasized extra-pharmacological factors that could modulate psychedelic-induced therapeutic responses including set, setting, and integration-factors that are poorly modelled in current animal experiments. In contrast, animal studies have focused on changes in neuronal activation and structural plasticity-outcomes that are challenging to measure in humans. Here, we describe several hypotheses that might explain how psychedelics rescue neuropsychiatric disease symptoms, and we propose ways to bridge the gap between human and rodent studies. Given the diverse pharmacological profiles of psychedelics and entactogens, we suggest that their rapid and sustained therapeutic mechanisms of action might best be described by the collection of circuits that they modulate rather than their actions at any single molecular target. Thus, approaches focusing on selective circuit modulation of behavioral phenotypes might prove more fruitful than target-based methods for identifying novel compounds with rapid and sustained therapeutic effects similar to psychedelics and entactogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris D Heifets
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - David E Olson
- Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95618, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
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10
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Timme NM, Ardinger CE, Weir SDC, Zelaya-Escobar R, Kruger R, Lapish CC. Non-consummatory behavior signals predict aversion-resistant alcohol drinking in head-fixed mice. Neuropharmacology 2024; 242:109762. [PMID: 37871677 PMCID: PMC10872650 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109762] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
A key facet of alcohol use disorder is continuing to drink alcohol despite negative consequences (so called "aversion-resistant drinking"). In this study, we sought to assess the degree to which head-fixed mice exhibit aversion-resistant drinking and to leverage behavioral analysis techniques available in head-fixture to relate non-consummatory behaviors to aversion-resistant drinking. We assessed aversion-resistant drinking in head-fixed female and male C57BL/6 J mice. We adulterated 20% (v/v) alcohol with varying concentrations of the bitter tastant quinine to measure the degree to which mice would continue to drink despite this aversive stimulus. We recorded high-resolution video of the mice during head-fixed drinking, tracked body parts with machine vision tools, and analyzed body movements in relation to consumption. Female and male head-fixed mice exhibited heterogenous levels of aversion-resistant drinking. Additionally, non-consummatory behaviors, such as paw movement and snout movement, were related to the intensity of aversion-resistant drinking. These studies demonstrate that head-fixed mice exhibit aversion-resistant drinking and that non-consummatory behaviors can be used to assess perceived aversiveness in this paradigm. Furthermore, these studies lay the groundwork for future experiments that will utilize advanced electrophysiological techniques to record from large populations of neurons during aversion-resistant drinking to understand the neurocomputational processes that drive this clinically relevant behavior. This article is part of the Special Issue on "PFC circuit function in psychiatric disease and relevant models".
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Timme
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | - Cherish E Ardinger
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Seth D C Weir
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Rachel Zelaya-Escobar
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Rachel Kruger
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 635 Barnhill Drive, MSB 5035, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA; Stark Neuroscience Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, 320 W. 15th St, NB 414, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
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11
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Arnold ME, Decker Ramirez EB, Beugelsdyk LA, Siano Kuzolitz MV, Jiang Q, Schank JR. Estradiol mediates sex differences in aversion-resistant alcohol intake. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1282230. [PMID: 38027489 PMCID: PMC10651753 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1282230] [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: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Alcohol consumption despite negative consequences is a core symptom of alcohol use disorder. This can be modeled in mice by pairing aversive stimuli with alcohol consumption, such as adding the bitter tastant quinine to the alcohol solution. If an animal continues to drink alcohol despite such negative stimuli, this is typically considered aversion-resistant, or inflexible, drinking behavior. Previous studies in our lab have found that females are more aversion-resistant than males in that they tolerate higher concentrations of quinine before they suppress their alcohol intake. Interestingly, we did not observe any differences in intake across the estrous cycle. In regards to neuronal activation patterns during quinine-alcohol intake, we have found that male mice show higher levels of activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and posterior insular cortex, while females show higher levels of activation in the ventral tegmental area. Methods In the experiments presented here, we conducted ovariectomies to further examine the role of circulating sex hormones in aversion-resistant alcohol intake and neuronal activation patterns. Furthermore, we used hormonal addback of estradiol or progesterone to determine which ovarian sex hormone mediates aversion-resistant consumption. Results We found that ovariectomy reduced quinine-adulterated alcohol intake, demonstrating that circulating sex hormones play a role in this behavior. We also observed reduced neuronal activation in the VTA of ovariectomized mice compared to sham females, and that estradiol supplementation reversed the effect of ovariectomy on quinine-alcohol intake. Discussion Taken together with our prior data, these findings suggest that circulating estradiol contributes to the expression of aversion-resistant alcohol intake and neuronal activity in the VTA. However, since this behavior is not affected by the estrous cycle, we believe this is due to a threshold level of this hormone, as opposed to fluctuations that occur across the estrous cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Jesse R. Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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12
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Timme NM, Ardinger CE, Weir SDC, Zelaya-Escobar R, Kruger R, Lapish CC. Non-Consummatory Behavior Signals Predict Aversion-Resistant Alcohol Drinking in Head-Fixed Mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.20.545767. [PMID: 37873153 PMCID: PMC10592797 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.20.545767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
A key facet of alcohol use disorder is continuing to drink alcohol despite negative consequences (so called "aversion-resistant drinking"). In this study, we sought to assess the degree to which head-fixed mice exhibit aversion-resistant drinking and to leverage behavioral analysis techniques available in head-fixture to relate non-consummatory behaviors to aversion-resistant drinking. We assessed aversion-resistant drinking in head-fixed female and male C57BL/6J mice. We adulterated 20% (v/v) alcohol with varying concentrations of the bitter tastant quinine to measure the degree to which mice would continue to drink despite this aversive stimulus. We recorded high-resolution video of the mice during head-fixed drinking, tracked body parts with machine vision tools, and analyzed body movements in relation to consumption. Female and male head-fixed mice exhibited heterogenous levels of aversion-resistant drinking. Additionally, non-consummatory behaviors, such as paw movement and snout movement, were related to the intensity of aversion-resistant drinking. These studies demonstrate that head-fixed mice exhibit aversion-resistant drinking and that non-consummatory behaviors can be used to assess perceived aversiveness in this paradigm. Furthermore, these studies lay the groundwork for future experiments that will utilize advanced electrophysiological techniques to record from large populations of neurons during aversion-resistant drinking to understand the neurocomputational processes that drive this clinically relevant behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M. Timme
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Cherish E. Ardinger
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Seth D. C. Weir
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Rachel Zelaya-Escobar
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Rachel Kruger
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St, LD 124, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Christopher C. Lapish
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 635 Barnhill Drive, MSB 5035, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
- Stark Neuroscience Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, 320 W. 15 St, NB 414, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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Gunduz-Cinar O, Castillo LI, Xia M, Van Leer E, Brockway ET, Pollack GA, Yasmin F, Bukalo O, Limoges A, Oreizi-Esfahani S, Kondev V, Báldi R, Dong A, Harvey-White J, Cinar R, Kunos G, Li Y, Zweifel LS, Patel S, Holmes A. A cortico-amygdala neural substrate for endocannabinoid modulation of fear extinction. Neuron 2023; 111:3053-3067.e10. [PMID: 37480845 PMCID: PMC10592324 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical and clinical studies implicate endocannabinoids (eCBs) in fear extinction, but the underlying neural circuit basis of these actions is unclear. Here, we employed in vivo optogenetics, eCB biosensor imaging, ex vivo electrophysiology, and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in mice to examine whether basolateral amygdala (BLA)-projecting medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons represent a neural substrate for the effects of eCBs on extinction. We found that photoexcitation of mPFC axons in BLA during extinction mobilizes BLA eCBs. eCB biosensor imaging showed that eCBs exhibit a dynamic stimulus-specific pattern of activity at mPFC→BLA neurons that tracks extinction learning. Furthermore, using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing, we demonstrated that extinction memory formation involves eCB activity at cannabinoid CB1 receptors expressed at vmPFC→BLA synapses. Our findings reveal the temporal characteristics and a neural circuit basis of eCBs' effects on fear extinction and inform efforts to target the eCB system as a therapeutic approach in extinction-deficient neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ozge Gunduz-Cinar
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Laura I Castillo
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Maya Xia
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Elise Van Leer
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Emma T Brockway
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Gabrielle A Pollack
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Farhana Yasmin
- Northwestern Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Olena Bukalo
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Aaron Limoges
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Sarvar Oreizi-Esfahani
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Veronika Kondev
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Rita Báldi
- Northwestern Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Ao Dong
- Peking University School of Life Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Judy Harvey-White
- Laboratory of Physiologic Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Resat Cinar
- Laboratory of Physiologic Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Section on Fibrotic Disorders, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - George Kunos
- Laboratory of Physiologic Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yulong Li
- Peking University School of Life Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Larry S Zweifel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sachin Patel
- Northwestern Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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14
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Arnold ME, Schank JR. Aversion-associated drug and alcohol seeking in females. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 71:101095. [PMID: 37558185 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Compulsive drug intake is characterized by the continuation of use regardless of negative consequences. This is modeled preclinically using procedures where a negative stimulus is delivered contingently with consumption of the reinforcer. In humans, women and men exhibit different drug taking behavior as it pertains to overall use, withdrawal symptoms, and rate of dependence. In substance use research, females have often been excluded from many studies due to concerns that circulating sex hormones may affect drug seeking behavior. However, the more recent inclusion of females in preclinical studies has identified interesting sex differences in aversion-resistant intake of drugs and alcohol. This review will serve to summarize key findings in aversion-related intake of alcohol, psychostimulants, and opioids in females by examining studies that have included female subjects. Further discussion will examine the effect of intake model, neuroanatomical pathways, and sex hormones in the expression of aversion-resistant drug and alcohol consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda E Arnold
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jesse R Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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15
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Kalelkar A, Sipe G, Costa ARCE, Lorenzo IM, Nguyen M, Linares-Garcia I, Vazey E, Huda R. A paradigm for ethanol consumption in head-fixed mice during prefrontal cortical two-photon calcium imaging. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.20.549846. [PMID: 37503061 PMCID: PMC10370124 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.20.549846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a hub for higher-level cognitive behaviors and is a key target for neuroadaptations in alcohol use disorders. Preclinical models of ethanol consumption are instrumental for understanding how acute and repeated drinking affects PFC structure and function. Recent advances in genetically encoded sensors of neuronal activity and neuromodulator release combined with functional microscopy (multiphoton and one-photon widefield imaging) allow multimodal in-vivo PFC recordings at subcellular and cellular scales. While these methods could enable a deeper understanding of the relationship between alcohol and PFC function/dysfunction, they require animals to be head-fixed. Here, we present a method in mice for binge-like ethanol consumption during head-fixation. Male and female mice were first acclimated to ethanol by providing home cage access to 20% ethanol (v/v) for 4 or 8 days. After home cage drinking, mice consumed ethanol from a lick spout during head-fixation. We used two-photon calcium imaging during the head-fixed drinking paradigm to record from a large population of PFC neurons (>1000) to explore how acute ethanol affects their activity. Drinking modulated activity rates in a subset of neurons on slow (minutes) and fast (seconds) time scales but the majority of neurons were unaffected. Moreover, ethanol intake did not significantly affect network level interactions in the PFC as assessed through inter-neuronal pairwise correlations. By establishing a method for binge-like drinking in head-fixed mice, we lay the groundwork for leveraging advanced microscopy technologies to study alcohol-induced neuroadaptations in PFC and other brain circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anagha Kalelkar
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Grayson Sipe
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ana Raquel Castro E Costa
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Ilka M. Lorenzo
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
| | - My Nguyen
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Ivan Linares-Garcia
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
| | - Elena Vazey
- Department of Biology, The University of Massachusetts Amherst, 611 North Pleasant Street, Amherst MA, 01003, USA
| | - Rafiq Huda
- WM Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway NJ, 08904, USA
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16
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Halladay LR. Investigating Neural Correlates of Behavior Through In Vivo Electrophysiology. Curr Protoc 2023; 3:e769. [PMID: 37154436 PMCID: PMC10290908 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.769] [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: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral neuroscience has long relied on in vivo electrophysiology to provide spatially and temporally precise answers to complex questions about the neural dynamics underlying sensory processing and action execution. Investigating the neural correlates of behavior can be challenging in freely behaving animals, especially when making inferences related to internal states that are temporally or conceptually ambiguous, such as decision-making or motivation. This necessitates careful creation of appropriate and rigorous controls and awareness of the many potential confounds when attributing neural signals to animal behavior. This article discusses fundamental considerations for the optimal design and interpretation of in vivo rodent electrophysiological recording experiments and focuses on the different optimization strategies required when investigating neural encoding of external stimuli versus free behavior. The first protocol offers suggestions specific to intracranial surgical implantation of multielectrode arrays. The second protocol delves into optimization strategies and tips useful for designing and interpreting recording experiments conducted in freely behaving rodents. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Surgical implantation of the multielectrode array Basic Protocol 2: Optimizing experimental design and parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay R. Halladay
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California, 95053, USA
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17
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Moorman DE, Aston-Jones G. Prelimbic and infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex neuron activity signals cocaine seeking variables across multiple timescales. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:575-594. [PMID: 36464693 PMCID: PMC10406502 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06287-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The prefrontal cortex is critical for execution and inhibition of reward seeking. Neural manipulation of rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) subregions differentially impacts execution and inhibition of cocaine seeking. Dorsal, or prelimbic (PL), and ventral, or infralimbic (IL) mPFC are implicated in cocaine seeking or extinction of cocaine seeking, respectively. This differentiation is not seen across all studies, indicating that further research is needed to understand specific mPFC contributions to drug seeking. METHODS We recorded neuronal activity in mPFC subregions during cocaine self-administration, extinction, and cue- and cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. RESULTS Both PL and IL neurons were phasically responsive around lever presses during cocaine self-administration, and activity in both areas was reduced during extinction. During both cue- and, to a greater extent, cocaine-induced reinstatement, PL neurons exhibited significantly elevated responses, in line with previous studies demonstrating a role for the region in relapse. The enhanced PL signaling in cocaine-induced reinstatement was driven by strong excitation and inhibition in different groups of neurons. Both of these response types were stronger in PL vs. IL neurons. Finally, we observed tonic changes in activity in all tasks phases, reflecting both session-long contextual modulation as well as minute-to-minute activity changes that were highly correlated with brain cocaine levels and motivation associated with cocaine seeking. CONCLUSIONS Although some differences were observed between PL and IL neuron activity across sessions, we found no evidence of a go/stop dichotomy in PL/IL function. Instead, our results demonstrate temporally heterogeneous prefrontal signaling during cocaine seeking and extinction in both PL and IL, revealing novel and complex functions for both regions during these behaviors. This combination of findings argues that mPFC neurons, in both PL and IL, provide multifaceted contributions to the regulation of drug seeking and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Moorman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences & Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
| | - Gary Aston-Jones
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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18
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Nett KE, Zimbelman AR, McGregor MS, Alizo Vera V, Harris MR, LaLumiere RT. Infralimbic Projections to the Nucleus Accumbens Shell and Amygdala Regulate the Encoding of Cocaine Extinction Learning. J Neurosci 2023; 43:1348-1359. [PMID: 36657972 PMCID: PMC9987566 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2023-22.2022] [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: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Prior evidence indicates that the infralimbic cortex (IL) mediates the ongoing inhibition of cocaine seeking following self-administration and extinction training in rats, specifically through projections to the nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell). Our own data indicate that IL activity immediately following an unreinforced lever press is critical for encoding the extinction contingencies in such procedures. Whether extinction encoding requires activity in the IL exclusively or also activity in its outputs, such as those to the NAshell and amygdala, is unknown. To address this issue, we used a closed-loop optogenetic approach in female and male Sprague Dawley rats to silence IL-NAshell or IL-amygdala activity following an unreinforced lever press during extinction training. Optical illumination (20 s) was given either immediately after a lever press or following a 20 s delay. IL-NAshell inhibition immediately following an unreinforced lever press increased lever pressing during extinction training and impaired retention of extinction learning, as assessed during subsequent extinction sessions without optical inhibition. Likewise, IL-amygdala inhibition given in the same manner impaired extinction retention during sessions without inhibition. Control experiments indicate that critical encoding of extinction learning does not require activity in these pathways beyond the initial 20 s post-lever press period, as delayed IL-NAshell and IL-amygdala inhibition had no effect on extinction learning. These results suggest that a larger network extending from the IL to the NAshell and amygdala is involved in encoding extinction contingencies following cocaine self-administration.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Infralimbic cortex (IL) activity following an unreinforced lever press during extinction learning encodes the extinction of cocaine-seeking behavior. However, the larger circuitry controlling such encoding has not been investigated. Using closed-loop optogenetic pathway targeting, we found that inhibition of IL projections to the nucleus accumbens shell and to the amygdala impaired the extinction of cocaine seeking. Importantly, these effects were only observed when activity was disrupted during the first 20 s post-lever press and not when given following a 20 s delay. These findings suggest that successful cocaine extinction encoding requires activity across a larger circuit beyond simply inputs to the IL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelle E Nett
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Alexa R Zimbelman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Matthew S McGregor
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Vanessa Alizo Vera
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Molly R Harris
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
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19
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Arnold ME, Butts AN, Erlenbach TR, Amico KN, Schank JR. Sex differences in neuronal activation during aversion-resistant alcohol consumption. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 47:240-250. [PMID: 36575056 PMCID: PMC9992309 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15006] [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] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the DSM-5 criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder is continued alcohol consumption despite negative consequences. This has been modeled in mice using adulteration of alcohol solution with the bitter tastant quinine. Mice that continue to consume alcohol despite this adulteration are considered aversion resistant. The limited number of studies dissecting the underlying neuronal mechanisms of aversion-resistant drinking behaviors used only male subjects. We have previously shown that female mice are more resistant to quinine adulteration of alcohol than males. Our aim here is to identify potential sex differences in neuronal activation that may underlie this behavior. METHODS Male and female C57BL/6J mice were allowed continuous access to 20% alcohol in a two-bottle choice procedure. To test aversion-resistance, the alcohol was adulterated with increasing concentrations (0.03, 0.1, and 0.2 mM) of quinine hydrochloride. After consumption rates were calculated, brains were extracted to examine neuronal activation using Fos immunohistochemistry. RESULTS We found that female mice suppressed their intake to a lesser extent than males when the alcohol solution was adulterated with quinine. Our Fos staining revealed three regions of interest that exhibit a sex difference during quinine-adulterated alcohol drinking: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the posterior insular cortex (PIC), and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Both the vmPFC and the PIC exhibited higher neuronal activation in males during quinine-adulterated alcohol consumption. However, females showed higher Fos activation in the VTA during quinine-adulterated alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS Females more readily exhibit aversion-resistant alcohol intake than their male counterparts and exhibit some differences in neuronal activation patterns. We conclude that there are sex differences in neurocircuitry that may underlie compulsive drinking behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda E Arnold
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Arielle N Butts
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Theresa R Erlenbach
- Department of Genetics, Franklin College of Arts and Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Kristen N Amico
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Jesse R Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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20
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Domi E, Barchiesi R, Barbier E. Epigenetic Dysregulation in Alcohol-Associated Behaviors: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023. [PMID: 36717533 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by loss of control over intake and drinking despite harmful consequences. At a molecular level, AUD is associated with long-term neuroadaptations in key brain regions that are involved in reward processing and decision-making. Over the last decades, a great effort has been made to understand the neurobiological basis underlying AUD. Epigenetic mechanisms have emerged as an important mechanism in the regulation of long-term alcohol-induced gene expression changes. Here, we review the literature supporting a role for epigenetic processes in AUD. We particularly focused on the three most studied epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation, Histone modification and non-coding RNAs. Clinical studies indicate an association between AUD and DNA methylation both at the gene and global levels. Using behavioral paradigms that mimic some of the characteristics of AUD, preclinical studies demonstrate that changes in epigenetic mechanisms can functionally impact alcohol-associated behaviors. While many studies support a therapeutic potential for targeting epigenetic enzymes, more research is needed to fully understand their role in AUD. Identification of brain circuits underlying alcohol-associated behaviors has made major advances in recent years. However, there are very few studies that investigate how epigenetic mechanisms can affect these circuits or impact the neuronal ensembles that promote alcohol-associated behaviors. Studies that focus on the role of circuit-specific and cell-specific epigenetic changes for clinically relevant alcohol behaviors may provide new insights on the functional role of epigenetic processes in AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esi Domi
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, Center for Neuroscience, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Riccardo Barchiesi
- Department of Neuroscience, Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Alcohol Addiction Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Estelle Barbier
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
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21
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Cantero-García N, Flores-Burgess A, Pineda-Gómez JP, Orio L, Serrano A, Díaz-Cabiale Z, Millón C. Galanin N-terminal fragment (1−15) reduces alcohol seeking and alcohol relapse in rats: Involvement of mesocorticolimbic system. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 153:113508. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
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22
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Liley AE, Gabriel DBK, Simon NW. Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex and Basolateral Amygdala Regulate Sensitivity to Delayed Punishment during Decision-making. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0170-22.2022. [PMID: 36038251 PMCID: PMC9463980 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0170-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In real-world decision-making scenarios, negative consequences do not always occur immediately after a choice. This delay between action and outcome drives the underestimation, or "delay discounting", of punishment. While the neural substrates underlying sensitivity to immediate punishment have been well-studied, there has been minimal investigation of delayed consequences. Here, we assessed the role of lateral orbitofrontal cortex (LOFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), two regions implicated in cost/benefit decision-making, in sensitivity to delayed vs immediate punishment. The delayed punishment decision-making task (DPDT) was used to measure delay discounting of punishment in rodents. During DPDT, rats choose between a small, single pellet reward and a large, three pellet reward accompanied by a mild foot shock. As the task progresses, the shock is preceded by a delay that systematically increases or decreases throughout the session. We observed that rats avoid choices associated with immediate punishment, then shift preference toward these options when punishment is delayed. LOFC inactivation did not influence choice of rewards with immediate punishment, but decreased choice of delayed punishment. We also observed that BLA inactivation reduced choice of delayed punishment for ascending but not descending delays. Inactivation of either brain region produced comparable effects on decision-making in males and females, but there were sex differences observed in omissions and latency to make a choice. In summary, both LOFC and BLA contribute to the delay discounting of punishment and may serve as promising therapeutic targets to improve sensitivity to delayed punishment during decision-making.Significance StatementNegative consequences occurring after a delay are often underestimated, which can lead to maladaptive decision-making. While sensitivity to immediate punishment during reward-seeking has been well-studied, the neural substrates underlying sensitivity to delayed punishment remain unclear. Here, we used the Delayed Punishment Decision-making Task to determine that lateral orbitofrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala both regulate the discounting of delayed punishment, suggesting that these regions may be potential targets to improve decision-making in psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna E Liley
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
| | - Daniel B K Gabriel
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
| | - Nicholas W Simon
- Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
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23
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Timme NM, Ma B, Linsenbardt D, Cornwell E, Galbari T, Lapish CC. Compulsive alcohol drinking in rodents is associated with altered representations of behavioral control and seeking in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3990. [PMID: 35810193 PMCID: PMC9271071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31731-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of compulsive alcohol drinking is continuing to drink despite negative consequences. To examine the changes in neural activity that underlie this behavior, compulsive alcohol drinking was assessed in a validated rodent model of heritable risk for excessive drinking (alcohol preferring (P) rats). Neural activity was measured in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC-a brain region involved in maladaptive decision-making) and assessed via change point analyses and novel principal component analyses. Neural population representations of specific decision-making variables were measured to determine how they were altered in animals that drink alcohol compulsively. Compulsive animals showed weakened representations of behavioral control signals, but strengthened representations of alcohol seeking-related signals. Finally, chemogenetic-based excitation of dmPFC prevented escalation of compulsive alcohol drinking. Collectively, these data indicate that compulsive alcohol drinking in rats is associated with alterations in dmPFC neural activity that underlie diminished behavioral control and enhanced seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Timme
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA.
| | - Baofeng Ma
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - David Linsenbardt
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Ethan Cornwell
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Taylor Galbari
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
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24
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Joffe ME, Maksymetz J, Luschinger JR, Dogra S, Ferranti AS, Luessen DJ, Gallinger IM, Xiang Z, Branthwaite H, Melugin PR, Williford KM, Centanni SW, Shields BC, Lindsley CW, Calipari ES, Siciliano CA, Niswender CM, Tadross MR, Winder DG, Conn PJ. Acute restraint stress redirects prefrontal cortex circuit function through mGlu 5 receptor plasticity on somatostatin-expressing interneurons. Neuron 2022; 110:1068-1083.e5. [PMID: 35045338 PMCID: PMC8930582 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory interneurons orchestrate prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, but we have a limited understanding of the molecular and experience-dependent mechanisms that regulate synaptic plasticity across PFC microcircuits. We discovered that mGlu5 receptor activation facilitates long-term potentiation at synapses from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) onto somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SST-INs) in mice. This plasticity appeared to be recruited during acute restraint stress, which induced intracellular calcium mobilization within SST-INs and rapidly potentiated postsynaptic strength onto SST-INs. Restraint stress and mGlu5 receptor activation each augmented BLA recruitment of SST-IN phasic feedforward inhibition, shunting information from other excitatory inputs, including the mediodorsal thalamus. Finally, studies using cell-type-specific mGlu5 receptor knockout mice revealed that mGlu5 receptor function in SST-expressing cells is necessary for restraint stress-induced changes to PFC physiology and related behaviors. These findings provide new insights into interneuron-specific synaptic plasticity mechanisms and suggest that SST-IN microcircuits may be promising targets for treating stress-induced psychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max E Joffe
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA; Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - James Maksymetz
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Joseph R Luschinger
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Shalini Dogra
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Anthony S Ferranti
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Deborah J Luessen
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Isabel M Gallinger
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Zixiu Xiang
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hannah Branthwaite
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Patrick R Melugin
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Kellie M Williford
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Samuel W Centanni
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Brenda C Shields
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Craig W Lindsley
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Erin S Calipari
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Cody A Siciliano
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Colleen M Niswender
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Michael R Tadross
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Danny G Winder
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - P Jeffrey Conn
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
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25
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Brown RM, Dayas C, James M, Smith RJ. New directions in modelling dysregulated reward seeking for food and drugs. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 132:1037-1048. [PMID: 34736883 PMCID: PMC8816817 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral models are central to behavioral neuroscience. To study the neural mechanisms of maladaptive behaviors (including binge eating and drug addiction), it is essential to develop and utilize appropriate animal models that specifically focus on dysregulated reward seeking. Both food and cocaine are typically consumed in a regulated manner by rodents, motivated by reward and homeostatic mechanisms. However, both food and cocaine seeking can become dysregulated, resulting in binge-like consumption and compulsive patterns of intake. The speakers in this symposium for the 2021 International Behavioral Neuroscience Meeting utilize behavioral models of dysregulated reward-seeking to investigate the neural mechanisms of binge-like consumption, enhanced cue-driven reward seeking, excessive motivation, and continued use despite negative consequences. In this review, we outline examples of maladaptive patterns of intake and explore recent animal models that drive behavior to become dysregulated, including stress exposure and intermittent access to rewards. Lastly, we explore select behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying dysregulated reward-seeking for both food and drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn M Brown
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, 3052, Australia.,Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, 3052, Australia.,Correspondence: Morgan James, Department of Psychiatry, 683 Hoes Ln West, Office 164, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854 USA, Ph: +1 732 235 4767, , Robyn M Brown, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Medical Building (B181), Level 8, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010 Australia, Ph: +61401007008,
| | - Christopher Dayas
- School of Biomedical Sciences & Pharmacy, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia,Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia
| | - Morgan James
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA,Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA,Correspondence: Morgan James, Department of Psychiatry, 683 Hoes Ln West, Office 164, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854 USA, Ph: +1 732 235 4767, , Robyn M Brown, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Medical Building (B181), Level 8, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010 Australia, Ph: +61401007008,
| | - Rachel J Smith
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
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26
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Müller Ewald VA, Kim J, Farley SJ, Freeman JH, LaLumiere RT. Theta oscillations in rat infralimbic cortex are associated with the inhibition of cocaine seeking during extinction. Addict Biol 2022; 27:e13106. [PMID: 34672059 PMCID: PMC8922975 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Infralimbic cortical (IL) manipulations indicate that this region mediates extinction learning and suppresses cocaine seeking following cocaine self‐administration. However, little work has recorded IL activity during the inhibition of cocaine seeking due to the difficulty of determining precisely when cocaine‐seeking behaviour is inhibited within a cocaine‐seeking session. The present study used in vivo electrophysiology to examine IL activity across extinction as well as during cocaine self‐administration and reinstatement. Sprague–Dawley rats underwent 6‐h access cocaine self‐administration in which the response lever was available during discrete signalled trials, a procedure which allowed for the comparison between epochs of cocaine seeking versus the inhibition thereof. Subsequently, rats underwent extinction and cocaine‐primed reinstatement using the same procedure. Results indicate that theta rhythms (4–10 Hz) dominated IL local‐field potential (LFP) activity during all experimental stages. During extinction, theta power fluctuated significantly surrounding the lever press and was lower when rats engaged in cocaine seeking versus when they withheld from doing so. These patterns of oscillatory activity differed from self‐administration and reinstatement stages. Single‐unit analyses indicate heterogeneity of IL unit responses, supporting the idea that multiple neuronal subpopulations exist within the IL and promote the expression of different and even opposing cocaine‐seeking behaviours. Together, these results are consistent with the idea that aggregate synaptic and single‐unit activity in the IL represent the engagement of the IL in action monitoring to promote adaptive behaviour in accordance with task contingencies and reveal critical insights into the relationship between IL activity and the inhibition of cocaine seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victória A. Müller Ewald
- Department of Psychiatry University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
| | - Jangjin Kim
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
| | - Sean J. Farley
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
| | - John H. Freeman
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
| | - Ryan T. LaLumiere
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute University of Iowa Iowa City Iowa USA
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27
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Nett KE, LaLumiere RT. Infralimbic cortex functioning across motivated behaviors: Can the differences be reconciled? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:704-721. [PMID: 34624366 PMCID: PMC8642304 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The rodent infralimbic cortex (IL) is implicated in higher order executive functions such as reward seeking and flexible decision making. However, the precise nature of its role in these processes is unclear. Early evidence indicated that the IL promotes the extinction and ongoing inhibition of fear conditioning and cocaine seeking. However, evidence spanning other behavioral domains, such as natural reward seeking and habit-based learning, suggests a more nuanced understanding of IL function. As techniques have advanced and more studies have examined IL function, identifying a unifying explanation for its behavioral function has become increasingly difficult. Here, we discuss evidence of IL function across motivated behaviors, including associative learning, drug seeking, natural reward seeking, and goal-directed versus habit-based behaviors, and emphasize how context-specific encoding and heterogeneous IL neuronal populations may underlie seemingly conflicting findings in the literature. Together, the evidence suggests that a major IL function is to facilitate the encoding and updating of contingencies between cues and behaviors to guide subsequent behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelle E Nett
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
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28
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Green JT, Bouton ME. New functions of the rodent prelimbic and infralimbic cortex in instrumental behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 185:107533. [PMID: 34673264 PMCID: PMC8653515 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The prelimbic and infralimbic cortices of the rodent medial prefrontal cortex mediate the effects of context and goals on instrumental behavior. Recent work from our laboratory has expanded this understanding. Results have shown that the prelimbic cortex is important for the modulation of instrumental behavior by the context in which the behavior is learned (but not other contexts), with context potentially being broadly defined (to include at least previous behaviors). We have also shown that the infralimbic cortex is important in the expression of extensively-trained instrumental behavior, regardless of whether that behavior is expressed as a stimulus-response habit or a goal-directed action. Some of the most recent data suggest that infralimbic cortex may control the currently active behavioral state (e.g., habit vs. action or acquisition vs. extinction) when two states have been learned. We have also begun to examine prelimbic and infralimbic cortex function as key nodes of discrete circuits and have shown that prelimbic cortex projections to an anterior region of the dorsomedial striatum are important for expression of minimally-trained instrumental behavior. Overall, the use of an associative learning perspective on instrumental learning has allowed the research to provide new perspectives on how these two "cognitive" brain regions contribute to instrumental behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T Green
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, United States.
| | - Mark E Bouton
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, United States
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29
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Egervari G, Siciliano CA, Whiteley EL, Ron D. Alcohol and the brain: from genes to circuits. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:1004-1015. [PMID: 34702580 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use produces wide-ranging and diverse effects on the central nervous system. It influences intracellular signaling mechanisms, leading to changes in gene expression, chromatin remodeling, and translation. As a result of these molecular alterations, alcohol affects the activity of neuronal circuits. Together, these mechanisms produce long-lasting cellular adaptations in the brain that in turn can drive the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide an update on alcohol research, focusing on multiple levels of alcohol-induced adaptations, from intracellular changes to changes in neural circuits. A better understanding of how alcohol affects these diverse and interlinked mechanisms may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and to the development of much-needed novel and efficacious treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor Egervari
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Cody A Siciliano
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
| | - Ellanor L Whiteley
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Dorit Ron
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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30
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Vargas MV, Meyer R, Avanes AA, Rus M, Olson DE. Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:727117. [PMID: 34671279 PMCID: PMC8520991 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.727117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychedelics have inspired new hope for treating brain disorders, as they seem to be unlike any treatments currently available. Not only do they produce sustained therapeutic effects following a single administration, they also appear to have broad therapeutic potential, demonstrating efficacy for treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorder, and alcohol use disorder, among others. Psychedelics belong to a more general class of compounds known as psychoplastogens, which robustly promote structural and functional neural plasticity in key circuits relevant to brain health. Here we discuss the importance of structural plasticity in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as the evidence demonstrating that psychedelics are among the most effective chemical modulators of neural plasticity studied to date. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical framework with the potential to explain why psychedelic compounds produce long-lasting therapeutic effects across a wide range of brain disorders. Despite their promise as broadly efficacious neurotherapeutics, there are several issues associated with psychedelic-based medicines that drastically limit their clinical scalability. We discuss these challenges and how they might be overcome through the development of non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens. The clinical use of psychedelics and other psychoplastogenic compounds marks a paradigm shift in neuropsychiatry toward therapeutic approaches relying on the selective modulation of neural circuits with small molecule drugs. Psychoplastogen research brings us one step closer to actually curing mental illness by rectifying the underlying pathophysiology of disorders like depression, moving beyond simply treating disease symptoms. However, determining how to most effectively deploy psychoplastogenic medicines at scale will be an important consideration as the field moves forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxemiliano V. Vargas
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Retsina Meyer
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
| | - Arabo A. Avanes
- Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Mark Rus
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
| | - David E. Olson
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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31
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Heinsbroek JA, Giannotti G, Mandel MR, Josey M, Aston-Jones G, James MH, Peters J. A common limiter circuit for opioid choice and relapse identified in a rodent addiction model. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4788. [PMID: 34373454 PMCID: PMC8352904 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25080-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Activity in numerous brain regions drives heroin seeking, but no circuits that limit heroin seeking have been identified. Furthermore, the neural circuits controlling opioid choice are unknown. In this study, we examined the role of the infralimbic cortex (IL) to nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell) pathway during heroin choice and relapse. This model yielded subpopulations of heroin versus food preferring rats during choice, and choice was unrelated to subsequent relapse rates to heroin versus food cues, suggesting that choice and relapse are distinct behavioral constructs. Supporting this, inactivation of the IL with muscimol produced differential effects on opioid choice versus relapse. A pathway-specific chemogenetic approach revealed, however, that the IL-NAshell pathway acts as a common limiter of opioid choice and relapse. Furthermore, dendritic spines in IL-NAshell neurons encode distinct aspects of heroin versus food reinforcement. Thus, opioid choice and relapse share a common addiction-limiting circuit in the IL-NAshell pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper A Heinsbroek
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Giuseppe Giannotti
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Mitchel R Mandel
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Megan Josey
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Gary Aston-Jones
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Morgan H James
- Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Piscataway, NJ, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Jamie Peters
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA. .,Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
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32
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McCool BA. Ethanol modulation of cortico-basolateral amygdala circuits: Neurophysiology and behavior. Neuropharmacology 2021; 197:108750. [PMID: 34371080 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This review highlights literature relating the anatomy, physiology, and behavioral contributions by projections between rodent prefrontal cortical areas and the basolateral amygdala. These projections are robustly modulated by both environmental experience and exposure to drugs of abuse including ethanol. Recent literature relating optogenetic and chemogenetic dissection of these circuits within behavior both compliments and occasionally challenges roles defined by more traditional pharmacological or lesion-based approaches. In particular, cortico-amygdala circuits help control both aversive and reward-seeking. Exposure to pathology-producing environments or abused drugs dysregulates the relative 'balance' of these outcomes. Modern circuit-based approaches have also shown that overlapping populations of neurons within a given brain region frequently govern both aversion and reward-seeking. In addition, these circuits often dramatically influence 'local' cortical or basolateral amygdala excitatory or inhibitory circuits. Our understanding of these neurobiological processes, particularly in relation to ethanol research, has just begun and represents a significant opportunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A McCool
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
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33
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Domi E, Xu L, Toivainen S, Nordeman A, Gobbo F, Venniro M, Shaham Y, Messing RO, Visser E, van den Oever MC, Holm L, Barbier E, Augier E, Heilig M. A neural substrate of compulsive alcohol use. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/34/eabg9045. [PMID: 34407947 PMCID: PMC8373126 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg9045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol intake remains controlled in a majority of users but becomes "compulsive," i.e., continues despite adverse consequences, in a minority who develop alcohol addiction. Here, using a footshock-punished alcohol self-administration procedure, we screened a large population of outbred rats to identify those showing compulsivity operationalized as punishment-resistant self-administration. Using unsupervised clustering, we found that this behavior emerged as a stable trait in a subpopulation of rats and was associated with activity of a brain network that included central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Activity of PKCδ+ inhibitory neurons in the lateral subdivision of CeA (CeL) accounted for ~75% of variance in punishment-resistant alcohol taking. Activity-dependent tagging, followed by chemogenetic inhibition of neurons activated during punishment-resistant self-administration, suppressed alcohol taking, as did a virally mediated shRNA knockdown of PKCδ in CeA. These findings identify a previously unknown mechanism for a core element of alcohol addiction and point to a novel candidate therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esi Domi
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden.
| | - Li Xu
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
- Psychosomatic Medicine Center, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Sanne Toivainen
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
| | - Anton Nordeman
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
| | - Francesco Gobbo
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 1 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Marco Venniro
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Robert O Messing
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research and Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Esther Visser
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Michel C van den Oever
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lovisa Holm
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
| | - Estelle Barbier
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
| | - Eric Augier
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
| | - Markus Heilig
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, BKV, Linköping University, Linköping 581 85, Sweden
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Le Merre P, Ährlund-Richter S, Carlén M. The mouse prefrontal cortex: Unity in diversity. Neuron 2021; 109:1925-1944. [PMID: 33894133 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is considered to constitute the highest stage of neural integration and to be devoted to representation and production of actions. Studies in primates have laid the foundation for theories regarding the principles of prefrontal function and provided mechanistic insights. The recent surge of studies of the PFC in mice holds promise for evolvement of present theories and development of novel concepts, particularly regarding principles shared across mammals. Here we review recent empirical work on the mouse PFC capitalizing on the experimental toolbox currently privileged to studies in this species. We conclude that this line of research has revealed cellular and structural distinctions of the PFC and neuronal activity with direct relevance to theories regarding the functions of the PFC. We foresee that data-rich mouse studies will be key to shed light on the general prefrontal architecture and mechanisms underlying cognitive aspects of organized actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Le Merre
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Marie Carlén
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 141 83 Huddinge, Sweden.
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Piantadosi PT, Halladay LR, Radke AK, Holmes A. Advances in understanding meso-cortico-limbic-striatal systems mediating risky reward seeking. J Neurochem 2021; 157:1547-1571. [PMID: 33704784 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The risk of an aversive consequence occurring as the result of a reward-seeking action can have a profound effect on subsequent behavior. Such aversive events can be described as punishers, as they decrease the probability that the same action will be produced again in the future and increase the exploration of less risky alternatives. Punishment can involve the omission of an expected rewarding event ("negative" punishment) or the addition of an unpleasant event ("positive" punishment). Although many individuals adaptively navigate situations associated with the risk of negative or positive punishment, those suffering from substance use disorders or behavioral addictions tend to be less able to curtail addictive behaviors despite the aversive consequences associated with them. Here, we discuss the psychological processes underpinning reward seeking despite the risk of negative and positive punishment and consider how behavioral assays in animals have been employed to provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying addictive disorders. We then review the critical contributions of dopamine signaling to punishment learning and risky reward seeking, and address the roles of interconnected ventral striatal, cortical, and amygdala regions to these processes. We conclude by discussing the ample opportunities for future study to clarify critical gaps in the literature, particularly as related to delineating neural contributions to distinct phases of the risky decision-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Piantadosi
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Anna K Radke
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
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36
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Radke AK, Sneddon EA, Frasier RM, Hopf FW. Recent Perspectives on Sex Differences in Compulsion-Like and Binge Alcohol Drinking. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22073788. [PMID: 33917517 PMCID: PMC8038761 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder remains a substantial social, health, and economic problem and problem drinking levels in women have been increasing in recent years. Understanding whether and how the underlying mechanisms that drive drinking vary by sex is critical and could provide novel, more targeted therapeutic treatments. Here, we examine recent results from our laboratories and others which we believe provide useful insights into similarities and differences in alcohol drinking patterns across the sexes. Findings for binge intake and aversion-resistant, compulsion-like alcohol drinking are considered, since both are likely significant contributors to alcohol problems in humans. We also describe studies regarding mechanisms that may underlie sex differences in maladaptive alcohol drinking, with some focus on the importance of nucleus accumbens (NAcb) core and shell regions, several receptor types (dopamine, orexin, AMPA-type glutamate), and possible contributions of sex hormones. Finally, we discuss how stressors such as early life stress and anxiety-like states may interact with sex differences to contribute to alcohol drinking. Together, these findings underscore the importance and critical relevance of studying female and male mechanisms for alcohol and co-morbid conditions to gain a true and clinically useful understanding of addiction and neuropsychiatric mechanisms and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Radke
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45040, USA;
- Correspondence:
| | - Elizabeth A. Sneddon
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45040, USA;
| | - Raizel M. Frasier
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; (R.M.F.); (F.W.H.)
| | - Frederic W. Hopf
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; (R.M.F.); (F.W.H.)
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37
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Jacobs DS, Moghaddam B. Medial prefrontal cortex encoding of stress and anxiety. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 158:29-55. [PMID: 33785149 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in adaptive control of behavior and optimizing action selection. When an organism is experiencing an aversive event, such as a sustained state of anxiety or an overt experience of fear or stress, the mechanisms that govern PFC regulation of action selection may be critical for survival. A large body of literature has shown that acute aversive states influence the activity of PFC neurons and the release of neurotransmitters in this region. These states also result in long-term neurobiological changes in the PFC and expression of PFC-dependent motivated behaviors. The mechanism for how these changes lead to modifying action selection is only recently beginning to emerge. Here, we review animal and human studies into the neural mechanisms which may mediate the adaptive changes in the PFC that emerge during negative affective states. We then highlight recent advances in approaches for understanding how anxiety influences action selection and related cortical processes. We conclude by proposing that PFC neurons selectively influence action encoding during conditions where actions toward obtaining a reward or avoiding harm are executed under a fog of fear and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Jacobs
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Bita Moghaddam
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
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38
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Monroe SC, Radke AK. Aversion-resistant fentanyl self-administration in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:699-710. [PMID: 33226446 PMCID: PMC7914171 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05722-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Animal models of compulsive drug use that continues despite negative consequences can be used to investigate the neural mechanisms of addiction. However, models of punished or aversion-resistant opioid self-administration are notably lacking. OBJECTIVES We sought to develop an aversion-resistant, oral fentanyl self-administration paradigm. METHODS In Experiment 1, C57BL/6J male and female, adult mice consumed fentanyl (10 μg/mL) in a two-bottle drinking in the dark task and escalating concentrations of quinine were added to the bottles. In Experiment 2, mice were trained to administer oral fentanyl (10 μg/mL) in an operant response task. Quinine was next added to the fentanyl solution in escalating concentrations. In Experiment 3, mice were trained to respond for oral fentanyl or fentanyl adulterated with 500 μM quinine on every session. In Experiment 4, mice were trained to respond for a 1% sucrose solution before introduction of quinine. RESULTS Quinine reduced two-bottle choice consumption in males but not in females. Both sexes demonstrated the ability to detect the selected concentrations of quinine in fentanyl. In the operant chamber, mice responded robustly for oral fentanyl but introduction of quinine at any stage of training was insufficient to reduce responding. In contrast, quinine reduced responding for sucrose at concentrations above 250 μM. CONCLUSIONS Mice will respond for and consume oral fentanyl in both a two-bottle choice and an operant response task. Quinine is detectable in fentanyl but mice will continue to respond for and consume fentanyl with quinine in both paradigms. These data support the use of these models in behavioral studies of compulsive-like opioid use.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna K. Radke
- Correspondence to: Anna K. Radke, PhD, 90 N Patterson Ave, Oxford, OH, USA 45056,
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39
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Motivational competition and the paraventricular thalamus. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:193-207. [PMID: 33609570 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Although significant progress has been made in understanding the behavioral and brain mechanisms for motivational systems, much less is known about competition between motivational states or motivational conflict (e.g., approach - avoidance conflict). Despite being produced under diverse conditions, behavior during motivational competition has two signatures: bistability and metastability. These signatures reveal the operation of positive feedback mechanisms in behavioral selection. Different neuronal architectures can instantiate this selection to achieve bistability and metastability in behavior, but each relies on circuit-level inhibition to achieve rapid and stable selection between competing tendencies. Paraventricular thalamus (PVT) is identified as critical to this circuit level inhibition, resolving motivational competition via its extensive projections to local inhibitory networks in the ventral striatum and extended amygdala, enabling adaptive responding under motivational conflict.
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40
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Martín-Sánchez A, García-Baos A, Castro-Zavala A, Alegre-Zurano L, Valverde O. Early-life stress exacerbates the effects of WIN55,212-2 and modulates the cannabinoid receptor type 1 expression. Neuropharmacology 2021; 184:108416. [PMID: 33271186 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Early-life stress induces an abnormal brain development and increases the risk of psychiatric diseases, including depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. We have developed a reliable model for maternal neglect, named maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) in CD1 mice. In the present study, we evaluated the long-term effects on anxiety-like behaviours, nociception as well as the Iba1-positive microglial cells in this model in comparison to standard nest (SN) mice. Moreover, we investigated whether MSEW alters the cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 effects regarding reward, spatial and emotional memories, tolerance to different cannabinoid responses, and physical dependence. Adult male offspring of MSEW group showed impaired responses on spatial and emotional memories after a repeated WIN55,212-2 treatment. These behavioural impairments were associated with an increase in basolateral amygdala and hippocampal CB1-expressing fibres and higher number of CB1-containing cells in cerebellum. Additionally, MSEW promotes a higher number of Iba1-positive microglial cells in basolateral amygdala and cerebellum. As for the cannabinoid-induced effects, rearing conditions did not influence the rewarding effects of WIN55,212-2 in the conditioned place preference paradigm. However, MSEW mice showed a delay in the development of tolerance to the cannabinoid effects. Moreover, CB1-positive fibres were reduced in limbic areas in MSEW mice after cannabinoid withdrawal precipitated with the CB1 antagonist SR141617A. These findings support that early-life stress promotes behavioural and molecular changes in the sensitivity to cannabinoids, which are mediated by alterations in CB1 signalling in limbic areas and it induces an increased Iba1-microglial marker which could interfere in emotional memories formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Martín-Sánchez
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Neuroscience Research Program, IMIM-Hospital Del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alba García-Baos
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adriana Castro-Zavala
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laia Alegre-Zurano
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Olga Valverde
- Neurobiology of Behaviour Research Group (GReNeC-NeuroBio), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Neuroscience Research Program, IMIM-Hospital Del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
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41
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Sneddon EA, Schuh KM, Frankel JW, Radke AK. The contribution of medium spiny neuron subtypes in the nucleus accumbens core to compulsive-like ethanol drinking. Neuropharmacology 2021; 187:108497. [PMID: 33582151 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Compulsive alcohol use, or drinking that persists despite negative or aversive consequences, is a defining characteristic of alcohol use disorder. Here, chemogenetic technology (i.e. Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs; DREADDs) was used to inhibit or excite the NAc core or selectively inhibit D1-or D2 receptor-expressing neurons in the NAc core to understand the role of the NAc core and how these subpopulations of neurons may influence compulsive-like ethanol (EtOH) drinking using C57BL/6J, Drd1-cre, and Drd2-cre male and female mice. Compulsive-like EtOH drinking was modeled with a two-bottle choice, drinking in the dark paradigm. The major finding of this study was that mice decreased compulsive-like EtOH intake when the NAc core was inhibited and there was no change of EtOH + quinine intake when the NAc core was excited. Interestingly, inhibition of D1-or D2 receptor-expressing neurons did not alter compulsive-like EtOH intake. Control experiments showed that NAc core excitation and selective inhibition of D1-or D2-receptor-expressing neurons had no effect on baseline EtOH drinking, intake of water, or intake of quinine-adulterated water. CNO reduced amphetamine-induced locomotion in the D1-CRE+ (but not the D2CRE+) group in a control experiment. Finally, pharmacological antagonism of D1 and D2 receptors together, but not separately, reduced quinine-resistant EtOH drinking. These results suggest that the NAc core is a critical region involved in compulsive-like EtOH consumption, and that both D1-and D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons participate in controlling this behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Sneddon
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Kristen M Schuh
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - John W Frankel
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
| | - Anna K Radke
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
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42
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Coley AA, Padilla-Coreano N, Patel R, Tye KM. Valence processing in the PFC: Reconciling circuit-level and systems-level views. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 158:171-212. [PMID: 33785145 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
An essential component in animal behavior is the ability to process emotion and dissociate among positive and negative valence in response to a rewarding or aversive stimulus. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-responsible for higher order executive functions that include cognition, learning, and working memory; and is also involved in sociability-plays a major role in emotional processing and control. Although the amygdala is widely regarded as the "emotional hub," the mPFC encodes for context-specific salience and elicits top-down control over limbic circuitry. The mPFC can then conduct behavioral responses, via cortico-striatal and cortico-brainstem pathways, that correspond to emotional stimuli. Evidence shows that abnormalities within the mPFC lead to sociability deficits, working memory impairments, and drug-seeking behavior that include addiction and compulsive disorders; as well as conditions such as anhedonia. Recent studies investigate the effects of aberrant salience processing on cortical circuitry and neuronal populations associated with these behaviors. In this chapter, we discuss mPFC valence processing, neuroanatomical connections, and physiological substrates involved in mPFC-associated behavior. We review neurocomputational and theoretical models such as "mixed selectivity," that describe cognitive control, attentiveness, and motivational drives. Using this knowledge, we describe the effects of valence imbalances and its influence on mPFC neural pathways that contribute to deficits in social cognition, while understanding the effects in addiction/compulsive behaviors and anhedonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin A Coley
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | | | - Reesha Patel
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Kay M Tye
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, United States.
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43
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Kaminska B, Caballero JP, Moorman DE. Integration of value and action in medial prefrontal neural systems. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2020; 158:57-82. [PMID: 33785156 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a key role in regulating cognition, emotion, and behavior. mPFC neurons are activated in diverse experimental paradigms, raising the questions of whether there are specific task elements or dimensions encoded by mPFC neurons, and whether these encoded parameters are selective to neurons in particular mPFC subregions or networks. Here, we consider the role of mPFC neurons in processing appetitive and aversive cues, outcomes, and related behaviors. mPFC neurons are strongly activated in tasks probing value and outcome-associated actions, but these responses vary across experimental paradigms. Can we identify specific categories of responses (e.g., positive or negative value), or do mPFC neurons exhibit response properties that are too heterogeneous/complex to cluster into distinct conceptual groups? Based on a review of relevant studies, we consider what has been done and what needs to be further explored in order to address these questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beata Kaminska
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Jessica P Caballero
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - David E Moorman
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States.
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44
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Glover LR, McFadden KM, Bjorni M, Smith SR, Rovero NG, Oreizi-Esfahani S, Yoshida T, Postle AF, Nonaka M, Halladay LR, Holmes A. A prefrontal-bed nucleus of the stria terminalis circuit limits fear to uncertain threat. eLife 2020; 9:60812. [PMID: 33319747 PMCID: PMC7899651 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In many cases of trauma, the same environmental stimuli that become associated with aversive events are experienced on other occasions without adverse consequence. We examined neural circuits underlying partially reinforced fear (PRF), whereby mice received tone-shock pairings on half of conditioning trials. Tone-elicited freezing was lower after PRF conditioning than fully reinforced fear (FRF) conditioning, despite an equivalent number of tone-shock pairings. PRF preferentially activated medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Chemogenetic inhibition of BNST-projecting mPFC neurons increased PRF, not FRF, freezing. Multiplexing chemogenetics with in vivo neuronal recordings showed elevated infralimbic cortex (IL) neuronal activity during CS onset and freezing cessation; these neural correlates were abolished by chemogenetic mPFC→BNST inhibition. These data suggest that mPFC→BNST neurons limit fear to threats with a history of partial association with an aversive stimulus, with potential implications for understanding the neural basis of trauma-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas R Glover
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Kerry M McFadden
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Max Bjorni
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, United States
| | - Sawyer R Smith
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Natalie G Rovero
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, United States
| | - Sarvar Oreizi-Esfahani
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Takayuki Yoshida
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Abagail F Postle
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Mio Nonaka
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
| | - Lindsay R Halladay
- Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, United States
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, United States
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45
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Effects of optogenetic photoexcitation of infralimbic cortex inputs to the basolateral amygdala on conditioned fear and extinction. Behav Brain Res 2020; 396:112913. [PMID: 32950607 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Deficiencies in the ability to extinguish fear is a hallmark of Trauma- and stressor-related disorders, Anxiety disorders, and certain other neuropsychiatric conditions. Hence, a greater understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in the inhibition of fear is of significant translational relevance. Previous studies in rodents have shown that glutamatergic projections from the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (IL) to basolateral amygdala (BLA) play a crucial instructional role in the formation of extinction memories, and also indicate that variation in the strength of this input correlates with extinction efficacy. To further examine the relationship between the IL→BLA pathway and extinction we expressed three different titers of the excitatory opsin, channelrhodopsin (ChR2), in IL neurons and photostimulated their projections in the BLA during partial extinction training. The behavioral effects of photoexcitation differed across the titer groups: the low titer had no effect, the medium titer selectively facilitated extinction memory formation, and the high titer produced both an acute suppression of fear and a decrease in fear during (light-free) extinction retrieval. We discuss various possible explanations for these titer-specific effects, including the possibility of IL-mediated inhibition of BLA fear-encoding neurons under conditions of sufficiently strong photoexcitation. These findings further support the role of IL→BLA pathway in regulating fear and highlight the importance of methodological factors in optogenetic studies of neural circuits underling behavior.
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46
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Piantadosi PT, Yeates DCM, Floresco SB. Prefrontal cortical and nucleus accumbens contributions to discriminative conditioned suppression of reward-seeking. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:429-440. [PMID: 32934096 PMCID: PMC7497111 DOI: 10.1101/lm.051912.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Fear can potently inhibit ongoing behavior, including reward-seeking, yet the neural circuits that underlie such suppression remain to be clarified. Prior studies have demonstrated that distinct subregions of the rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) differentially affect fear behavior, whereby fear expression is promoted by the more dorsal prelimbic cortex (PL) and inhibited by the more ventral infralimbic cortex (IL). These mPFC regions project to subregions of the nucleus accumbens, the core (NAcC) and shell (NAcS), that differentially contribute to reward-seeking as well as affective processes that may be relevant to fear expression. Here, we investigated how these mPFC and NAc subregions contribute to discriminative fear conditioning, assessed by conditioned suppression of reward-seeking. Bilateral inactivation of the NAcS or PL reduced the expression of conditioned suppression to a shock-associated CS+, whereas NAcC inactivation reduced reward-seeking without affecting suppression. IL inactivation caused a general reduction in conditioned suppression following discriminative conditioning, but not when using a single-stimulus design. Pharmacological disconnection of the PL → NAcS pathway revealed that this projection mediates conditioned suppression. These data add to a growing literature implicating discrete cortico-striatal pathways in the suppression of reward-seeking in response to aversive stimuli. Dysfunction within related structures may contribute to aberrant patterns of behavior in psychiatric illnesses including substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T Piantadosi
- Department of Psychology and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Dylan C M Yeates
- Department of Psychology and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
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47
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Bergstrom HC, Lieberman AG, Graybeal C, Lipkin AM, Holmes A. Dorsolateral striatum engagement during reversal learning. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:418-422. [PMID: 32934094 PMCID: PMC7497112 DOI: 10.1101/lm.051714.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Most experimental preparations demonstrate a role for dorsolateral striatum (DLS) in stimulus-response, but not outcome-based, learning. Here, we assessed DLS involvement in a touchscreen-based reversal task requiring mice to update choice following a change in stimulus-reward contingencies. In vivo single-unit recordings in the DLS showed reversal produced a population-level shift from excited to inhibited neuronal activity prior to choices being made. The larger the shift, the faster mice reversed. Furthermore, optogenetic photosilencing DLS neurons during choice increased early reversal errors. These findings suggest dynamic DLS engagement may facilitate reversal, possibly by signaling a change in contingencies to other striatal and cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadley C Bergstrom
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA
| | - Abby G Lieberman
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA
| | - Carolyn Graybeal
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA
| | - Anna M Lipkin
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA
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48
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Hart EE, Sharpe MJ, Gardner MPH, Schoenbaum G. Responding to preconditioned cues is devaluation sensitive and requires orbitofrontal cortex during cue-cue learning. eLife 2020; 9:e59998. [PMID: 32831173 PMCID: PMC7481003 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is necessary for inferring value in tests of model-based reasoning, including in sensory preconditioning. This involvement could be accounted for by representation of value or by representation of broader associative structure. We recently reported neural correlates of such broader associative structure in OFC during the initial phase of sensory preconditioning (Sadacca et al., 2018). Here, we used optogenetic inhibition of OFC to test whether these correlates might be necessary for value inference during later probe testing. We found that inhibition of OFC during cue-cue learning abolished value inference during the probe test, inference subsequently shown in control rats to be sensitive to devaluation of the expected reward. These results demonstrate that OFC must be online during cue-cue learning, consistent with the argument that the correlates previously observed are not simply downstream readouts of sensory processing and instead contribute to building the associative model supporting later behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan E Hart
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Matthew PH Gardner
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
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49
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Sneddon EA, Ramsey OR, Thomas A, Radke AK. Increased Responding for Alcohol and Resistance to Aversion in Female Mice. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2020; 44:1400-1409. [PMID: 32472651 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND More women are being diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD), are increasing the amount of alcohol they are drinking, and are partaking in risky drinking behaviors. Compulsive drinking which persists despite negative consequences is a hallmark of AUD. Preclinical aversion-resistant models suggest that females may be more vulnerable to the rewarding effects of alcohol such that they show increased compulsivity when drinking is punished with quinine, a bitter tastant. METHODS Male and female C57BL/6J mice were trained in an operant response task on a first-order fixed ratio schedule. Experiment 1 tested responding for escalating concentrations (10 to 25%) of ethanol (EtOH). Experiment 2 assessed the effects of increasing concentrations of quinine (100, 250, or 500 μM) on responding for 10% EtOH followed by a 48-hour 2-bottle choice quinine preference test. Experiment 3 investigated the effects of increasing concentrations of quinine (100, 250, or 500 μM) on responding for 2.5% sucrose. RESULTS Experiment 1 revealed that females respond more than males for 15% EtOH. Experiment 2 showed that females tolerate higher concentrations of quinine in EtOH than males. Males reduced responding for 10% EtOH when adulterated with 250 or 500 µM of quinine, while females did not reduce responding at any concentration of quinine. Males and females also exhibited similar preference for quinine in a 2-bottle drinking task. Experiment 3 demonstrated that both males and females reduced responding for 2.5% sucrose when quinine (100, 250, or 500 μM) was added. CONCLUSIONS Females respond more for EtOH at higher concentrations and continue to respond for 10% EtOH at all concentrations of quinine, suggesting that female mice are more motivated to respond for EtOH in an operant self-administration paradigm than males. Understanding behavioral and mechanistic sex differences in responding for alcohol will allow for the advancement of treatments for women with AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Sneddon
- From the Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
| | - Olivia R Ramsey
- From the Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
| | - Annemarie Thomas
- From the Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
| | - Anna K Radke
- From the Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
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50
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Glover LR, Postle AF, Holmes A. Touchscreen-based assessment of risky-choice in mice. Behav Brain Res 2020; 393:112748. [PMID: 32531231 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Addictions are characterized by choices made to satisfy the addiction despite the risk it could produce an adverse consequence. Here, we developed a murine version of a 'risky decision-making' task (RDT), in which mice could respond on a touchscreen panel to obtain either a large milkshake reward associated with varying probability of footshock, or a smaller amount of the same reward that was never punished. Results showed that (the following font is incorrectly smaller/subscripted) mice shifted choice from the large to small reward stimulus as shock probability increased. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed more Fos-positive cells in prelimbic cortex (PL) and basal amygdala (BA) after RDT testing, and a strong anti-correlation between infralimbic cortex (IL) activity and choice of the large reward stimulus under likely (75-100 % probability) punishment. These findings establish an assay for risky choice in mice and provide preliminary insight into the underlying neural substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas R Glover
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Abagail F Postle
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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