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Dirven BCJ, van Melis L, Daneva T, Dillen L, Homberg JR, Kozicz T, Henckens MJAG. Hippocampal Trauma Memory Processing Conveying Susceptibility to Traumatic Stress. Neuroscience 2024; 540:87-102. [PMID: 38220126 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
While the majority of the population is ever exposed to a traumatic event during their lifetime, only a fraction develops posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Disrupted trauma memory processing has been proposed as a core factor underlying PTSD symptomatology. We used transgenic Targeted-Recombination-in-Active-Populations (TRAP) mice to investigate potential alterations in trauma-related hippocampal memory engrams associated with the development of PTSD-like symptomatology. Mice were exposed to a stress-enhanced fear learning paradigm, in which prior exposure to a stressor affects the learning of a subsequent fearful event (contextual fear conditioning using foot shocks), during which neuronal activity was labeled. One week later, mice were behaviorally phenotyped to identify mice resilient and susceptible to developing PTSD-like symptomatology. Three weeks post-learning, mice were re-exposed to the conditioning context to induce remote fear memory recall, and associated hippocampal neuronal activity was assessed. While no differences in the size of the hippocampal neuronal ensemble activated during fear learning were observed between groups, susceptible mice displayed a smaller ensemble activated upon remote fear memory recall in the ventral CA1, higher regional hippocampal parvalbuminneuronal density and a relatively lower activity of parvalbumininterneurons upon recall. Investigation of potential epigenetic regulators of the engram revealed rather generic (rather than engram-specific) differences between groups, with susceptible mice displaying lower hippocampal histone deacetylase 2 expression, and higher methylation and hydroxymethylation levels. These finding implicate variation in epigenetic regulation within the hippocampus, as well as reduced regional hippocampal activity during remote fear memory recall in interindividual differences in susceptibility to traumatic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart C J Dirven
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Imaging, Anatomy, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lennart van Melis
- Department of Medical Imaging, Anatomy, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Teya Daneva
- Department of Medical Imaging, Anatomy, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lieke Dillen
- Department of Medical Imaging, Anatomy, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Judith R Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tamas Kozicz
- Department of Medical Imaging, Anatomy, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Center for Individualized Medicine, Department of Clinical Genomics, and Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; University of Pecs Medical School, Department of Anatomy, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Marloes J A G Henckens
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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2
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Sladky R, Kargl D, Haubensak W, Lamm C. An active inference perspective for the amygdala complex. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:223-236. [PMID: 38103984 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala is a heterogeneous network of subcortical nuclei with central importance in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Various experimental designs in human psychology and animal model research have mapped multiple conceptual frameworks (e.g., valence/salience and decision making) to ever more refined amygdala circuitry. However, these predominantly bottom up-driven accounts often rely on interpretations tailored to a specific phenomenon, thus preventing comprehensive and integrative theories. We argue here that an active inference model of amygdala function could unify these fractionated approaches into an overarching framework for clearer empirical predictions and mechanistic interpretations. This framework embeds top-down predictive models, informed by prior knowledge and belief updating, within a dynamical system distributed across amygdala circuits in which self-regulation is implemented by continuously tracking environmental and homeostatic demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald Sladky
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Dominic Kargl
- Department of Neuronal Cell Biology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Wulf Haubensak
- Department of Neuronal Cell Biology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Campus Vienna Biocenter 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
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3
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Perl O, Duek O, Kulkarni KR, Gordon C, Krystal JH, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I, Schiller D. Neural patterns differentiate traumatic from sad autobiographical memories in PTSD. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:2226-2236. [PMID: 38036701 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01483-5] [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: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
For people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), recall of traumatic memories often displays as intrusions that differ profoundly from processing of 'regular' negative memories. These mnemonic features fueled theories speculating a unique cognitive state linked with traumatic memories. Yet, to date, little empirical evidence supports this view. Here we examined neural activity of patients with PTSD who were listening to narratives depicting their own memories. An intersubject representational similarity analysis of cross-subject semantic content and neural patterns revealed a differentiation in hippocampal representation by narrative type: semantically similar, sad autobiographical memories elicited similar neural representations across participants. By contrast, within the same individuals, semantically similar trauma memories were not represented similarly. Furthermore, we were able to decode memory type from hippocampal multivoxel patterns. Finally, individual symptom severity modulated semantic representation of the traumatic narratives in the posterior cingulate cortex. Taken together, these findings suggest that traumatic memories are an alternative cognitive entity that deviates from memory per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Perl
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Or Duek
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- The National Center for PTSD, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kaustubh R Kulkarni
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charles Gordon
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- The National Center for PTSD, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - John H Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- The National Center for PTSD, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ifat Levy
- Departments of Comparative Medicine and Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychology and the Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ilan Harpaz-Rotem
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- The National Center for PTSD, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Psychology and the Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Daniela Schiller
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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Balouek JA, Mclain CA, Minerva AR, Rashford RL, Bennett SN, Rogers FD, Peña CJ. Reactivation of Early-Life Stress-Sensitive Neuronal Ensembles Contributes to Lifelong Stress Hypersensitivity. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5996-6009. [PMID: 37429717 PMCID: PMC10451005 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0016-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life stress (ELS) is one of the strongest lifetime risk factors for depression, anxiety, suicide, and other psychiatric disorders, particularly after facing additional stressful events later in life. Human and animal studies demonstrate that ELS sensitizes individuals to subsequent stress. However, the neurobiological basis of such stress sensitization remains largely unexplored. We hypothesized that ELS-induced stress sensitization would be detectable at the level of neuronal ensembles, such that cells activated by ELS would be more reactive to adult stress. To test this, we leveraged transgenic mice to genetically tag, track, and manipulate experience-activated neurons. We found that in both male and female mice, ELS-activated neurons within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and to a lesser extent the medial prefrontal cortex, were preferentially reactivated by adult stress. To test whether reactivation of ELS-activated ensembles in the NAc contributes to stress hypersensitivity, we expressed hM4Dis receptor in control or ELS-activated neurons of pups and chemogenetically inhibited their activity during experience of adult stress. Inhibition of ELS-activated NAc neurons, but not control-tagged neurons, ameliorated social avoidance behavior following chronic social defeat stress in males. These data provide evidence that ELS-induced stress hypersensitivity is encoded at the level of corticolimbic neuronal ensembles.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Early-life stress enhances sensitivity to stress later in life, yet the mechanisms of such stress sensitization are largely unknown. Here, we show that neuronal ensembles in corticolimbic brain regions remain hypersensitive to stress across the life span, and quieting these ensembles during experience of adult stress rescues stress hypersensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie-Anne Balouek
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Christabel A Mclain
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Adelaide R Minerva
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Rebekah L Rashford
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Shannon N Bennett
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
| | - Forrest D Rogers
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
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5
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Jung JH, Wang Y, Mocle AJ, Zhang T, Köhler S, Frankland PW, Josselyn SA. Examining the engram encoding specificity hypothesis in mice. Neuron 2023; 111:1830-1845.e5. [PMID: 36990091 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
According to the encoding specificity hypothesis, memory is best recalled by retrieval cues that overlap with training cues. Human studies generally support this hypothesis. However, memories are thought to be stored in neuronal ensembles (engrams), and retrieval cues are thought to reactivate neurons in an engram to induce memory recall. Here, we visualized engrams in mice to test whether retrieval cues that overlap with training cues produce maximal memory recall via high engram reactivation (engram encoding specificity hypothesis). Using variations of cued threat conditioning (pairing conditioned stimulus [CS] with footshock), we manipulated encoding and retrieval conditions along multiple domains, including pharmacological state, external sensory cue, and internal optogenetic cue. Maximal engram reactivation and memory recall occurred when retrieval conditions closely matched training conditions. These findings provide a biological basis for the encoding specificity hypothesis and highlight the important interaction between stored information (engram) and cues available at memory retrieval (ecphory).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung Hoon Jung
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Ying Wang
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Andrew J Mocle
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Tao Zhang
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
| | - Stefan Köhler
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada; The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Paul W Frankland
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada; Child & Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Sheena A Josselyn
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.
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6
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Montanez-Miranda C, Bramlett SN, Hepler JR. RGS14 expression in CA2 hippocampus, amygdala, and basal ganglia: Implications for human brain physiology and disease. Hippocampus 2023; 33:166-181. [PMID: 36541898 PMCID: PMC9974931 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RGS14 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein that is highly expressed within postsynaptic spines of pyramidal neurons in hippocampal area CA2. Known roles of RGS14 in CA2 include regulating G protein, H-Ras/ERK, and calcium signaling pathways to serve as a natural suppressor of synaptic plasticity and postsynaptic signaling. RGS14 also shows marked postsynaptic expression in major structures of the limbic system and basal ganglia, including the amygdala and both the ventral and dorsal subdivisions of the striatum. In this review, we discuss the signaling functions of RGS14 and its role in postsynaptic strength (long-term potentiation) and spine structural plasticity in CA2 hippocampal neurons, and how RGS14 suppression of plasticity impacts linked behaviors such as spatial learning, object memory, and fear conditioning. We also review RGS14 expression in the limbic system and basal ganglia and speculate on its possible roles in regulating plasticity in these regions, with a focus on behaviors related to emotion and motivation. Finally, we explore the functional implications of RGS14 in various brain circuits and speculate on its possible roles in certain disease states such as hippocampal seizures, addiction, and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - John R. Hepler
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322-3090
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7
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Kaplan GB, Lakis GA, Zhoba H. Sleep-Wake and Arousal Dysfunctions in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:Role of Orexin Systems. Brain Res Bull 2022; 186:106-122. [PMID: 35618150 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma-related condition that produces distressing fear memory intrusions, avoidance behaviors, hyperarousal/startle, stress responses and insomnia. This review focuses on the importance of the orexin neural system as a novel mechanism related to the pathophysiology of PTSD. Orexinergic neurons originate in the lateral hypothalamus and project widely to key neurotransmitter system neurons, autonomic neurons, the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis, and fear-related neural circuits. After trauma or stress, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) transmits sensory information to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and in turn to the hypothalamus and other subcortical and brainstem regions to promote fear and threat. Orexin receptors have a prominent role in this circuit as fear conditioned orexin receptor knockout mice show decreased fear expression while dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) inhibit fear acquisition and expression. Orexin activation of an infralimbic-amygdala circuit impedes fear extinction while DORA treatments enhance it. Increased orexin signaling to the amygdalocortical- hippocampal circuit promotes avoidance behaviors. Orexin has an important role in activating sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and the HPA axis stress responses. Blockade of orexin receptors reduces fear-conditioned startle responses. In PTSD models, individuals demonstrate sleep disturbances such as increased sleep latency and more transitions to wakefulness. Increased orexin activity impairs sleep by promoting wakefulness and reducing total sleep time while DORA treatments enhance sleep onset and maintenance. The orexinergic neural system provides important mechanisms for understanding multiple PTSD behaviors and provides new medication targets to treat this often persistent and debilitating illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Kaplan
- Mental Health Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118 USA; Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118 USA.
| | - Gabrielle A Lakis
- Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA; Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215 USA
| | - Hryhoriy Zhoba
- Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA
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8
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Abstract
Social interactions can bolster and protect memory performance. However, the relationship between social stimuli and individually learned memories remains enigmatic. Our work reveals that exposure to a stressed, naïve nonfamiliar conspecific or to the ambient olfactory–auditory cues of a recently stressed familiar conspecific induces reactivation of the cellular ensembles associated with a fear memory in the hippocampus. Artificially stimulating the hippocampal ensemble active during the social experience induces fearful behaviors in animals that have previously acquired a negative memory, revealing the interaction between individual history and social experience. The neural resurgence of fear-driving ensembles during social experiences leads to a context-specific enhancement of fear recall. Our findings provide evidence that unlike direct stressors, social stimuli reactivate and amplify an individual’s memories. For group-living animals, the social environment provides salient experience that can weaken or strengthen aspects of cognition such as memory recall. Although the cellular substrates of individually acquired fear memories in the dentate gyrus (DG) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) have been well-studied and recent work has revealed circuit mechanisms underlying the encoding of social experience, the processes by which social experience interacts with an individual’s memories to alter recall remain unknown. Here we show that stressful social experiences enhance the recall of previously acquired fear memories in male but not female mice, and that social buffering of conspecifics’ distress blocks this enhancement. Activity-dependent tagging of cells in the DG during fear learning revealed that these ensembles were endogenously reactivated during the social experiences in males, even after extinction. These reactivated cells were shown to be functional components of engrams, as optogenetic stimulation of the cells active during the social experience in previously fear-conditioned and not naïve animals was sufficient to drive fear-related behaviors. Taken together, our findings suggest that social experiences can reactivate preexisting engrams to thereby strengthen discrete memories.
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9
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Song Z, Swarna S, Manns JR. Prioritization of social information by the basolateral amygdala in rats. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 184:107489. [PMID: 34271138 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala is a collection of nuclei that support adaptive social behavior and are implicated in disorders such as autism. The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA), a main subdivision of the amygdala, influences fear responses, motivated behavior, and memory of emotional events via its communication with other amygdalar nuclei and with other brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. The specific role of the BLA in responses to social stimuli is less clear. The present study of female rats investigated the role of the BLA in responding to socially-relevant information by asking how inactivation of the BLA with bilateral infusions of the GABA receptor agonist muscimol would affect spontaneous exploration of wood blocks scented either with conspecific male or female urine or with nonsocial odorants. Conspecific urine samples were used because urine conveys information about sex, health, social status, and reproductive state in rodents. The results revealed that BLA inactivation reduced female rats' spontaneous preference for social odors over nonsocial odors, specifically for female urine. However, BLA inactivation did not generally impair rats' ability to distinguish two odors from the same category (e.g., urine odors from two different male rats). The results indicate that the BLA is important for responding to salience of social stimuli but not for discriminating between different individuals, a result that has important implications for amygdalar modulation of downstream attention, motivation, and memory processes for social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Song
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, United States
| | - Sujith Swarna
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, Emory University, United States
| | - Joseph R Manns
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, United States.
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10
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Covert capture and attenuation of a hippocampus-dependent fear memory. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:677-684. [PMID: 33795883 PMCID: PMC8102347 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00825-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Reconsolidation may be a viable therapeutic target to inhibit pathological fear memories. In the clinic, incidental or imaginal reminders are used for safe retrieval of traumatic memories of experiences that occurred elsewhere. However, it is unknown whether indirectly retrieved traumatic memories are sensitive to disruption. Here we used a backward (BW) conditioning procedure to indirectly retrieve and manipulate a hippocampus (HPC)-dependent contextual fear engram in male rats. We show that conditioned freezing to a BW conditioned stimulus (CS) is mediated by fear to the conditioning context, activates HPC ensembles that can be covertly captured and chemogenetically activated to drive fear, and is impaired by post-retrieval protein synthesis inhibition. These results reveal that indirectly retrieved contextual fear memories reactivate HPC ensembles and undergo protein synthesis-dependent reconsolidation. Clinical interventions that rely on indirect retrieval of traumatic memories, such as imaginal exposure, may open a window for editing or erasure of neural representations that drive pathological fear.
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11
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Moaddab M, McDannald MA. Retrorubral field is a hub for diverse threat and aversive outcome signals. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2099-2110.e5. [PMID: 33756109 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Adaptive fear scales to the degree of threat and requires diverse neural signals for threat and aversive outcome. We propose that the retrorubral field (RRF), a midbrain region containing A8 dopamine, is a neural origin of such signals. To reveal these signals, we recorded RRF single-unit activity while male rats discriminated danger, uncertainty, and safety. Many RRF neurons showed firing extremes to danger and safety that framed intermediate firing to uncertainty. The remaining neurons showed unique, threat-selective cue firing patterns. Diversity in firing direction, magnitude, and temporal characteristics led to the detection of at least eight functional neuron types. Neuron types defined with respect to threat showed unique firing patterns following aversive outcome. The result was RRF signals for foot shock receipt, positive prediction error, anti-positive prediction error, persistent safety, and persistent threat. The diversity of threat and aversive outcome signals points to a key role for the RRF in adaptive fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Moaddab
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
| | - Michael A McDannald
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
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12
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Koob GF. A Basolateral Amygdala Microcircuit for Drug Craving: Is There a Craving Engram? Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:323-325. [PMID: 33478679 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- George F Koob
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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13
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Carlson HN, Weiner JL. The neural, behavioral, and epidemiological underpinnings of comorbid alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2020; 157:69-142. [PMID: 33648676 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and (PTSD) frequently co-occur and individuals suffering from this dual diagnosis often exhibit increased symptom severity and poorer treatment outcomes than those with only one of these diseases. Although there have been significant advances in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying each of these disorders, the neural underpinnings of the comorbid condition remain poorly understood. This chapter summarizes recent epidemiological findings on comorbid AUD and PTSD, with a focus on vulnerable populations, the temporal relationship between these disorders, and the clinical consequences associated with the dual diagnosis. We then review animal models of the comorbid condition and emerging human and non-human animal research that is beginning to identify maladaptive neural changes common to both disorders, primarily involving functional changes in brain reward and stress networks. We end by proposing a neural framework, based on the emerging field of affective valence encoding, that may better explain the epidemiological and neural findings on AUD and PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah N Carlson
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Jeff L Weiner
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States.
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14
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Ozawa M, Davis P, Ni J, Maguire J, Papouin T, Reijmers L. Experience-dependent resonance in amygdalo-cortical circuits supports fear memory retrieval following extinction. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4358. [PMID: 32868768 PMCID: PMC7459312 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18199-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Learned fear and safety are associated with distinct oscillatory states in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). To determine if and how these network states support the retrieval of competing memories, we mimicked endogenous oscillatory activity through optogenetic stimulation of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in mice during retrieval of contextual fear and extinction memories. We found that exogenously induced 4 Hz and 8 Hz oscillatory activity in the BLA exerts bi-directional control over conditioned freezing behavior in an experience- and context-specific manner, and that these oscillations have an experience-dependent ability to recruit distinct functional neuronal ensembles. At the network level we demonstrate, via simultaneous manipulation of BLA and mPFC, that experience-dependent 4 Hz resonance across BLA-mPFC circuitry supports post-extinction fear memory retrieval. Our findings reveal that post-extinction fear memory retrieval is supported by local and interregional experience-dependent resonance, and suggest novel approaches for interrogation and therapeutic manipulation of acquired fear circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minagi Ozawa
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Patrick Davis
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Boston Combined Residency Program (Child Neurology), Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jianguang Ni
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jamie Maguire
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas Papouin
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Leon Reijmers
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
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15
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The role of sleep in emotional processing: insights and unknowns from rodent research. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Bedwell JS, Spencer CC, Chirino CA, O’Donnell JP. The Sweet Taste Test: Relationships with Anhedonia Subtypes, Personality Traits, and Menstrual Cycle Phases. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-019-09717-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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17
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Bear MF, Cooke SF, Giese KP, Kaang BK, Kennedy MB, Kim JI, Morris RGM, Park P. In memoriam: John Lisman - commentaries on CaMKII as a memory molecule. Mol Brain 2018; 11:76. [PMID: 30593282 PMCID: PMC6309094 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-018-0419-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Shortly before he died in October 2017, John Lisman submitted an invited review to Molecular Brain on 'Criteria for identifying the molecular basis of the engram (CaMKII, PKMζ)'. John had no opportunity to read the referees' comments, and as a mark of the regard in which he was held by the neuroscience community the Editors decided to publish his review as submitted. This obituary takes the form of a series of commentaries on Lisman's review. At the same time we are publishing as a separate article a longer response by Todd Sacktor and André Fenton entitled 'What does LTP tell us about the roles of CaMKII and PKMζ in memory?' which presents the case for a rival memory molecule, PKMζ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark F. Bear
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Sam F. Cooke
- King’s College London, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Karl Peter Giese
- King’s College London, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF UK
| | - Bong-Kiun Kaang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Mary B. Kennedy
- The Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
| | - Ji-il Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Richard G. M. Morris
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, Edinburgh Neuroscience, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - Pojeong Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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18
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Jacques A, Wright A, Chaaya N, Overell A, Bergstrom HC, McDonald C, Battle AR, Johnson LR. Functional Neuronal Topography: A Statistical Approach to Micro Mapping Neuronal Location. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:84. [PMID: 30386215 PMCID: PMC6198090 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In order to understand the relationship between neuronal organization and behavior, precise methods that identify and quantify functional cellular ensembles are required. This is especially true in the quest to understand the mechanisms of memory. Brain structures involved in memory formation and storage, as well as the molecular determinates of memory are well-known, however, the microanatomy of functional neuronal networks remain largely unidentified. We developed a novel approach to statistically map molecular markers in neuronal networks through quantitative topographic measurement. Brain nuclei and their subdivisions are well-defined - our approach allows for the identification of new functional micro-regions within established subdivisions. A set of analytic methods relevant for measurement of discrete neuronal data across a diverse range of brain subdivisions are presented. We provide a methodology for the measurement and quantitative comparison of functional micro-neural network activity based on immunohistochemical markers matched across individual brains using micro-binning and heat mapping within brain sub-nuclei. These techniques were applied to the measurement of different memory traces, allowing for greater understanding of the functional encoding within sub-nuclei and its behavior mediated change. These approaches can be used to understand other functional and behavioral questions, including sub-circuit organization, normal memory function and the complexities of pathology. Precise micro-mapping of functional neuronal topography provides essential data to decode network activity underlying behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Jacques
- Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology and Counseling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Alison Wright
- Faculty of Health Science and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
| | - Nicholas Chaaya
- Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology and Counseling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Anne Overell
- Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology and Counseling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Hadley C Bergstrom
- Psychological Science Department, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, United States
| | - Craig McDonald
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States
| | - Andrew R Battle
- Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Luke R Johnson
- Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology and Counseling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Department of Psychiatry and Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, United States
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19
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New mechanistic insights into memory processes. Brain Res Bull 2018; 141:1-2. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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