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MacCallum PE, Cooze JB, Ward J, Moore KA, Blundell J. Evaluating the effects of single, multiple, and delayed systemic rapamycin injections to contextual fear reconsolidation: Implications for the neurobiology of memory and the treatment of PTSD-like re-experiencing. Behav Brain Res 2024; 461:114855. [PMID: 38185381 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114855] [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: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase is known to mediate the formation and persistence of aversive memories. Rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, administered around the time of reactivation blocks retrieval-induced mTOR activity and de novo protein synthesis in the brains of rodents, while correspondingly diminishing subsequent fear memory. The goal of the current experiments was to further explore rapamycin's effects on fear memory persistence. First, we examined whether mTOR blockade at different time-points after reactivation attenuates subsequent contextual fear memory. We show that rapamycin treatment 3 or 12 h post-reactivation disrupts memory persistence. Second, we examined whether consecutive days of reactivation paired with rapamycin had additive effects over a single pairing at disrupting a contextual fear memory. We show that additional reactivation-rapamycin pairings exacerbates the reconsolidation impairment. Finally, we examined if impaired reconsolidation of a contextual fear memory from rapamycin treatment had any after-effects on learning and recalling a new fear association. We show that rapamycin-impaired reconsolidation does not affect new learning or recall and protects against fear generalization. Our findings improve our understanding of mTOR- dependent fear memory processes, as well as provide insight into potentially novel treatment options for stress-related psychopathologies such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip E MacCallum
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Jane B Cooze
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Joshua Ward
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Kelsey Am Moore
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Jacqueline Blundell
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1B 3X9, Canada.
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2
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On making (and turning adaptive to) maladaptive aversive memories in laboratory rodents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105101. [PMID: 36804263 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Fear conditioning and avoidance tasks usually elicit adaptive aversive memories. Traumatic memories are more intense, generalized, inflexible, and resistant to attenuation via extinction- and reconsolidation-based strategies. Inducing and assessing these dysfunctional, maladaptive features in the laboratory are crucial to interrogating posttraumatic stress disorder's neurobiology and exploring innovative treatments. Here we analyze over 350 studies addressing this question in adult rats and mice. There is a growing interest in modeling several qualitative and quantitative memory changes by exposing already stressed animals to freezing- and avoidance-related tests or using a relatively high aversive training magnitude. Other options combine aversive/fearful tasks with post-acquisition or post-retrieval administration of one or more drugs provoking neurochemical or epigenetic alterations reported in the trauma aftermath. It is potentially instructive to integrate these procedures and incorporate the measurement of autonomic and endocrine parameters. Factors to consider when defining the organismic and procedural variables, partially neglected aspects (sex-dependent differences and recent vs. remote data comparison) and suggestions for future research (identifying reliable individual risk and treatment-response predictors) are discussed.
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FDA-Approved Kinase Inhibitors in Preclinical and Clinical Trials for Neurological Disorders. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15121546. [PMID: 36558997 PMCID: PMC9784968 DOI: 10.3390/ph15121546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancers and neurological disorders are two major types of diseases. We previously developed a new concept termed "Aberrant Cell Cycle Diseases" (ACCD), revealing that these two diseases share a common mechanism of aberrant cell cycle re-entry. The aberrant cell cycle re-entry is manifested as kinase/oncogene activation and tumor suppressor inactivation, which are hallmarks of both tumor growth in cancers and neuronal death in neurological disorders. Therefore, some cancer therapies (e.g., kinase inhibition, tumor suppressor elevation) can be leveraged for neurological treatments. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has so far approved 74 kinase inhibitors, with numerous other kinase inhibitors in clinical trials, mostly for the treatment of cancers. In contrast, there are dire unmet needs of FDA-approved drugs for neurological treatments, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), ischemic stroke (IS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and others. In this review, we list these 74 FDA-approved kinase-targeted drugs and identify those that have been reported in preclinical and/or clinical trials for neurological disorders, with a purpose of discussing the feasibility and applicability of leveraging these cancer drugs (FDA-approved kinase inhibitors) for neurological treatments.
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Medial prefrontal cortex mechanisms of cannabidiol-induced aversive memory reconsolidation impairments. Neuropharmacology 2021; 205:108913. [PMID: 34864001 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that cannabidiol (CBD), a substance present in the Cannabis sativa plant, has potential therapeutic value to regulate abnormal emotional memories associated with post-traumatic stress and drug use disorders. CBD can attenuate their valence after retrieval (i.e., during reconsolidation) or potentiate their suppression by extinction. Pharmacological research has now focused on elucidating how it acts. Systemic antagonism of cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors has often prevented the abovementioned effects of CBD. However, it is unknown in which brain regions CBD stimulates CB1 receptors and how it interferes with local activity-related plasticity to produce these effects. The present study addressed these questions considering the reconsolidation of contextual fear memories in rats. We focused on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which comprises the anterior cingulate (AC), prelimbic (PL), and infralimbic (IL) subregions, as local activity or plasticity has been associated with the process to-be-investigated. Animals that received post-retrieval systemic CBD treatment presented relatively fewer cells expressing Zif268/Egr1 protein, a proxy for synaptic plasticity related to reconsolidation, in the AC and PL. At the same time, there were no significant differences in the IL. Pretreatment with the CB1 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist AM251 into the AC, PL, or IL prevented the impairing effects of systemic CBD treatment on reconsolidation. CBD also caused reconsolidation impairments when injected directly into the AC or PL but not the IL. Together, these findings show complementary mechanisms through which CBD may hinder the reconsolidation of destabilized aversive memories along the dorsoventral axis of the mPFC.
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Sabran-Cohen T, Bright U, Mizrachi Zer-Aviv T, Akirav I. Rapamycin prevents the long-term impairing effects of adolescence Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on memory and plasticity in male rats. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:6104-6122. [PMID: 34405459 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Long-lasting cognitive impairment is one of the most central negative consequences related to the exposure to cannabis during adolescence and particularly of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The aim of this study was to compare the protracted effects of adolescent versus late-adolescent chronic exposure to THC on short-term memory and plasticity and to examine whether rapamycin, a blocker of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, can restore THC-induced deficits in memory and plasticity. Male rats were injected with ascending doses of THC [2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg; intraperitoneally (i.p.)] during adolescence and late-adolescence (post-natal days 30-41 and 45-56, respectively), followed by daily injections of rapamycin (1 mg/kg, i.p.) during the first 10 days of cessation from THC. Thirty days after the last injection, rats were tested for short-term and working memory, anxiety-like behaviour, and plasticity in the pathways projecting from the ventral subiculum (vSub) of the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). THC exposure in adolescence, but not late-adolescence, was found to induce long-term deficits in object recognition short-term memory and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal-accumbens pathway. Importantly, rapamycin rescued these persistent effects of THC administered during adolescence. Our findings show that some forms of memory and plasticity are sensitive to chronic THC administration during adolescence and that rapamycin administered during THC cessation may restore cognitive function and plasticity, thus potentially protecting against the possible long-term harmful effects of THC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia Sabran-Cohen
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Uri Bright
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tomer Mizrachi Zer-Aviv
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Irit Akirav
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.,The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Reconsolidation of a post-ingestive nutrient memory requires mTOR in the central amygdala. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:2820-2836. [PMID: 32873898 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-00874-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The central control of feeding behavior and metabolic homeostasis has been proposed to involve a form of post-ingestive nutrient learning independent of the gustatory value of food. However, after such learning, it is unknown which brain regions or circuits are activated to retrieve the stored memory and whether this memory undergoes reconsolidation that depends on protein synthesis after its reactivation through retrieval. In the present study, using a conditioned-flavor-preference paradigm by associating flavors with intra-gastric infusion of glucose to minimize the evaluation of the taste of food, we show that retrieval of the post-ingestive nutrient-conditioned flavor memory stimulates multiple brain regions in mice, including the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Moreover, memory retrieval activated the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) in the CeA, while site-specific or systemic inhibition of mTORC1 immediately after retrieval prevented the subsequent expression of the post-ingestive nutrient-associated flavor memory, leading to a long-lasting suppression of reinstatement. Taken together, our findings suggest that the reconsolidation process of a post-ingestive nutrient memory modulates food preferences.
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Troyner F, Bertoglio LJ. Nucleus reuniens of the thalamus controls fear memory reconsolidation. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 177:107343. [PMID: 33242589 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The nucleus reuniens has been shown to support the acquisition, consolidation, maintenance, destabilization upon retrieval, and extinction of aversive memories. However, the direct participation of this thalamic subregion in memory reconsolidation is yet to be examined. The present study addressed this question in contextually fear-conditioned rats. Post-reactivation infusion of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol, the glutamate N2A-containing NMDA receptor antagonist TCN-201, or the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin into the NR induced significant impairments in memory reconsolidation. Administering muscimol or TCN-201 and anisomycin locally, or associating locally infused muscimol or TCN-201 with systemically administered clonidine, an α2-receptor adrenergic agonist that attenuates the noradrenergic tonus associated with memory reconsolidation, produced no further reduction in freezing times when compared with the muscimol-vehicle, TCN-201-vehicle, vehicle-anisomycin, and vehicle-clonidine groups. This pattern of results indicates that such treatment combinations produced no additive/synergistic effects on reconsolidation. It is plausible that NR inactivation and antagonism of glutamate N2A-containing NMDA receptors weakened/prevented the subsequent action of anisomycin and clonidine because they disrupted the early stages of signal transduction pathways involved in memory reconsolidation. It is noteworthy that these pharmacological interventions, either alone or combined, induced no contextual memory specificity changes, as assessed in a later test in a novel and unpaired context. Besides, omitting memory reactivation precluded the impairing effects of muscimol, TCN-201, anisomycin, and clonidine on reconsolidation. Together, the present findings demonstrate interacting mechanisms through which the NR can regulate contextual fear memory restabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Troyner
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Leandro Jose Bertoglio
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil.
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da Silva TR, Sohn JMB, Andreatini R, Stern CA. The role of prelimbic and anterior cingulate cortices in fear memory reconsolidation and persistence depends on the memory age. Learn Mem 2020; 27:292-300. [PMID: 32669384 PMCID: PMC7365014 DOI: 10.1101/lm.051615.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Reconsolidation is a time-limited process under which reactivated memory content can be modified. Works focused on studying reconsolidation mainly restrict intervention to the moments immediately after reactivation and to recently acquired memories. However, the brain areas activated during memory retrieval depend on when it was acquired, and it is relatively unknown how different brain sites contribute to reconsolidation and persistence of reactivated recent and remote fear memories. Here, we sought to investigate the participation of prelimbic (PL) and anterior cingulate cortices (ACC) in recent (1 d old) and remote (21 d old) fear memory reconsolidation and persistence. Male Wistar rats were submitted to the contextual fear conditioning protocol. Tamoxifen (TMX), an estrogen receptor modulator known to inhibit protein kinase C activity was used to interfere with these processes. When infused into the PL cortex, but not into the ACC, TMX administration immediately or 6 h after recent fear memory reactivation impaired memory reconsolidation and persistence, respectively. TMX administered immediately after remote memory reactivation impaired memory reconsolidation when infused into the PL cortex and ACC. However, remote memory persistence was only affected when TMX was infused 6 h after memory reactivation into the ACC and no effect was observed when TMX was infused 6 h after memory reactivation into PL cortex. Together, the findings provide further evidence on the participation of PL cortex and ACC in reconsolidation of recent and remote fear memories and suggest that the persistence of a reactivated fear memory becomes independent on the PL cortex with memory age and dependent on the ACC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Roberto Andreatini
- Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba 81531-980, Brazil
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Dawud LM, Loetz EC, Lloyd B, Beam R, Tran S, Cowie K, Browne K, Khan T, Montoya R, Greenwood BN, Bland ST. A novel social fear conditioning procedure alters social behavior and mTOR signaling in differentially housed adolescent rats. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 63:74-87. [PMID: 32524583 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Vulnerabilities to fear-related disorders can be enhanced following early life adversity. This study sought to determine whether post-weaning social isolation (PSI), an animal model of early life adversity, alters the development of social fear in an innovative model of conditioned social fear. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent either social rearing (SR) or PSI for 4 weeks following weaning. Rats were then assigned to groups consisting of either Footshock only, Social conditioned stimulus (CS) only, or Paired footshock with a social CS. Social behavior was assessed the next day. We observed a novel behavioral response in PSI rats, running in circles, that was rarely observed in SR rats; moreover, this behavior was augmented after Paired treatment in PSI rats. Other social behaviors were altered by both PSI and Paired footshock and social CS. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway was assessed using immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (pS6) in subregions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala. Paired treatment produced opposite effects in the PFC and amygdala in males, but no differences were observed in females. Conditioned social fear produced alterations in social behavior and the mTOR pathway that are dependent upon rearing condition and sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lamya'a M Dawud
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Esteban C Loetz
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Brian Lloyd
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Rachel Beam
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Simon Tran
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Kim Cowie
- Department of Neuroscience, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Kim Browne
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Tassawwar Khan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Richard Montoya
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | | | - Sondra T Bland
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA
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Role of prelimbic cortex PKC and PKMζ in fear memory reconsolidation and persistence following reactivation. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4076. [PMID: 32139711 PMCID: PMC7057960 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60046-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The persistence of newly acquired memories is supported by the activity of PKMζ, an atypical isoform of protein kinase C (PKC). Whether the activity of conventional and atypical PKC isoforms contributes to reactivated memories to persist is still unknown. Similarly, whether memory reactivation is a prerequisite for interventions to be able to change memory persistence is scarcely investigated. Based on the above, we examined the role of conventional and atypical PKC isoforms in the prelimbic cortex in reconsolidation and persistence of a reactivated contextual fear memory in male Wistar rats. It is shown that (i) inhibiting the PKC activity with chelerythrine or the PKMζ activity with ZIP impaired the persistence of a reactivated memory for at least 21 days; (ii) ZIP given immediately after memory reactivation affected neither the reconsolidation nor the persistence process. In contrast, when given 1 h later, it impaired the memory persistence; (iii) chelerythrine given immediately after memory reactivation impaired the reconsolidation; (iv) omitting memory reactivation prevented the chelerythrine- and ZIP-induced effects: (v) the ZIP action is independent of the time elapsed between its administration and the initial memory test. The results indicate that prelimbic cortex PKC and PKMζ are involved in memory reconsolidation and persistence.
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Responsivity of lateral septum-mPFC connections in alloxan-induced hyperglycemia. Behav Brain Res 2019; 368:111919. [PMID: 31005560 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The lateral septal nucleus (LSN) is related to the actions of antidepressants, and the prelimbic cortex (PL) and infralimbic cortex (IL) modulate responses to fear. However, unknown is whether experimental diabetes that is induced by alloxan alters the responsivity of these regions. We used a method in which one forebrain region (LSN) was electrically stimulated while single-unit extracellular recordings were performed in another mPFC region (PL and IL). Several experimental groups were tested: (a) animals that were subjected to long-term (42-day) alloxan-hyperglycemia and protected with insulin, (b) healthy animals that received a low dose of insulin that does not produce changes in glycemia, and (c) animals that received long-term treatment with fluoxetine. Additional healthy groups of animals received insulin or fluoxetine and underwent the forced swim test. Biological measurements indicated the induction of diabetes in alloxan-treated rats. In this group, a shift toward an inhibitory response to LSN stimulation was observed in the PL and IL compared with the control group. A low dose of insulin or fluoxetine produced similar changes in LSN-PL and LSN-IL responsivity. Long-term hyperglycemia increased inhibitory responsivity in the LSN-PL and LSN-IL, but this action was less pronounced than the action that was exerted by insulin and fluoxetine, which produced similar actions. Such similar actions were confirmed in the forced swim test, in which the antidepressant-like effects of insulin partially resembled the effects of fluoxetine. The changes that were observed in the alloxan group appeared to be related to neuronal damage, and a low dose of insulin exerted some antidepressant-like actions.
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Robinson-Drummer PA, Opendak M, Blomkvist A, Chan S, Tan S, Delmer C, Wood K, Sloan A, Jacobs L, Fine E, Chopra D, Sandler C, Kamenetzky G, Sullivan RM. Infant Trauma Alters Social Buffering of Threat Learning: Emerging Role of Prefrontal Cortex in Preadolescence. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:132. [PMID: 31293398 PMCID: PMC6598593 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Within the infant-caregiver attachment system, the primary caregiver holds potent reward value to the infant, exhibited by infants' strong preference for approach responses and proximity-seeking towards the mother. A less well-understood feature of the attachment figure is the caregiver's ability to reduce fear via social buffering, commonly associated with the notion of a "safe haven" in the developmental literature. Evidence suggests this infant system overlaps with the neural network supporting social buffering (attenuation) of fear in the adults of many species, a network known to involve the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, using odor-shock conditioning in young developing rats, we assessed when the infant system transitions to the adult-like PFC-dependent social buffering of threat system. Rat pups were odor-shock conditioned (0.55 mA-0.6 mA) at either postnatal day (PN18; dependent on mother) or 28 (newly independent, weaned at PN23). Within each age group, the mother was present or absent during conditioning, with PFC assessment following acquisition using 14C 2-DG autoradiography and cue testing the following day. Since the human literature suggests poor attachment attenuates the mother's ability to socially buffer the infants, half of the pups at each age were reared with an abusive mother from PN8-12. The results showed that for typical control rearing, the mother attenuated fear in both PN18 and PN28 pups, although the PFC [infralimbic (IL) and ventral prelimbic (vPL) cortices] was only engaged at PN28. Abuse rearing completely disrupted social buffering of pups by the mother at PN18. The results from PN28 pups showed that while the mother modulated learning in both control and abuse-reared pups, the behavioral and PFC effects were attenuated after maltreatment. Our data suggest that pups transition to the adult-like PFC social support circuit after independence from the mother (PN28), and this circuit remains functional after early-life trauma, although its effectiveness appears reduced. This is in sharp contrast to the effects of early life trauma during infancy, where social buffering of the infant is more robustly impacted. We suggest that the infant social buffering circuit is disengaged by early-life trauma, while the adolescent PFC-dependent social buffering circuit may use a safety signal with unreliable safety value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrese A. Robinson-Drummer
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Anna Blomkvist
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stephanie Chan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Stephen Tan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Cecilia Delmer
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Kira Wood
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Aliza Sloan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
| | - Lily Jacobs
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Biology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Eliana Fine
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Biology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Divija Chopra
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Chaim Sandler
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Biology, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Giselle Kamenetzky
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas A Lanari, IDIM-CONICET, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Combatientes de Malvinas 3150 (CP 1427), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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Hernandez CM, Orsini CA, Labiste CC, Wheeler AR, Ten Eyck TW, Bruner MM, Sahagian TJ, Harden SW, Frazier CJ, Setlow B, Bizon JL. Optogenetic dissection of basolateral amygdala contributions to intertemporal choice in young and aged rats. eLife 2019; 8:46174. [PMID: 31017572 PMCID: PMC6530979 DOI: 10.7554/elife.46174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Across species, aging is associated with an increased ability to choose delayed over immediate gratification. These experiments used young and aged rats to test the role of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in intertemporal decision making. An optogenetic approach was used to inactivate the BLA in young and aged rats at discrete time points during choices between levers that yielded a small, immediate vs. a large, delayed food reward. BLA inactivation just prior to decisions attenuated impulsive choice in both young and aged rats. In contrast, inactivation during receipt of the small, immediate reward increased impulsive choice in young rats but had no effect in aged rats. BLA inactivation during the delay or intertrial interval had no effect at either age. These data demonstrate that the BLA plays multiple, temporally distinct roles during intertemporal choice, and show that the contribution of BLA to choice behavior changes across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caesar M Hernandez
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Caitlin A Orsini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Chase C Labiste
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Alexa-Rae Wheeler
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Tyler W Ten Eyck
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Matthew M Bruner
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Todd J Sahagian
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Scott W Harden
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Charles J Frazier
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Barry Setlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Jennifer L Bizon
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
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14
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García-Díaz C, Sánchez-Catalán MJ, Castro-Salazar E, García-Avilés A, Albert-Gascó H, Sánchez-Sarasúa de la Bárcena S, Sánchez-Pérez AM, Gundlach AL, Olucha-Bordonau FE. Nucleus incertus ablation disrupted conspecific recognition and modified immediate early gene expression patterns in 'social brain' circuits of rats. Behav Brain Res 2018; 356:332-347. [PMID: 30195021 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Social interaction involves neural activity in prefrontal cortex, septum, hippocampus, amygdala and hypothalamus. Notably, these areas all receive projections from the nucleus incertus (NI) in the pontine tegmentum. Therefore, we investigated the effect of excitotoxic lesions of NI neurons in adult male, Wistar rats on performance in a social discrimination test, and associated changes in immediate-early gene protein levels. NI was lesioned with quinolinic acid, and after recovery, rats underwent two trials in the 3-chamber test. In the first trial, NI-lesioned and sham-lesioned rats spent longer exploring a conspecific than an inanimate object. By contrast, in the second trial, NI-lesioned rats visited the familiar and novel conspecific chambers equally, whereas sham-lesioned rats spent longer engaging with the novel rat. Quantification of Fos- and Egr-1-immunoreactivity (IR) levels in brain areas implicated in social behaviour, revealed that social encounter and NI lesion produced complex, differential changes. For example, Egr-1-IR was broadly decreased in several amygdala nuclei in NI-lesioned rats relative to sham, but Fos-IR levels were unaltered. In hippocampus, NI-lesioned rats displayed decreased Fos-IR in CA2 and CA3, while Egr-1-IR was increased in the polymorphic dentate gyrus, CA1, CA2 and subiculum of NI-lesioned rats, relative to sham. Social encounter-related Egr-1-IR was also decreased in septum and anterior and lateral hypothalamus of NI-lesioned rats. Overall, these data suggest NI networks can modulate the activity of sensory, emotional and executive brain areas involved in social recognition, with a likely involvement of neuronal Egr-1 activation in amygdala, septum and hypothalamus, and Erg-1 inhibition in hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - A L Gundlach
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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15
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Role of endocannabinoids in the hippocampus and amygdala in emotional memory and plasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2017-2027. [PMID: 29977073 PMCID: PMC6098035 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0135-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by the reexperiencing of a traumatic event and is associated with slower extinction of fear responses. Impaired extinction of fearful associations to trauma-related cues may interfere with treatment response, and extinction deficits may be premorbid risk factors for the development of PTSD. We examined the effects of exposure to a severe footshock followed by situational reminders (SRs) on extinction, plasticity, and endocannabinoid (eCB) content and activity in the hippocampal CA1 area and basolateral amygdala (BLA). We also examined whether enhancing eCB signaling before extinction, using the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597, could prevent the shock/SRs-induced effects on fear response and plasticity. URB597 administered systemically (0.3 mg/kg) or locally into the CA1 or BLA (0.1 µg/side) prior to extinction decreased fear retrieval and this effect persisted throughout extinction training and did not recuperate during spontaneous recovery. A low dose of the CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 (0.3 mg/kg i.p. or 0.01 µg/0.5 µl intra-CA1 or intra-BLA) blocked these effects suggesting that the effects of URB597 were CB1 receptor-dependent. Exposure to shock and reminders induced behavioral metaplasticity with opposite effects on long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus (impairment) and the BLA (enhancement). URB597 was found to prevent the opposite shock/SR-induced metaplasticity in hippocampal and BLA-LTP. Exposure to shock and reminders might cause variation in endogenous cannabinoid levels that could affect fear-circuit function. Indeed, exposure to shock and SRs affected eCB content: increased 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonylethanolamine (AEA) levels in the CA1, decreased serum and BLA AEA levels while shock exposure increased FAAH activity in the CA1 and BLA. FAAH inhibition before extinction abolished fear and modulated LTP in the hippocampus and amygdala, brain regions pertinent to emotional memory. The findings suggest that targeting the eCB system before extinction may be beneficial in fear memory attenuation and these effects may involve metaplasticity in the CA1 and BLA.
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16
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Age-Related Declines in Prefrontal Cortical Expression of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors that Support Working Memory. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0164-18. [PMID: 29971246 PMCID: PMC6026020 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0164-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutamate signaling is essential for the persistent neural activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) that enables working memory. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are a diverse class of proteins that modulate excitatory neurotransmission via both presynaptic regulation of extracellular glutamate levels and postsynaptic modulation of ion channels on dendritic spines. This receptor class is of significant therapeutic interest for treatment of cognitive disorders associated with glutamate dysregulation. Working memory impairment and cortical hypoexcitability are both associated with advanced aging. Whether aging modifies PFC mGluR expression, and the extent to which any such alterations are regionally or subtype specific, however, is unknown. Moreover, it is unclear whether specific mGluRs in PFC are critical for working memory, and thus, whether altered mGluR expression in aging or disease is sufficient to play a causative role in working memory decline. Experiments in the current study first evaluated the effects of age on medial PFC (mPFC) mGluR expression using biochemical and molecular approaches in rats. Of the eight mGluRs examined, only mGluR5, mGluR3, and mGluR4 were significantly reduced in the aged PFC. The reductions in mGluR3 and mGluR5 (but not mGluR4) were observed in both mRNA and protein and were selectively localized to the prelimbic (PrL), but not infralimbic (IL), subregion of mPFC. Finally, pharmacological blockade of mGluR5 or mGluR2/3 using selective antagonists directed to PrL significantly impaired working memory without influencing non-mnemonic aspects of task performance. Together, these data implicate attenuated expression of PFC mGluR5 and mGluR3 in the impaired working memory associated with advanced ages.
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