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Vafaei Z, Khodagholi F, Nategh M, Nikseresht S, Hashemirad SR, Raise-Abdullahi P, Vafaei AA, Motamedi F. Involvement of relaxin-family peptide-3 receptor (RXFP3) in the ventral dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in spatial and fear memory in rats. Peptides 2024; 178:171244. [PMID: 38788901 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2024.171244] [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: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
The neuropeptide relaxin-3 and its cognate receptor, relaxin family peptide-3 receptors (RXFP3), have been implicated in modulating learning and memory processes, but their specific roles remain unclear. This study utilized behavioral and molecular approaches to investigate the effects of putatively reversible blockade of RXFP3 in the ventral dentate gyrus (vDG) of the hippocampus on spatial and fear memory formation in rats. Male Wistar rats received bilateral vDG cannula implantation and injections of the RXFP3 antagonist, R3(BΔ23-27)R/I5 (400 ng/0.5 μL per side), or vehicle at specific time points before acquisition, consolidation, or retrieval phases of the Morris water maze and passive avoidance learning tasks. RXFP3 inhibition impaired acquisition in the passive avoidance task but not the spatial learning task. However, both memory consolidation and retrieval were disrupted in both tasks following RXFP3 antagonism. Ventral hippocampal levels of the consolidation-related kinase p70-S6 kinase (p70S6K) were reduced RXFP3 blockade. These findings highlight a key role for ventral hippocampal RXFP3 signaling in the acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of spatial and emotional memories, extending previous work implicating this neuropeptide system in hippocampal memory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohreh Vafaei
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Neurophysiology Research Center, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fariba Khodagholi
- Neurobiology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohsen Nategh
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sara Nikseresht
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, the University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Seyed Reza Hashemirad
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Abbas Ali Vafaei
- Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
| | - Fereshteh Motamedi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Neurophysiology Research Center, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Sanguino-Gómez J, Huijgens S, den Hartog M, J M Schenk I, Kluck W, Versluis TD, Krugers HJ. Neural correlates of learning and memory are altered by early-life stress. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024:107952. [PMID: 38906243 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
The ability to learning and remember, which is fundamental for behavioral adaptation, is susceptible to stressful experiences during the early postnatal period, such as abnormal levels of maternal care. The exact mechanisms underlying these effects still remain elusive. This study examined in male mice whether early life stress (ELS) alters memory and brain activation patterns, by studying the expression of the immediate early genes (IEGs) c-Fos and Arc in the dentate gyrus (DG) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) after training and memory retrieval in a fear conditioning task. Furthermore, we examined the potential of RU38486 (RU486), a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, to mitigate ELS-induced memory deficits by blocking stress signalling during adolescence. Arc::dVenus reporter mice, which allow investigating experience-dependent expression of the immediate early gene Arc also at more remote time points, were exposed to ELS by housing dams and offspring with limited bedding and nesting material (LBN) between postnatal days (PND) 2-9 and trained in a fear conditioning task at adult age. We found that ELS reduced both fear acquisition and contextual memory retrieval. RU486 did not prevent these effects. ELS reduced the number of Arc::dVenus+ cells in DG and BLA after training, while the number of c-Fos+ cells were left unaffected. After memory retrieval, ELS decreased c-Fos+ cells in the ventral DG and BLA. ELS also disrupted the colocalization of c-Fos+ cells with (training activated) Arc::dVenus+ cells in the ventral DG, possibly indicating impaired engram allocation in the ventral DG after memory retrieval. Altered correlated activity during training and changes in IEG expression over time were also found in ELS animals. In conclusion, this study shows that ELS alters neuronal activation patterns after fear acquisition and retrieval, which may provide mechanistic insights into enduring impact of early-life stress on the processing of fear memories, possibly via changes in cell (co-) activation and engram cell allocation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefan Huijgens
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maxine den Hartog
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Inim J M Schenk
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wenya Kluck
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tamara D Versluis
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Harm J Krugers
- Brain Plasticity Group, SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Duggins P, Eliasmith C. A scalable spiking amygdala model that explains fear conditioning, extinction, renewal and generalization. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:3093-3116. [PMID: 38616566 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16338] [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: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
The amygdala (AMY) is widely implicated in fear learning and fear behaviour, but it remains unclear how the many biological components present within AMY interact to achieve these abilities. Building on previous work, we hypothesize that individual AMY nuclei represent different quantities and that fear conditioning arises from error-driven learning on the synapses between AMY nuclei. We present a computational model of AMY that (a) recreates the divisions and connections between AMY nuclei and their constituent pyramidal and inhibitory neurons; (b) accommodates scalable high-dimensional representations of external stimuli; (c) learns to associate complex stimuli with the presence (or absence) of an aversive stimulus; (d) preserves feature information when mapping inputs to salience estimates, such that these estimates generalize to similar stimuli; and (e) induces a diverse profile of neural responses within each nucleus. Our model predicts (1) defensive responses and neural activities in several experimental conditions, (2) the consequence of artificially ablating particular nuclei and (3) the tendency to generalize defensive responses to novel stimuli. We test these predictions by comparing model outputs to neural and behavioural data from animals and humans. Despite the relative simplicity of our model, we find significant overlap between simulated and empirical data, which supports our claim that the model captures many of the neural mechanisms that support fear conditioning. We conclude by comparing our model to other computational models and by characterizing the theoretical relationship between pattern separation and fear generalization in healthy versus anxious individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Duggins
- Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chris Eliasmith
- Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Qiu Y, Li H, Liao J, Chen K, Wu X, Liu B, Huang R. Forming cognitive maps for abstract spaces: the roles of the human hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. Commun Biol 2024; 7:517. [PMID: 38693344 PMCID: PMC11063219 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06214-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
How does the human brain construct cognitive maps for decision-making and inference? Here, we conduct an fMRI study on a navigation task in multidimensional abstract spaces. Using a deep neural network model, we assess learning levels and categorized paths into exploration and exploitation stages. Univariate analyses show higher activation in the bilateral hippocampus and lateral prefrontal cortex during exploration, positively associated with learning level and response accuracy. Conversely, the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and retrosplenial cortex show higher activation during exploitation, negatively associated with learning level and response accuracy. Representational similarity analysis show that the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and OFC more accurately represent destinations in exploitation than exploration stages. These findings highlight the collaboration between the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex in learning abstract space structures. The hippocampus may be involved in spatial memory formation and representation, while the OFC integrates sensory information for decision-making in multidimensional abstract spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yidan Qiu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Huakang Li
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jiajun Liao
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Kemeng Chen
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Bingyi Liu
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology; Center for the Study of Applied Psychology; Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education; South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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Dai HY, Zhang ZX, Tan C, Xian X, Ji D, Yang J, Sun J, Yao H. Propionic acid ameliorates cognitive function through immunomodulatory effects on Th17 cells in perioperative neurocognitive disorders. Heliyon 2024; 10:e28817. [PMID: 38699705 PMCID: PMC11063405 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28817] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Elderly patients undergoing surgery are prone to cognitive decline known as perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND). Several studies have shown that the microglial activation and the decrease of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in gut induced by surgery may be related to the pathogenesis of PND. The purpose of this study was to determine whether microglia and short-chain fatty acids were involved in cognitive dysfunction in aged rats. Methods Male wild-type Wistar rats aged 11-12 months were randomly divided into control group (Ctrl: Veh group), propionic acid group (Ctrl: PA group), exploratory laparotomy group (LP: Veh group) and propionic acid + exploratory laparotomy group (LP: PA group) according to whether exploratory laparotomy (LP) or PA pretreatment for 21 days was performed. The motor ability of the rats was evaluated by open field test on postoperative day 3 (POD3), and then the cognitive function was evaluated by Y-maze test and fear conditioning test. The expression of IL-1β, IL-6, RORγt and IL-17A mRNA in hippocampus was detected by RT-qPCR, the expression of IL-17A and IL-17RA in hippocampus was detected by Western blot, and the activation of microglia was detected by immunofluorescence. Results The PND rat model was successfully established by laparotomy. Compared with Ctrl: Veh group, the body weight of LP: Veh group decreased, the percentage of spontaneous alternations in Y maze decreased (P < 0.001), and the percentage of freezing time in contextual fear test decreased (P < 0.001). Surgery triggers neuroinflammation, manifested as the elevated levels of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β (P < 0.001) and IL-6 (P < 0.001), the increased expression of the transcription factor RORγt (P = 0.0181, POD1; P = 0.0073, POD5)and major inflammatory cytokines IL-17A (P = 0.0215, POD1; P = 0.0071, POD5), and the increased average fluorescence intensity of Iba1 (P < 0.001, POD1; P < 0.001, POD5). After PA preconditioning, the recovery of rats in LP: PA group was faster than that in LP: Veh group as the body weight lost on POD1 (P = 0.0148) was close to the baseline level on POD5 (P = 0.1846), and they performed better in behavioral tests. The levels of IL-1β (P < 0.001) and IL-6 (P = 0.0035) inflammatory factors in hippocampus decreased on POD1 and the average fluorescence intensity of Iba1 decreased (P = 0.0024, POD1; P < 0.001, POD5), representing the neuroinflammation was significantly improved. Besides, the levels of RORγt mRNA (P = 0.0231, POD1; P = 0.0251, POD5) and IL-17A mRNA (P = 0.0208, POD1; P = 0.0071, POD5) in hippocampus as well as the expression of IL-17A (P = 0.0057, POD1; P < 0.001, POD5) and IL-17RA (P = 0.0388) decreased. Conclusion PA pretreatment results in reduced postoperative neuroinflammation and improved cognitive function, potentially attributed to the regulatory effects of PA on Th17-mediated immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-yu Dai
- Department of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Pain Management, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ze-xin Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Cheng Tan
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xian Xian
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Dong Ji
- Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Department of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Pain Management, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hao Yao
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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6
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Xie G, Qin Y, Wu N, Han X, Li J. Single-Nucleus Transcriptome Profiling from the Hippocampus of a PTSD Mouse Model and CBD-Treated Cohorts. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:519. [PMID: 38674453 PMCID: PMC11050643 DOI: 10.3390/genes15040519] [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: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychiatric disorder after a catastrophic event; however, the efficacious treatment options remain insufficient. Increasing evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) exhibits optimal therapeutic effects for treating PTSD. To elucidate the cell-type-specific transcriptomic pathology of PTSD and the mechanisms of CBD against this disease, we conducted single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) in the hippocampus of PTSD-modeled mice and CBD-treated cohorts. We constructed a mouse model by adding electric foot shocks following exposure to single prolonged stress (SPS+S) and tested the freezing time, anxiety-like behavior, and cognitive behavior. CBD was administrated before every behavioral test. The PTSD-modeled mice displayed behaviors resembling those of PTSD in all behavioral tests, and CBD treatment alleviated all of these PTSD-like behaviors (n = 8/group). Three mice with representative behavioral phenotypes were selected from each group for snRNA-seq 15 days after the SPS+S. We primarily focused on the excitatory neurons (ExNs) and inhibitory neurons (InNs), which accounted for 68.4% of the total cell annotations. A total of 88 differentially upregulated genes and 305 differentially downregulated genes were found in the PTSD mice, which were found to exhibit significant alterations in pathways and biological processes associated with fear response, synaptic communication, protein synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and oxidative stress response. A total of 63 overlapping genes in InNs were identified as key genes for CBD in the treatment of PTSD. Subsequent Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed that the anti-PTSD effect of CBD was related to the regulation of protein synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress response, and fear response. Furthermore, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that CBD also enhanced retrograde endocannabinoid signaling in ExNs, which was found to be suppressed in the PTSD group. Our research may provide a potential explanation for the pathogenesis of PTSD and facilitate the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for drug development. Moreover, it may shed light on the therapeutic mechanisms of CBD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xiao Han
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China; (G.X.); (Y.Q.); (N.W.); (J.L.)
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Navarro-Sánchez M, Gil-Miravet I, Montero-Caballero D, Castillo-Gómez E, Gundlach AL, Olucha-Bordonau FE. Some key parameters in contextual fear conditioning and extinction in adult rats. Behav Brain Res 2024; 462:114874. [PMID: 38266780 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114874] [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: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Contextual fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm used to assess hippocampal-dependent memory in experimental animals. Perception of the context depends on activation of a distinct population of neurons in the hippocampus and in hippocampal-related areas that process discrete aspects of context perception. In the absence of any putatively associated cue, the context becomes the salient element that may warn of an upcoming aversive event; and in particular conditions, animals generalize this warning to any new or similar context. In this study we evaluated the effects of the number of sessions, the number of unconditioned stimuli per acquisition session and the distribution of extinction sessions to assess fear acquisition and extinction and determine under which conditions generalization occurred in adult, male rats. We observed that the organization and spacing of sessions were relevant factors in the acquisition and extinction of contextual fear memories. Extinction occurred with significantly greater robustness when sessions were spread over two days. Furthermore, results indicated that exposure to a single 0.3 mA, 0.5 s footshock in two different sessions could produce context-specific fear, while more acquisition sessions or more footshocks within a single session produced a generalization of the fear response to a new context. Notably, when generalization occurred, successive re-exposure to the generalized context produced extinction in a similar way to the paired exposure. Together, the present findings identify clear procedural and behavioral parameters amenable to neural systems analysis of three clinically relevant outcomes of contextual fear conditioning, i.e., memory acquisition, storage and extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Navarro-Sánchez
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Isis Gil-Miravet
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Daniel Montero-Caballero
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Esther Castillo-Gómez
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain; Spanish Stress Research Network, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Valencia, Spain; Spanish National Network for Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrew L Gundlach
- The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Francisco E Olucha-Bordonau
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain; Spanish Stress Research Network, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Valencia, Spain; Spanish National Network for Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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8
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Butler ER, Samia N, White S, Gratton C, Nusslock R. Neuroimmune mechanisms connecting violence with internalizing symptoms: A high-dimensional multimodal mediation analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26615. [PMID: 38339956 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26615] [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: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Violence exposure is associated with worsening anxiety and depression symptoms among adolescents. Mechanistically, social defeat stress models in mice indicate that violence increases peripherally derived macrophages in threat appraisal regions of the brain, which have been causally linked to anxious behavior. In the present study, we investigate if there is a path connecting violence exposure with internalizing symptom severity through peripheral inflammation and amygdala connectivity. Two hundred and thirty-three adolescents, ages 12-15, from the Chicago area completed clinical assessments, immune assays and neuroimaging. A high-dimensional multimodal mediation model was fit, using violence exposure as the predictor, 12 immune variables as the first set of mediators and 288 amygdala connectivity variables as the second set, and internalizing symptoms as the primary outcome measure. 56.2% of the sample had been exposed to violence in their lifetime. Amygdala-hippocampus connectivity mediated the association between violence exposure and internalizing symptoms (ζ ̂ Hipp π ̂ Hipp = 0.059 $$ {\hat{\zeta}}_{\mathrm{Hipp}}{\hat{\pi}}_{\mathrm{Hipp}}=0.059 $$ ,95 % CI boot = 0.009,0.134 $$ 95\%{\mathrm{CI}}_{\mathrm{boot}}=\left[\mathrm{0.009,0.134}\right] $$ ). There was no evidence that inflammation or inflammation and amygdala connectivity in tandem mediated the association. Considering the amygdala and the hippocampus work together to encode, consolidate, and retrieve contextual fear memories, violence exposure may be associated with greater connectivity between the amygdala and the hippocampus because it could be adaptive for the amygdala and the hippocampus to be in greater communication following violence exposure to facilitate evaluation of contextual threat cues. Therefore, chronic elevations of amygdala-hippocampal connectivity may indicate persistent vigilance that leads to internalizing symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellyn R Butler
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Noelle Samia
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Stuart White
- Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Caterina Gratton
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
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Zeidler Z, DeNardo L. The Role of Prefrontal Ensembles in Memory Across Time: Time-Dependent Transformations of Prefrontal Memory Ensembles. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 38:67-78. [PMID: 39008011 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-62983-9_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a critical role in recalling recent and remote fearful memories. Modern neuroscience techniques, such as projection-specific circuit manipulation and activity-dependent labeling, have illuminated how mPFC memory ensembles are reorganized over time. This chapter discusses the implications of new findings for traditional theories of memory, such as the systems consolidation theory and theories of memory engrams. It also examines the specific contributions of mPFC subregions, like the prelimbic and infralimbic cortices, in fear memory, highlighting how their distinct connections influence memory recall. Further, it elaborates on the cellular and molecular changes within the mPFC that support memory persistence and how these are influenced by interactions with the hippocampus. Ultimately, this chapter provides insights into how lasting memories are dynamically encoded in prefrontal circuits, arguing for a key role of memory ensembles that extend beyond strict definitions of the engram.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Zeidler
- Department of Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Laura DeNardo
- Department of Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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10
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Du F, Zha J, Li Y, Fang L, Xia S, Yu Y. Risk factors for postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder after emergency admission. World J Emerg Med 2024; 15:121-125. [PMID: 38476530 PMCID: PMC10925529 DOI: 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2024.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur in women who give birth after emergency admission. The identification of risk factors for this condition is crucial for developing effective preventive measures. This retrospective study aimed to explore the incidence and risk factors for postpartum PTSD in women who give birth after emergency admission. METHODS Medical records of women who gave birth after emergency admission were collected between March 2021 and April 2023. The patients' general conditions and perinatal clinical indicators were recorded. The puerperae were divided into PTSD group and control group based on symptom occurrence at six weeks postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors. RESULTS A total of 276 puerperae were included, with a PTSD incidence of 20.3% at six weeks postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified emergency cesarean section (odds ratio [OR]=2.102; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.114-3.966, P=0.022), admission to the emergency department after midnight (12:00 AM) (OR=2.245; 95%CI: 1.170-4.305, P<0.001), and cervical dilation (OR=3.203; 95%CI: 1.670-6.141, P=0.039) as independent risk factors for postpartum PTSD. Analgesia pump use (OR= 0.500; 95%CI: 0.259-0.966, P=0.015) was found to be a protective factor against postpartum PTSD. CONCLUSION Emergency cesarean section, admission to the emergency department after midnight, and cervical dilation were identified as independent risk factors for postpartum PTSD, while analgesic pump use was a protective factor. These findings provide insights for developing more effective preventive measures for women who give birth after emergency admission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengxia Du
- Department of Obstetrics, Suzhou Xiangcheng People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215131, China
| | - Jun Zha
- Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Yan Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Suzhou Xiangcheng People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215131, China
| | - Lichao Fang
- Department of Emergency and Intensive Care Unit, Suzhou Xiangcheng People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215131, China
| | - Shuyu Xia
- Department of Obstetrics, Suzhou Xiangcheng People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215131, China
| | - Youjia Yu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Suzhou Xiangcheng People’s Hospital, Suzhou 215131, China
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McGowan JC, Ladner LR, Shubeck CX, Tapia J, LaGamma CT, Anqueira-González A, DeFrancesco A, Chen BK, Hunsberger HC, Sydnor EJ, Logan RW, Yu TS, Kernie SG, Denny CA. Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Fear Generalization in Mice Involves Hippocampal Memory Trace Dysfunction and Is Alleviated by (R,S)-Ketamine. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:15-26. [PMID: 37423591 PMCID: PMC10772211 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.06.030] [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: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a debilitating neurological disorder caused by an impact to the head by an outside force. TBI results in persistent cognitive impairments, including fear generalization and the inability to distinguish between aversive and neutral stimuli. The mechanisms underlying fear generalization have not been fully elucidated, and there are no targeted therapeutics to alleviate this symptom of TBI. METHODS To identify the neural ensembles mediating fear generalization, we utilized ArcCreERT2 × enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) mice, which allow for activity-dependent labeling and quantification of memory traces. Mice were administered a sham surgery or the controlled cortical impact model of TBI. Mice were then administered a contextual fear discrimination paradigm and memory traces were quantified in numerous brain regions. In a separate group of mice, we tested if (R,S)-ketamine could decrease fear generalization and alter the corresponding memory traces in TBI mice. RESULTS TBI mice exhibited increased fear generalization when compared with sham mice. This behavioral phenotype was paralleled by altered memory traces in the dentate gyrus, CA3, and amygdala, but not by alterations in inflammation or sleep. In TBI mice, (R,S)-ketamine facilitated fear discrimination, and this behavioral improvement was reflected in dentate gyrus memory trace activity. CONCLUSIONS These data show that TBI induces fear generalization by altering fear memory traces and that this deficit can be improved with a single injection of (R,S)-ketamine. This work enhances our understanding of the neural basis of TBI-induced fear generalization and reveals potential therapeutic avenues for alleviating this symptom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine C McGowan
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, New York.
| | | | | | | | - Christina T LaGamma
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | | | - Ariana DeFrancesco
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Queens College, New York, New York
| | - Briana K Chen
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Holly C Hunsberger
- Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutics, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ezra J Sydnor
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | - Ryan W Logan
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Tzong-Shiue Yu
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
| | - Steven G Kernie
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Department of Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
| | - Christine A Denny
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York.
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12
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Lacagnina AF, Dong TN, Iyer RR, Khan S, Mohamed MK, Clem RL. Ventral hippocampal interneurons govern extinction and relapse of contextual associations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.28.568835. [PMID: 38077077 PMCID: PMC10705382 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.28.568835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Contextual associations are critical for survival but must be extinguished when new conditions render them nonproductive. By most accounts, extinction forms a new memory that competes with the original association for control over behavior, but the mechanisms underlying this competition remain largely enigmatic. Here we find the retrieval of contextual fear conditioning and extinction yield contrasting patterns of activity in prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus. Within ventral CA1, activation of somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SST-INs) occurs preferentially during extinction retrieval and correlates with differences in input synaptic transmission. Optogenetic manipulation of these cells but not parvalbumin interneurons (PV-INs) elicits bidirectional changes in fear expression following extinction, and the ability of SST-INs to gate fear is specific to the context in which extinction was acquired. A similar pattern of results was obtained following reward-based extinction. These data show that ventral hippocampal SST-INs are critical for extinguishing prior associations and thereby gate relapse of both aversive and appetitive responses.
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13
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Weber BL, Nicodemus MM, Hite AK, Spalding IR, Beaver JN, Scrimshaw LR, Kassis SK, Reichert JM, Ford MT, Russell CN, Hallal EM, Gilman TL. Heterotypic Stressors Unmask Behavioral Influences of PMAT Deficiency in Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16494. [PMID: 38003684 PMCID: PMC10671398 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216494] [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: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Certain life stressors having enduring physiological and behavioral consequences, in part by eliciting dramatic signaling shifts in monoamine neurotransmitters. High monoamine levels can overwhelm selective transporters like the serotonin transporter. This is when polyspecific transporters like plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT, Slc29a4) are hypothesized to contribute most to monoaminergic signaling regulation. Here, we employed two distinct counterbalanced stressors-fear conditioning and swim stress-in mice to systematically determine how reductions in PMAT function affect heterotypic stressor responsivity. We hypothesized that male heterozygotes would exhibit augmented stressor responses relative to female heterozygotes. Decreased PMAT function enhanced context fear expression, an effect unexpectedly obscured by a sham stress condition. Impaired cued fear extinction retention and enhanced context fear expression in males were conversely unmasked by a sham swim condition. Abrogated corticosterone levels in male heterozygotes that underwent swim stress after context fear conditioning did not map onto any measured behaviors. In sum, male heterozygous mouse fear behaviors proved malleable in response to preceding stressor or sham stress exposure. Combined, these data indicate that reduced male PMAT function elicits a form of stress-responsive plasticity. Future studies should assess how PMAT is differentially affected across sexes and identify downstream consequences of the stress-shifted corticosterone dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - T. Lee Gilman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA
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14
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Weber BL, Nicodemus MM, Hite AK, Spalding IR, Beaver JN, Scrimshaw LR, Kassis SK, Reichert JM, Ford MT, Russell CN, Hallal EM, Gilman TL. Heterotypic stressors unmask behavioral influences of PMAT deficiency in mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.30.555632. [PMID: 37693400 PMCID: PMC10491137 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.555632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Certain life stressors having enduring physiological and behavioral consequences, in part by eliciting dramatic signaling shifts in monoamine neurotransmitters. High monoamine levels can overwhelm selective transporters like the serotonin transporter. This is when polyspecific transporters like plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT, Slc29a4) are hypothesized to contribute most to monoaminergic signaling regulation. Here, we employed two distinct counterbalanced stressors - fear conditioning, and swim stress - in mice to systematically determine how reductions in PMAT function affect heterotypic stressor responsivity. We hypothesized male heterozygotes would exhibit augmented stressor responses relative to female heterozygotes. Decreased PMAT function enhanced context fear expression, an effect unexpectedly obscured by a sham stress condition. Impaired cued fear extinction retention and enhanced context fear expression in males were conversely unmasked by a sham swim condition. Abrogated corticosterone levels in male heterozygotes that underwent swim stress after context fear conditioning did not map on to any measured behaviors. In sum, male heterozygous mouse fear behaviors proved malleable in response to preceding stressor or sham stress exposure. Combined, these data indicate reduced male PMAT function elicits a form of stress-responsive plasticity. Future studies should assess how PMAT is differentially affected across sexes and identify downstream consequences of the stress-shifted corticosterone dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brady L Weber
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Marissa M Nicodemus
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Allianna K Hite
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Isabella R Spalding
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Jasmin N Beaver
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Lauren R Scrimshaw
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Sarah K Kassis
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Julie M Reichert
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Matthew T Ford
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Cameron N Russell
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Elayna M Hallal
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - T Lee Gilman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
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15
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Rich MT, Worobey SJ, Mankame S, Pang ZP, Swinford-Jackson SE, Pierce RC. Sex-dependent fear memory impairment in cocaine-sired rat offspring. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf6039. [PMID: 37851809 PMCID: PMC10584337 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Cocaine self-administration by male rats results in neuronal and behavioral alterations in offspring, including responses to cocaine. Given the high degree of overlap between the brain systems underlying the pathological responses to cocaine and stress, we examined whether sire cocaine taking would influence fear-associated behavioral effects in drug-naïve adult male and female progeny. Sire cocaine exposure had no effect on contextual fear conditioning or its extinction in either male or female offspring. During cued fear conditioning, freezing behavior was enhanced in female, but not male, cocaine-sired progeny. In contrast, male cocaine-sired progeny exhibited enhanced expression of cue-conditioned fear during extinction. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was robust in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), which encodes fear conditioning, of female offspring but was completely absent in male offspring of cocaine-exposed sires. Collectively, these results indicate that cued fear memory is enhanced in the male progeny of cocaine exposed sires, which also have BLA synaptic plasticity deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T. Rich
- Brain Health Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Samantha J. Worobey
- Brain Health Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Sharvari Mankame
- Brain Health Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
| | - Zhiping P. Pang
- Child Health Institute and Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | | | - R. Christopher Pierce
- Brain Health Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
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16
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Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Bast T, Cassaday HJ, Martin SJ, Suwansawang S, Halliday DM, Stevenson CW. Dopamine D1-like receptors modulate synchronized oscillations in the hippocampal-prefrontal-amygdala circuit in contextual fear. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17631. [PMID: 37848657 PMCID: PMC10582086 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44772-6] [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: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) is mediated by a neural circuit that includes the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala, but the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the regulation of CFC by neuromodulators remain unclear. Dopamine D1-like receptors (D1Rs) in this circuit regulate CFC and local synaptic plasticity, which is facilitated by synchronized oscillations between these areas. In rats, we determined the effects of systemic D1R blockade on CFC and oscillatory synchrony between dorsal hippocampus (DH), prelimbic (PL) cortex, basolateral amygdala (BLA), and ventral hippocampus (VH), which sends hippocampal projections to PL and BLA. D1R blockade altered DH-VH and reduced VH-PL and VH-BLA synchrony during CFC, as inferred from theta and gamma coherence and theta-gamma coupling. D1R blockade also impaired CFC, as indicated by decreased freezing at retrieval, which was characterized by altered DH-VH and reduced VH-PL, VH-BLA, and PL-BLA synchrony. This reduction in VH-PL-BLA synchrony was not fully accounted for by non-specific locomotor effects, as revealed by comparing between epochs of movement and freezing in the controls. These results suggest that D1Rs regulate CFC by modulating synchronized oscillations within the hippocampus-prefrontal-amygdala circuit. They also add to growing evidence indicating that this circuit synchrony at retrieval reflects a neural signature of learned fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Stubbendorff
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
- Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.
| | - Ed Hale
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
- Envigo, Hillcrest, Dodgeford Lane, Belton, LE12 9TE, UK
| | - Tobias Bast
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Helen J Cassaday
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Stephen J Martin
- Cellular and Systems Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Sopapun Suwansawang
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
| | - David M Halliday
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
| | - Carl W Stevenson
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
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17
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Simões AP, Portes MAM, Lopes CR, Vanz F, Lourenço VS, Pliássova A, Gaspar IL, Silva HB, Tomé ÂR, Canas PM, Prediger RD, Cunha RA. Adenosine A 2A receptors control generalization of contextual fear in rats. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:316. [PMID: 37828000 PMCID: PMC10570294 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02613-0] [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: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear learning is essential to survival, but traumatic events may lead to abnormal fear consolidation and overgeneralization, triggering fear responses in safe environments, as occurs in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) control emotional memory and fear conditioning, but it is not known if they affect the consolidation and generalization of fear, which was now investigated. We now report that A2AR blockade through systemic administration of the A2AR antagonist SCH58261 immediately after contextual fear conditioning (within the consolidation window), accelerated fear generalization. Conversely, A2AR activation with CGS21680 decreased fear generalization. Ex vivo electrophysiological recordings of field excitatory post-synaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in CA3-CA1 synapses and of population spikes in the lateral amygdala (LA), showed that the effect of SCH58261 is associated with a reversion of fear conditioning-induced decrease of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) and with increased amplitude of LA LTP in conditioned animals. These data suggest that A2AR are engaged during contextual fear consolidation, controlling long-term potentiation mechanisms in both DH and LA during fear consolidation, impacting on fear generalization; this supports targeting A2AR during fear consolidation to control aberrant fear processing in PTSD and other fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana P Simões
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Marina A M Portes
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Cátia R Lopes
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Felipe Vanz
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Vanessa S Lourenço
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Anna Pliássova
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ingride L Gaspar
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Henrique B Silva
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ângelo R Tomé
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paula M Canas
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rui D Prediger
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate Program in Pharmacology, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo A Cunha
- CNC- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Multidisciplinary Institute of Aging (MIA-Portugal), University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
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18
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Matias ME, Radulski DR, Rodrigues da Silva T, Raymundi AM, Stern CAJ, Zampronio AR. Involvement of cannabinoid receptors and neuroinflammation in early sepsis: Implications for posttraumatic stress disorder. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 123:110745. [PMID: 37541107 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110745] [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: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Sepsis is associated with several comorbidities in survivors, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study investigated whether rats that survive sepsis develop the generalization of fear memory as a model of PTSD. Responses to interventions that target the endothelin-1 (ET-1)/cannabinoid system and glial activation in the initial stages of sepsis were evaluated. As a control, we evaluated hyperalgesia before fear conditioning. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in Wistar rats. CLP-induced sepsis with one or three punctures resulted in fear generalization in the survivors 13 and 20 days after the CLP procedure, a process that was not associated with hyperalgesia. Septic animals were intracerebroventricularly treated with vehicle, the endothelin receptor A (ETA) antagonist BQ123, the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists AM251 and AM630, respectively, and the glial blocker minocycline 4 h after CLP. The blockade of either CB1 or ETA receptors increased the survival rate, but only the former reversed fear memory generalization. The endothelinergic system blockade is important for improving survival but not for fear memory. Treatment with the CB2 receptor antagonist or minocycline also reversed the generalization of fear memory but did not increase the survival rate that was associated with CLP. Minocycline treatment also reduced tumor necrosis factor-α levels in the hippocampus suggesting that neuroinflammation is important for the generalization of fear memory induced by CLP. The influence of CLP on the generalization of fear memory was not related to Arc protein expression, a regulator of synaptic plasticity, in the dorsal hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ana Maria Raymundi
- Department of Pharmacology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
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19
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Yang S, Zhu G. Phytotherapy of abnormality of fear memory: A narrative review of mechanisms. Fitoterapia 2023; 169:105618. [PMID: 37482307 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105618] [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: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
It is generally believed that in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the high expression of fear memory is mainly determined by amygdala hyperactivity and hippocampus hypoactivity. In this review, we firstly updated the mechanisms of fear memory, and then searched the experimental evidence of phytotherapy for fear memory in the past five years. Based on the summary of those experimental studies, we further discussed the future research strategies of plant medicines, including the study of the mechanism of specific brain regions, the optimal time for the prevention and treatment of fear memory-related diseases such as PTSD, and the development of new drugs with active components of plant medicines. Accordingly, plant medicines play a clear role in improving fear memory abnormalities and have the drug development potential in the treatment of fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaojie Yang
- The Second Affiliation Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230061, China; Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, The Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Brain diseases), Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230012, China
| | - Guoqi Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, The Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Brain diseases), Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230012, China.
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20
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Li Y, Zhi W, Qi B, Wang L, Hu X. Update on neurobiological mechanisms of fear: illuminating the direction of mechanism exploration and treatment development of trauma and fear-related disorders. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1216524. [PMID: 37600761 PMCID: PMC10433239 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1216524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear refers to an adaptive response in the face of danger, and the formed fear memory acts as a warning when the individual faces a dangerous situation again, which is of great significance to the survival of humans and animals. Excessive fear response caused by abnormal fear memory can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. Fear memory has been studied for a long time, which is of a certain guiding effect on the treatment of fear-related disorders. With continuous technological innovations, the study of fear has gradually shifted from the level of brain regions to deeper neural (micro) circuits between brain regions and even within single brain regions, as well as molecular mechanisms. This article briefly outlines the basic knowledge of fear memory and reviews the neurobiological mechanisms of fear extinction and relapse, which aims to provide new insights for future basic research on fear emotions and new ideas for treating trauma and fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Li
- College of Education, Hebei University, Baoding, China
- Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Weijia Zhi
- Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Qi
- College of Education, Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Lifeng Wang
- Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangjun Hu
- College of Education, Hebei University, Baoding, China
- Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
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21
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Lo Y, Yi PL, Hsiao YT, Lee TY, Chang FC. A prolonged stress rat model recapitulates some PTSD-like changes in sleep and neuronal connectivity. Commun Biol 2023; 6:716. [PMID: 37438582 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05090-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibits psychological abnormalities during fear memory processing in rodent models. To simulate long-term impaired fear extinction in PTSD patients, we constructed a seven-day model with multiple prolonged stress (MPS) by modifying manipulation repetitions, intensity, and unpredictability of stressors. Behavioral and neural changes following MPS conveyed longitudinal PTSD-like effects in rats for 6 weeks. Extended fear memory was estimated through fear retrieval induced-freezing behavior and increased long-term serum corticosterone concentrations after MPS manipulation. Additionally, memory retrieval and behavioral anxiety tasks continued enhancing theta oscillation activity in the prefrontal cortex-basal lateral amygdala-ventral hippocampus pathway for an extended period. Moreover, MPS and remote fear retrieval stimuli disrupted sleep-wake activities to consolidate fear memory. Our prolonged fear memory, neuronal connectivity, anxiety, and sleep alteration results demonstrated integrated chronic PTSD symptoms in an MPS-induced rodent model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Lo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Lu Yi
- Department of Sport Management, College of Tourism, Leisure and Sports, Aletheia University, New Taipei City, 25103, Taiwan.
| | - Yi-Tse Hsiao
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Tung-Yen Lee
- Graduate Institute of Brain & Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 110225, Taiwan
| | - Fang-Chia Chang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
- Graduate Institute of Brain & Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 110225, Taiwan.
- Neurobiology & Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
- Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan.
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan.
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22
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Terranova JI, Yokose J, Osanai H, Ogawa SK, Kitamura T. Systems consolidation induces multiple memory engrams for a flexible recall strategy in observational fear memory in male mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3976. [PMID: 37407567 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39718-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Observers learn to fear the context in which they witnessed a demonstrator's aversive experience, called observational contextual fear conditioning (CFC). The neural mechanisms governing whether recall of the observational CFC memory occurs from the observer's own or from the demonstrator's point of view remain unclear. Here, we show in male mice that recent observational CFC memory is recalled in the observer's context only, but remote memory is recalled in both observer and demonstrator contexts. Recall of recent memory in the observer's context requires dorsal hippocampus activity, while recall of remote memory in both contexts requires the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-basolateral amygdala pathway. Although mPFC neurons activated by observational CFC are involved in remote recall in both contexts, distinct mPFC subpopulations regulate remote recall in each context. Our data provide insights into a flexible recall strategy and the functional reorganization of circuits and memory engram cells underlying observational CFC memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph I Terranova
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, 60615, USA
| | - Jun Yokose
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Hisayuki Osanai
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Sachie K Ogawa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Takashi Kitamura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
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Tipton AE, Del Angel YC, Hixson K, Carlsen J, Strode D, Busquet N, Mesches MH, Gonzalez MI, Napoli E, Russek SJ, Brooks-Kayal AR. Selective Neuronal Knockout of STAT3 Function Inhibits Epilepsy Progression, Improves Cognition, and Restores Dysregulated Gene Networks in a Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Model. Ann Neurol 2023; 94:106-122. [PMID: 36935347 PMCID: PMC10313781 DOI: 10.1002/ana.26644] [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: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a progressive disorder mediated by pathological changes in molecular cascades and hippocampal neural circuit remodeling that results in spontaneous seizures and cognitive dysfunction. Targeting these cascades may provide disease-modifying treatments for TLE patients. Janus Kinase/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (JAK/STAT) inhibitors have emerged as potential disease-modifying therapies; a more detailed understanding of JAK/STAT participation in epileptogenic responses is required, however, to increase the therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects associated with global inhibition. METHODS We developed a mouse line in which tamoxifen treatment conditionally abolishes STAT3 signaling from forebrain excitatory neurons (nSTAT3KO). Seizure frequency (continuous in vivo electroencephalography) and memory (contextual fear conditioning and motor learning) were analyzed in wild-type and nSTAT3KO mice after intrahippocampal kainate (IHKA) injection as a model of TLE. Hippocampal RNA was obtained 24 h after IHKA and subjected to deep sequencing. RESULTS Selective STAT3 knock-out in excitatory neurons reduced seizure progression and hippocampal memory deficits without reducing the extent of cell death or mossy fiber sprouting induced by IHKA injection. Gene expression was rescued in major networks associated with response to brain injury, neuronal plasticity, and learning and memory. We also provide the first evidence that neuronal STAT3 may directly influence brain inflammation. INTERPRETATION Inhibiting neuronal STAT3 signaling improved outcomes in an animal model of TLE, prevented progression of seizures and cognitive co-morbidities while rescuing pathogenic changes in gene expression of major networks associated with epileptogenesis. Specifically targeting neuronal STAT3 may be an effective disease-modifying strategy for TLE. ANN NEUROL 2023;94:106-122.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison E. Tipton
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yasmin Cruz Del Angel
- Department of Neurology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Kathryn Hixson
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jessica Carlsen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Dana Strode
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Nicolas Busquet
- Department of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Michael H. Mesches
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Marco I. Gonzalez
- Department of Neurology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Eleonora Napoli
- Department of Neurology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Shelley J. Russek
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amy R. Brooks-Kayal
- Department of Neurology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Zhou T, Li J, Cheng A, Zuo Z. Desflurane Post-treatment Reduces Hypoxic-ischemic Brain Injury via Reducing Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 in Neonatal Rats. Neuroscience 2023; 522:121-131. [PMID: 37196978 PMCID: PMC10330691 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.007] [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: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury leads to mortality and morbidity in neonates and children. There are no effective and practical methods to attenuate this brain injury. This study determined whether desflurane, a volatile anesthetic with limited effect on the cardiovascular system, protected against HI-induced brain damage and the role of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a mediator for simulated ischemia-induced myelin damage, in this protection. Seven-day-old male and female Sprague-Dawley rats had brain HI. They were exposed to 4.8%, 7.6% or 11.4% desflurane immediately or 4.8% desflurane at 0.5, 1 or 2 h after the HI. Brain tissue loss was evaluated 7 days later. Neurological functions and brain structures of rats with HI and 4.8% desflurane post-treatment were evaluated 4 weeks after the HI. TRPA1 expression was determined by Western blotting. HC-030031, a TRPA1 inhibitor, was used to determine the role of TRPA1 in the HI-induced brain injury. HI induced brain tissue and neuronal loss, which was attenuated by all tested concentrations of desflurane. Desflurane post-treatment also improved motor function, learning and memory in rats with brain HI. Brain HI increased the expression of TRPA1 and this increase was inhibited by desflurane. TRPA1 inhibition reduced HI-induced brain tissue loss and impairment of learning and memory. However, the combination of TRPA1 inhibition and desflurane post-treatment did not preserve brain tissues, learning and memory better than TRPA1 inhibition or desflurane post-treatment alone. Our results suggest that desflurane post-treatment induces neuroprotection against neonatal HI. This effect may be mediated by inhibiting TRPA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Zhou
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
| | - Aobing Cheng
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Zhiyi Zuo
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
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25
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Cen XQ, Li P, Wang B, Chen X, Zhao Y, Yang N, Peng Y, Li CH, Ning YL, Zhou YG. Knockdown of adenosine A2A receptors in hippocampal neurons prevents post-TBI fear memory retrieval. Exp Neurol 2023; 364:114378. [PMID: 36907351 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114378] [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: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
The formation of fear memory is crucial in emotional disorders such as PTSD and anxiety. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause emotional disorders with dysregulated fear memory formation; however, their cross-interaction remains unclear and hurdled the treatment against TBI-related emotional disorders. While adenosine A2A receptor(A2AR) contributes to the physiological regulation of fear memory, this study aimed to evaluate the A2AR role and possible mechanisms in post-TBI fear memory formation using a craniocerebral trauma model, genetically modified A2AR mutant mice, and pharmacological A2AR agonist CGS21680 and antagonist ZM241385. Our finding showed (i) TBI enhanced mice freezing levels (fear memory) at seven days post-TBI; (ii) The A2AR agonist CGS21680 enhanced the post-TBI freezing levels; conversely, the A2AR antagonist ZM241385 reduced mice freezing level; further (iii) Genetic knockdown of neuronal A2AR in the hippocampal CA1, CA3, and DG regions reduced post-TBI freezing levels, while A2AR knockout in DG region yielded the most reduction in fear memory; finally, (iv) AAV-CaMKII-Cre virus-mediated DG deletion of A2AR on excitatory neurons led to a significant decreased freezing levels post-TBI. These findings indicate that brain trauma increases fear memory retrieval post-TBI, and A2AR on DG excitatory neurons plays a crucial role in this process. Importantly, inhibition of A2AR attenuates fear memory enhancement, which provides a new strategy to prevent fear memory formation/enhancement after TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Qing Cen
- The College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, No.174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400044, China; Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China; Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Bo Wang
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xing Chen
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Zhao
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Nan Yang
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Peng
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chang-Hong Li
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ya-Lei Ning
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China; Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Yuan-Guo Zhou
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery and Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China; Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
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26
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Li J, Tong L, Schock BC, Ji LL. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Focus on Neuroinflammation. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:3963-3978. [PMID: 37004607 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03320-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gaining increasing attention, is a multifaceted psychiatric disorder that occurs following a stressful or traumatic event or series of events. Recently, several studies showed a close relationship between PTSD and neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation, a defense response of the nervous system, is associated with the activation of neuroimmune cells such as microglia and astrocytes and with changes in inflammatory markers. In this review, we first analyzed the relationship between neuroinflammation and PTSD: the effect of stress-derived activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis on the main immune cells in the brain and the effect of stimulated immune cells in the brain on the HPA axis. We then summarize the alteration of inflammatory markers in brain regions related to PTSD. Astrocytes are neural parenchymal cells that protect neurons by regulating the ionic microenvironment around neurons. Microglia are macrophages of the brain that coordinate the immunological response. Recent studies on these two cell types provided new insight into neuroinflammation in PTSD. These contribute to promoting comprehension of neuroinflammation, which plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimeng Li
- Department of 2nd Clinical College, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Lei Tong
- Department of Anatomy, College of Basic Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Bettina C Schock
- The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast Faculty of Medicine Health and Life Sciences, Belfast, UK
| | - Li-Li Ji
- Department of Anatomy, College of Basic Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
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27
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Cruz-Mendoza F, Luquin S, García-Estrada J, Fernández-Quezada D, Jauregui-Huerta F. Acoustic Stress Induces Opposite Proliferative/Transformative Effects in Hippocampal Glia. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065520. [PMID: 36982594 PMCID: PMC10058072 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065520] [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: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus is a brain region crucially involved in regulating stress responses and highly sensitive to environmental changes, with elevated proliferative and adaptive activity of neurons and glial cells. Despite the prevalence of environmental noise as a stressor, its effects on hippocampal cytoarchitecture remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of acoustic stress on hippocampal proliferation and glial cytoarchitecture in adult male rats, using environmental noise as a stress model. After 21 days of noise exposure, our results showed abnormal cellular proliferation in the hippocampus, with an inverse effect on the proliferation ratios of astrocytes and microglia. Both cell lineages also displayed atrophic morphologies with fewer processes and lower densities in the noise-stressed animals. Our findings suggest that, stress not only affects neurogenesis and neuronal death in the hippocampus, but also the proliferation ratio, cell density, and morphology of glial cells, potentially triggering an inflammatory-like response that compromises their homeostatic and repair functions.
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28
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Silva F, Masella G, Madeira MF, Duarte CB, Santos M. TrkC Intracellular Signalling in the Brain Fear Network During the Formation of a Contextual Fear Memory. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:3507-3521. [PMID: 36882590 PMCID: PMC10122637 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03292-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Learned fear is orchestrated by a brain fear network that comprises the amygdala, hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex. Synaptic plasticity within this network is critical for the formation of proper fear memories. Known for their role in the promotion of synaptic plasticity, neurotrophins position as obvious candidates in the regulation of fear processes. Indeed, recent evidence from our laboratory and others associates dysregulated signalling through neurotrophin-3 and its receptor TrkC with the pathophysiology of anxiety and fear-related disorders. Here, we put wild-type C57Bl/6J mice through a contextual fear conditioning paradigm in order to characterize TrkC activation and expression in the main brain regions involved in (learned) fear - amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex - during the formation of a fear memory. We report an overall decreased activation of TrkC in the fear network during fear consolidation and reconsolidation. During reconsolidation, hippocampal TrkC downregulation was accompanied by a decrease in the expression and activation of Erk, a critical signalling pathway in fear conditioning. Moreover, we did not find evidence that the observed decrease of TrkC activation was caused by altered expression of dominant negative form of TrkC, neurotrophin-3, or the PTP1B phosphatase. Our results indicate hippocampal TrkC inactivation through Erk signalling as a potential mechanism in the regulation of contextual fear memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisca Silva
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra (iiiUC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Gianluca Masella
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra (iiiUC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - Carlos B Duarte
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Mónica Santos
- CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra (iiiUC), Coimbra, Portugal.
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29
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McGowan JC, Ladner LR, Shubeck CX, Tapia J, LaGamma CT, Anqueira-Gonz Lez A, DeFrancesco A, Chen BK, Hunsberger HC, Sydnor EJ, Logan RW, Yu TS, Kernie SG, Denny CA. Traumatic brain injury-induced fear generalization in mice involves hippocampal memory trace dysfunction and is alleviated by ( R,S )-ketamine. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.24.529876. [PMID: 36909465 PMCID: PMC10002673 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.24.529876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a debilitating neurological disorder caused by an impact to the head by an outside force. TBI results in persistent cognitive impairments, including fear generalization, the inability to distinguish between aversive and neutral stimuli. The mechanisms underlying fear generalization have not been fully elucidated, and there are no targeted therapeutics to alleviate this symptom of TBI. METHODS To identify the neural ensembles mediating fear generalization, we utilized the ArcCreER T2 x enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) mice, which allow for activity-dependent labeling and quantification of memory traces. Mice were administered a sham surgery or the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model of TBI. Mice were then administered a contextual fear discrimination (CFD) paradigm and memory traces were quantified in numerous brain regions. In a separate group of mice, we tested if ( R,S )-ketamine could decrease fear generalization and alter the corresponding memory traces in TBI mice. RESULTS TBI mice exhibited increased fear generalization when compared with sham mice. This behavioral phenotype was paralleled by altered memory traces in the DG, CA3, and amygdala, but not by alterations in inflammation or sleep. In TBI mice, ( R,S )-ketamine facilitated fear discrimination and this behavioral improvement was reflected in DG memory trace activity. CONCLUSIONS These data show that TBI induces fear generalization by altering fear memory traces, and that this deficit can be improved with a single injection of ( R,S )-ketamine. This work enhances our understanding of the neural basis of TBI-induced fear generalization and reveals potential therapeutic avenues for alleviating this symptom.
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Brandel-Ankrapp KL, Arey RN. Uncovering novel regulators of memory using C. elegans genetic and genomic analysis. Biochem Soc Trans 2023; 51:161-171. [PMID: 36744642 PMCID: PMC10518207 DOI: 10.1042/bst20220455] [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: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
How organisms learn and encode memory is an outstanding question in neuroscience research. Specifically, how memories are acquired and consolidated at the level of molecular and gene pathways remains unclear. In addition, memory is disrupted in a wide variety of neurological disorders; therefore, discovering molecular regulators of memory may reveal therapeutic targets for these disorders. C. elegans are an excellent model to uncover molecular and genetic regulators of memory. Indeed, the nematode's invariant neuronal lineage, fully mapped genome, and conserved associative behaviors have allowed the development of a breadth of genetic and genomic tools to examine learning and memory. In this mini-review, we discuss novel and exciting genetic and genomic techniques used to examine molecular and genetic underpinnings of memory from the level of the whole-worm to tissue-specific and cell-type specific approaches with high spatiotemporal resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L. Brandel-Ankrapp
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, U.S.A
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, U.S.A
| | - Rachel N. Arey
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, U.S.A
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, U.S.A
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Jamali S, Dezfouli MP, Kalbasi A, Daliri MR, Haghparast A. Selective Modulation of Hippocampal Theta Oscillations in Response to Morphine versus Natural Reward. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020322. [PMID: 36831866 PMCID: PMC9953863 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020322] [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: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the overlapping neural circuits underlying natural and drug rewards, several studies have suggested different behavioral and neurochemical mechanisms in response to drug vs. natural rewards. The strong link between hippocampal theta oscillations (4-12 Hz) and reward-associated learning and memory has raised the hypothesis that this rhythm in hippocampal CA1 might be differently modulated by drug- and natural-conditioned place preference (CPP). Time-frequency analysis of recorded local field potentials (LFPs) from the CA1 of freely moving male rats previously exposed to a natural (in this case, food), drug (in this case, morphine), or saline (control) reward cue in the CPP paradigm showed that the hippocampal CA1 theta activity represents a different pattern for entrance to the rewarded compared to unrewarded compartment during the post-test session of morphine- and natural-CPP. Comparing LFP activity in the CA1 between the saline and morphine/natural groups showed that the maximum theta power occurred before entering the unrewarded compartment and after the entrance to the rewarded compartment in morphine and natural groups, respectively. In conclusion, our findings suggest that drug and natural rewards could differently affect the theta dynamic in the hippocampal CA1 region during reward-associated learning and contextual cueing in the CPP paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shole Jamali
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran P.O. Box 19615-1178, Iran
| | - Mohsen Parto Dezfouli
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran P.O. Box 19395-5531, Iran
| | - AmirAli Kalbasi
- Department of Mechatronics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16315-1355, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran P.O. Box 19395-5531, Iran
- Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran P.O. Box 16846-13114, Iran
- Correspondence: (M.R.D.); or (A.H.); Tel./Fax: +98-21-2243-1624 (A.H.)
| | - Abbas Haghparast
- Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran P.O. Box 19615-1178, Iran
- Correspondence: (M.R.D.); or (A.H.); Tel./Fax: +98-21-2243-1624 (A.H.)
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Comparison of behavioral and brain indices of fear renewal during a standard vs. novel immersive reality Pavlovian fear extinction paradigm in healthy adults. Behav Brain Res 2023; 437:114154. [PMID: 36244544 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Pavlovian conditioning paradigms model the learned fear associations inherent in posttraumatic stress disorder, including the renewal of inappropriate fear responses following extinction learning. However, very few studies in humans investigate the underlying neural mechanisms involved in fear renewal despite its clinical importance. To address this issue, our lab designed a novel, immersive-reality Pavlovian fear acquisition, extinction, recall, and renewal paradigm. We utilized an ecological threat - a snake striking towards the participant - as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Context and background were dynamic and included both visual and auditory cues that are relevant to everyday life. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral measures (US expectancy ratings), we examined the validity of this Novel paradigm in healthy adults (n = 49) and compared it to a Standard, well-validated 2D paradigm (n = 28). The Novel paradigm, compared to the Standard, was associated with greater hippocampal activation throughout the task. Participants who underwent the Standard paradigm, compared to the Novel, also displayed insula activation; however, this was not specific to stimulus or time. During fear renewal, the Novel paradigm was associated with dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation to CS+ (> CS-). Overall, we found that our Novel, immersive-reality paradigm, which features an ecologically relevant US, elicited greater corticolimbic activation. These results suggest that immersive Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigms paired with innately fearful stimuli may improve translatability of preclinical paradigms to clinical interventions for fear-based disorders.
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Saggu S, Chen Y, Cottingham C, Rehman H, Wang H, Zhang S, Augelli-Szafran C, Lu S, Lambert N, Jiao K, Lu XY, Wang Q. Activation of a novel α 2AAR-spinophilin-cofilin axis determines the effect of α 2 adrenergic drugs on fear memory reconsolidation. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:588-600. [PMID: 36357671 PMCID: PMC9647772 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01851-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the pandemic has emerged as a major neuropsychiatric component of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, yet the current pharmacotherapy for PTSD is limited. The use of adrenergic drugs to treat PTSD has been suggested; however, it is hindered by conflicting clinical results and a lack of mechanistic understanding of drug actions. Our studies, using both genetically modified mice and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons, reveal a novel α2A adrenergic receptor (α2AAR)-spinophilin-cofilin axis in the hippocampus that is critical for regulation of contextual fear memory reconsolidation. In addition, we have found that two α2 ligands, clonidine and guanfacine, exhibit differential abilities in activating this signaling axis to disrupt fear memory reconsolidation. Stimulation of α2AAR with clonidine, but not guanfacine, promotes the interaction of the actin binding protein cofilin with the receptor and with the dendritic spine scaffolding protein spinophilin to induce cofilin activation at the synapse. Spinophilin-dependent regulation of cofilin is required for clonidine-induced disruption of contextual fear memory reconsolidation. Our results inform the interpretation of differential clinical observations of these two drugs on PTSD and suggest that clonidine could provide immediate treatment for PTSD symptoms related to the current pandemic. Furthermore, our study indicates that modulation of dendritic spine morphology may represent an effective strategy for the development of new pharmacotherapies for PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalini Saggu
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Yunjia Chen
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Christopher Cottingham
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL, 35632, USA
| | - Hasibur Rehman
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Hongxia Wang
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Sixue Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Scientific Platforms, Southern Research, Birmingham, AL, 35205, USA
| | - Corinne Augelli-Szafran
- Department of Chemistry, Scientific Platforms, Southern Research, Birmingham, AL, 35205, USA
- Scientific Platforms, Southern Research, Birmingham, AL, 35205, USA
| | - Sumin Lu
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, GA30912, USA
| | - Nevin Lambert
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, GA30912, USA
| | - Kai Jiao
- Department of Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
- Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, GA30912, USA
| | - Xin-Yun Lu
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Qin Wang
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.
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Inoue R, Ni X, Mori H. Blockade of D-serine signaling and adult hippocampal neurogenesis attenuates remote contextual fear memory following multiple memory retrievals in male mice. Front Neurosci 2023; 16:1030702. [PMID: 36685240 PMCID: PMC9845639 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1030702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The retrieval of fear memories induces two opposing processes, reconsolidation, and extinction. The memory reconsolidation is an active process that involves gene expression and updates an existing memory. It is hypothesized that blockade of reconsolidation by manipulating the neurobiological factors, which are mechanistically involved in the process, could weaken or disrupt the original fear memory. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and hippocampal neurogenesis play crucial roles in hippocampus-dependent memory processes, including reconsolidation. Using contextual fear conditioning paradigm with multiple retrievals, we attempted to weaken the original contextual fear memory by repeatedly disrupting retrieval-induced reconsolidation via downregulation of NMDA receptor signaling and inhibition of neurogenesis. In the first experiment, prior to fear conditioning, NMDA receptor signaling was downregulated by the genetic reduction of its co-agonist, D-serine, and the neurogenesis was dampened by focal X-ray irradiation on the hippocampus. We found that simultaneous D-serine reduction and neurogenesis dampening resulted in a progressive decrease in freezing following each retrieval, leading to an attenuation of remote contextual fear memory on day 28. In the second experiment using the same behavioral protocols, after conditioning, pharmacological approaches were conducted to simultaneously block D-serine signaling and neurogenesis, resulting in a similar suppressive effect on the remote fear memory. The present findings provide insights for understanding the role of D-serine-mediated NMDA receptor signaling and neurogenesis in memory retrieval and the maintenance of remote fear memory, and improving the efficacy of exposure-based therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Inoue
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Xiance Ni
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan,Graduate School of Innovative Life Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Hisashi Mori
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan,*Correspondence: Hisashi Mori,
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Kanishka, Jha SK. Compensatory cognition in neurological diseases and aging: A review of animal and human studies. AGING BRAIN 2023; 3:100061. [PMID: 36911258 PMCID: PMC9997140 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2022.100061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Specialized individual circuits in the brain are recruited for specific functions. Interestingly, multiple neural circuitries continuously compete with each other to acquire the specialized function. However, the dominant among them compete and become the central neural network for that particular function. For example, the hippocampal principal neural circuitries are the dominant networks among many which are involved in learning processes. But, in the event of damage to the principal circuitry, many times, less dominant networks compensate for the primary network. This review highlights the psychopathologies of functional loss and the aspects of functional recuperation in the absence of the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanishka
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Sushil K Jha
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
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Bauer EP. Sex differences in fear responses: Neural circuits. Neuropharmacology 2023; 222:109298. [PMID: 36328063 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Women have increased vulnerability to PTSD and anxiety disorders compared to men. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of these disorders is critical for identifying risk factors and developing appropriate sex-specific interventions. Despite the clear clinical relevance of an examination of sex differences in fear responses, the vast majority of pre-clinical research on fear learning and memory formation has exclusively used male animals. This review highlights sex differences in context and cued fear conditioning, fear extinction and fear generalization with a focus on the neural circuits underlying these behaviors in rodents. There are mixed reports of behavioral sex differences in context and cued fear conditioning paradigms, which can depend upon the behavioral indices of fear. However, there is greater evidence of differential activation of the hippocampus, amygdalar nuclei and the prefrontal cortical regions in male and female rodents during context and cued fear conditioning. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a sexually dimorphic structure, is of particular interest as it differentially contributes to fear responses in males and females. In addition, while the influence of the estrous cycle on different phases of fear conditioning is delineated, the clearest modulatory effect of estrogen is on fear extinction processes. Examining the variability in neural responses and behavior in both sexes should increase our understanding of how that variability contributes to the neurobiology of affective disorders. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Fear, anxiety and PTSD'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth P Bauer
- Departments of Biology and Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College of Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, United States.
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Larosa A, Wong TP. The hippocampus in stress susceptibility and resilience: Reviewing molecular and functional markers. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 119:110601. [PMID: 35842073 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the individual variability that comes with the likelihood of developing stress-related psychopathologies is of paramount importance when addressing mechanisms of their neurobiology. This article focuses on the hippocampus as a region that is highly influenced by chronic stress exposure and that has strong ties to the development of related disorders, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. We first outline three commonly used animal models that have been used to separate animals into susceptible and resilient cohorts. Next, we review molecular and functional hippocampal markers of susceptibility and resilience. We propose that the hippocampus plays a crucial role in the differences in the processing and storage of stress-related information in animals with different stress susceptibilities. These hippocampal markers not only help us attain a more comprehensive understanding of the various facets of stress-related pathophysiology, but also could be targeted for the development of new treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Larosa
- Neuroscience Division, Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tak Pan Wong
- Neuroscience Division, Douglas Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada; Dept. of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Suresh S, Larson J, Jenrow KA. Chronic neuroinflammation impairs waste clearance in the rat brain. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:1013808. [PMID: 36569282 PMCID: PMC9768431 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.1013808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous reports have established an association between impaired clearance of macromolecular waste from the brain parenchyma and a variety of brain insults for which chronic neuroinflammation is a common pathological feature. Here we investigate whether chronic neuroinflammation is sufficient to impair macromolecular waste clearance from the rat brain. Methods Using a rodent model of chronic neuroinflammation induced by a single high-dose injection of lipopolysaccharide, the clearance kinetics of two fluorophore-conjugated dextran tracers were assayed at 8-weeks post-induction. The expression and distribution of amyloid β and aquaporin-4 proteins within selected brain regions were assayed at 36-weeks post-induction, following open-field, novel object recognition, and contextual fear conditioning assays. Results Chronic neuroinflammation significantly impaired the clearance kinetics of both dextran tracers and resulted in significantly elevated levels of amyloid β within the hippocampus. Aquaporin-4 density on astrocytic endfeet processes was also reduced within multiple brain regions. These pathologies were associated with significantly enhanced contextual fear memory. Conclusion Our results suggest that chronic neuroinflammation is sufficient to compromise the clearance of macromolecular waste from the brain parenchyma and may be the root cause of impaired waste clearance associated with a variety of brain pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swathi Suresh
- Program in Neuroscience, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States
| | - Jacob Larson
- Program in Neuroscience, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States,Department of Physics, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States
| | - Kenneth Allen Jenrow
- Program in Neuroscience, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States,Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States,*Correspondence: Kenneth Allen Jenrow,
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Huffman LG, Oshri A. Continuity versus change in latent profiles of emotion regulation and working memory during adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101177. [PMID: 36436429 PMCID: PMC9706540 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Significant structural and functional brain development occurs during early adolescence. These changes underlie developments in central neurocognitive processes such as working memory (WM) and emotion regulation (ER). The preponderance of studies modeling trajectories of adolescent brain development use variable-centered approaches, omitting attention to individual differences that may undergird neurobiological embedding of early life stress and attendant psychopathology. This preregistered, data-driven study used latent transition analysis (LTA) to identify (1) latent profiles of neural function during a WM and implicit ER task, (2) transitions in profiles across 24 months, and 3) associations between transitions, parental support, and subsequent psychopathology. Using two waves of data from the ABCD Study (Mage T1 = 10; Mage T2 = 12), we found three unique profiles of neural function at both T1 and T2. The Typical, Emotion Hypo-response, and Emotion-Hyper response profiles were characterized by, respectively: moderate amygdala activation and fusiform deactivation; high ACC, fusiform, and insula deactivation; and high amygdala, ACC, and insula response to ER. While 69.5 % remained in the Typical profile from T1 to T2, 27.8 % of the sample moved from one profile at T1 to another at T2. However, neither latent profiles nor transitions exhibited associations between parental support or psychopathology symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Landry Goodgame Huffman
- Neuroscience Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Human Development & Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Assaf Oshri
- Neuroscience Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Human Development & Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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Reich N, Hölscher C. Beyond Appetite: Acylated Ghrelin As A Learning, Memory and Fear Behavior-modulating Hormone. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 143:104952. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Hong J, Lu X, Wang J, Jiang M, Liu Q, Lin J, Sun W, Zhang J, Shi Y, Liu X. Triphenyl phosphate disturbs placental tryptophan metabolism and induces neurobehavior abnormal in male offspring. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2022; 243:113978. [PMID: 36007322 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have shown that prenatal triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) exposure is related to abnormal neurobehavior in children. However, the neurodevelopmental toxicity of TPhP in mammals is limited. To study the neurodevelopmental toxicity of TPhP in mammals and investigate the underlying mechanism, we used a mouse intrauterine TPhP exposure model. We measured the inflammatory factors (IL-6, TNFα) and NFκB levels, and tryptophan metabolism in placentae, detected the fetal brain transcriptome, hippocampal neuron development and neurobehavioral in the male offspring. The results showed that the protein level of IL-6, TNFα and NFκB in the placenta of the TPhP treatment group (1, 5 mg/kg) were significantly increased. Change of the protein level of these pro-inflammatory factors in maternal serum or fetal brain was not observed. Expression of genes along tryptophan-serotonin metabolism pathway were significantly decreased. While, the concentration of 5-HT levels in the placenta or fetal brain were significantly increased. Consistent with the increased 5-HT, the Nissl body was reduced in the hippocampus of treatment group. The expression of serotonergic neuron gene markers including Tph2, Htr1A, Htr2A, Pet1 and Lmx1b in the hippocampus of treatment group was significantly decreased. The neurobehavioral test showed that TPhP decreased center time that represent anxiety-like behavior, and reduced learning and memory in male offspring. Meanwhile, expression of genes along tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism pathway were significantly increased. The result of the transcriptome analysis of fetal brain showed that the differentially expressed genes are mainly involved in the transcription regulation of DNA as a template in the nucleus, and the enriched pathways are mainly signal pathways regulated by axon guidance and neurotrophic factors, dopaminergic and cholinergic synapses, suggest that not only serotonergic neuronal was affected. Overall, this study demonstrates that TPhP has the potential to induce placental inflammatory response in the placenta, disturb placental tryptophan metabolism, compromise the neuronal development and synaptic transmission, and cause abnormal neurobehavior in male offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiabin Hong
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Xiaoxun Lu
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Jieyu Wang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengzhu Jiang
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Qian Liu
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Juntong Lin
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Wenjing Sun
- China-America Cancer Research Institute, Key Laboratory for Medical Molecular Diagnostics of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China
| | - Yanwei Shi
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Xiaoshan Liu
- School of Public Health, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong 523-808, China.
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Del Casale A, Ferracuti S, Barbetti AS, Bargagna P, Zega P, Iannuccelli A, Caggese F, Zoppi T, De Luca GP, Parmigiani G, Berardelli I, Pompili M. Grey Matter Volume Reductions of the Left Hippocampus and Amygdala in PTSD: A Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies. Neuropsychobiology 2022; 81:257-264. [PMID: 35158360 DOI: 10.1159/000522003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In recent years, research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) focused on the description of different biological correlates of illness. Morphological changes of different brain regions were involved in PTSD neurophysiopathology, being related to trauma or considered a resilience biomarker. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the grey matter changes reported in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies on patients who have developed PTSD compared to exposed subjects who did not show a clinical PTSD onset. METHODS We meta-analysed eight peer-reviewed MRI studies conducted on trauma-exposed patients and reported results corrected for false positives. We then conducted global and intergroup comparisons from neuroimaging data of two cohorts of included subjects. The included studies were conducted on 250 subjects, including 122 patients with PTSD and 128 non-PTSD subjects exposed to trauma. RESULTS Applying a family-wise error correction, PTSD subjects compared to trauma-exposed non-PTSD individuals showed a significant volume reduction of a large left-sided grey matter cluster extended from the parahippocampal gyrus to the uncus, including the amygdala. CONCLUSIONS These volumetric reductions are a major structural correlate of PTSD and can be related to the expression of symptoms. Future studies might consider these and other neural PTSD correlates, which may lead to the development of clinical applications for affected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Del Casale
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- Department of Human Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University, Rome, Unit of Risk Management, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Steven Barbetti
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Paride Bargagna
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Zega
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessia Iannuccelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Federico Caggese
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Teodolinda Zoppi
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Pasquale De Luca
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanna Parmigiani
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Isabella Berardelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pompili
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Unit of Psychiatry, "Sant'Andrea" University Hospital, Rome, Italy
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Mueller FS, Amport R, Notter T, Schalbetter SM, Lin HY, Garajova Z, Amini P, Weber-Stadlbauer U, Markkanen E. Deficient DNA base-excision repair in the forebrain leads to a sex-specific anxiety-like phenotype in mice. BMC Biol 2022; 20:170. [PMID: 35907861 PMCID: PMC9339204 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01377-1] [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: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are common, multi-factorial and multi-symptomatic disorders. Ample evidence implicates oxidative stress, deficient repair of oxidative DNA lesions and DNA damage in the development of these disorders. However, it remains unclear whether insufficient DNA repair and resulting DNA damage are causally connected to their aetiopathology, or if increased levels of DNA damage observed in patient tissues merely accumulate as a consequence of cellular dysfunction. To assess a potential causal role for deficient DNA repair in the development of these disorders, we behaviourally characterized a mouse model in which CaMKIIa-Cre-driven postnatal conditional knockout (KO) of the core base-excision repair (BER) protein XRCC1 leads to accumulation of unrepaired DNA damage in the forebrain. Results CaMKIIa-Cre expression caused specific deletion of XRCC1 in the dorsal dentate gyrus (DG), CA1 and CA2 and the amygdala and led to increased DNA damage therein. While motor coordination, cognition and social behaviour remained unchanged, XRCC1 KO in the forebrain caused increased anxiety-like behaviour in males, but not females, as assessed by the light–dark box and open field tests. Conversely, in females but not males, XRCC1 KO caused an increase in learned fear-related behaviour in a cued (Pavlovian) fear conditioning test and a contextual fear extinction test. The relative density of the GABA(A) receptor alpha 5 subunit (GABRA5) was reduced in the amygdala and the dorsal CA1 in XRCC1 KO females, whereas male XRCC1 KO animals exhibited a significant reduction of GABRA5 density in the CA3. Finally, assessment of fast-spiking, parvalbumin-positive (PV) GABAergic interneurons revealed a significant increase in the density of PV+ cells in the DG of male XRCC1 KO mice, while females remained unchanged. Conclusions Our results suggest that accumulation of unrepaired DNA damage in the forebrain alters the GABAergic neurotransmitter system and causes behavioural deficits in relation to innate and learned anxiety in a sex-dependent manner. Moreover, the data uncover a previously unappreciated connection between BER deficiency, unrepaired DNA damage in the hippocampus and a sex-specific anxiety-like phenotype with implications for the aetiology and therapy of neuropsychiatric disorders. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01377-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavia S Mueller
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - René Amport
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tina Notter
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sina M Schalbetter
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Han-Yu Lin
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Zuzana Garajova
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Parisa Amini
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ulrike Weber-Stadlbauer
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Enni Markkanen
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Genetic Specificity of Hippocampal Subfield Volumes, Relative to Hippocampal Formation, Identified in 2148 Young Adult Twins and Siblings. Twin Res Hum Genet 2022; 25:129-139. [PMID: 35791873 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2022.20] [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: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The hippocampus is a complex brain structure with key roles in cognitive and emotional processing and with subregion abnormalities associated with a range of disorders and psychopathologies. Here we combine data from two large independent young adult twin/sibling cohorts to obtain the most accurate estimates to date of genetic covariation between hippocampal subfield volumes and the hippocampus as a single volume. The combined sample included 2148 individuals, comprising 1073 individuals from 627 families (mean age = 22.3 years) from the Queensland Twin IMaging (QTIM) Study, and 1075 individuals from 454 families (mean age = 28.8 years) from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Hippocampal subfields were segmented using FreeSurfer version 6.0 (CA4 and dentate gyrus were phenotypically and genetically indistinguishable and were summed to a single volume). Multivariate twin modeling was conducted in OpenMx to decompose variance into genetic and environmental sources. Bivariate analyses of hippocampal formation and each subfield volume showed that 10%-72% of subfield genetic variance was independent of the hippocampal formation, with greatest specificity found for the smaller volumes; for example, CA2/3 with 42% of genetic variance being independent of the hippocampus; fissure (63%); fimbria (72%); hippocampus-amygdala transition area (41%); parasubiculum (62%). In terms of genetic influence, whole hippocampal volume is a good proxy for the largest hippocampal subfields, but a poor substitute for the smaller subfields. Additive genetic sources accounted for 49%-77% of total variance for each of the subfields in the combined sample multivariate analysis. In addition, the multivariate analyses were sufficiently powered to identify common environmental influences (replicated in QTIM and HCP for the molecular layer and CA4/dentate gyrus, and accounting for 7%-16% of total variance for 8 of 10 subfields in the combined sample). This provides the clearest indication yet from a twin study that factors such as home environment may influence hippocampal volumes (albeit, with caveats).
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Flores-Valle A, Seelig JD. A place learning assay for tethered walking Drosophila. J Neurosci Methods 2022; 378:109657. [PMID: 35760146 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drosophila shows a range of visually guided memory and learning behaviors, including place learning. Investigating the dynamics of neural circuits underlying such behaviors requires learning assays in tethered animals, compatible with in vivo imaging experiments. NEW METHOD Here, we introduce an assay for place learning for tethered walking flies. A cylindrical arena is rotated and translated in real time around the fly in concert with the rotational and translational walking activity measured with an air supported ball, resulting in a mechanical virtual reality (VR). RESULTS Navigation together with heat-based operant conditioning allows flies to learn the location of a cool spot with respect to a visual landmark. Flies optimize the time and distance required to find the cool spot over a similar number of trials as observed in assays with freely moving flies. Additionally, a fraction of flies remembers the location of the cool spot also after the conditioning heat is removed. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Learning tasks have been implemented in tethered flying as well as walking flies. Mechanically translating and rotating an arena in concert with the fly's walking activity enables navigation in a three dimensional environment. CONCLUSION In the developed mechanical VR flies can learn to remember the location of a cool place within an otherwise hot environment with respect to a visual landmark. Implementing place learning in a tethered walking configuration is a precondition for investigating the underlying circuit dynamics using functional imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Flores-Valle
- Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior - caesar (MPINB), Bonn, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Brain and Behavior, Bonn, Germany
| | - Johannes D Seelig
- Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior - caesar (MPINB), Bonn, Germany.
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Xin J, Shan W, Li J, Yu H, Zuo Z. Activation of the Lateral Habenula-Ventral Tegmental Area Neural Circuit Contributes to Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Mice. ADVANCED SCIENCE 2022; 9:e2202228. [PMID: 35616407 PMCID: PMC9353455 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202202228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is common and is associated with poor outcome. Neural circuit involvement in POCD is unknown. Lateral habenula (LHb) that regulates coping and depression‐like behaviors after aversive stimuli is activated by surgery in the previous study. Here, surgery activated LHb and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are presented. VTA is known to receive projections from LHb and project to the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Direct chemogenetic inhibition of LHb or damaging LHb attenuates surgery‐induced learning and memory impairment, N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammatory responses and cell injury in the VTA, and activation of rostromedial tegmental nucleus, an intermediate station to connect LHb with VTA. LHb inhibition preserves dendritic spine density in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Retrograde inhibition of LHb via its projections to VTA attenuated surgery‐induced learning and memory dysfunction is observed. Retrograde activation of LHb induced learning and memory dysfunction is observed. Inhibition of NMDA receptors, dopamine synthesis, and endoplasmic reticulum stress in the VTA reduced surgery‐induced learning and memory impairment, inflammatory responses, and cell injury are observed. These results suggest that surgery activates the LHb‐VTA neural circuit, which contributes to POCD and neuropathological changes in the brain. These novel findings represent initial evidence for neural circuit involvement in surgery effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Xin
- Department of Anesthesiology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA 22908 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology West China Hospital Sichuan University Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Weiran Shan
- Department of Anesthesiology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA 22908 USA
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Anesthesiology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA 22908 USA
| | - Hai Yu
- Department of Anesthesiology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA 22908 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology West China Hospital Sichuan University Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Zhiyi Zuo
- Department of Anesthesiology University of Virginia Charlottesville VA 22908 USA
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Situ J, Huang X, Zuo M, Huang Y, Ren B, Liu Q. Comparative Proteomic Analysis Reveals the Effect of Selenoprotein W Deficiency on Oligodendrogenesis in Fear Memory. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11050999. [PMID: 35624863 PMCID: PMC9138053 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11050999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The essential trace element selenium plays an important role in maintaining brain function. Selenoprotein W (SELENOW), the smallest selenoprotein that has been identified in mammals, is sensitive to selenium levels and abundantly expressed in the brain. However, its biological role in the brain remains to be clarified. Here, we studied the morphological and functional changes in the brain caused by SELENOW deficiency using its gene knockout (KO) mouse models. Histomorphological alterations of the amygdala and hippocampus, specifically in the female SELENOW KO mice, were observed, ultimately resulting in less anxiety-like behavior and impaired contextual fear memory. Fear conditioning (FC) provokes rapidly intricate responses involving neuroplasticity and oligodendrogenesis. During this process, the females generally show stronger contextual FC than males. To characterize the effect of SELENOW deletion on FC, specifically in the female mice, a Tandem mass tag (TMT)-based comparative proteomic approach was applied. Notably, compared to the wildtype (WT) no shock (NS) mice, the female SELENOW KO NS mice shared lots of common differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) with the WT FC mice in the hippocampus, enriched in the biological process of ensheathment and oligodendrocyte differentiation. Immunostaining and Western blotting analyses further confirmed the proteomic results. Our work may provide a holistic perspective of gender-specific SELENOW function in the brain and highlighted its role in oligodendrogenesis during fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxin Situ
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China; (J.S.); (X.H.); (M.Z.); (Y.H.)
| | - Xuelian Huang
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518000, China
| | - Mingyang Zuo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China; (J.S.); (X.H.); (M.Z.); (Y.H.)
| | - Yingying Huang
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518000, China
| | - Bingyu Ren
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China; (J.S.); (X.H.); (M.Z.); (Y.H.)
- Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
- Correspondence: (B.R.); (Q.L.)
| | - Qiong Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China; (J.S.); (X.H.); (M.Z.); (Y.H.)
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518000, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518000, China
- Correspondence: (B.R.); (Q.L.)
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dos Santos Corrêa M, Grisanti GDV, Franciscatto IAF, Tarumoto TSA, Tiba PA, Ferreira TL, Fornari RV. Remote contextual fear retrieval engages activity from salience network regions in rats. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100459. [PMID: 35601686 PMCID: PMC9118522 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to retrieve contextual fear memories depends on the coordinated activation of a brain-wide circuitry. Transition from recent to remote memories seems to involve the reorganization of this circuitry, a process called systems consolidation that has been associated with time-dependent fear generalization. However, it is unknown whether emotional memories acquired under different stress levels can undergo different systems consolidation processes. Here, we explored the activation pattern and functional connectivity of key brain regions associated with contextual fear conditioning (CFC) retrieval after recent (2 days) or remote (28 days) memory tests performed in rats submitted to strong (1.0 mA footshock) or mild (0.3 mA footshock) training. We used brain tissue from Wistar rats from a previous study, where we observed that increasing training intensity promotes fear memory generalization over time, possibly due to an increase in corticosterone (CORT) levels during memory consolidation. Analysis of Fos expression across 8 regions of interest (ROIs) allowed us to identify coactivation between them at both timepoints following memory recall. Our results showed that strong CFC elicits higher Fos activation in the anterior insular and prelimbic cortices during remote retrieval, which was positively correlated with freezing along with the basolateral amygdala. Rats trained either with mild or strong CFC showed broad functional connectivity at the recent timepoint whereas only animals submitted to the strong CFC showed a widespread loss of coactivation during remote retrieval. Post-training plasma CORT levels are positively correlated with FOS expression during recent retrieval in strong CFC, but negatively correlated with FOS expression during remote retrieval in mild CFC. Our findings suggest that increasing training intensity results in differential processes of systems consolidation, possibly associated with increased post-training CORT release, and that strong CFC engages activity from the aIC, BLA and PrL – areas associated with the Salience Network in rats – during remote retrieval. Different training intensities may induce different systems consolidation processes. Mild training induces a broad functional connectivity at recent and remote recall. Strong training results in a widespread loss of coactivation during remote retrieval. Strong training engages areas related to the salience network during remote recall. Post-training corticosterone is associated with Fos expression during retrieval.
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Raut SB, Marathe PA, van Eijk L, Eri R, Ravindran M, Benedek DM, Ursano RJ, Canales JJ, Johnson LR. Diverse therapeutic developments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicate common mechanisms of memory modulation. Pharmacol Ther 2022; 239:108195. [PMID: 35489438 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by abnormally persistent and distressing memories, is a chronic debilitating condition in need of new treatment options. Current treatment guidelines recommend psychotherapy as first line management with only two drugs, sertraline and paroxetine, approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of PTSD. These drugs have limited efficacy as they only reduce symptoms related to depression and anxiety without producing permanent remission. PTSD remains a significant public health problem with high morbidity and mortality requiring major advances in therapeutics. Early evidence has emerged for the beneficial effects of psychedelics particularly in combination with psychotherapy for management of PTSD, including psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, cannabinoids, ayahuasca and ketamine. MDMA and psilocybin reduce barrier to therapy by increasing trust between therapist and patient, thus allowing for modification of trauma related memories. Furthermore, research into the memory reconsolidation mechanisms has allowed for identification of various pharmacological targets to disrupt abnormally persistent memories. A number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have investigated novel and re-purposed pharmacological agents to disrupt fear memory in PTSD. Novel therapeutic approaches like neuropeptide Y, oxytocin, cannabinoids and neuroactive steroids have also shown potential for PTSD treatment. Here, we focus on the role of fear memory in the pathophysiology of PTSD and propose that many of these new therapeutic strategies produce benefits through the effect on fear memory. Evaluation of recent research findings suggests that while a number of drugs have shown promising results in preclinical studies and pilot clinical trials, the evidence from large scale clinical trials would be needed for these drugs to be incorporated in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanket B Raut
- Schools of Psychological Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, TAS 7250, Australia
| | - Padmaja A Marathe
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400 012, India
| | - Liza van Eijk
- Department of Psychology, College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Rajaraman Eri
- Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, TAS 7250, Australia
| | - Manoj Ravindran
- Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, TAS 7250, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, North-West Private Hospital, Burnie TAS 7320, Australia
| | - David M Benedek
- Centre for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Robert J Ursano
- Centre for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Juan J Canales
- Schools of Psychological Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, TAS 7250, Australia
| | - Luke R Johnson
- Schools of Psychological Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, TAS 7250, Australia; Centre for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
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Marks WD, Yokose J, Kitamura T, Ogawa SK. Neuronal Ensembles Organize Activity to Generate Contextual Memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:805132. [PMID: 35368306 PMCID: PMC8965349 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.805132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Contextual learning is a critical component of episodic memory and important for living in any environment. Context can be described as the attributes of a location that are not the location itself. This includes a variety of non-spatial information that can be derived from sensory systems (sounds, smells, lighting, etc.) and internal state. In this review, we first address the behavioral underpinnings of contextual memory and the development of context memory theory, with a particular focus on the contextual fear conditioning paradigm as a means of assessing contextual learning and the underlying processes contributing to it. We then present the various neural centers that play roles in contextual learning. We continue with a discussion of the current knowledge of the neural circuitry and physiological processes that underlie contextual representations in the Entorhinal cortex-Hippocampal (EC-HPC) circuit, as the most well studied contributor to contextual memory, focusing on the role of ensemble activity as a representation of context with a description of remapping, and pattern separation and completion in the processing of contextual information. We then discuss other critical regions involved in contextual memory formation and retrieval. We finally consider the engram assembly as an indicator of stored contextual memories and discuss its potential contribution to contextual memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D. Marks
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Jun Yokose
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Takashi Kitamura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Sachie K. Ogawa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
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