1
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Insanally MN, Albanna BF, Toth J, DePasquale B, Fadaei SS, Gupta T, Lombardi O, Kuchibhotla K, Rajan K, Froemke RC. Contributions of cortical neuron firing patterns, synaptic connectivity, and plasticity to task performance. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6023. [PMID: 39019848 PMCID: PMC11255273 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49895-6] [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: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuronal responses during behavior are diverse, ranging from highly reliable 'classical' responses to irregular 'non-classically responsive' firing. While a continuum of response properties is observed across neural systems, little is known about the synaptic origins and contributions of diverse responses to network function, perception, and behavior. To capture the heterogeneous responses measured from auditory cortex of rodents performing a frequency recognition task, we use a novel task-performing spiking recurrent neural network incorporating spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Reliable and irregular units contribute differentially to task performance via output and recurrent connections, respectively. Excitatory plasticity shifts the response distribution while inhibition constrains its diversity. Together both improve task performance with full network engagement. The same local patterns of synaptic inputs predict spiking response properties of network units and auditory cortical neurons from in vivo whole-cell recordings during behavior. Thus, diverse neural responses contribute to network function and emerge from synaptic plasticity rules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele N Insanally
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
| | - Badr F Albanna
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Jade Toth
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Brian DePasquale
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Saba Shokat Fadaei
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Trisha Gupta
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Olivia Lombardi
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Kishore Kuchibhotla
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kanaka Rajan
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Kempner Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
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2
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Li W, Wilson DA. Threat Memory in the Sensory Cortex: Insights from Olfaction. Neuroscientist 2024; 30:285-293. [PMID: 36703569 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221148994] [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] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala has long held the center seat in the neural basis of threat conditioning. However, a rapidly growing literature has elucidated extra-amygdala circuits in this process, highlighting the sensory cortex for its critical role in the mnemonic aspect of the process. While this literature is largely focused on the auditory system, substantial human and rodent findings on the olfactory system have emerged. The unique nature of the olfactory neuroanatomy and its intimate association with emotion compels a review of this recent literature to illuminate its special contribution to threat memory. Here, integrating recent evidence in humans and animal models, we posit that the olfactory (piriform) cortex is a primary and necessary component of the distributed threat memory network, supporting mnemonic ensemble coding of acquired threat. We further highlight the basic circuit architecture of the piriform cortex characterized by distributed, auto-associative connections, which is prime for highly efficient content-addressable memory computing to support threat memory. Given the primordial role of the piriform cortex in cortical evolution and its simple, well-defined circuits, we propose that olfaction can be a model system for understanding (transmodal) sensory cortical mechanisms underlying threat memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
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3
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Palchaudhuri S, Osypenko D, Schneggenburger R. Fear Learning: An Evolving Picture for Plasticity at Synaptic Afferents to the Amygdala. Neuroscientist 2024; 30:87-104. [PMID: 35822657 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221108083] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Unraveling the neuronal mechanisms of fear learning might allow neuroscientists to make links between a learned behavior and the underlying plasticity at specific synaptic connections. In fear learning, an innocuous sensory event such as a tone (called the conditioned stimulus, CS) acquires an emotional value when paired with an aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus, US). Here, we review earlier studies that have shown that synaptic plasticity at thalamic and cortical afferents to the lateral amygdala (LA) is critical for the formation of auditory-cued fear memories. Despite the early progress, it has remained unclear whether there are separate synaptic inputs that carry US information to the LA to act as a teaching signal for plasticity at CS-coding synapses. Recent findings have begun to fill this gap by showing, first, that thalamic and cortical auditory afferents can also carry US information; second, that the release of neuromodulators contributes to US-driven teaching signals; and third, that synaptic plasticity additionally happens at connections up- and downstream of the LA. Together, a picture emerges in which coordinated synaptic plasticity in serial and parallel circuits enables the formation of a finely regulated fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shriya Palchaudhuri
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Denys Osypenko
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ralf Schneggenburger
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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4
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Concina G, Gurgone A, Boggio EM, Raspanti A, Pizzo R, Morello N, Castroflorio E, Pizzorusso T, Sacchetti B, Giustetto M. Stabilizing Immature Dendritic Spines in the Auditory Cortex: A Key Mechanism for mTORC1-Mediated Enhancement of Long-Term Fear Memories. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8744-8755. [PMID: 37857485 PMCID: PMC10727119 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0204-23.2023] [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: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has emerged as a key molecular mechanism underlying memory processes. Although mTOR inhibition is known to block memory processes, it remains elusive whether and how an enhancement of mTOR signaling may improve memory processes. Here we found in male mice that the administration of VO-OHpic, an inhibitor of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) that negatively modulates AKT-mTOR pathway, enhanced auditory fear memory for days and weeks, while it left short-term memory unchanged. Memory enhancement was associated with a long-lasting increase in immature-type dendritic spines of pyramidal neurons into the auditory cortex. The persistence of spine remodeling over time arose by the interplay between PTEN inhibition and memory processes, as VO-OHpic induced only a transient immature spine growth in the somatosensory cortex, a region not involved in long-term auditory memory. Both the potentiation of fear memories and increase in immature spines were hampered by rapamycin, a selective inhibitor of mTORC1. These data revealed that memory can be potentiated over time by the administration of a selective PTEN inhibitor. In addition to disclosing new information on the cellular mechanisms underlying long-term memory maintenance, our study provides new insights on the molecular processes that aid enhancing memories over time.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The neuronal mechanisms that may help improve the maintenance of long-term memories are still elusive. The inhibition of mammalian-target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling shows that this pathway plays a crucial role in synaptic plasticity and memory formation. However, whether its activation may strengthen long-term memory storage is unclear. We assessed the consequences of positive modulation of AKT-mTOR pathway obtained by VO-OHpic administration, a phosphatase and tensin homolog inhibitor, on memory retention and underlying synaptic modifications. We found that mTOR activation greatly enhanced memory maintenance for weeks by producing a long-lasting increase of immature-type dendritic spines in pyramidal neurons of the auditory cortex. These results offer new insights on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that can aid enhancing memories over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Concina
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, 10125, Italy
| | - Antonia Gurgone
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, 10125, Italy
| | - Elena M Boggio
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Pisa, 56124, Italy
| | | | - Riccardo Pizzo
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, 10125, Italy
| | - Noemi Morello
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, 10125, Italy
| | | | - Tommaso Pizzorusso
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Pisa, 56124, Italy
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Biology Laboratory BIO@SNS, Pisa, 56124, Italy
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5
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Li R, Huang J, Li L, Zhao Z, Liang S, Liang S, Wang M, Liao X, Lyu J, Zhou Z, Wang S, Jin W, Chen H, Holder D, Liu H, Zhang J, Li M, Tang Y, Remy S, Pakan JMP, Chen X, Jia H. Holistic bursting cells store long-term memory in auditory cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8090. [PMID: 38062015 PMCID: PMC10703882 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43620-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The sensory neocortex has been suggested to be a substrate for long-term memory storage, yet which exact single cells could be specific candidates underlying such long-term memory storage remained neither known nor visible for over a century. Here, using a combination of day-by-day two-photon Ca2+ imaging and targeted single-cell loose-patch recording in an auditory associative learning paradigm with composite sounds in male mice, we reveal sparsely distributed neurons in layer 2/3 of auditory cortex emerged step-wise from quiescence into bursting mode, which then invariably expressed holistic information of the learned composite sounds, referred to as holistic bursting (HB) cells. Notably, it was not shuffled populations but the same sparse HB cells that embodied the behavioral relevance of the learned composite sounds, pinpointing HB cells as physiologically-defined single-cell candidates of an engram underlying long-term memory storage in auditory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruijie Li
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence and School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Junjie Huang
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), 39118, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Longhui Li
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Zhikai Zhao
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Susu Liang
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Shanshan Liang
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Meng Wang
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Xiang Liao
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Jing Lyu
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China
| | - Zhenqiao Zhou
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China
| | - Sibo Wang
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China
| | - Wenjun Jin
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
- Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence, Guangyang Bay Laboratory, Chongqing, 400064, China
| | - Haiyang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China
| | - Damaris Holder
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), 39118, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hongbang Liu
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence and School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China
| | - Jianxiong Zhang
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Min Li
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China
| | - Yuguo Tang
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China
| | - Stefan Remy
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), 39118, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral and Brain Science (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Janelle M P Pakan
- Center for Behavioral and Brain Science (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto von Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China.
- Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence, Guangyang Bay Laboratory, Chongqing, 400064, China.
| | - Hongbo Jia
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence and School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China.
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), 39118, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215163, China.
- Institute of Neuroscience and the SyNergy Cluster, Technical University of Munich, 80802, Munich, Germany.
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6
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Asokan MM, Watanabe Y, Kimchi EY, Polley DB. Potentiation of cholinergic and corticofugal inputs to the lateral amygdala in threat learning. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113167. [PMID: 37742187 PMCID: PMC10879743 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdala, cholinergic basal forebrain, and higher-order auditory cortex (HO-AC) regulate brain-wide plasticity underlying auditory threat learning. Here, we perform multi-regional extracellular recordings and optical measurements of acetylcholine (ACh) release to characterize the development of discriminative plasticity within and between these brain regions as mice acquire and recall auditory threat memories. Spiking responses are potentiated for sounds paired with shock (CS+) in the lateral amygdala (LA) and optogenetically identified corticoamygdalar projection neurons, although not in neighboring HO-AC units. Spike- or optogenetically triggered local field potentials reveal enhanced corticofugal-but not corticopetal-functional coupling between HO-AC and LA during threat memory recall that is correlated with pupil-indexed memory strength. We also note robust sound-evoked ACh release that rapidly potentiates for the CS+ in LA but habituates across sessions in HO-AC. These findings highlight a distributed and cooperative plasticity in LA inputs as mice learn to reappraise neutral stimuli as possible threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi M Asokan
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
| | - Yurika Watanabe
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Eyal Y Kimchi
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Daniel B Polley
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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7
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Zhu Y, Xie SZ, Peng AB, Yu XD, Li CY, Fu JY, Shen CJ, Cao SX, Zhang Y, Chen J, Li XM. Distinct Circuits From the Central Lateral Amygdala to the Ventral Part of the Bed Nucleus of Stria Terminalis Regulate Different Fear Memory. Biol Psychiatry 2023:S0006-3223(23)01553-6. [PMID: 37678543 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ability to differentiate stimuli that predict fear is critical for survival; however, the underlying molecular and circuit mechanisms remain poorly understood. METHODS We combined transgenic mice, in vivo transsynaptic circuit-dissecting anatomical approaches, optogenetics, pharmacological methods, and electrophysiological recording to investigate the involvement of specific extended amygdala circuits in different fear memory. RESULTS We identified the projections from central lateral amygdala (CeL) protein kinase C δ (PKCδ)-positive neurons and somatostatin (SST)-positive neurons to GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) and glutamatergic neurons in the ventral part of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (vBNST). Prolonged optogenetic activation or inhibition of the PKCδCeL-vBNST pathway specifically reduced context fear memory, whereas the SSTCeL-vBNST pathway mainly reduced tone fear memory. Intriguingly, optogenetic manipulation of vBNST neurons that received the projection from PKCδCeL neurons exerted bidirectional regulation of context fear, whereas manipulation of vBNST neurons that received the projection from SSTCeL neurons could bidirectionally regulate both context and tone fear memory. We subsequently demonstrated the presence of δ and κ opioid receptor protein expression within the CeL-vBNST circuits, potentially accounting for the discrepancy between prolonged activation of GABAergic circuits and inhibition of downstream vBNST neurons. Finally, administration of an opioid receptor antagonist cocktail on the PKCδCeL-vBNST or SSTCeL-vBNST pathway successfully restored context or tone fear memory reduction induced by prolonged activation of the circuits. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings establish a functional role for distinct CeL-vBNST circuits in the differential regulation and appropriate maintenance of fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shi-Ze Xie
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ai-Bing Peng
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Yu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chun-Yue Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jia-Yu Fu
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chen-Jie Shen
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shu-Xia Cao
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiadong Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Ming Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Ministry of Education Frontier Center of Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Research Units for Emotion and Emotion Disorders, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
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8
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Penzo MA, Moscarello JM. From aversive associations to defensive programs: experience-dependent synaptic modifications in the central amygdala. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:701-711. [PMID: 37495461 PMCID: PMC10529247 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.06.006] [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: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Plasticity elicited by fear conditioning (FC) is thought to support the storage of aversive associative memories. Although work over the past decade has revealed FC-induced plasticity beyond canonical sites in the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA), it is not known whether modifications across distributed circuits make equivalent or distinct contributions to aversive memory. Here, we review evidence demonstrating that experience-dependent synaptic plasticity in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) has a circumscribed role in memory expression per se, guiding the selection of defensive programs in response to acquired threats. We argue that the CeA may be a key example of a broader phenomenon by which synaptic plasticity at specific nodes of a distributed network makes a complementary contribution to distinct memory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario A Penzo
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Justin M Moscarello
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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9
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Chauvie C, Schroeder A. Expectation Based on Olfactory Cues Impacts Learned Auditory Associations. J Neurosci 2023; 43:4752-4754. [PMID: 37380362 PMCID: PMC10312050 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0694-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Chauvie
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anna Schroeder
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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10
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Li W, Keil A. Sensing fear: fast and precise threat evaluation in human sensory cortex. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:341-352. [PMID: 36732175 PMCID: PMC10023404 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Animal models of threat processing have evolved beyond the amygdala to incorporate a distributed neural network. In human research, evidence has intensified in recent years to challenge the canonical threat circuitry centered on the amygdala, urging revision of threat conceptualization. A strong surge of research into threat processing in the sensory cortex in the past decade has generated particularly useful insights to inform the reconceptualization. Here, synthesizing findings from both animal and human research, we highlight sensitive, specific, and adaptable threat representations in the sensory cortex, arising from experience-based sculpting of sensory coding networks. We thus propose that the human sensory cortex can drive smart (fast and precise) threat evaluation, producing threat-imbued sensory afferents to elicit network-wide threat responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
| | - Andreas Keil
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, USA
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11
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Haimson B, Mizrahi A. Plasticity in auditory cortex during parenthood. Hear Res 2023; 431:108738. [PMID: 36931020 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Most animals display robust parental behaviors that support the survival and well-being of their offspring. The manifestation of parental behaviors is accompanied by physiological and hormonal changes, which affect both the body and the brain for better care giving. Rodents exhibit a behavior called pup retrieval - a stereotyped sequence of perception and action - used to identify and retrieve their newborn pups back to the nest. Pup retrieval consists of a significant auditory component, which depends on plasticity in the auditory cortex (ACx). We review the evidence of neural changes taking place in the ACx of rodents during the transition to parenthood. We discuss how the plastic changes both in and out of the ACx support the encoding of pup vocalizations. Key players in the mechanism of this plasticity are hormones and experience, both of which have a clear dynamic signature during the transition to parenthood. Mothers, co caring females, and fathers have been used as models to understand parental plasticity at disparate levels of organization. Yet, common principles of cortical plasticity and the biological mechanisms underlying its involvement in parental behavior are just beginning to be unpacked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baruch Haimson
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, and 2Department of Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
| | - Adi Mizrahi
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, and 2Department of Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
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12
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Gao C, Gohel CA, Leng Y, Ma J, Goldman D, Levine AJ, Penzo MA. Molecular and spatial profiling of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. eLife 2023; 12:81818. [PMID: 36867023 PMCID: PMC10014079 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is known to regulate various cognitive and behavioral processes. However, while functional diversity among PVT circuits has often been linked to cellular differences, the molecular identity and spatial distribution of PVT cell types remain unclear. To address this gap, here we used single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and identified five molecularly distinct PVT neuronal subtypes in the mouse brain. Additionally, multiplex fluorescent in situ hybridization of top marker genes revealed that PVT subtypes are organized by a combination of previously unidentified molecular gradients. Lastly, comparing our dataset with a recently published single-cell sequencing atlas of the thalamus yielded novel insight into the PVT's connectivity with the cortex, including unexpected innervation of auditory and visual areas. This comparison also revealed that our data contains a largely non-overlapping transcriptomic map of multiple midline thalamic nuclei. Collectively, our findings uncover previously unknown features of the molecular diversity and anatomical organization of the PVT and provide a valuable resource for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Gao
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown UniversityProvidenceUnited States
| | - Chiraag A Gohel
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismRockvilleUnited States
| | - Yan Leng
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - Jun Ma
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - David Goldman
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismRockvilleUnited States
| | - Ariel J Levine
- National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Mario A Penzo
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
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13
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Schroeder A, Pardi MB, Keijser J, Dalmay T, Groisman AI, Schuman EM, Sprekeler H, Letzkus JJ. Inhibitory top-down projections from zona incerta mediate neocortical memory. Neuron 2023; 111:727-738.e8. [PMID: 36610397 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Top-down projections convey a family of signals encoding previous experiences and current aims to the sensory neocortex, where they converge with external bottom-up information to enable perception and memory. Whereas top-down control has been attributed to excitatory pathways, the existence, connectivity, and information content of inhibitory top-down projections remain elusive. Here, we combine synaptic two-photon calcium imaging, circuit mapping, cortex-dependent learning, and chemogenetics in mice to identify GABAergic afferents from the subthalamic zona incerta as a major source of top-down input to the neocortex. Incertocortical transmission undergoes robust plasticity during learning that improves information transfer and mediates behavioral memory. Unlike excitatory pathways, incertocortical afferents form a disinhibitory circuit that encodes learned top-down relevance in a bidirectional manner where the rapid appearance of negative responses serves as the main driver of changes in stimulus representation. Our results therefore reveal the distinctive contribution of long-range (dis)inhibitory afferents to the computational flexibility of neocortical circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Schroeder
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - M Belén Pardi
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany; Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM U1266, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Joram Keijser
- Modelling of Cognitive Processes, Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tamas Dalmay
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ayelén I Groisman
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Erin M Schuman
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Henning Sprekeler
- Modelling of Cognitive Processes, Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes J Letzkus
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany; Center for Basics in NeuroModulation (NeuroModul Basics), University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; IMBIT//BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
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14
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Asokan MM, Polley DB. New revelations from the zone of uncertainty. Neuron 2023; 111:601-603. [PMID: 36863318 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
In this issue of Neuron, Schroeder et al.1 provide the first functional account of inhibitory signaling from the zona incerta to neocortex in behaving animals. Incertocortical afferents exhibit bidirectional plasticity during threat learning, highlighting a distinct top-down signaling regime.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel B Polley
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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15
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Integrated cardio-behavioral responses to threat define defensive states. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:447-457. [PMID: 36759559 PMCID: PMC9991919 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01252-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Fear and anxiety are brain states that evolved to mediate defensive responses to threats. The defense reaction includes multiple interacting behavioral, autonomic and endocrine adjustments, but their integrative nature is poorly understood. In particular, although threat has been associated with various cardiac changes, there is no clear consensus regarding the relevance of these changes for the integrated defense reaction. Here we identify rapid microstates that are associated with specific behaviors and heart rate dynamics, which are affected by long-lasting macrostates and reflect context-dependent threat levels. In addition, we demonstrate that one of the most commonly used defensive behavioral responses-freezing as measured by immobility-is part of an integrated cardio-behavioral microstate mediated by Chx10+ neurons in the periaqueductal gray. Our framework for systematic integration of cardiac and behavioral readouts presents the basis for a better understanding of complex neural defensive states and their associated systemic functions.
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16
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Tasaka GI, Maggi C, Taha E, Mizrahi A. The local and long-range input landscape of inhibitory neurons in mouse auditory cortex. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:502-514. [PMID: 36453284 PMCID: PMC10107844 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25437] [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: 04/09/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Roughly 20% of the neurons in the mouse cortex are inhibitory interneurons (INs). Of these, the three major subtypes are parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SST), and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) expressing neurons. We used monosynaptic rabies tracing to compare the presynaptic input landscape onto these three IN subtypes in the mouse primary auditory cortex (A1). We compared both local patterns of monosynaptic inputs as well as long-range input patterns. The local monosynaptic input landscape to SST neurons was more widespread as compared to PV and VIP neurons. The brain-wide input landscape was rich and heterogeneous with >40 brain regions connecting to all the three INs subtypes from both hemispheres. The general pattern of the long-range input landscape was similar among the groups of INs. Nevertheless, a few differences could be identified. At low resolution, the proportion of local versus long-range inputs was smaller for PV neurons. At mesoscale resolution, we found fewer inputs from temporal association area to VIP INs, and more inputs to SST neurons from basal forebrain and lateral amygdala. Our work can be used as a resource for a quantitative comparison of the location and level of inputs impinging onto discrete populations of neurons in mouse A1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen-Ichi Tasaka
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Claudia Maggi
- The Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Elham Taha
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Adi Mizrahi
- The Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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17
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Asokan MM, Watanabe Y, Kimchi EY, Polley DB. Potentiated cholinergic and corticofugal inputs support reorganized sensory processing in the basolateral amygdala during auditory threat acquisition and retrieval. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.31.526307. [PMID: 36778308 PMCID: PMC9915656 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.31.526307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Reappraising neutral stimuli as environmental threats reflects rapid and discriminative changes in sensory processing within the basolateral amygdala (BLA). To understand how BLA inputs are also reorganized during discriminative threat learning, we performed multi-regional measurements of acetylcholine (ACh) release, single unit spiking, and functional coupling in the mouse BLA and higher-order auditory cortex (HO-AC). During threat memory recall, sounds paired with shock (CS+) elicited relatively higher firing rates in BLA units and optogenetically targeted corticoamygdalar (CAmy) units, though not in neighboring HO-AC units. Functional coupling was potentiated for descending CAmy projections prior to and during CS+ threat memory recall but ascending amygdalocortical coupling was unchanged. During threat acquisition, sound-evoked ACh release was selectively enhanced for the CS+ in BLA but not HO-AC. These findings suggest that phasic cholinergic inputs facilitate discriminative plasticity in the BLA during threat acquisition that is subsequently reinforced through potentiated auditory corticofugal inputs during memory recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenakshi M. Asokan
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston MA 02114 USA
- Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114 USA
| | - Yurika Watanabe
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston MA 02114 USA
| | - Eyal Y. Kimchi
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston MA 02114 USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Daniel B. Polley
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston MA 02114 USA
- Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114 USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114 USA
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18
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Kintscher M, Kochubey O, Schneggenburger R. A striatal circuit balances learned fear in the presence and absence of sensory cues. eLife 2023; 12:75703. [PMID: 36655978 PMCID: PMC9897731 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
During fear learning, defensive behaviors like freezing need to be finely balanced in the presence or absence of threat-predicting cues (conditioned stimulus, CS). Nevertheless, the circuits underlying such balancing are largely unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the ventral tail striatum (vTS) in auditory-cued fear learning of male mice. In vivo Ca2+ imaging showed that sizable sub-populations of direct (D1R+) and indirect pathway neurons (Adora+) in the vTS responded to footshocks, and to the initiation of movements after freezing; moreover, a sub-population of D1R+ neurons increased its responsiveness to an auditory CS during fear learning. In-vivo optogenetic silencing shows that footshock-driven activity of D1R+ neurons contributes to fear memory formation, whereas Adora+ neurons modulate freezing in the absence of a learned CS. Circuit tracing identified the posterior insular cortex (pInsCx) as an important cortical input to the vTS, and recording of optogenetically evoked EPSCs revealed long-term plasticity with opposite outcomes at the pInsCx synapses onto D1R+ - and Adora+ neurons. Thus, direct- and indirect pathways neurons of the vTS show differential signs of plasticity after fear learning, and balance defensive behaviors in the presence and absence of learned sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kintscher
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Olexiy Kochubey
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Ralf Schneggenburger
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
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19
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Xie X, Gong S, Sun N, Zhu J, Xu X, Xu Y, Li X, Du Z, Liu X, Zhang J, Gong W, Si K. Contextual Fear Learning and Extinction in the Primary Visual Cortex of Mice. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:29-40. [PMID: 35704211 PMCID: PMC9849540 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00889-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear memory contextualization is critical for selecting adaptive behavior to survive. Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) is a classical model for elucidating related underlying neuronal circuits. The primary visual cortex (V1) is the primary cortical region for contextual visual inputs, but its role in CFC is poorly understood. Here, our experiments demonstrated that bilateral inactivation of V1 in mice impaired CFC retrieval, and both CFC learning and extinction increased the turnover rate of axonal boutons in V1. The frequency of neuronal Ca2+ activity decreased after CFC learning, while CFC extinction reversed the decrease and raised it to the naïve level. Contrary to control mice, the frequency of neuronal Ca2+ activity increased after CFC learning in microglia-depleted mice and was maintained after CFC extinction, indicating that microglial depletion alters CFC learning and the frequency response pattern of extinction-induced Ca2+ activity. These findings reveal a critical role of microglia in neocortical information processing in V1, and suggest potential approaches for cellular-based manipulation of acquired fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoke Xie
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310012, China
- College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
- Intelligent Optics & Photonics Research Center, Jiaxing Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Shangyue Gong
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Ning Sun
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Jiazhu Zhu
- Intelligent Optics & Photonics Research Center, Jiaxing Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Xiaobin Xu
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Yongxian Xu
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Xiaojing Li
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Zhenhong Du
- Intelligent Optics & Photonics Research Center, Jiaxing Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Xuanting Liu
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Jianmin Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310012, China
| | - Wei Gong
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
| | - Ke Si
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
- College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
- Intelligent Optics & Photonics Research Center, Jiaxing Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, 314001, China.
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
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20
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The potential role of the cholecystokinin system in declarative memory. Neurochem Int 2023; 162:105440. [PMID: 36375634 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2022.105440] [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: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
As one of the most abundant neuropeptides in the central nervous system, cholecystokinin (CCK) has been suggested to be associated with higher brain functions, including learning and memory. In this review, we examined the potential role of the CCK system in declarative memory. First, we summarized behavioral studies that provide evidence for an important role of CCK in two forms of declarative memory-fear memory and spatial memory. Subsequently, we examined the electrophysiological studies that support the diverse roles of CCK-2 receptor activation in neocortical and hippocampal synaptic plasticity, and discussed the potential mechanisms that may be involved. Last but not least, we discussed whether the reported CCK-mediated synaptic plasticity can explain the strong influence of the CCK signaling system in neocortex and hippocampus dependent declarative memory. The available research supports the role of CCK-mediated synaptic plasticity in neocortex dependent declarative memory acquisition, but further study on the association between CCK-mediated synaptic plasticity and neocortex dependent declarative memory consolidation and retrieval is necessary. Although a direct link between CCK-mediated synaptic plasticity and hippocampus dependent declarative memory is missing, noticeable evidence from morphological, behavioral, and electrophysiological studies encourages further investigation regarding the potential role of CCK-dependent synaptic plasticity in hippocampus dependent declarative memory.
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21
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Probing top-down information in neocortical layer 1. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:20-31. [PMID: 36428192 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Accurate perception of the environment is a constructive process that requires integration of external bottom-up sensory signals with internally generated top-down information. Decades of work have elucidated how sensory neocortex processes physical stimulus features. By contrast, examining how top-down information is encoded and integrated with bottom-up signals has been challenging using traditional neuroscience methods. Recent technological advances in functional imaging of brain-wide afferents in behaving mice have enabled the direct measurement of top-down information. Here, we review the emerging literature on encoding of these internally generated signals by different projection systems enriched in neocortical layer 1 during defined brain functions, including memory, attention, and predictive coding. Moreover, we identify gaps in current knowledge and highlight future directions for this rapidly advancing field.
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22
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Prior fear learning enables the rapid assimilation of new fear memories directly into cortical networks. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001789. [PMID: 36178983 PMCID: PMC9555644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001789] [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: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-term memory formation involves the reorganization of brain circuits, termed system consolidation. Whether and how a prior fear experience influences system consolidation of new memories is poorly understood. In rats, we found that prior auditory fear learning allows the secondary auditory cortex to immediately encode new auditory memories, with these new memories purely requiring the activation of cellular mechanisms of synaptic consolidation within secondary auditory cortex. Similar results were obtained in the anterior cingulate cortex for contextual fear memories. Moreover, prior learning enabled connections from these cortices to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to support recent memory retention. We propose that the reorganization of circuits that characterizes system consolidation occurs only in the first instance that an event is learned, subsequently allowing the immediate assimilation of new analogous events in final storage sites.
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23
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Ojala KE, Staib M, Gerster S, Ruff CC, Bach DR. Inhibiting Human Aversive Memory by Transcranial Theta-Burst Stimulation to the Primary Sensory Cortex. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 92:149-157. [PMID: 35410762 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Predicting adverse events from past experience is fundamental for many biological organisms. However, some individuals suffer from maladaptive memories that impair behavioral control and well-being, e.g., after psychological trauma. Inhibiting the formation and maintenance of such memories would have high clinical relevance. Previous preclinical research has focused on systemically administered pharmacological interventions, which cannot be targeted to specific neural circuits in humans. Here, we investigated the potential of noninvasive neural stimulation on the human sensory cortex in inhibiting aversive memory in a laboratory threat conditioning model. METHODS We build on an emerging nonhuman literature suggesting that primary sensory cortices may be crucially required for threat memory formation and consolidation. Immediately before conditioning innocuous somatosensory stimuli (conditioned stimuli [CS]) to aversive electric stimulation, healthy human participants received continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to individually localized primary somatosensory cortex in either the CS-contralateral (experimental) or CS-ipsilateral (control) hemisphere. We measured fear-potentiated startle to infer threat memory retention on the next day, as well as skin conductance and pupil size during learning. RESULTS After overnight consolidation, threat memory was attenuated in the experimental group compared with the control cTBS group. There was no evidence that this differed between simple and complex CS or that CS identification or initial learning were affected by cTBS. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that cTBS to the primary sensory cortex inhibits threat memory, likely by an impact on postlearning consolidation. We propose that noninvasive targeted stimulation of the sensory cortex may provide a new avenue for interfering with aversive memories in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karita E Ojala
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Matthias Staib
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Samuel Gerster
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Christian C Ruff
- Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Dominik R Bach
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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24
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Herry C, Jercog D. Decoding defensive systems. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102600. [PMID: 35809501 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of the neuronal circuits and mechanisms of defensive systems has been primarily dominated by studies focusing on the contribution of individual cells in the processing of threat-predictive cues, defensive responses, the extinction of such responses and the contextual modulation of threat-related behavior. These studies have been key in establishing threat-related circuits and mechanisms. Yet, they fall short in answering long-standing questions related to the integrative processing of distinct threatening cues, behavioral states induced by threat-related events, or the bridging from sensory processing of threat-related cues to specific defensive responses. Recent conceptual and technical developments has allowed the monitoring of large populations of neurons, which in addition to advanced analytic tools, have improved our understanding of how collective neuronal activity supports threat-related behaviors. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of neuronal population codes within threat-related networks, in the context of aversive motivated behavior and the study of defensive systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyril Herry
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U1215, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U1215, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France.
| | - Daniel Jercog
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U1215, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U1215, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France.
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25
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Functional ultrasound imaging of recent and remote memory recall in the associative fear neural network in mice. Behav Brain Res 2022; 428:113862. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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26
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Ceballo S, Deneux T, Siliceo M, Bathellier B. Differential roles of auditory and visual cortex for sensory detection in mice. C R Biol 2022; 345:75-89. [DOI: 10.5802/crbiol.72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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27
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You Y, Novak LR, Clancy KJ, Li W. Pattern differentiation and tuning shift in human sensory cortex underlie long-term threat memory. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2067-2075.e4. [PMID: 35325599 PMCID: PMC9090975 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala-prefrontal-cortex circuit has long occupied the center of the threat system,1 but new evidence has rapidly amassed to implicate threat processing outside this canonical circuit.2-4 Through nonhuman research, the sensory cortex has emerged as a critical substrate for long-term threat memory,5-9 underpinned by sensory cortical pattern separation/completion10,11 and tuning shift.12,13 In humans, research has begun to associate the human sensory cortex with long-term threat memory,14,15 but the lack of mechanistic insights obscures a direct linkage. Toward that end, we assessed human olfactory threat conditioning and long-term (9 days) threat memory, combining affective appraisal, olfactory psychophysics, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) over a linear odor-morphing continuum (five levels of binary mixtures of the conditioned stimuli/CS+ and CS- odors). Affective ratings and olfactory perceptual discrimination confirmed (explicit) affective and perceptual learning and memory via conditioning. fMRI representational similarity analysis (RSA) and voxel-based tuning analysis further revealed associative plasticity in the human olfactory (piriform) cortex, including immediate and lasting pattern differentiation between CS and neighboring non-CS and a late onset, lasting tuning shift toward the CS. The two plastic processes were especially salient and lasting in anxious individuals, among whom they were further correlated. These findings thus support an evolutionarily conserved sensory cortical system of long-term threat representation, which can underpin threat perception and memory. Importantly, hyperfunctioning of this sensory mnemonic system of threat in anxiety further implicates a hitherto underappreciated sensory mechanism of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi You
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
| | - Lucas R Novak
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Kevin J Clancy
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | - Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
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28
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Bach DR. Aversive conditioning: Principles of memory storage in sensory cortex. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R426-R428. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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29
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Neuronal activity in sensory cortex predicts the specificity of learning in mice. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1167. [PMID: 35246528 PMCID: PMC8897443 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28784-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning to avoid dangerous signals while preserving normal responses to safe stimuli is essential for everyday behavior and survival. Following identical experiences, subjects exhibit fear specificity ranging from high (specializing fear to only the dangerous stimulus) to low (generalizing fear to safe stimuli), yet the neuronal basis of fear specificity remains unknown. Here, we identified the neuronal code that underlies inter-subject variability in fear specificity using longitudinal imaging of neuronal activity before and after differential fear conditioning in the auditory cortex of mice. Neuronal activity prior to, but not after learning predicted the level of specificity following fear conditioning across subjects. Stimulus representation in auditory cortex was reorganized following conditioning. However, the reorganized neuronal activity did not relate to the specificity of learning. These results present a novel neuronal code that determines individual patterns in learning. The neural mechanisms underpinning the specificity of fear memories remains poorly understood. Here, the authors highlight how neural activity prior to fear learning impacts fear memory specificity.
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30
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Learning-induced biases in the ongoing dynamics of sensory representations predict stimulus generalization. Cell Rep 2022; 38:110340. [PMID: 35139386 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110340] [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: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory stimuli have long been thought to be represented in the brain as activity patterns of specific neuronal assemblies. However, we still know relatively little about the long-term dynamics of sensory representations. Using chronic in vivo calcium imaging in the mouse auditory cortex, we find that sensory representations undergo continuous recombination, even under behaviorally stable conditions. Auditory cued fear conditioning introduces a bias into these ongoing dynamics, resulting in a long-lasting increase in the number of stimuli activating the same subset of neurons. This plasticity is specific for stimuli sharing representational similarity to the conditioned sound prior to conditioning and predicts behaviorally observed stimulus generalization. Our findings demonstrate that learning-induced plasticity leading to a representational linkage between the conditioned stimulus and non-conditioned stimuli weaves into ongoing dynamics of the brain rather than acting on an otherwise static substrate.
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31
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Yan Y, Aierken A, Wang C, Jin W, Quan Z, Wang Z, Qing H, Ni J, Zhao J. Neuronal Circuits Associated with Fear Memory: Potential Therapeutic Targets for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Neuroscientist 2022; 29:332-351. [PMID: 35057666 DOI: 10.1177/10738584211069977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that is associated with long-lasting memories of traumatic experiences. Extinction and discrimination of fear memory have become therapeutic targets for PTSD. Newly developed optogenetics and advanced in vivo imaging techniques have provided unprecedented spatiotemporal tools to characterize the activity, connectivity, and functionality of specific cell types in complicated neuronal circuits. The use of such tools has offered mechanistic insights into the exquisite organization of the circuitry underlying the extinction and discrimination of fear memory. This review focuses on the acquisition of more detailed, comprehensive, and integrated neural circuits to understand how the brain regulates the extinction and discrimination of fear memory. A future challenge is to translate these researches into effective therapeutic treatment for PTSD from the perspective of precise regulation of the neural circuits associated with the extinction and discrimination of fear memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ailikemu Aierken
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Chunjian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Jin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenzhen Quan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- The National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Qing
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Junjun Ni
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Zhao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
- Aerospace Medical Center, Aerospace Center Hospital, Beijing, China
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32
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Solyga M, Barkat TR. Emergence and function of cortical offset responses in sound termination detection. eLife 2021; 10:e72240. [PMID: 34910627 PMCID: PMC8673837 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Offset responses in auditory processing appear after a sound terminates. They arise in neuronal circuits within the peripheral auditory system, but their role in the central auditory system remains unknown. Here, we ask what the behavioral relevance of cortical offset responses is and what circuit mechanisms drive them. At the perceptual level, our results reveal that experimentally minimizing auditory cortical offset responses decreases the mouse performance to detect sound termination, assigning a behavioral role to offset responses. By combining in vivo electrophysiology in the auditory cortex and thalamus of awake mice, we also demonstrate that cortical offset responses are not only inherited from the periphery but also amplified and generated de novo. Finally, we show that offset responses code more than silence, including relevant changes in sound trajectories. Together, our results reveal the importance of cortical offset responses in encoding sound termination and detecting changes within temporally discontinuous sounds crucial for speech and vocalization.
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33
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Fear learning induces α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated astrocytic responsiveness that is required for memory persistence. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:1686-1698. [PMID: 34782794 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00949-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Memory persistence is a fundamental cognitive process for guiding behaviors and is considered to rely mostly on neuronal and synaptic plasticity. Whether and how astrocytes contribute to memory persistence is largely unknown. Here, by using two-photon Ca2+ imaging in head-fixed mice and fiber photometry in freely moving mice, we show that aversive sensory stimulation activates α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in a subpopulation of astrocytes in the auditory cortex. We demonstrate that fear learning causes the de novo induction of sound-evoked Ca2+ transients in these astrocytes. The astrocytic responsiveness persisted over days along with fear memory and disappeared in animals that underwent extinction of learned freezing behavior. Conditional genetic deletion of α7-nAChRs in astrocytes significantly impaired fear memory persistence. We conclude that learning-acquired, α7-nAChR-dependent astrocytic responsiveness is an integral part of the cellular substrate underlying memory persistence.
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34
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Inhibition in the auditory cortex. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:61-75. [PMID: 34822879 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The auditory system provides us with extremely rich and precise information about the outside world. Once a sound reaches our ears, the acoustic information it carries travels from the cochlea all the way to the auditory cortex, where its complexity and nuances are integrated. In the auditory cortex, functional circuits are formed by subpopulations of intermingled excitatory and inhibitory cells. In this review, we discuss recent evidence of the specific contributions of inhibitory neurons in sound processing and integration. We first examine intrinsic properties of three main classes of inhibitory interneurons in the auditory cortex. Then, we describe how inhibition shapes the responsiveness of the auditory cortex to sound. Finally, we discuss how inhibitory interneurons contribute to the sensation and perception of sounds. Altogether, this review points out the crucial role of cortical inhibitory interneurons in integrating information about the context, history, or meaning of a sound. It also highlights open questions to be addressed for increasing our understanding of the staggering complexity leading to the subtlest auditory perception.
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35
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Dissociated Role of Thalamic and Cortical Input to the Lateral Amygdala for Consolidation of Long-Term Fear Memory. J Neurosci 2021; 41:9561-9570. [PMID: 34667069 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1167-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-encoding coordinated reactivation of memory traces distributed throughout interconnected brain regions is thought to be critical for consolidation of memories. However, little is known about the role of neural circuit pathways during post-learning periods for consolidation of memories. To investigate this question, we optogenetically silenced the inputs from both auditory cortex and thalamus in the lateral amygdala (LA) for 15 min immediately following auditory fear conditioning (FC) and examined its effect on fear memory formation in mice of both sexes. Optogenetic inhibition of both inputs disrupted long-term fear memory formation tested 24 h after FC. This effect was specific such that the same inhibition did not affect short-term memory and context-dependent memory. Moreover, long-term memory was intact if the inputs were inhibited at much later time points after FC (3 h or 1 d after FC), indicating that optical inhibition for 15 min itself does not produce any nonspecific deleterious effect on fear memory retrieval. Selective inhibition of thalamic input was sufficient to impair consolidation of auditory fear memory. In contrast, selective inhibition of cortical input disrupted remote fear memory without affecting recent memory. These results reveal a dissociated role of thalamic and cortical input to the LA during early post-learning periods for consolidation of long-term fear memory.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Coordinated communications between brain regions are thought to be essential during post-learning periods for consolidation of memories. However, the role of specific neural circuit pathways in this process has been scarcely explored. Using a precise optogenetic inhibition of auditory input pathways, either thalamic or cortical or both, to the LA during post-training periods, we here show that thalamic input is required for consolidation of both recent and remote fear memory, whereas cortical input is crucial for consolidation of remote fear memory. These results reveal a dissociated role of auditory input pathways to the LA for consolidation of long-term fear memory.
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36
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East BS, Fleming G, Vervoordt S, Shah P, Sullivan RM, Wilson DA. Basolateral amygdala to posterior piriform cortex connectivity ensures precision in learned odor threat. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21746. [PMID: 34741138 PMCID: PMC8571329 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01320-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Odor perception can both evoke emotional states and be shaped by emotional or hedonic states. The amygdala complex plays an important role in recognition of, and response to, hedonically valenced stimuli, and has strong, reciprocal connectivity with the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex. Here, we used differential odor-threat conditioning in rats to test the role of basolateral amygdala (BLA) input to the piriform cortex in acquisition and expression of learned olfactory threat responses. Using local field potential recordings, we demonstrated that functional connectivity (high gamma band coherence) between the BLA and posterior piriform cortex (pPCX) is enhanced after differential threat conditioning. Optogenetic suppression of activity within the BLA prevents learned threat acquisition, as do lesions of the pPCX prior to threat conditioning (without inducing anosmia), suggesting that both regions are critical for acquisition of learned odor threat responses. However, optogenetic BLA suppression during testing did not impair threat response to the CS+ , but did induce generalization to the CS-. A similar loss of stimulus control and threat generalization was induced by selective optogenetic suppression of BLA input to pPCX. These results suggest an important role for amygdala-sensory cortical connectivity in shaping responses to threatening stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett S East
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Gloria Fleming
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Samantha Vervoordt
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Prachi Shah
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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37
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Schroeder A, Letzkus JJ. A neuropeptide making memories. Cell 2021; 184:5501-5503. [PMID: 34715019 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Neuropeptides are the most diverse class of signaling molecules in the brain. Despite evidence for their involvement in several behavioral functions, the precise circuit elements and neuronal computations they control remain elusive. In this issue, Melzer et al. (2021) reveal how the neuropeptide GRP facilitates memory in the neocortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Schroeder
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Johannes J Letzkus
- Institute for Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany; Center for Basics in NeuroModulation (NeuroModul Basics), University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
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38
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Melzer S, Newmark ER, Mizuno GO, Hyun M, Philson AC, Quiroli E, Righetti B, Gregory MR, Huang KW, Levasseur J, Tian L, Sabatini BL. Bombesin-like peptide recruits disinhibitory cortical circuits and enhances fear memories. Cell 2021; 184:5622-5634.e25. [PMID: 34610277 PMCID: PMC8556345 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Disinhibitory neurons throughout the mammalian cortex are powerful enhancers of circuit excitability and plasticity. The differential expression of neuropeptide receptors in disinhibitory, inhibitory, and excitatory neurons suggests that each circuit motif may be controlled by distinct neuropeptidergic systems. Here, we reveal that a bombesin-like neuropeptide, gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), recruits disinhibitory cortical microcircuits through selective targeting and activation of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing cells. Using a genetically encoded GRP sensor, optogenetic anterograde stimulation, and trans-synaptic tracing, we reveal that GRP regulates VIP cells most likely via extrasynaptic diffusion from several local and long-range sources. In vivo photometry and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of the GRP receptor (GRPR) in auditory cortex indicate that VIP cells are strongly recruited by novel sounds and aversive shocks, and GRP-GRPR signaling enhances auditory fear memories. Our data establish peptidergic recruitment of selective disinhibitory cortical microcircuits as a mechanism to regulate fear memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Melzer
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Elena R Newmark
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Grace Or Mizuno
- Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Minsuk Hyun
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Adrienne C Philson
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Eleonora Quiroli
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Beatrice Righetti
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Malika R Gregory
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kee Wui Huang
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - James Levasseur
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lin Tian
- Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bernardo L Sabatini
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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39
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Sparse Coding in Temporal Association Cortex Improves Complex Sound Discriminability. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7048-7064. [PMID: 34244361 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3167-20.2021] [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: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The mouse auditory cortex is comprised of several auditory fields spanning the dorsoventral axis of the temporal lobe. The ventral most auditory field is the temporal association cortex (TeA), which remains largely unstudied. Using Neuropixels probes, we simultaneously recorded from primary auditory cortex (AUDp), secondary auditory cortex (AUDv), and TeA, characterizing neuronal responses to pure tones and frequency modulated (FM) sweeps in awake head-restrained female mice. As compared with AUDp and AUDv, single-unit (SU) responses to pure tones in TeA were sparser, delayed, and prolonged. Responses to FMs were also sparser. Population analysis showed that the sparser responses in TeA render it less sensitive to pure tones, yet more sensitive to FMs. When characterizing responses to pure tones under anesthesia, the distinct signature of TeA was changed considerably as compared with that in awake mice, implying that responses in TeA are strongly modulated by non-feedforward connections. Together, these findings provide a basic electrophysiological description of TeA as an integral part of sound processing along the cortical hierarchy.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This is the first comprehensive characterization of the auditory responses in the awake mouse auditory temporal association cortex (TeA). The study provides the foundations for further investigation of TeA and its involvement in auditory learning, plasticity, auditory driven behaviors etc. The study was conducted using state of the art data collection tools, allowing for simultaneous recording from multiple cortical regions and numerous neurons.
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40
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Morikawa S, Katori K, Takeuchi H, Ikegaya Y. Brain-wide mapping of presynaptic inputs to basolateral amygdala neurons. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:3062-3075. [PMID: 33797073 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The basolateral amygdala (BLA), a region critical for emotional processing, is the limbic hub that is connected with various brain regions. BLA neurons are classified into different subtypes that exhibit differential projection patterns and mediate distinct emotional behaviors; however, little is known about their presynaptic input patterns. In this study, we employed projection-specific monosynaptic rabies virus tracing to identify the direct monosynaptic inputs to BLA subtypes. We found that each neuronal subtype receives long-range projection input from specific brain regions. In contrast to their specific axonal projection patterns, all BLA neuronal subtypes exhibited relatively similar input patterns. This anatomical organization supports the idea that the BLA is a central integrator that associates sensory information in different modalities with valence and sends associative information to behaviorally relevant brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Morikawa
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuki Katori
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruki Takeuchi
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Social Cooperation Program of Evolutional Chemical Safety Assessment System, LECSAS, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuji Ikegaya
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Osaka, Japan.,Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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41
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Kline AM, Aponte DA, Tsukano H, Giovannucci A, Kato HK. Inhibitory gating of coincidence-dependent sensory binding in secondary auditory cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4610. [PMID: 34326331 PMCID: PMC8322099 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24758-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Integration of multi-frequency sounds into a unified perceptual object is critical for recognizing syllables in speech. This "feature binding" relies on the precise synchrony of each component's onset timing, but little is known regarding its neural correlates. We find that multi-frequency sounds prevalent in vocalizations, specifically harmonics, preferentially activate the mouse secondary auditory cortex (A2), whose response deteriorates with shifts in component onset timings. The temporal window for harmonics integration in A2 was broadened by inactivation of somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SOM cells), but not parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PV cells). Importantly, A2 has functionally connected subnetworks of neurons preferentially encoding harmonic over inharmonic sounds. These subnetworks are stable across days and exist prior to experimental harmonics exposure, suggesting their formation during development. Furthermore, A2 inactivation impairs performance in a discrimination task for coincident harmonics. Together, we propose A2 as a locus for multi-frequency integration, which may form the circuit basis for vocal processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber M Kline
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Destinee A Aponte
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hiroaki Tsukano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrea Giovannucci
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.,Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hiroyuki K Kato
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. .,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. .,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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Godenzini L, Alwis D, Guzulaitis R, Honnuraiah S, Stuart GJ, Palmer LM. Auditory input enhances somatosensory encoding and tactile goal-directed behavior. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4509. [PMID: 34301949 PMCID: PMC8302566 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24754-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity of the brain to encode multiple types of sensory input is key to survival. Yet, how neurons integrate information from multiple sensory pathways and to what extent this influences behavior is largely unknown. Using two-photon Ca2+ imaging, optogenetics and electrophysiology in vivo and in vitro, we report the influence of auditory input on sensory encoding in the somatosensory cortex and show its impact on goal-directed behavior. Monosynaptic input from the auditory cortex enhanced dendritic and somatic encoding of tactile stimulation in layer 2/3 (L2/3), but not layer 5 (L5), pyramidal neurons in forepaw somatosensory cortex (S1). During a tactile-based goal-directed task, auditory input increased dendritic activity and reduced reaction time, which was abolished by photoinhibition of auditory cortex projections to forepaw S1. Taken together, these results indicate that dendrites of L2/3 pyramidal neurons encode multisensory information, leading to enhanced neuronal output and reduced response latency during goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Godenzini
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - D Alwis
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - R Guzulaitis
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - S Honnuraiah
- Eccles Institute of Neuroscience and ANU node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - G J Stuart
- Eccles Institute of Neuroscience and ANU node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - L M Palmer
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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Non-invasive, opsin-free mid-infrared modulation activates cortical neurons and accelerates associative learning. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2730. [PMID: 33980868 PMCID: PMC8115038 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23025-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurostimulant drugs or magnetic/electrical stimulation techniques can overcome attention deficits, but these drugs or techniques are weakly beneficial in boosting the learning capabilities of healthy subjects. Here, we report a stimulation technique, mid-infrared modulation (MIM), that delivers mid-infrared light energy through the opened skull or even non-invasively through a thinned intact skull and can activate brain neurons in vivo without introducing any exogeneous gene. Using c-Fos immunohistochemistry, in vivo single-cell electrophysiology and two-photon Ca2+ imaging in mice, we demonstrate that MIM significantly induces firing activities of neurons in the targeted cortical area. Moreover, mice that receive MIM targeting to the auditory cortex during an auditory associative learning task exhibit a faster learning speed (~50% faster) than control mice. Together, this non-invasive, opsin-free MIM technique is demonstrated with potential for modulating neuronal activity.
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Taylor JA, Hasegawa M, Benoit CM, Freire JA, Theodore M, Ganea DA, Innocenti SM, Lu T, Gründemann J. Single cell plasticity and population coding stability in auditory thalamus upon associative learning. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2438. [PMID: 33903596 PMCID: PMC8076296 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortical and limbic brain areas are regarded as centres for learning. However, how thalamic sensory relays participate in plasticity upon associative learning, yet support stable long-term sensory coding remains unknown. Using a miniature microscope imaging approach, we monitor the activity of populations of auditory thalamus (medial geniculate body) neurons in freely moving mice upon fear conditioning. We find that single cells exhibit mixed selectivity and heterogeneous plasticity patterns to auditory and aversive stimuli upon learning, which is conserved in amygdala-projecting medial geniculate body neurons. Activity in auditory thalamus to amygdala-projecting neurons stabilizes single cell plasticity in the total medial geniculate body population and is necessary for fear memory consolidation. In contrast to individual cells, population level encoding of auditory stimuli remained stable across days. Our data identifies auditory thalamus as a site for complex neuronal plasticity in fear learning upstream of the amygdala that is in an ideal position to drive plasticity in cortical and limbic brain areas. These findings suggest that medial geniculate body's role goes beyond a sole relay function by balancing experience-dependent, diverse single cell plasticity with consistent ensemble level representations of the sensory environment to support stable auditory perception with minimal affective bias.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Masashi Hasegawa
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Marine Theodore
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dan Alin Ganea
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Tingjia Lu
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jan Gründemann
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
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Aponte DA, Handy G, Kline AM, Tsukano H, Doiron B, Kato HK. Recurrent network dynamics shape direction selectivity in primary auditory cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:314. [PMID: 33436635 PMCID: PMC7804939 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20590-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Detecting the direction of frequency modulation (FM) is essential for vocal communication in both animals and humans. Direction-selective firing of neurons in the primary auditory cortex (A1) has been classically attributed to temporal offsets between feedforward excitatory and inhibitory inputs. However, it remains unclear how cortical recurrent circuitry contributes to this computation. Here, we used two-photon calcium imaging and whole-cell recordings in awake mice to demonstrate that direction selectivity is not caused by temporal offsets between synaptic currents, but by an asymmetry in total synaptic charge between preferred and non-preferred directions. Inactivation of cortical somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SOM cells) reduced direction selectivity, revealing its cortical contribution. Our theoretical models showed that charge asymmetry arises due to broad spatial topography of SOM cell-mediated inhibition which regulates signal amplification in strongly recurrent circuitry. Together, our findings reveal a major contribution of recurrent network dynamics in shaping cortical tuning to behaviorally relevant complex sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Destinee A Aponte
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Gregory Handy
- Departments of Neurobiology and Statistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
- Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Amber M Kline
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Hiroaki Tsukano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Brent Doiron
- Departments of Neurobiology and Statistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
- Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Hiroyuki K Kato
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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Ruediger S, Scanziani M. Learning speed and detection sensitivity controlled by distinct cortico-fugal neurons in visual cortex. eLife 2020; 9:e59247. [PMID: 33284107 PMCID: PMC7748414 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Vertebrates can change their behavior upon detection of visual stimuli according to the outcome their actions produce. Such goal-directed behavior involves evolutionary conserved brain structures like the striatum and optic tectum, which receive ascending visual input from the periphery. In mammals, however, these structures also receive descending visual input from visual cortex (VC), via neurons that give rise to cortico-fugal projections. The function of cortico-fugal neurons in visually guided, goal-directed behavior remains unclear. Here, we address the impact of two populations of cortico-fugal neurons in mouse VC in the learning and performance of a visual detection task. We show that the ablation of striatal projecting neurons reduces learning speed, whereas the ablation of superior colliculus projecting neurons does not impact learning but reduces detection sensitivity. This functional dissociation between distinct cortico-fugal neurons in controlling learning speed and detection sensitivity suggests an adaptive contribution of cortico-fugal pathways even in simple goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Ruediger
- Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Neurobiology Section and Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San DiegoLa JollaUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Massimo Scanziani
- Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Neurobiology Section and Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San DiegoLa JollaUnited States
- Department of Physiology, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
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Pardi MB, Vogenstahl J, Dalmay T, Spanò T, Pu DL, Naumann LB, Kretschmer F, Sprekeler H, Letzkus JJ. A thalamocortical top-down circuit for associative memory. Science 2020; 370:844-848. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abc2399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Belén Pardi
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Tamas Dalmay
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Teresa Spanò
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - De-Lin Pu
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Laura B. Naumann
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Henning Sprekeler
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes J. Letzkus
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Institute for Physiology I, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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Inhibitory plasticity in layer 1 - dynamic gatekeeper of neocortical associations. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 67:26-33. [PMID: 32818814 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Neocortical layer 1 is a major site of convergence for a variety of brain wide afferents carrying experience-dependent top-down information, which are integrated and processed in the apical tuft dendrites of pyramidal cells. Two types of local inhibitory interneurons, Martinotti cells and layer 1 interneurons, dominantly shape dendritic integration, and work from recent years has significantly advanced our understanding of the role of these interneurons in circuit plasticity and learning. Both cell types instruct plasticity in local pyramidal cells, and are themselves subject to robust plastic changes. Despite these similarities, the emerging hypothesis is that they fulfill different, and potentially opposite roles, as they receive different inputs, employ distinct inhibitory dynamics and are implicated in different behavioral contexts.
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Abstract
While in the past much of our knowledge about memory representations in the brain has relied on loss-of-function studies in which whole brain regions were temporarily inactivated or permanently lesioned, the recent development of new methods has ushered in a new era of downright "engram excitement." Animal research is now able to specifically label, track, and manipulate engram cells in the brain. While early studies have mostly focused on single brain regions like the hippocampus, recently more and more evidence for brain-wide distributed engram networks is emerging. Memory research in humans has also picked up pace, fueled by promising magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods like diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) and brain decoding. In this review, we will outline recent advancements in engram research, with a focus on human data and neocortical representations. We will illustrate the available noninvasive methods for the detection of engrams in different neocortical regions like the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal cortex and discuss evidence for systems consolidation and parallel memory encoding. Finally, we will explore how reactivation and prior knowledge can lead to and enhance engram formation in the neocortex.
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