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Kaki S, DeRosa H, Timmerman B, Brummelte S, Hunter RG, Kentner AC. Developmental Manipulation-Induced Changes in Cognitive Functioning. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 63:241-289. [PMID: 36029460 PMCID: PMC9971379 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with as-yet no identified cause. The use of animals has been critical to teasing apart the potential individual and intersecting roles of genetic and environmental risk factors in the development of schizophrenia. One way to recreate in animals the cognitive impairments seen in people with schizophrenia is to disrupt the prenatal or neonatal environment of laboratory rodent offspring. This approach can result in congruent perturbations in brain physiology, learning, memory, attention, and sensorimotor domains. Experimental designs utilizing such animal models have led to a greatly improved understanding of the biological mechanisms that could underlie the etiology and symptomology of schizophrenia, although there is still more to be discovered. The implementation of the Research and Domain Criterion (RDoC) has been critical in taking a more comprehensive approach to determining neural mechanisms underlying abnormal behavior in people with schizophrenia through its transdiagnostic approach toward targeting mechanisms rather than focusing on symptoms. Here, we describe several neurodevelopmental animal models of schizophrenia using an RDoC perspective approach. The implementation of animal models, combined with an RDoC framework, will bolster schizophrenia research leading to more targeted and likely effective therapeutic interventions resulting in better patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahith Kaki
- School of Arts and Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Holly DeRosa
- School of Arts and Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA, USA
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brian Timmerman
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Susanne Brummelte
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | | | - Amanda C Kentner
- School of Arts and Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA, USA.
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2
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Białoń M, Wąsik A. Advantages and Limitations of Animal Schizophrenia Models. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:5968. [PMID: 35682647 PMCID: PMC9181262 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23115968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental illness modeling is still a major challenge for scientists. Animal models of schizophrenia are essential to gain a better understanding of the disease etiopathology and mechanism of action of currently used antipsychotic drugs and help in the search for new and more effective therapies. We can distinguish among pharmacological, genetic, and neurodevelopmental models offering various neuroanatomical disorders and a different spectrum of symptoms of schizophrenia. Modeling schizophrenia is based on inducing damage or changes in the activity of relevant regions in the rodent brain (mainly the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus). Such artificially induced dysfunctions approximately correspond to the lesions found in patients with schizophrenia. However, notably, animal models of mental illness have numerous limitations and never fully reflect the disease state observed in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Agnieszka Wąsik
- Department of Neurochemistry, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-343 Cracow, Poland;
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3
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Riley AL, Manke HN, Huang S. Impact of the Aversive Effects of Drugs on Their Use and Abuse. Behav Neurol 2022; 2022:8634176. [PMID: 35496768 PMCID: PMC9045991 DOI: 10.1155/2022/8634176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug use and abuse are complex issues in that the basis of each may involve different determinants and consequences, and the transition from one to the other may be equally multifaceted. A recent model of the addiction cycle (as proposed by Koob and his colleagues) illustrates how drug-taking patterns transition from impulsive (acute use) to compulsive (chronic use) as a function of various neuroadaptations leading to the downregulation of DA systems, upregulation of stress systems, and the dysregulation of the prefrontal/orbitofrontal cortex. Although the nature of reinforcement in the initiation and mediation of these effects may differ (positive vs. negative), the role of reinforcement in drug intake (acute and chronic) is well characterized. However, drugs of abuse have other stimulus properties that may be important in their use and abuse. One such property is their aversive effects that limit drug intake instead of initiating and maintaining it. Evidence of such effects comes from both clinical and preclinical populations. In support of this position, the present review describes the aversive effects of drugs (assessed primarily in conditioned taste aversion learning), the fact that they occur concurrently with reward as assessed in combined taste aversion/place preference designs, the role of aversive effects in drug-taking (in balance with their rewarding effects), the dissociation of these affective properties in that they can be affected in different ways by the same manipulations, and the impact of various parametric, experiential, and subject factors on the aversive effects of drugs and the consequent impact of these factors on their use and abuse potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony L. Riley
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Hayley N. Manke
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Shihui Huang
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
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4
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Sullivan EDK, Locke LN, Wallin DJ, Khokhar JY, Bragg EM, Henricks AM, Doucette WT. The Impact of Adolescent Alcohol Exposure on Nicotine Behavioral Sensitization in the Adult Male Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion Rat. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:760791. [PMID: 34858148 PMCID: PMC8632551 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.760791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nicotine and alcohol use is highly prevalent among patients with serious mental illness, including those with schizophrenia (SCZ), and this co-occurrence can lead to a worsening of medical and psychiatric morbidity. While the mechanistic drivers of co-occurring SCZ, nicotine use and alcohol use are unknown, emerging evidence suggests that the use of drugs during adolescence may increase the probability of developing psychiatric disorders. The current study used the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion (NVHL) rat model of SCZ, which has previously been shown to have enhanced nicotine behavioral sensitization and, following adolescent alcohol, increased alcohol consumption. Given how commonly alcohol is used by adolescents that develop SCZ, we used the NVHL rat to determine how exposure to adolescent alcohol impacts the development of nicotine behavioral sensitization in adulthood. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent the NVHL surgery or a sham (control) surgery and subsequently, half of each group was allowed to drink alcohol during adolescence. Nicotine behavioral sensitization was assessed in adulthood with rats receiving subcutaneous injections of nicotine (0.5 mg/kg) each day for 3 weeks followed by a nicotine challenge session 2 weeks later. We demonstrate that all groups of rats became sensitized to nicotine and there were no NVHL-specific increases in nicotine behavioral sensitization. We also found that NVHL rats appeared to develop sensitization to the nicotine paired context and that adolescent alcohol exposure blocked this context sensitization. The current findings suggest that exposure to alcohol during adolescence can influence behaviors that manifest in the adult NVHL rat (i.e., context sensitization). Interestingly, nicotine behavioral sensitization levels were not altered in the NVHL groups regardless of adolescent alcohol exposure in contrast to prior reports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily D K Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States.,Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Liam N Locke
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Diana J Wallin
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States.,Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Jibran Y Khokhar
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Elise M Bragg
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States
| | - Angela M Henricks
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States.,Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Wilder T Doucette
- Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, United States.,Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
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5
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Furuie H, Yamada M. Neonatal blockade of NR2A-containing but not NR2B-containing NMDA receptor induces spatial working memory deficits in adult rats. Neurosci Res 2021; 176:57-65. [PMID: 34656645 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The immature brain is highly sensitive to disturbances in the functioning of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in rodents, and blockade of the receptor during postnatal brain development period causes schizophrenia-like behavior in adulthood. During the postnatal period, NR2A- and NR2B-containing NMDA receptors are highly expressed, and these two subunits show different expression patterns in the brain. However, the functions of these two NMDA receptors are unknown. In this study, we treated rats with an NR2A-preferring NMDA receptor antagonist (PEAQX, 10 mg/kg), an NR2B-selective NMDA receptor antagonist (ifenprodil, 7.5 mg/kg), or a nonselective blocker of the NMDA receptor (MK-801, 0.4 mg/kg) during the neonatal period. Rats neonatally treated with MK-801 or PEAQX showed spatial working memory deficits in the Y-maze test. PEAQX-treated rats also showed greater reactivity to acoustic stimuli and hypersensitivity to acute MK-801 challenge. However, ifenprodil treatment did not cause any detectable behavioral changes. These results suggest that the NR2A-containing NMDA receptor is indispensable for proper brain development in rats, and functional disturbances in this subunit impair hippocampus-dependent spatial working memory in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Furuie
- Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan.
| | - Mitsuhiko Yamada
- Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan
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6
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Tendilla-Beltrán H, Coatl-Cuaya H, Meneses-Prado S, Vázquez-Roque RA, Brambila E, Tapia-Rodríguez M, Martín-Hernández D, Garcés-Ramírez L, Madrigal JLM, Leza JC, Flores G. Neuroplasticity and inflammatory alterations in the nucleus accumbens are corrected after risperidone treatment in a schizophrenia-related developmental model in rats. Schizophr Res 2021; 235:17-28. [PMID: 34298239 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Increased dopaminergic activity in the striatum underlies the neurobiology of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia (SZ). Beyond the impaired connectivity among the limbic system, the excess of dopamine could lead to inflammation and oxidative/nitrosative stress. It has been suggested that atypical antipsychotic drugs attenuate psychosis not only due to their modulatory activity on the dopaminergic/serotonergic neurotransmission but also due to their anti-inflammatory/antioxidant effects. In such a manner, we assessed the effects of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone (RISP) on the structural neuroplasticity and biochemistry of the striatum in adult rats with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion (NVHL), which is a developmental SZ-related model. RISP administration (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) ameliorated the neuronal atrophy and the impairments in the morphology of the dendritic spines in the spiny projection neurons (SPNs) of the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens: NAcc) in the NVHL rats. Also, RISP treatment normalized the pro-inflammatory pathways and induced the antioxidant activity of the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) in this model. Our results point to the neurotrophic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects of RISP, together with its canonical antipsychotic mechanism, to enhance striatum function in animals with NVHL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiram Tendilla-Beltrán
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla 72570, Mexico; Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), CDMX 11340, Mexico; Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid 28040, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), UCM, Spain
| | - Heriberto Coatl-Cuaya
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla 72570, Mexico; Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), CDMX 11340, Mexico
| | - Silvia Meneses-Prado
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla 72570, Mexico
| | | | | | - Miguel Tapia-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (IIBO), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), CDMX 04510, Mexico
| | - David Martín-Hernández
- Servicio de Psiquiatría del Niño y del Adolescente, Instituto de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, IiSGM, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Linda Garcés-Ramírez
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), CDMX 11340, Mexico
| | - José L M Madrigal
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid 28040, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), UCM, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (Imas12), Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Juan C Leza
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid 28040, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), UCM, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (Imas12), Madrid 28029, Spain.
| | - Gonzalo Flores
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla 72570, Mexico.
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7
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Martínez-Torres NI, Vázquez-Hernández N, Martín-Amaya-Barajas FL, Flores-Soto M, González-Burgos I. Ibotenic acid induced lesions impair the modulation of dendritic spine plasticity in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, a phenomenon that underlies working memory and social behavior. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 896:173883. [PMID: 33513334 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.173883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The lesions induced by Ibotenic acid (IA) emulate some of the symptoms associated with schizophrenia, such as impaired working memory that is predominantly organized by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), or difficulties in social interactions that aremainly organized by the amygdala (AMG). The plastic capacity of dendritic spines in neurons of the mPFC and AMG is modulated by molecules that participate in the known deterioration of working memory, although the influence of these on the socialization of schizophrenic patients is unknown. Here, the effect of a neonatal IA induced lesion on social behavior and working memory was evaluated in adult rats, along with the changes in cytoarchitecture of dendritic spines and their protein content, specifically the postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95), Synaptophysin (Syn), AMPA receptors, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Both working memory and social behavior were impaired, and the density of the spines, as well as their PSD-95, Syn, AMPA receptor and BDNF content was lower in IA lesioned animals. The proportional density of thin, mushroom, stubby and wide spines resulted in plastic changes that suggest the activation of compensatory processes in the face of the adverse effects of the lesion. In addition, the reduction in the levels of the modulating factors also suggests that the signaling pathways in which such factors are implicated would be altered in the brains of patients with schizophrenia. Accordingly, the experimental study of such signaling pathways is likely to aid the development of more effective pharmacological strategies for the treatment of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Néstor I Martínez-Torres
- División de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico; Centro Universitario del Norte, Universidad de Guadalajara, Colotlán, Jal., Mexico
| | - Nallely Vázquez-Hernández
- División de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico
| | | | - Mario Flores-Soto
- División de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico
| | - Ignacio González-Burgos
- División de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico.
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8
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Salisbury AJ, Blackwood CA, Cadet JL. Prolonged Withdrawal From Escalated Oxycodone Is Associated With Increased Expression of Glutamate Receptors in the Rat Hippocampus. Front Neurosci 2021; 14:617973. [PMID: 33536871 PMCID: PMC7848144 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.617973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
People suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) exhibit cognitive dysfunctions. Here, we investigated potential changes in the expression of glutamate receptors in rat hippocampi at 2 h and 31 days after the last session of oxycodone self-administration (SA). RNA extracted from the hippocampus was used in quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses. Rats, given long-access (9 h per day) to oxycodone (LgA), took significantly more drug than rats exposed to short-access (3 h per day) (ShA). In addition, LgA rats could be further divided into higher oxycodone taking (LgA-H) or lower oxycodone taking (LgA-L) groups, based on a cut-off of 50 infusions per day. LgA rats, but not ShA, rats exhibited incubation of oxycodone craving. In addition, LgA rats showed increased mRNA expression of GluA1-3 and GluN2a-c subunits as well as Grm3, Grm5, Grm6, and Grm8 subtypes of glutamate receptors after 31 days but not after 2 h of stopping the SA experiment. Changes in GluA1-3, Grm6, and Grm8 mRNA levels also correlated with increased lever pressing (incubation) after long periods of withdrawal from oxycodone. More studies are needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in altering the expression of these receptors during withdrawal from oxycodone and/or incubation of drug seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jean Lud Cadet
- National Institute on Drug Abuse, Molecular Neuropsychiatry Branch, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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9
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Clasen MM, Riley AL, Davidson TL. Hippocampal-Dependent Inhibitory Learning and Memory Processes in the Control of Eating and Drug Taking. Curr Pharm Des 2020; 26:2334-2352. [PMID: 32026771 DOI: 10.2174/1381612826666200206091447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
As manifestations of excessive and uncontrolled intake, obesity and drug addiction have generated much research aimed at identifying common neuroadaptations that could underlie both disorders. Much work has focused on changes in brain reward and motivational circuitry that can overexcite eating and drug-taking behaviors. We suggest that the regulation of both behaviors depends on balancing excitation produced by stimuli associated with food and drug rewards with the behavioral inhibition produced by physiological "satiety" and other stimuli that signal when those rewards are unavailable. Our main hypothesis is that dysregulated eating and drug use are consequences of diet- and drug-induced degradations in this inhibitory power. We first outline a learning and memory mechanism that could underlie the inhibition of both food and drug-intake, and we describe data that identifies the hippocampus as a brain substrate for this mechanism. We then present evidence that obesitypromoting western diets (WD) impair the operation of this process and generate pathophysiologies that disrupt hippocampal functioning. Next, we present parallel evidence that drugs of abuse also impair this same learning and memory process and generate similar hippocampal pathophysiologies. We also describe recent findings that prior WD intake elevates drug self-administration, and the implications of using drugs (i.e., glucagon-like peptide- 1 agonists) that enhance hippocampal functioning to treat both obesity and addiction are also considered. We conclude with a description of how both WD and drugs of abuse could initiate a "vicious-cycle" of hippocampal pathophysiology and impaired hippocampal-dependent behavioral inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew M Clasen
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, United States
| | - Anthony L Riley
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC 20016, United States
| | - Terry L Davidson
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC 20016, United States
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10
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Tendilla-Beltrán H, Sanchez-Islas NDC, Marina-Ramos M, Leza JC, Flores G. The prefrontal cortex as a target for atypical antipsychotics in schizophrenia, lessons of neurodevelopmental animal models. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 199:101967. [PMID: 33271238 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) inflammatory imbalance, oxidative/nitrosative stress (O/NS) and impaired neuroplasticity in schizophrenia are thought to have neurodevelopmental origins. Animal models are not only useful to test this hypothesis, they are also effective to establish a relationship among brain disturbances and behavior with the atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) effects. Here we review data of PFC post-mortem and in vivo neuroimaging, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), and peripheral blood studies of inflammatory, O/NS, and neuroplasticity alterations in the disease as well as about their modulation by AAPs. Moreover, we reviewed the PFC alterations and the AAP mechanisms beyond their canonical antipsychotic action in four neurodevelopmental animal models relevant to the study of schizophrenia with a distinct approach in the generation of schizophrenia-like phenotypes, but all converge in O/NS and altered neuroplasticity in the PFC. These animal models not only reinforce the neurodevelopmental risk factor model of schizophrenia but also arouse some novel potential therapeutic targets for the disease including the reestablishment of the antioxidant response by the perineuronal nets (PNNs) and the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) pathway, as well as the dendritic spine dynamics in the PFC pyramidal cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiram Tendilla-Beltrán
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla, Mexico; Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), CDMX, Mexico
| | | | - Mauricio Marina-Ramos
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Juan C Leza
- Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), UCM. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital, 12 de Octubre (Imas12), Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Flores
- Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla, Mexico.
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11
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Ohayon S, Yitzhaky A, Hertzberg L. Gene expression meta-analysis reveals the up-regulation of CREB1 and CREBBP in Brodmann Area 10 of patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2020; 292:113311. [PMID: 32712449 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairments characterize individuals with schizophrenia, and are correlated to the patients' functional outcome. The transcription factor Cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein-1 (CREB1) is involved in learning and memory processes. CREB1 and both CREB-binding protein (CREBBP) and E1A Binding Protein P300 (EP300), co-activators of CREB1, have been associated with schizophrenia. We performed a systematic meta-analysis of CREB1, CREBBP and EP300 differential expression in post mortem Brodmann Area 10 (BA10) samples of patients with schizophrenia vs. healthy controls, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Two microarray datasets met the inclusion criteria (overall 41 schizophrenia samples and 38 controls were analyzed). We detect up-regulation of CREB1 and CREBBP in BA10 samples of patients with schizophrenia, while EP300 wasn't differentially expressed. The integration of two independent datasets and the positive correlation between the expression patterns of CREB1 and CREBBP increase the validity of the results. The up-regulation of CREB1 and its co-activator CREBBP might relate to BA10 altered activation that has been shown in schizophrenia. As BA10 was shown to be involved in the cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia, this suggests involvement of CREB1 and CREBBP in the cognitive symptoms that characterize the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shay Ohayon
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Assif Yitzhaky
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Libi Hertzberg
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; Shalvata Mental Health Center, affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 13 Aliat Hanoar St. Hod Hasharon 45100, Israel.
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12
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Nikiforuk A. Assessment of cognitive functions in animal models of schizophrenia. Pharmacol Rep 2018; 70:639-649. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharep.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Monfil T, Vázquez Roque RA, Camacho-Abrego I, Tendilla-Beltran H, Iannitti T, Meneses-Morales I, Aguilar-Alonso P, Flores G, Morales-Medina JC. Hyper-response to Novelty Increases c-Fos Expression in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia. Neurochem Res 2017; 43:441-448. [PMID: 29214513 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-017-2439-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder that may have a neurodevelopmental origin. For this reason, animal models based on neonatal insults or manipulations have been extensively used to demonstrate schizophrenia-related behaviors. Among those, the neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion (nVHL) is largely used as a model of schizophrenia-related behavior as it mimics behavioral and neurochemical abnormalities often seen in schizophrenic patients including hyperlocomotion in a novel environment. To investigate the neuroanatomical basis of coding novelty in the nVHL rat, we assessed the behavioral locomotor activity paradigm in a novel environment and measured expression of c-Fos, a marker of neural activation, in brain regions involved in the process of coding novelty or locomotion. Upon reaching adulthood, nVHL rats showed hyperlocomotion in the novel environment paradigm. Moreover, in nVHL rats the expression of c-Fos was greater in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus compared to sham rats. Whereas similar expression of c-Fos was observed in the basolateral amygdala, nucleus accumbens and dentate gyrus region of hippocampus of nVHL and sham rats. These results suggest that the nVHL disrupts the neural activity in the PFC and CA1 region of hippocampus in the process of coding novelty in the rat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Monfil
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal, CINVESTAV-UAT, AP 62, 90000, Tlaxcala, Mexico.,Departamento de Fisiología, Biofísica y Neurociencias, CINVESTAV, 07360, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Rubén Antonio Vázquez Roque
- Lab. Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Israel Camacho-Abrego
- Lab. Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Hiram Tendilla-Beltran
- Lab. Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Tommaso Iannitti
- KWS BioTest, Marine View Office Park, Portishead, Somerset, BS20 7AW, UK
| | - Ivan Meneses-Morales
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Patricia Aguilar-Alonso
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 72570, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Gonzalo Flores
- Lab. Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570, Puebla, Mexico.
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Wilkins LK, Girard TA, Herdman KA, Christensen BK, King J, Kiang M, Bohbot VD. Hippocampal activation and memory performance in schizophrenia depend on strategy use in a virtual maze. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2017; 268:1-8. [PMID: 28780430 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Different strategies may be spontaneously adopted to solve most navigation tasks. These strategies are associated with dissociable brain systems. Here, we use brain-imaging and cognitive tasks to test the hypothesis that individuals living with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD) have selective impairment using a hippocampal-dependent spatial navigation strategy. Brain activation and memory performance were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the 4-on-8 virtual maze (4/8VM) task, a human analog of the rodent radial-arm maze that is amenable to both response-based (egocentric or landmark-based) and spatial (allocentric, cognitive mapping) strategies to remember and navigate to target objects. SSD (schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder) participants who adopted a spatial strategy performed more poorly on the 4/8VM task and had less hippocampal activation than healthy comparison participants using either strategy as well as SSD participants using a response strategy. This study highlights the importance of strategy use in relation to spatial cognitive functioning in SSD. Consistent with a selective-hippocampal dependent deficit in SSD, these results support the further development of protocols to train impaired hippocampal-dependent abilities or harness non-hippocampal dependent intact abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne K Wilkins
- Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 2K3
| | - Todd A Girard
- Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 2K3.
| | | | - Bruce K Christensen
- Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Jelena King
- St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Michael Kiang
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Veronique D Bohbot
- Douglas Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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16
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Research Domain Criteria versus DSM V: How does this debate affect attempts to model corticostriatal dysfunction in animals? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 76:301-316. [PMID: 27826070 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 09/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
For decades, the nosology of mental illness has been based largely upon the descriptions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM). A recent challenge to the DSM approach to psychiatric nosology from the National Institute on Mental Health (USA) defines Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) as an alternative. For RDoC, psychiatric illnesses are not defined as discrete categories, but instead as specific behavioral dysfunctions irrespective of DSM diagnostic categories. This approach was driven by two primary weaknesses noted in the DSM: (1) the same symptoms occur in very different disease states; and (2) DSM criteria lack grounding in the underlying biological causes of mental illness. RDoC intends to ground psychiatric nosology in those underlying mechanisms. This review addresses the suitability of RDoC vs. DSM from the view of modeling mental illness in animals. A consideration of all types of psychiatric dysfunction is beyond the scope of this review, which will focus on models of conditions associated with frontostriatal dysfunction.
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Brady AM. The Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion (NVHL) Rodent Model of Schizophrenia. CURRENT PROTOCOLS IN NEUROSCIENCE 2016; 77:9.55.1-9.55.17. [PMID: 27696361 PMCID: PMC5113298 DOI: 10.1002/cpns.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Animal models are crucial to the study of the neurobiological bases of psychiatric disorders, but schizophrenia is a particularly challenging disorder to model given the complexity and heavily verbal nature of its symptoms. This unit describes a developmental surgical rodent model of schizophrenia, the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion (NVHL) model. This widely used model produces reliable behavioral abnormalities that are comparable to those observed in patients, as well as anatomical and neurophysiological disruptions in forebrain areas that are also implicated in schizophrenia. A brief background of the development and validity of the NVHL model is discussed here, along with detailed procedures for producing the model in rats. Critical issues particular to neonatal surgery are discussed, and representative histological and behavioral results are presented. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Marie Brady
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Maryland, 240-895-2103,
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18
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Toward early estimation and treatment of addiction vulnerability: radial arm maze and N-acetyl cysteine before cocaine sensitization or nicotine self-administration in neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:3933-3945. [PMID: 27640177 PMCID: PMC5102951 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RATIONAL Prefrontal cortical (PFC)-hippocampal-striatal circuits, interconnected via glutamatergic signaling, are dysfunctional in mental illnesses that involve addiction vulnerability. OBJECTIVES In healthy and neurodevelopmentally altered rats, we examined how Radial Arm Maze (RAM) performance estimates addiction vulnerability, and how starting a glutamatergic modulating agent, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) in adolescence alters adult mental illness and/or addiction phenotypes. METHODS Rats with neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHL) vs. SHAM-operated controls were randomized to NAC vs. saline in adolescence followed by cognitive testing (RAM) in early adulthood and then cocaine behavioral sensitization (experiment 1; n = 80) or nicotine self-administration (experiment 2; n = 12). RESULTS In experiment 1, NVHL rats showed over-consumption of food (Froot-Loops (FL)) baiting the RAM with poor working memory (low-arm entries to repeat (ETR)), producing an elevated FL to ETR ratio ("FLETR"; p < 0.001). FLETR was the best linear estimator (compared to FL or ETR) of magnitude of long-term cocaine sensitization (R 2 = 0.14, p < 0.001). NAC treatment did not alter FL, ETR, FLETR, or cocaine sensitization. In experiment 2, FLETR also significantly and uniquely correlated with subsequent drug seeking during nicotine-induced reinstatement after extinction of nicotine self-administration (R 2 = 0.47, p < 0.01). NAC did not alter RAM performance, but significantly reversed NVHL-induced increases in nicotine seeking during extinction and reinstatement. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the utility of animal models of mental illness with addiction vulnerability for developing novel diagnostic measures of PFC-hippocampal-striatal circuit dysfunction that may reflect addiction risk. Such tests may direct pharmacological treatments prior to adulthood and addictive drug exposure, to prevent or treat adult addictions.
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do Prado CH, Narahari T, Holland FH, Lee HN, Murthy SK, Brenhouse HC. Effects of early adolescent environmental enrichment on cognitive dysfunction, prefrontal cortex development, and inflammatory cytokines after early life stress. Dev Psychobiol 2015; 58:482-91. [PMID: 26688108 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Early postnatal stress such as maternal separation causes cognitive dysfunction later in life, including working memory deficits that are largely mediated by the prefrontal cortex. Maternal separation in male rats also yields a loss of parvalbumin-containing prefrontal cortex interneurons in adolescence, which may occur via inflammatory or oxidative stress mechanisms. Environmental enrichment can prevent several effects of maternal separation; however, effects of enrichment on prefrontal cortex development are not well understood. Here, we report that enrichment prevented cognitive dysfunction in maternally separated males and females, and prevented elevated circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines that was evident in maternally separated males, but not females. However, enrichment did not prevent parvalbumin loss or adolescent measures of oxidative stress. Significant correlations indicated that adolescents with higher oxidative damage and less prefrontal cortex parvalbumin in adolescence committed more errors on the win-shift task; therefore, maternal separation may affect cognitive dysfunction via aberrant interneuron development. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58: 482-491, 2016.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carine H do Prado
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA.,Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group (GNCD), Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Tanya Narahari
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
| | | | - Ha-Neul Lee
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
| | - Shashi K Murthy
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA.,Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
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20
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Boyajyan AS, Atshemyan SA, Zakharyan RV. Association of schizophrenia with variants of genes that encode transcription factors. Mol Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893315060035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Molinaro L, Hui P, Tan M, Mishra RK. Role of presynaptic phosphoprotein synapsin II in schizophrenia. World J Psychiatry 2015; 5:260-272. [PMID: 26425441 PMCID: PMC4582303 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i3.260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2015] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Synapsin II is a member of the neuronal phosphoprotein family. These phosphoproteins are evolutionarily conserved across many organisms and are important in a variety of synaptic functions, including synaptogenesis and the regulation of neurotransmitter release. A number of genome-wide scans, meta-analyses, and genetic susceptibility studies have implicated the synapsin II gene (3p25) in the etiology of schizophrenia (SZ) and other psychiatric disorders. Further studies have found a reduction of synapsin II mRNA and protein in the prefrontal cortex in post-mortem samples from schizophrenic patients. Disruptions in the expression of this gene may cause synaptic dysfunction, which can result in neurotransmitter imbalances, likely contributing to the pathogenesis of SZ. SZ is a costly, debilitating psychiatric illness affecting approximately 1.1% of the world’s population, amounting to 51 million people today. The disorder is characterized by positive (hallucinations, paranoia), negative (social withdrawal, lack of motivation), and cognitive (memory impairments, attention deficits) symptoms. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the structure, function, and involvement of the synapsin family, specifically synapsin II, in the pathophysiology of SZ and possible target for therapeutic intervention/implications.
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22
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Tse MT, Piantadosi PT, Floresco SB. Prefrontal cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid transmission and cognitive function: drawing links to schizophrenia from preclinical research. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 77:929-39. [PMID: 25442792 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2013] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia is one of the most pervasive and debilitating aspects of the disorder. Among the numerous neural abnormalities that may contribute to schizophrenia symptoms, perturbations in markers for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), particularly within the frontal lobes, are some of the most reliable alterations observed at postmortem examination. However, how prefrontal GABA dysfunction contributes to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia remains unclear. We provide an overview of postmortem GABAergic perturbations in the brain affected by schizophrenia and describe circumstantial evidence linking these alterations to cognitive dysfunction. In addition, we conduct a survey of studies using neurodevelopmental, genetic, and pharmacologic rodent models that induce schizophrenia-like cognitive impairments, highlighting the convergence of these mechanistically distinct approaches to prefrontal GABAergic disruption. We review preclinical studies that have directly targeted prefrontal cortical GABAergic transmission using local application of GABAA receptor antagonists. These studies have provided an important link between GABA transmission and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia because they show that reducing prefrontal inhibitory transmission induces various cognitive, emotional, and dopaminergic abnormalities that resemble aspects of the disorder. These converging clinical and preclinical findings provide strong support for the idea that perturbations in GABA signaling drive certain forms of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Future studies using this approach will yield information to refine further a putative "GABA hypothesis" of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maric T Tse
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Patrick T Piantadosi
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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23
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Abstract
Executive functions consist of multiple high-level cognitive processes that drive rule generation and behavioral selection. An emergent property of these processes is the ability to adjust behavior in response to changes in one's environment (i.e., behavioral flexibility). These processes are essential to normal human behavior, and may be disrupted in diverse neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, alcoholism, depression, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. Understanding of the neurobiology of executive functions has been greatly advanced by the availability of animal tasks for assessing discrete components of behavioral flexibility, particularly strategy shifting and reversal learning. While several types of tasks have been developed, most are non-automated, labor intensive, and allow testing of only one animal at a time. The recent development of automated, operant-based tasks for assessing behavioral flexibility streamlines testing, standardizes stimulus presentation and data recording, and dramatically improves throughput. Here, we describe automated strategy shifting and reversal tasks, using operant chambers controlled by custom written software programs. Using these tasks, we have shown that the medial prefrontal cortex governs strategy shifting but not reversal learning in the rat, similar to the dissociation observed in humans. Moreover, animals with a neonatal hippocampal lesion, a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, are selectively impaired on the strategy shifting task but not the reversal task. The strategy shifting task also allows the identification of separate types of performance errors, each of which is attributable to distinct neural substrates. The availability of these automated tasks, and the evidence supporting the dissociable contributions of separate prefrontal areas, makes them particularly well-suited assays for the investigation of basic neurobiological processes as well as drug discovery and screening in disease models.
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Truong DT, Che A, Rendall AR, Szalkowski CE, LoTurco JJ, Galaburda AM, Holly Fitch R. Mutation of Dcdc2 in mice leads to impairments in auditory processing and memory ability. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2014; 13:802-11. [PMID: 25130614 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Revised: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Dyslexia is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired reading ability despite normal intellect, and is associated with specific difficulties in phonological and rapid auditory processing (RAP), visual attention and working memory. Genetic variants in Doublecortin domain-containing protein 2 (DCDC2) have been associated with dyslexia, impairments in phonological processing and in short-term/working memory. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sensory and behavioral impairments can result directly from mutation of the Dcdc2 gene in mice. Several behavioral tasks, including a modified pre-pulse inhibition paradigm (to examine auditory processing), a 4/8 radial arm maze (to assess/dissociate working vs. reference memory) and rotarod (to examine sensorimotor ability and motor learning), were used to assess the effects of Dcdc2 mutation. Behavioral results revealed deficits in RAP, working memory and reference memory in Dcdc2(del2/del2) mice when compared with matched wild types. Current findings parallel clinical research linking genetic variants of DCDC2 with specific impairments of phonological processing and memory ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- D T Truong
- Department of Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
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25
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Impairments in set-shifting but not reversal learning in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia: Further evidence for medial prefrontal deficits. Behav Brain Res 2013; 256:405-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Revised: 08/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/19/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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26
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Mouri A, Nagai T, Ibi D, Yamada K. Animal models of schizophrenia for molecular and pharmacological intervention and potential candidate molecules. Neurobiol Dis 2013; 53:61-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2012.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2012] [Revised: 10/23/2012] [Accepted: 10/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Hill RA, Wu YWC, Gogos A, van den Buuse M. Sex-dependent alterations in BDNF-TrkB signaling in the hippocampus of reelin heterozygous mice: a role for sex steroid hormones. J Neurochem 2013; 126:389-99. [DOI: 10.1111/jnc.12205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Revised: 02/13/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Hill
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory; Mental Health Research Institute; Melbourne Australia
- Centre for Neuroscience; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Australia
| | - Yee-Wen Candace Wu
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory; Mental Health Research Institute; Melbourne Australia
- Department of Pharmacology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Australia
| | - Andrea Gogos
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory; Mental Health Research Institute; Melbourne Australia
- Centre for Neuroscience; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Australia
| | - Maarten van den Buuse
- Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory; Mental Health Research Institute; Melbourne Australia
- Department of Pharmacology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Australia
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28
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Shan D, Lucas EK, Drummond JB, Haroutunian V, Meador-Woodruff JH, McCullumsmith RE. Abnormal expression of glutamate transporters in temporal lobe areas in elderly patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2013; 144:1-8. [PMID: 23356950 PMCID: PMC3572263 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2012.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2012] [Revised: 12/14/2012] [Accepted: 12/17/2012] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Glutamate transporters facilitate the buffering, clearance and cycling of glutamate and play an important role in maintaining synaptic and extrasynaptic glutamate levels. Alterations in glutamate transporter expression may lead to abnormal glutamate neurotransmission contributing to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In addition, alterations in the architecture of the superior temporal gyrus and hippocampus have been implicated in this illness, suggesting that synapses in these regions may be remodeled from a lifetime of severe mental illness and antipsychotic treatment. Thus, we hypothesize that glutamate neurotransmission may be abnormal in the superior temporal gyrus and hippocampus in schizophrenia. To test this hypothesis, we examined protein expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 1-3 and vesicular glutamate transporter 1 and 2 in subjects with schizophrenia (n=23) and a comparison group (n=27). We found decreased expression of EAAT1 and EAAT2 protein in the superior temporal gyrus, and decreased EAAT2 protein in the hippocampus in schizophrenia. We didn't find any changes in expression of the neuronal transporter EAAT3 or the presynaptic vesicular glutamate transporters VGLUT1-2. In addition, we did not detect an effect of antipsychotic medication on expression of EAAT1 and EAAT2 proteins in the temporal association cortex or hippocampus in rats treated with haloperidol for 9 months. Our findings suggest that buffering and reuptake, but not presynaptic release, of glutamate is altered in glutamate synapses in the temporal lobe in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Shan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | | | - Jana B. Drummond
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | | | - James H. Meador-Woodruff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA
| | - Robert E. McCullumsmith
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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29
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Alexander KS, Pocivavsek A, Wu HQ, Pershing ML, Schwarcz R, Bruno JP. Early developmental elevations of brain kynurenic acid impair cognitive flexibility in adults: reversal with galantamine. Neuroscience 2013; 238:19-28. [PMID: 23395862 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.01.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2012] [Revised: 01/28/2013] [Accepted: 01/29/2013] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA), an endogenous α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) antagonist, are elevated in the brain of patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and might contribute to the pathophysiology and cognitive deficits seen in the disorder. As developmental vulnerabilities contribute to the etiology of SZ, we determined, in rats, the effects of perinatal increases in KYNA on brain chemistry and cognitive flexibility. KYNA's bioprecursor l-kynurenine (100mg/day) was fed to dams from gestational day 15 to postnatal day 21 (PD21). Offspring were then given regular chow until adulthood. Control rats received unadulterated mash. Brain tissue levels of KYNA were measured at PD2 and PD21, and extracellular levels of KYNA and glutamate were determined by microdialysis in the prefrontal cortex in adulthood (PD56-80). In other adult rats, the effects of perinatal l-kynurenine administration on cognitive flexibility were assessed using an attentional set-shifting task. l-Kynurenine treatment raised forebrain KYNA levels ∼3-fold at PD2 and ∼2.5-fold at PD21. At PD56-80, extracellular prefrontal KYNA levels were moderately but significantly elevated (+12%), whereas extracellular glutamate levels were not different from controls. Set-shifting was selectively impaired by perinatal exposure to l-kynurenine, as treated rats acquired the discrimination and intra-dimensional shift at the same rate as controls, yet exhibited marked deficits in the initial reversal and extra-dimensional shift. Acute administration of the α7nAChR-positive modulator galantamine (3.0mg/kg, i.p.) restored performance to control levels. These results validate early developmental exposure to l-kynurenine as a novel, naturalistic animal model for studying cognitive deficits in SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- K S Alexander
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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30
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Inverardi F, Chikhladze M, Donzelli A, Moroni RF, Regondi MC, Pennacchio P, Zucca I, Corradini I, Braida D, Sala M, Franceschetti S, Frassoni C. Cytoarchitectural, behavioural and neurophysiological dysfunctions in the BCNU-treated rat model of cortical dysplasia. Eur J Neurosci 2012; 37:150-62. [PMID: 23095101 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2012] [Revised: 09/21/2012] [Accepted: 09/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Cortical dysplasias (CDs) include a spectrum of cerebral lesions resulting from cortical development abnormalities during embryogenesis that lead to cognitive disabilities and epilepsy. The experimental model of CD obtained by means of in utero administration of BCNU (1-3-bis-chloroethyl-nitrosurea) to pregnant rats on embryonic day 15 mimics the histopathological abnormalities observed in many patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioural, electrophysiological and anatomical profile of BCNU-treated rats in order to determine whether cortical and hippocampal lesions can directly lead to cognitive dysfunction. The BCNU-treated rats showed impaired short-term working memory but intact long-term aversive memory, whereas their spontaneous motor activity and anxiety-like response were normal. The histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, made after behavioural tests, revealed the disrupted integrity of neuronal populations and connecting fibres in hippocampus and prefrontal and entorhinal cortices, which are involved in memory processes. An electrophysiological evaluation of the CA1 region of in vitro hippocampal slices indicated a decrease in the efficiency of excitatory synaptic transmission and impaired paired pulse facilitation, but enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) associated with hyperexcitability in BCNU-treated rats compared with controls. The enhanced LTP, associated with hyperexcitability, may indicate a pathological distortion of long-term plasticity. These findings suggest that prenatal developmental insults at the time of peak cortical neurogenesis can induce anatomical abnormalities associated with severe impairment of spatial working memory in adult BCNU-treated rats and may help to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction that is often associated with epilepsy in patients with CD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Inverardi
- Clinical Epileptology and Experimental Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, Italy
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Transient inactivation of the neonatal ventral hippocampus impairs attentional set-shifting behavior: reversal with an α7 nicotinic agonist. Neuropsychopharmacology 2012; 37:2476-86. [PMID: 22781844 PMCID: PMC3442342 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive deficits represent a core symptom cluster in schizophrenia that are thought to reflect developmental dysregulations within a neural system involving the ventral hippocampus (VH), nucleus accumbens (NAC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). The present experiments determined the cognitive effects of transiently inactivating VH in rats during a sensitive period of development. Neonatal (postnatal day 7, PD7) and adolescent (PD32) male rats received a single bilateral infusion of saline or tetrodotoxin (TTX) within the VH to transiently inactivate local circuitry and efferent outflow. Rats were tested as adults on an attentional set-shifting task. Performance in this task depends upon the integrity of the PFC and NAC. TTX infusions did not affect the initial acquisition or ability to learn an intra-dimensional shift. However, TTX rats required a greater number of trials than did controls to acquire the first reversal and extra-dimensional shift (ED) stages. These impairments were age and region-specific as rats infused with TTX into the VH at PD32, or into the dorsal hippocampus at PD7, exhibited performance in the task similar to that of controls. Finally, acute systemic administration of the partial α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist SSR 180711 (3.0 mg/kg) eliminated the TTX-induced performance deficits. Given that patients with schizophrenia exhibit hippocampal pathophysiology and deficits in the ED stages of set-shifting tasks, our results support the significance of transient hippocampal inactivation as an animal model for studying the cognitive impairments in schizophrenia as well as the pro-cognitive therapeutic potential of α7 nAChR agonists.
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Chen XP, Chen WZ, Wang FS, Liu JX. Selective cognitive impairments are related to selective hippocampus and prefrontal cortex deficits after prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure. Brain Res 2012; 1474:19-28. [PMID: 22842080 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.07.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2012] [Revised: 06/21/2012] [Accepted: 07/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) leads to cognitive impairments in adulthood. The cytoarchitectural basis is unclear. In the present study, we assessed the effects of prenatal CPF exposure on T-maze delayed alternation task and the win-shift/lose-shift responses associated with the morphology of the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in adult animals. Gestational ICR female mice were exposed to 0, 1 or 5mg/kg/d of CPF through gestational days 13-17. Behavioral experiments were performed on postnatal days (PD) 45-60 of the male and female offsprings; morphological samples were collected on PD 60. Our behavioral study results showed a gradual increase in the number of lose-shift errors on increased memory loads in the 5mg/kg/d CPF-treated males. A weak initial increase in the number of lose-shift errors was observed in the females. In all of the groups, no significant differences were observed in the number of win-shift errors and correct of the first choice. The morphological studies showed extensive condensed nucleus and enlarged intercellular spaces in the CA1 and DG sub-regions in the dHPC of the CPF-treated males and the DG sub-region of the CPF-treated females. The cell count was significantly reduced in these sub-regions. The morphological studies showed no obvious abnormalities at PrL and IL of mPFC in the CPF-treated males and females, but the cell count was reduced. Our findings suggest that prenatal CPF exposure at 5mg/kg/d induces selective cognitive impairments, which based on the morphological deficits in the dHPC and the mPFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Ping Chen
- College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chao-Wang Road, Hangzhou 310014, China.
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ValdéS-Cruz AL, Negrete-DíAZ JV, Magdaleno-Madrigal VM, MartíNez-Vargas D, FernáNdez-Mas R, AlmazáN-Alvarado S, Torres-GarcÍA ME, Flores G. Electroencephalographic activity in neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion in adult rats. Synapse 2012; 66:738-46. [DOI: 10.1002/syn.21563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2011] [Accepted: 03/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Abstract
Basic research in animals represents a fruitful approach to study the neurobiological basis of brain and behavioral disturbances relevant to neuropsychiatric disease and to establish and evaluate novel pharmacological therapies for their treatment. In the context of schizophrenia, there are models employing specific experimental manipulations developed according to specific pathophysiological or etiological hypotheses. The use of selective lesions in adult animals and the acute administration of psychotomimetic agents are indispensable tools in the elucidation of the contribution of specific brain regions or neurotransmitters to the genesis of a specific symptom or collection of symptoms and enjoy some degrees of predictive validity. However, they may be inaccurate, if not inadequate, in capturing the etiological mechanisms or ontology of the disease needed for a complete understanding of the disease and may be limited in the discovery of novel compounds for the treatment of negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Under the prevailing consensus of schizophrenia as a disease of neurodevelopmental origin, we have seen the establishment of neurodevelopmental animal models which aim to identify the etiological processes whereby the brain, following specific triggering events, develops into a "schizophrenia-like brain" over time. Many neurodevelopmental models such as the neonatal ventral hippocampus (vHPC) lesion, methylazoxymethanol (MAM), and prenatal immune activation models can mimic a broad spectrum of behavioral, cognitive, and pharmacological abnormalities directly implicated in schizophrenic disease. These models allow pharmacological screens against multiple and coexisting schizophrenia-related dysfunctions while incorporating the disease-relevant concept of abnormal brain development. The multiplicity of existing models is testimonial to the multifactorial nature of schizophrenia, and there are ample opportunities for their integration. Indeed, one ultimate goal must be to incorporate the successes of distinct models into one unitary account of the complex disorder of schizophrenia and to use such unitary approaches in the further development and evaluation of novel antipsychotic treatment strategies.
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Transient inactivation of the neonatal ventral hippocampus permanently disrupts the mesolimbic regulation of prefrontal cholinergic transmission: implications for schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2011; 36:2477-87. [PMID: 21814184 PMCID: PMC3194075 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2011.136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
These experiments determined the mesolimbic modulation of cortical cholinergic transmission in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Mesolimbic-cholinergic abnormalities are hypothesized to contribute to the cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia. Stimulation of NMDA receptors in nucleus accumbens (NAC) increases acetylcholine (ACh) release in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a mechanism recently demonstrated to contribute to the control of attentional performance. We determined the ability of intra-NAC administration of NMDA to increase prefrontal ACh levels in adult rats that had received bilateral infusions of tetrodotoxin (TTX) to transiently interrupt impulse flow in the ventral hippocampus (VH) during development. Rats received infusions of TTX or saline on postnatal day 7 (PD7) or day 32 (PD32), and the effects of NAC NMDA receptor stimulation on prefrontal cholinergic neurotransmission were assessed in adulthood. In animals treated as controls on PD7, NMDA increased prefrontal ACh levels by 121% above baseline. In contrast, PD7 infusions of TTX into the VH abolished the ability of NAC NMDA to activate prefrontal cholinergic neurotransmission (7% increase). In animals that received TTX infusions on PD32, NMDA-evoked cholinergic activity did not differ from controls, indicating a restricted, neonatal critical period during which VH TTX impacts the organization of mesolimbic-basal forebrain-cortical circuitry. Importantly, the failure of NAC NMDA to evoke cholinergic activity in rats treated with TTX on PD7 did not reflect a reduced excitability of corticopetal cholinergic neurons because administration of amphetamine produced similar elevations of prefrontal ACh levels in PD7 TTX and PD7 control animals. A third series of experiments demonstrated that the effects of PD7 TTX are a specific consequence of transient disruption of impulse flow in the VH. Intra-NAC NMDA evoked prefrontal ACh release in rats receiving TTX, on PD7, into the dorsal hippocampus (DH), basolateral amygdala, or NAC. Thus, impulse flow specifically within the VH, during a sensitive period of development, is necessary for the functional organization of a mesolimbic-cortical circuit known to mediate attentional control processes. Therefore, neonatal inactivation of VH represents an effective animal model for studying the basis of certain cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.
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Jones CA, Watson DJG, Fone KCF. Animal models of schizophrenia. Br J Pharmacol 2011; 164:1162-94. [PMID: 21449915 PMCID: PMC3229756 DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01386.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 532] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2010] [Revised: 03/09/2011] [Accepted: 03/12/2011] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Developing reliable, predictive animal models for complex psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, is essential to increase our understanding of the neurobiological basis of the disorder and for the development of novel drugs with improved therapeutic efficacy. All available animal models of schizophrenia fit into four different induction categories: developmental, drug-induced, lesion or genetic manipulation, and the best characterized examples of each type are reviewed herein. Most rodent models have behavioural phenotype changes that resemble 'positive-like' symptoms of schizophrenia, probably reflecting altered mesolimbic dopamine function, but fewer models also show altered social interaction, and learning and memory impairment, analogous to negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia respectively. The negative and cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are resistant to treatment with current antipsychotics, even after remission of the psychosis, which limits their therapeutic efficacy. The MATRICS initiative developed a consensus on the core cognitive deficits of schizophrenic patients, and recommended a standardized test battery to evaluate them. More recently, work has begun to identify specific rodent behavioural tasks with translational relevance to specific cognitive domains affected in schizophrenia, and where available this review focuses on reporting the effect of current and potential antipsychotics on these tasks. The review also highlights the need to develop more comprehensive animal models that more adequately replicate deficits in negative and cognitive symptoms. Increasing information on the neurochemical and structural CNS changes accompanying each model will also help assess treatments that prevent the development of schizophrenia rather than treating the symptoms, another pivotal change required to enable new more effective therapeutic strategies to be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Jones
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Brenhouse HC, Andersen SL. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory treatment prevents delayed effects of early life stress in rats. Biol Psychiatry 2011; 70:434-40. [PMID: 21679927 PMCID: PMC5237809 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2011] [Revised: 04/28/2011] [Accepted: 05/05/2011] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early developmental insults can cause dysfunction within parvalbumin (PVB)-containing interneurons in the prefrontal cortex. The neuropsychiatric disorders associated with such dysfunction might involve neuroinflammatory processes. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key mediator of inflammation and is therefore a potential target for preventive treatment. Here, we investigated whether the developmental trajectories of PVB expression and COX-2 induction in the prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex are altered after maternal separation stress in male rats. METHODS Male rat pups were separated from their mother and littermates for 4 hours/day between postnatal Days 2 and 20. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze PVB and COX-2 expression in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. A separate cohort of animals was treated with a COX-2 inhibitor during preadolescence and analyzed for PVB, COX-2, and working memory performance. RESULTS We demonstrate that maternal separation causes a reduction of PVB and an increase in COX-2 expression in the prefrontal cortex in adolescence, with concurrent working memory deficits. Parvalbumin was not affected earlier in development. Prophylactic COX-2 inhibition preadolescence prevents PVB loss and improves working memory deficits induced by maternal separation. CONCLUSIONS These data are the first to show a preventive pharmacological intervention for the delayed effects of early life stress on prefrontal cortex interneurons and working memory. Our results suggest a possible mechanism for the relationship between early life stress and interneuron dysfunction in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather C Brenhouse
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropharmacology, McLean Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.
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O'Donnell P. Cortical disinhibition in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia: new vistas on possible therapeutic approaches. Pharmacol Ther 2011; 133:19-25. [PMID: 21839776 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2011.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2011] [Accepted: 07/19/2011] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion (NVHL) model of schizophrenia has been extensively used in many laboratories over the past couple of decades. With more than 120 publications from over 15 research groups, this developmental model yields a number of schizophrenia-relevant behavioral, neurochemical and electrophysiological deficits. An important aspect of this model is the delayed emergence of alterations, typically during adolescence despite the manipulation that causes them having been performed during the first postnatal week. Such delayed timing reflects the periadolescent onset of schizophrenia symptoms and may be related to the protracted maturation of cortical circuits, affected in both the disease and the NVHL model. Here, I will review the work we have done regarding the maturation of prefrontal cortical-accumbens circuits during adolescence, and how this maturation is affected in rats with a NVHL. One of the principal elements affected in NVHL rats is the dopamine modulation of prefrontal cortical interneurons, and this finding is convergent with data from many other developmental, genetic and pharmacological models. An altered maturation of interneuron function would yield a disinhibited cortex, and this opens the way to novel therapeutic approaches for treatment and even prevention of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricio O'Donnell
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, United States.
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Brennaman LH, Kochlamazashvili G, Stoenica L, Nonneman RJ, Moy SS, Schachner M, Dityatev A, Maness PF. Transgenic mice overexpressing the extracellular domain of NCAM are impaired in working memory and cortical plasticity. Neurobiol Dis 2011; 43:372-8. [PMID: 21515372 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2011.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2010] [Revised: 03/31/2011] [Accepted: 04/10/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, is a pivotal regulator of neural development, with key roles in axonal and dendritic growth and synaptic plasticity. Alterations in NCAM expression or proteolytic cleavage have been linked to human neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease, and may contribute to cognitive dysfunction. We have generated mice overexpressing the NCAM extracellular (EC) proteolytic cleavage fragment which has been reported to be increased in schizophrenic versus normal brains. These mice show impaired GABAergic innervation and reduced number of apical dendritic spines on pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, these NCAM-EC transgenic mice were subjected to behavioral tasks and electrophysiological measurements to determine the impact of structural abnormalities in the PFC on synaptic and cognitive functions. NCAM-EC mice exhibited impaired working memory in a delayed non-match-to-sample task, which requires PFC function, but showed no differences in anxiety, olfactory abilities, or sociability. Transgenic mice displayed impaired long- and short-term potentiation in the PFC but normal synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, suggesting that the abnormal synaptic innervation in NCAM-EC mice impairs PFC plasticity and alters working memory. These findings may have implications for cognitive dysfunctions observed in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leann H Brennaman
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UNC Schizophrenia Research Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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