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Davies C, Bossong MG, Martins D, Wilson R, Appiah-Kusi E, Blest-Hopley G, Zelaya F, Allen P, Brammer M, Perez J, McGuire P, Bhattacharyya S. Increased hippocampal blood flow in people at clinical high risk for psychosis and effects of cannabidiol. Psychol Med 2024; 54:993-1003. [PMID: 37845827 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723002775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hippocampal hyperperfusion has been observed in people at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR), is associated with adverse longitudinal outcomes and represents a potential treatment target for novel pharmacotherapies. Whether cannabidiol (CBD) has ameliorative effects on hippocampal blood flow (rCBF) in CHR patients remains unknown. METHODS Using a double-blind, parallel-group design, 33 CHR patients were randomized to a single oral 600 mg dose of CBD or placebo; 19 healthy controls did not receive any drug. Hippocampal rCBF was measured using Arterial Spin Labeling. We examined differences relating to CHR status (controls v. placebo), effects of CBD in CHR (placebo v. CBD) and linear between-group relationships, such that placebo > CBD > controls or controls > CBD > placebo, using a combination of hypothesis-driven and exploratory wholebrain analyses. RESULTS Placebo-treated patients had significantly higher hippocampal rCBF bilaterally (all pFWE<0.01) compared to healthy controls. There were no suprathreshold effects in the CBD v. placebo contrast. However, we found a significant linear relationship in the right hippocampus (pFWE = 0.035) such that rCBF was highest in the placebo group, lowest in controls and intermediate in the CBD group. Exploratory wholebrain results replicated previous findings of hyperperfusion in the hippocampus, striatum and midbrain in CHR patients, and provided novel evidence of increased rCBF in inferior-temporal and lateral-occipital regions in patients under CBD compared to placebo. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that hippocampal blood flow is elevated in the CHR state and may be partially normalized by a single dose of CBD. CBD therefore merits further investigation as a potential novel treatment for this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Davies
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Matthijs G Bossong
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel Martins
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Robin Wilson
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth Appiah-Kusi
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Grace Blest-Hopley
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Paul Allen
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Brammer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Jesus Perez
- CAMEO Early Intervention Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Institute of Biomedical Research (IBSAL), Department of Medicine, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Sagnik Bhattacharyya
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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Roeske MJ, McHugo M, Rogers B, Armstrong K, Avery S, Donahue M, Heckers S. Modulation of hippocampal activity in schizophrenia with levetiracetam: a randomized, double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:681-689. [PMID: 37833590 PMCID: PMC10876634 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01730-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Hippocampal hyperactivity is a novel pharmacological target in the treatment of schizophrenia. We hypothesized that levetiracetam (LEV), a drug binding to the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 A, normalizes hippocampal activity in persons with schizophrenia and can be measured using neuroimaging methods. Thirty healthy control participants and 30 patients with schizophrenia (28 treated with antipsychotic drugs), were randomly assigned to a double-blind, cross-over trial to receive a single administration of 500 mg oral LEV or placebo during two study visits. At each visit, we assessed hippocampal function using resting state fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF), cerebral blood flow (CBF) with arterial spin labeling, and hippocampal blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal during a scene processing task. After placebo treatment, we found significant elevations in hippocampal fALFF in patients with schizophrenia, consistent with hippocampal hyperactivity. Additionally, hippocampal fALFF in patients with schizophrenia after LEV treatment did not significantly differ from healthy control participants receiving placebo, suggesting that LEV may normalize hippocampal hyperactivity. In contrast to our fALFF findings, we did not detect significant group differences or an effect of LEV treatment on hippocampal CBF. In the context of no significant group difference in BOLD signal, we found that hippocampal recruitment during scene processing is enhanced by LEV more significantly in schizophrenia. We conclude that pharmacological modulation of hippocampal hyperactivity in schizophrenia can be studied with some neuroimaging methods, but not others. Additional studies in different cohorts, employing alternate neuroimaging methods and study designs, are needed to establish levetiracetam as a treatment for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J Roeske
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Baxter Rogers
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Sciences, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Suzanne Avery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Manus Donahue
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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3
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McHugo M, Roeske MJ, Vandekar SN, Armstrong K, Avery SN, Heckers S. Smaller anterior hippocampal subfields in the early stage of psychosis. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:69. [PMID: 38296964 PMCID: PMC10830481 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02719-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal volume is smaller in schizophrenia, but it is unclear when in the illness the changes appear and whether specific regions (anterior, posterior) and subfields (CA1, CA2/3, dentate gyrus, subiculum) are affected. Here, we used a high-resolution T2-weighted sequence specialized for imaging hippocampal subfields to test the hypothesis that anterior CA1 volume is lower in early psychosis. We measured subfield volumes across hippocampal regions in a group of 90 individuals in the early stage of a non-affective psychotic disorder and 70 demographically similar healthy individuals. We observed smaller volume in the anterior CA1 and dentate gyrus subfields in the early psychosis group. Our findings support models that implicate anterior CA1 and dentate gyrus subfield deficits in the mechanism of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Maxwell J Roeske
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Simon N Vandekar
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Suzanne N Avery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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4
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Farsi Z, Nicolella A, Simmons SK, Aryal S, Shepard N, Brenner K, Lin S, Herzog L, Moran SP, Stalnaker KJ, Shin W, Gazestani V, Song BJ, Bonanno K, Keshishian H, Carr SA, Pan JQ, Macosko EZ, Datta SR, Dejanovic B, Kim E, Levin JZ, Sheng M. Brain-region-specific changes in neurons and glia and dysregulation of dopamine signaling in Grin2a mutant mice. Neuron 2023; 111:3378-3396.e9. [PMID: 37657442 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
A genetically valid animal model could transform our understanding of schizophrenia (SCZ) disease mechanisms. Rare heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in GRIN2A, encoding a subunit of the NMDA receptor, greatly increase the risk of SCZ. By transcriptomic, proteomic, and behavioral analyses, we report that heterozygous Grin2a mutant mice show (1) large-scale gene expression changes across multiple brain regions and in neuronal (excitatory and inhibitory) and non-neuronal cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), (2) evidence of hypoactivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hyperactivity in the hippocampus and striatum, (3) an elevated dopamine signaling in the striatum and hypersensitivity to amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (AIH), (4) altered cholesterol biosynthesis in astrocytes, (5) a reduction in glutamatergic receptor signaling proteins in the synapse, and (6) an aberrant locomotor pattern opposite of that induced by antipsychotic drugs. These findings reveal potential pathophysiologic mechanisms, provide support for both the "hypo-glutamate" and "hyper-dopamine" hypotheses of SCZ, and underscore the utility of Grin2a-deficient mice as a genetic model of SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohreh Farsi
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Ally Nicolella
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sean K Simmons
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sameer Aryal
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nate Shepard
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kira Brenner
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sherry Lin
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Linnea Herzog
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sean P Moran
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Katherine J Stalnaker
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Wangyong Shin
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Vahid Gazestani
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bryan J Song
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kevin Bonanno
- Proteomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Hasmik Keshishian
- Proteomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Steven A Carr
- Proteomics Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jen Q Pan
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Evan Z Macosko
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Borislav Dejanovic
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eunjoon Kim
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, South Korea; Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Joshua Z Levin
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Morgan Sheng
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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5
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Farmer CB, Roach EL, Bice LR, Falgout ME, Mata KG, Roche JK, Roberts RC. Excitatory and inhibitory imbalances in the trisynaptic pathway in the hippocampus in schizophrenia: a postmortem ultrastructural study. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2023; 130:949-965. [PMID: 37193867 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-023-02650-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A preponderance of evidence suggests that the hippocampus is a key region of dysfunction in schizophrenia. Neuroimaging and other studies indicate a relationship between hippocampal dysfunction and the degree of psychosis. Clinical data indicate hyperactivity in the hippocampus that precedes the onset of psychosis, and is correlated with symptom severity. In this study, we sought to identify circuitry at the electron microscopic level that could contribute to region-specific imbalances in excitation and inhibition in the hippocampus in schizophrenia. We used postmortem tissue from the anterior hippocampus from patients with schizophrenia and matched controls. Using stereological techniques, we counted and measured synapses, postsynaptic densities (PSDs), and evaluated size, number and optical density of mitochondria and parvalbumin-containing interneurons in key nodes of the trisynaptic pathway. Compared to controls, the schizophrenia group had decreased numbers of inhibitory synapses in CA3 and increased numbers of excitatory synapses in CA1; together, this indicates deficits in inhibition and an increase in excitation. The thickness of the PSD was larger in excitatory synapses in CA1, suggesting greater synaptic strength. In the schizophrenia group, there were fewer mitochondria in the dentate gyrus and a decrease in the optical density, a measure of functional integrity, in CA1. The number and optical density of parvalbumin interneurons were lower in CA3. The results suggest region-specific increases in excitatory circuitry, decreases in inhibitory neurotransmission and fewer or damaged mitochondria. These results are consistent with the hyperactivity observed in the hippocampus in schizophrenia in previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlene B Farmer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Erica L Roach
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Lily R Bice
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Madeleine E Falgout
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Kattia G Mata
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Joy K Roche
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Rosalinda C Roberts
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center 835C, 1720 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
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6
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Heckers S, Konradi C. Animal Model Reveals Mechanism of Hippocampal Hyperactivity in Psychosis. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:546-548. [PMID: 36864639 PMCID: PMC10154702 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbad025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Christine Konradi
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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7
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Kiemes A, Serrano Navacerrada ME, Kim E, Randall K, Simmons C, Rojo Gonzalez L, Petrinovic MM, Lythgoe DJ, Rotaru D, Di Censo D, Hirschler L, Barbier EL, Vernon AC, Stone JM, Davies C, Cash D, Modinos G. Erbb4 Deletion From Inhibitory Interneurons Causes Psychosis-Relevant Neuroimaging Phenotypes. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:569-580. [PMID: 36573631 PMCID: PMC10154722 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Converging lines of evidence suggest that dysfunction of cortical GABAergic inhibitory interneurons is a core feature of psychosis. This dysfunction is thought to underlie neuroimaging abnormalities commonly found in patients with psychosis, particularly in the hippocampus. These include increases in resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) and glutamatergic metabolite levels, and decreases in ligand binding to GABAA α5 receptors and to the synaptic density marker synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A). However, direct links between inhibitory interneuron dysfunction and these neuroimaging readouts are yet to be established. Conditional deletion of a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, the tyrosine kinase receptor Erbb4, from cortical and hippocampal inhibitory interneurons leads to synaptic defects, and behavioral and cognitive phenotypes relevant to psychosis in mice. STUDY DESIGN Here, we investigated how this inhibitory interneuron disruption affects hippocampal in vivo neuroimaging readouts. Adult Erbb4 conditional mutant mice (Lhx6-Cre;Erbb4F/F, n = 12) and their wild-type littermates (Erbb4F/F, n = 12) were scanned in a 9.4T magnetic resonance scanner to quantify CBF and glutamatergic metabolite levels (glutamine, glutamate, GABA). Subsequently, we assessed GABAA receptors and SV2A density using quantitative autoradiography. RESULTS Erbb4 mutant mice showed significantly elevated ventral hippccampus CBF and glutamine levels, and decreased SV2A density across hippocampus sub-regions compared to wild-type littermates. No significant GABAA receptor density differences were identified. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that specific disruption of cortical inhibitory interneurons in mice recapitulate some of the key neuroimaging findings in patients with psychosis, and link inhibitory interneuron deficits to non-invasive measures of brain function and neurochemistry that can be used across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Kiemes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Maria Elisa Serrano Navacerrada
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Eugene Kim
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Karen Randall
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Camilla Simmons
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Loreto Rojo Gonzalez
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Marija-Magdalena Petrinovic
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - David J Lythgoe
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Diana Rotaru
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Davide Di Censo
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lydiane Hirschler
- C.J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France
| | - Emmanuel L Barbier
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France
| | - Anthony C Vernon
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - James M Stone
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Cathy Davies
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Diana Cash
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Neuroimaging, School of Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, UK
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8
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Wen J, Zellner A, Braun NC, Bajaj T, Gassen NC, Peitz M, Brüstle O. Loss of function of FIP200 in human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons leads to axonal pathology and hyperactivity. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:143. [PMID: 37137886 PMCID: PMC10156752 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02432-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
FIP200 plays important roles in homeostatic processes such as autophagy and signaling pathways such as focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling. Furthermore, genetic studies suggest an association of FIP200 mutations with psychiatric disorders. However, its potential connections to psychiatric disorders and specific roles in human neurons are not clear. We set out to establish a human-specific model to study the functional consequences of neuronal FIP200 deficiency. To this end, we generated two independent sets of isogenic human pluripotent stem cell lines with homozygous FIP200KO alleles, which were then used for the derivation of glutamatergic neurons via forced expression of NGN2. FIP200KO neurons exhibited pathological axonal swellings, showed autophagy deficiency, and subsequently elevated p62 protein levels. Moreover, monitoring the electrophysiological activity of neuronal cultures on multi-electrode arrays revealed that FIP200KO resulted in a hyperactive network. This hyperactivity could be abolished by glutamatergic receptor antagonist CNQX, suggesting a strengthened glutamatergic synaptic activation in FIP200KO neurons. Furthermore, cell surface proteomic analysis revealed metabolic dysregulation and abnormal cell adhesion-related processes in FIP200KO neurons. Interestingly, an ULK1/2-specific autophagy inhibitor could recapitulate axonal swellings and hyperactivity in wild-type neurons, whereas inhibition of FAK signaling was able to normalize the hyperactivity of FIP200KO neurons. These results suggest that impaired autophagy and presumably also disinhibition of FAK can contribute to the hyperactivity of FIP200KO neuronal networks, whereas pathological axonal swellings are primarily due to autophagy deficiency. Taken together, our study reveals the consequences of FIP200 deficiency in induced human glutamatergic neurons, which might, in the end, help to understand cellular pathomechanisms contributing to neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianbin Wen
- Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medicine and Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Andreas Zellner
- Research Group Neurohomeostasis, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Nils Christian Braun
- Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Thomas Bajaj
- Research Group Neurohomeostasis, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Nils Christian Gassen
- Research Group Neurohomeostasis, Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michael Peitz
- Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
- Cell Programming Core Facility, University of Bonn Medical Faculty, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Oliver Brüstle
- Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Faculty & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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9
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Nelson EA, Kraguljac NV, Maximo JO, Armstrong W, Lahti AC. Hippocampal Hyperconnectivity to the Visual Cortex Predicts Treatment Response. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:605-613. [PMID: 36752830 PMCID: PMC10154738 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging lines of evidence point to hippocampal dysfunction in psychosis spectrum disorders, including altered functional connectivity. Evidence also suggests that antipsychotic medications can modulate hippocampal dysfunction. The goal of this project was to identify patterns of hippocampal connectivity predictive of response to antipsychotic treatment in 2 cohorts of patients with a psychosis spectrum disorder, one medication-naïve and the other one unmedicated. HYPOTHESIS We hypothesized that we would identify reliable patterns of hippocampal connectivity in the 2 cohorts that were predictive of treatment response and that medications would modulate abnormal hippocampal connectivity after 6 weeks of treatment. STUDY DESIGN We used a prospective design to collect resting-state fMRI scans prior to antipsychotic treatment and after 6 weeks of treatment with risperidone, a commonly used antipsychotic medication, in both cohorts. We enrolled 44 medication-naïve first-episode psychosis patients (FEP) and 39 unmedicated patients with schizophrenia (SZ). STUDY RESULTS In both patient cohorts, we observed a similar pattern where greater hippocampal connectivity to regions of the occipital cortex was predictive of treatment response. Lower hippocampal connectivity of the frontal pole, orbitofrontal cortex, subcallosal area, and medial prefrontal cortex was predictive of treatment response in unmedicated SZ, but not in the medication-naïve cohort. Furthermore, greater reduction in hippocampal connectivity to the visual cortex with treatment was associated with better clinical response. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that greater connectivity between the hippocampus and occipital cortex is not only predictive of better treatment response, but that antipsychotic medications have a modulatory effect by reducing hyperconnectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A Nelson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Nina V Kraguljac
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Jose O Maximo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - William Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Adrienne C Lahti
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
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Guo J, Rothman DL, Small SA. Why Hippocampal Glutamate Levels Are Elevated in Schizophrenia. JAMA Psychiatry 2023; 80:274-275. [PMID: 36696108 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
This article discusses why glutamate levels are abnormally elevated in the hippocampus of patients with schizophrenia and related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Guo
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Douglas L Rothman
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Scott A Small
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
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11
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McHugo M, Avery S, Armstrong K, Rogers BP, Vandekar SN, Woodward ND, Blackford JU, Heckers S. Anterior hippocampal dysfunction in early psychosis: a 2-year follow-up study. Psychol Med 2023; 53:160-169. [PMID: 33875028 PMCID: PMC8919704 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721001318] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cross-sectional studies indicate that hippocampal function is abnormal across stages of psychosis. Neural theories of psychosis pathophysiology suggest that dysfunction worsens with illness stage. Here, we test the hypothesis that hippocampal function is impaired in the early stage of psychosis and declines further over the next 2 years. METHODS We measured hippocampal function over 2 years using a scene processing task in 147 participants (76 individuals in the early stage of a non-affective psychotic disorder and 71 demographically similar healthy control individuals). Two-year follow-up was completed in 97 individuals (50 early psychosis, 47 healthy control). Voxelwise longitudinal analysis of activation in response to scenes was carried out within a hippocampal region of interest to test for group differences at baseline and a group by time interaction. RESULTS At baseline, we observed lower anterior hippocampal activation in the early psychosis group relative to the healthy control group. Contrary to our hypothesis, hippocampal activation remained consistent and did not show the predicted decline over 2 years in the early psychosis group. Healthy controls showed a modest reduction in hippocampal activation after 2 years. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that hippocampal dysfunction in early psychosis does not worsen over 2 years and highlight the need for longer-term longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Suzanne Avery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Baxter P. Rogers
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Sciences, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Simon N. Vandekar
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Neil D. Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jennifer Urbano Blackford
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Research and Development, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, United States Department of Veteran Affairs
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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12
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Iseli GC, Ulrich S, Schmidt A. Elucidating gut microbiota-hippocampus interactions in emerging psychosis: A new perspective for the development of early interventions for memory impairments. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1098019. [PMID: 37032923 PMCID: PMC10076719 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1098019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal dysregulation might be a key pathophysiological factor for memory impairments in psychosis. Contemporary models particularly postulate that an imbalance of hippocampal glutamate and GABA leads to impaired memory and may thus serve as a therapeutic target to improve memory deficits. However, currently available interventions in early stages of psychosis do not explicitly target hippocampal pathology. A novel approach for manipulating hippocampus-dependent memory processes is provided via the gut microbiota. In this perspective article, we first recapitulate compelling evidence for emerging hippocampus pathology during the development of psychosis. The following sections emphasize the critical role of the gut microbiota in hippocampus plasticity and memory, and summarize existing evidence of gut microbiota alterations in different stages of psychosis. Finally, we propose a novel conceptual roadmap for future studies deciphering gut microbiota-hippocampus synergisms in emerging psychosis and argue that specific microbial supplementation might be promising for improving hippocampus-dependent memory deficits in early stages of psychosis.
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13
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Structural and Functional Deviations of the Hippocampus in Schizophrenia and Schizophrenia Animal Models. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23105482. [PMID: 35628292 PMCID: PMC9143100 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a grave neuropsychiatric disease which frequently onsets between the end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood. It is characterized by a variety of neuropsychiatric abnormalities which are categorized into positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. Most therapeutical strategies address the positive symptoms by antagonizing D2-dopamine-receptors (DR). However, negative and cognitive symptoms persist and highly impair the life quality of patients due to their disabling effects. Interestingly, hippocampal deviations are a hallmark of schizophrenia and can be observed in early as well as advanced phases of the disease progression. These alterations are commonly accompanied by a rise in neuronal activity. Therefore, hippocampal formation plays an important role in the manifestation of schizophrenia. Furthermore, studies with animal models revealed a link between environmental risk factors and morphological as well as electrophysiological abnormalities in the hippocampus. Here, we review recent findings on structural and functional hippocampal abnormalities in schizophrenic patients and in schizophrenia animal models, and we give an overview on current experimental approaches that especially target the hippocampus. A better understanding of hippocampal aberrations in schizophrenia might clarify their impact on the manifestation and on the outcome of this severe disease.
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14
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McHugo M, Rogers BP, Avery SN, Armstrong K, Blackford JU, Vandekar SN, Roeske MJ, Woodward ND, Heckers S. Increased amplitude of hippocampal low frequency fluctuations in early psychosis: A two-year follow-up study. Schizophr Res 2022; 241:260-266. [PMID: 35180665 PMCID: PMC8960358 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have revealed hippocampal hyperactivity in schizophrenia. In the early stage of the illness, hyperactivity is present in the anterior hippocampus and is thought to spread to other regions as the illness progresses. However, there is limited evidence for changes in basal hippocampal function following the onset of psychosis. Resting state functional MRI signal amplitude may be a proxy measure for increased metabolism and disrupted oscillatory activity, both consequences of an excitation/inhibition imbalance underlying hippocampal hyperactivity. Here, we used fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) to test the hypothesis of progressive hippocampal hyperactivity in a two-year longitudinal case-control study. We found higher fALFF in the anterior and posterior hippocampus of individuals in the early stage of non-affective psychosis at study entry. Contrary to our hypothesis of progressive hippocampal dysfunction, we found evidence for normalization of fALFF over time in psychosis. Our findings support a model in which hippocampal fALFF is a marker of psychosis vulnerability or acute illness state rather than an enduring feature of the illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Baxter P. Rogers
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Sciences, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Suzanne N. Avery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Simon N. Vandekar
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Maxwell J. Roeske
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Neil D. Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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15
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Zhang J, Navarrete M, Wu Y, Zhou Y. 14-3-3 Dysfunction in Dorsal Hippocampus CA1 (dCA1) Induces Psychomotor Behavior via a dCA1-Lateral Septum-Ventral Tegmental Area Pathway. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:817227. [PMID: 35237127 PMCID: PMC8882652 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.817227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
While hippocampal hyperactivity is implicated in psychosis by both human and animal studies, whether it induces a hyperdopaminergic state and the underlying neural circuitry remains elusive. Previous studies established that region-specific inhibition of 14-3-3 proteins in the dorsal hippocampus CA1 (dCA1) induces schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice, including a novelty-induced locomotor hyperactivity. In this study, we showed that 14-3-3 dysfunction in the dCA1 over-activates ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons, and such over-activation is necessary for eliciting psychomotor behavior in mice. We demonstrated that such hippocampal dysregulation of the VTA during psychomotor behavior is dependent on an over-activation of the lateral septum (LS), given that inhibition of the LS attenuates over-activation of dopaminergic neurons and psychomotor behavior induced by 14-3-3 inhibition in the dCA1. Moreover, 14-3-3 inhibition-induced neuronal activations within the dCA1-LS-VTA pathway and psychomotor behavior can be reproduced by direct chemogenetic activation of LS-projecting dCA1 neurons. Collectively, these results suggest that 14-3-3 dysfunction in the dCA1 results in hippocampal hyperactivation which leads to psychomotor behavior via a dCA1-LS-VTA pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Yi Zhou
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, United States
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16
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Kiemes A, Gomes FV, Cash D, Uliana DL, Simmons C, Singh N, Vernon AC, Turkheimer F, Davies C, Stone JM, Grace AA, Modinos G. GABA A and NMDA receptor density alterations and their behavioral correlates in the gestational methylazoxymethanol acetate model for schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:687-695. [PMID: 34743200 PMCID: PMC8782908 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01213-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Hippocampal hyperactivity driven by GABAergic interneuron deficits and NMDA receptor hypofunction is associated with the hyperdopaminergic state often observed in schizophrenia. Furthermore, previous research in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rat model has demonstrated that repeated peripubertal diazepam administration can prevent the emergence of adult hippocampal hyperactivity, dopamine-system hyperactivity, and associated psychosis-relevant behaviors. Here, we sought to characterize hippocampal GABAA and NMDA receptors in MAM-treated rats and to elucidate the receptor mechanisms underlying the promising effects of peripubertal diazepam exposure. Quantitative receptor autoradiography was used to measure receptor density in the dorsal hippocampus CA1, ventral hippocampus CA1, and ventral subiculum. Specifically, [3H]-Ro15-4513 was used to quantify the density of α5GABAA receptors (α5GABAAR), [3H]-flumazenil to quantify α1-3;5GABAAR, and [3H]-MK801 to quantify NMDA receptors. MAM rats exhibited anxiety and schizophrenia-relevant behaviors as measured by elevated plus maze and amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (AIH), although diazepam only partially rescued these behaviors. α5GABAAR density was reduced in MAM-treated rats in all hippocampal sub-regions, and negatively correlated with AIH. Ventral hippocampus CA1 α5GABAAR density was positively correlated with anxiety-like behavior. Dorsal hippocampus CA1 NMDA receptor density was increased in MAM-treated rats, and positively correlated with AIH. [3H]-flumazenil revealed no significant effects. Finally, we found no significant effect of diazepam treatment on receptor densities, potentially related to the only partial rescue of schizophrenia-relevant phenotypes. Overall, our findings provide first evidence of α5GABAAR and NMDA receptor abnormalities in the MAM model, suggesting that more selective pharmacological agents may become a novel therapeutic mechanism in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Kiemes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Felipe V Gomes
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Diana Cash
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Daniela L Uliana
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Camilla Simmons
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Nisha Singh
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Anthony C Vernon
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Federico Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Cathy Davies
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - James M Stone
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
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17
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Corripio I, Roldán A, McKenna P, Sarró S, Alonso-Solís A, Salgado L, Álvarez E, Molet J, Pomarol-Clotet E, Portella M. Target selection for deep brain stimulation in treatment resistant schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 112:110436. [PMID: 34517055 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treatment resistant patients with schizophrenia is of considerable current interest, but where to site the electrodes is challenging. This article reviews rationales for electrode placement in schizophrenia based on evidence for localized brain abnormality in the disorder and the targets that have been proposed and employed to date. The nucleus accumbens and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex are of interest on the grounds that they are sites of potential pathologically increased brain activity in schizophrenia and so susceptible to the local inhibitory effects of DBS; both sites have been employed in trials of DBS in schizophrenia. Based on other lines of reasoning, the ventral tegmental area, the substantia nigra pars reticulata and the habenula have also been proposed and in some cases employed. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has not been suggested, probably reflecting evidence that it is underactive rather than overactive in schizophrenia. The hippocampus is also of theoretical interest but there is no clear functional imaging evidence that it shows overactivity in schizophrenia. On current evidence, the nucleus accumbens may represent the strongest candidate for DBS electrode placement in schizophrenia, with the substantia nigra pars reticulata also showing promise in a single case report; the ventral tegmental area is also of potential interest, though it remains untried.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iluminada Corripio
- Psychiatry Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Alexandra Roldán
- Psychiatry Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Peter McKenna
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain.
| | - Salvador Sarró
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Anna Alonso-Solís
- Psychiatry Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Laura Salgado
- Neurosurgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enric Álvarez
- Psychiatry Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Joan Molet
- Neurosurgery Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Edith Pomarol-Clotet
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
| | - Maria Portella
- Psychiatry Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain
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18
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Nelson EA, Kraguljac NV, Maximo JO, Briend F, Armstrong W, Ver Hoef LW, Johnson V, Lahti AC. Hippocampal Dysconnectivity and Altered Glutamatergic Modulation of the Default Mode Network: A Combined Resting-State Connectivity and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study in Schizophrenia. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 7:108-118. [PMID: 32684484 PMCID: PMC7904096 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging lines of evidence point to hippocampal dysfunction in schizophrenia. It is thought that hippocampal dysfunction spreads across hippocampal subfields and to cortical regions by way of long-range efferent projections. Importantly, abnormalities in the excitation/inhibition balance could impair the long-range modulation of neural networks. The goal of this project was twofold. First, we sought to identify replicable patterns of hippocampal dysconnectivity in patients with a psychosis spectrum disorder. Second, we aimed to investigate a putative link between glutamatergic metabolism and hippocampal connectivity alterations. METHODS We evaluated resting-state hippocampal functional connectivity alterations in two cohorts of patients with a psychosis spectrum disorder. The first cohort consisted of 55 medication-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis and 41 matched healthy control subjects, and the second cohort consisted of 42 unmedicated patients with schizophrenia and 41 matched control subjects. We also acquired measurements of glutamate + glutamine in the left hippocampus using magnetic resonance spectroscopy for 42 patients with first-episode psychosis and 37 healthy control subjects from our first cohort. RESULTS We observed a pattern of hippocampal functional hypoconnectivity to regions of the default mode network and hyperconnectivity to the lateral occipital cortex in both cohorts. We also show that in healthy control subjects, greater hippocampal glutamate + glutamine levels predicted greater hippocampal functional connectivity to the anterior default mode network. Furthermore, this relationship was reversed in medication-naïve subjects with first-episode psychosis. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that an alteration in the relationship between glutamate and functional connectivity may disrupt the dynamic of major neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A. Nelson
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Nina V. Kraguljac
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Jose O Maximo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Frederic Briend
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - William Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Lawrence W. Ver Hoef
- Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Victoria Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Adrienne C. Lahti
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.,Correspondence: Adrienne C. Lahti, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sparks Center, Room 501, 1720 7 Ave. S, Birmingham, Al 35233, Telephone: 205-996-6776, Fax: 205-975-4879,
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19
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Lee D, Seo J, Jeong HC, Lee H, Lee SB. The Perspectives of Early Diagnosis of Schizophrenia Through the Detection of Epigenomics-Based Biomarkers in iPSC-Derived Neurons. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:756613. [PMID: 34867186 PMCID: PMC8633873 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.756613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of early diagnostic biomarkers for schizophrenia greatly limits treatment options that deliver therapeutic agents to affected cells at a timely manner. While previous schizophrenia biomarker research has identified various biological signals that are correlated with certain diseases, their reliability and practicality as an early diagnostic tool remains unclear. In this article, we discuss the use of atypical epigenetic and/or consequent transcriptional alterations (ETAs) as biomarkers of early-stage schizophrenia. Furthermore, we review the viability of discovering and applying these biomarkers through the use of cutting-edge technologies such as human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons, brain models, and single-cell level analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davin Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Jinsoo Seo
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Hae Chan Jeong
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Hyosang Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Sung Bae Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea
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20
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Mnemonic Discrimination Deficits in First-Episode Psychosis and a Ketamine Model Suggest Dentate Gyrus Pathology Linked to NMDA Receptor Hypofunction. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 6:1185-1192. [PMID: 34649019 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging evidence from neuroimaging and postmortem studies suggests that hippocampal subfields are differentially affected in schizophrenia. Recent studies report dentate gyrus dysfunction in chronic schizophrenia, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we sought to examine if this deficit is already present in first-episode psychosis and if NMDA receptor hypofunction, a putative central pathophysiological mechanism in schizophrenia, experimentally induced by ketamine, would result in a similar abnormality. METHODS We applied a mnemonic discrimination task selectively taxing pattern separation in two experiments: 1) a group of 23 patients with first-episode psychosis and 23 matched healthy volunteers and 2) a group of 19 healthy volunteers before and during a ketamine challenge (0.27 mg/kg over 10 min, then 0.25 mg/kg/hour for 50 min, 0.01 mL/s). We calculated response bias-corrected pattern separation and recognition scores. We also examined the relationships between task performance and symptom severity as well as ketamine levels. RESULTS We reported a deficit in pattern separation performance in patients with first-episode psychosis compared with healthy volunteers (p = .04) and in volunteers during the ketamine challenge compared with baseline (p = .003). Pattern recognition was lower in patients with first-episode psychosis than in control subjects (p < .01). Exploratory analyses revealed no correlation between task performance and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status total scores or positive symptoms in patients with first-episode psychosis or with ketamine serum levels. CONCLUSIONS We observed a mnemonic discrimination deficit in both datasets. Our findings suggest a tentative mechanistic link between dentate gyrus dysfunction in first-episode psychosis and NMDA receptor hypofunction.
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21
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Modeling intrahippocampal effects of anterior hippocampal hyperactivity relevant to schizophrenia using chemogenetic excitation of long axis-projecting mossy cells in the mouse dentate gyrus. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 1:101-111. [PMID: 34414387 PMCID: PMC8372626 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The anterior hippocampus of individuals with early psychosis or schizophrenia is hyperactive, as is the ventral hippocampus in many rodent models for schizophrenia risk. Mossy cells (MCs) of the ventral dentate gyrus (DG) densely project in the hippocampal long axis, targeting both dorsal DG granule cells and inhibitory interneurons. MCs are responsive to stimulation throughout hippocampal subfields and thus may be suited to detect hyperactivity in areas where it originates such as CA1. Here, we tested the hypothesis that hyperactivation of ventral MCs activates dorsal DG granule cells to influence dorsal hippocampal function. Methods In CD-1 mice, we targeted dorsal DG-projecting ventral MCs using an adeno-associated virus intersectional strategy. In vivo fiber photometry recording of ventral MCs was performed during exploratory behaviors. We used excitatory chemogenetic constructs to test the effects of ventral MC hyperactivation on long-term spatial memory during an object location memory task. Results Photometry revealed that ventral MCs were activated during exploratory rearing. Ventral MCs made functional monosynaptic inputs to dorsal DG granule cells, and chemogenetic activation of ventral MCs modestly increased activity of dorsal DG granule cells measured by c-Fos. Finally, chemogenetic activation of ventral MCs during the training phase of an object location memory task impaired test performance 24 hours later, without effects on locomotion or object exploration. Conclusions These data suggest that ventral MC activation can directly excite dorsal granule cells and interfere with dorsal DG function, supporting future study of their in vivo activity in animal models for schizophrenia featuring ventral hyperactivity.
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22
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Evermann U, Gaser C, Meller T, Pfarr JK, Grezellschak S, Nenadić I. Nonclinical psychotic-like experiences and schizotypy dimensions: Associations with hippocampal subfield and amygdala volumes. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:5075-5088. [PMID: 34302409 PMCID: PMC8449098 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizotypy and psychotic‐like experiences (PLE) form part of the wider psychosis continuum and may have brain structural correlates in nonclinical cohorts. This study aimed to compare the effects of differential schizotypy dimensions, PLE, and their interaction on hippocampal subfields and amygdala volumes in the absence of clinical psychopathology. In a cohort of 367 psychiatrically healthy individuals, we assessed schizotypal traits using the Oxford‐Liverpool Inventory of Life Experiences (O‐LIFE) and PLE using the short form of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ‐16). Based on high‐resolution structural MRI scans, we used automated segmentation to estimate volumes of limbic structures. Sex and total intracranial volume (Step 1), PLE and schizotypy dimensions (Step 2), and their interaction terms (Step 3) were entered as regressors for bilateral amygdala and hippocampal subfield volumes in hierarchical multiple linear regression models. Positive schizotypy, but not PLE, was negatively associated with left amygdala and subiculum volumes. O‐LIFE Impulsive Nonconformity, as well as the two‐way interaction between positive schizotypy and PLE, were associated with larger left subiculum volumes. None of the estimators for right hemispheric hippocampal subfield volumes survived correction for multiple comparisons. Our findings support differential associations of hippocampus subfield volumes with trait dimensions rather than PLE, and support overlap and interactions between psychometric positive schizotypy and PLE. In a healthy cohort without current psychosis risk syndromes, the positive association between PLE and hippocampal subfield volume occurred at a high expression of positive schizotypy. Further studies combining stable, transient, and genetic parameters are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrika Evermann
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg, Germany
| | - Christian Gaser
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Tina Meller
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg, Germany
| | - Julia-Katharina Pfarr
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Grezellschak
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg, Germany.,Marburg University Hospital, UKGM, Marburg, Germany
| | - Igor Nenadić
- Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Lab, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg, Germany.,Marburg University Hospital, UKGM, Marburg, Germany
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23
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Rampino A, Annese T, Torretta S, Tamma R, Maria Falcone R, Ribatti D. Involvement of vascular endothelial growth factor in schizophrenia. Neurosci Lett 2021; 760:136093. [PMID: 34216717 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which acts as an angiogenic and neurotrophic factor, is involved the regulation of cerebral blood volume and flow in Schizophrenia (SCZ). Several evidence indicates that modification of brain blood circulation due to alterations in the VEGF system affects cognitive performance and brain function in patients with SCZ. The aim of this study is: 1) To analyze the literature data concerning the role of VEGF in modulating the angiogenic response in SCZ. These data are controversial because some studies found elevated VEGF serum levels of VEGF in patients with SCZ, whereas others demonstrated no significant differences between SCZ patients and controls. 2)To analyze the role of VEGF as a predictive factor on the effects of antipsychotics agents used in the treatment of SCZ. In this context, high VEGF levels, associated to better responses to antipsychotics, might be predictive of the use of first generation antipsycotic drugs, whereas low VEGF levels, expression of resistance to therapy, might be predictive for the use of second generation antipsycotic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Rampino
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Tiziana Annese
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Silvia Torretta
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberto Tamma
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Rosa Maria Falcone
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Ribatti
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy.
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24
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Sonnenschein SF, Grace AA. Peripubertal mGluR2/3 Agonist Treatment Prevents Hippocampal Dysfunction and Dopamine System Hyperactivity in Adulthood in MAM Model of Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2021; 47:1806-1814. [PMID: 33928393 PMCID: PMC8530391 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Pomaglumetad methionil (POM), a group 2 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR2/3) agonist, showed promise as a novel antipsychotic in preclinical research but failed to show efficacy in clinical trials, though it has been suggested that it may be effective in certain patient populations, including early in disease patients. We used the methyazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rat model of schizophrenia to determine whether POM may prevent the development of dopamine (DA) system dysfunction in a model representative of the hyperdopaminergic state thought to underlie psychosis, compared to control (SAL) rats. MAM and SAL rats were administered either POM (3 mg/kg, i.p.), vehicle (1 ml/kg), or no injection during postnatal day (PD) 31-40. In either late adolescence (PD 47-56) or adulthood (PD 83-96), novel object recognition (NOR) was tested, followed by anesthetized in vivo electrophysiological recordings of VTA DA neuron activity or ventral hippocampal (vHPC) pyramidal neuron activity. MAM rats treated with POM demonstrated increased NOR in adulthood compared to no injection MAM rats, but not compared to vehicle-treated MAM rats. POM-treated MAM rats demonstrated normalized DA neuron population activity and vHPC pyramidal neuron activity compared to vehicle and no injection MAM rats in both late adolescence and adulthood. No significant differences were observed across treatment groups in SAL rats. These results suggest that peripubertal mGluR2/3 agonist administration can prevent the emergence of vHPC pyramidal neuron hyperactivity and increased DA neuron population activity in adult MAM rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan F Sonnenschein
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Forbes Ave. Suite 530, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, US; tel: 989-600-9132, fax: 412-624-9198, e-mail:
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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25
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Nath M, Wong TP, Srivastava LK. Neurodevelopmental insights into circuit dysconnectivity in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 104:110047. [PMID: 32721441 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is increasingly being recognized as a disorder of brain circuits of developmental origin. Animal models, however, have been technically limited in exploring the effects of early developmental circuit abnormalities on the maturation of the brain and associated behavioural outputs. This review discusses evidence of the developmental emergence of circuit abnormalities in schizophrenia, followed by a critical assessment on how animal models need to be adapted through optimized tools in order to spatially and temporally manipulate early developmental events, thereby providing insight into the causal contribution of developmental perturbations to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moushumi Nath
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada.
| | - Tak Pan Wong
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
| | - Lalit K Srivastava
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
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26
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Sonnenschein SF, Grace AA. Emerging therapeutic targets for schizophrenia: a framework for novel treatment strategies for psychosis. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2021; 25:15-26. [PMID: 33170748 PMCID: PMC7855878 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2021.1849144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Antipsychotic drugs are central to the treatment of schizophrenia, but their limitations necessitate improved treatment strategies. Multiple lines of research have implicated glutamatergic dysfunction in the hippocampus as an early source of pathophysiology in schizophrenia. Novel compounds have been designed to treat glutamatergic dysfunction, but they have produced inconsistent results in clinical trials. Areas covered: This review discusses how the hippocampus is thought to drive psychotic symptoms through its influence on the dopamine system. It offers the reader an evaluation of proposed treatment strategies including direct modulation of GABA or glutamate neurotransmission or reducing the deleterious impact of stress on circuit development. Finally, we offer a perspective on aspects of future research that will advance our knowledge and may create new therapeutic opportunities. PubMed was searched for relevant literature between 2010 and 2020 and related studies. Expert opinion: Targeting aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neurotransmission in the hippocampus and its related circuits has the potential to alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of transition to psychosis if implemented as an early intervention. Longitudinal multimodal brain imaging combined with mechanistic theories generated from animal models can be used to better understand the progression of hippocampal-dopamine circuit dysfunction and heterogeneity in treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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27
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Gurler D, White DM, Kraguljac NV, Ver Hoef L, Martin C, Tennant B, Lahti AC. Neural Signatures of Memory Encoding in Schizophrenia Are Modulated by Antipsychotic Treatment. Neuropsychobiology 2021; 80:12-24. [PMID: 32316023 PMCID: PMC7874518 DOI: 10.1159/000506402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
There is no pharmacological treatment to remediate cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (SZ). It is imperative to characterize underlying pathologies of memory processing in order to effectively develop new treatments. In this longitudinal study, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging during a memory encoding task with proton MR spectroscopy to measure hippocampal glutamate + glutamine (Glx). Seventeen SZ were scanned while unmedicated and after 6 weeks of treatment with risperidone and compared to a group of matched healthy controls (HC) scanned 6 weeks apart. Unmedicated patients showed reduced blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in several regions, including the hippocampus, and greater BOLD response in regions of the default mode network (DMN) during correct memory encoding. Post hoc contrasts from significant group by time interactions indicated reduced hippocampal BOLD response at baseline with subsequent increase following treatment. Hippocampal Glx was not different between groups at baseline, but at week 6, hippocampal Glx was significantly lower in SZ compared to HC. Finally, in unmedicated SZ, higher hippocampal Glx predicted less deactivation of the BOLD response in regions of the DMN. Using 2 brain imaging modalities allowed us to concurrently investigate different mechanisms involved in memory encoding dysfunction in SZ. Hippocampal pathology during memory encoding stems from decreased hippocampal recruitment and faulty deactivation of the DMN, and hippocampal recruitment during encoding can be modulated by antipsychotic treatment. High Glx in unmedicated patients predicted less deactivation of the DMN; these results suggest a mechanism by which faulty DMN deactivation, a hallmark of pathological findings in SZ, is achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Demet Gurler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - David Matthew White
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Nina Vanessa Kraguljac
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | | | - Clinton Martin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Blake Tennant
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
| | - Adrienne Carol Lahti
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA,
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28
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Marques TR, Ashok AH, Angelescu I, Borgan F, Myers J, Lingford-Hughes A, Nutt DJ, Veronese M, Turkheimer FE, Howes OD. GABA-A receptor differences in schizophrenia: a positron emission tomography study using [ 11C]Ro154513. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:2616-2625. [PMID: 32296127 PMCID: PMC8440185 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-0711-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
A loss of GABA signaling is a prevailing hypothesis for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Preclinical studies indicate that blockade of the α5 subtype of the GABA receptor (α5-GABAARs) leads to behavioral phenotypes associated with schizophrenia, and postmortem evidence indicates lower hippocampal α5-GABAARs protein and mRNA levels in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear if α5-GABAARs are altered in vivo or related to symptoms. We investigated α5-GABAARs availability in antipsychotic-free schizophrenia patients and antipsychotic-medicated schizophrenia patients using [11C]Ro15-4513 PET imaging in a cross-sectional, case-control study design. Thirty-one schizophrenia patients (n = 10 antipsychotic free) and twenty-nine matched healthy controls underwent a [11C]Ro15-4513 PET scan and MRI. The α5 subtype GABA-A receptor availability was indexed using [11C]Ro15-4513 PET imaging. Dynamic PET data were analyzed using the two-tissue compartment model with an arterial plasma input function and total volume of distribution (VT) as the outcome measure. Symptom severity was assessed using the PANSS scale. There was significantly lower [11C]Ro15-4513 VT in the hippocampus of antipsychotic-free patients, but not in medicated patients (p = 0.64), relative to healthy controls (p < 0.05; effect size = 1.4). There was also a significant positive correlation between [11C]Ro15-4513 VT and total PANSS score in antipsychotic-free patients (r = 0.72; p = 0.044). The results suggest that antipsychotic-free patients with schizophrenia have lower α5-GABAARs levels in the hippocampus, consistent with the hypothesis that GABA hypofunction underlies the pathophysiology of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Reis Marques
- Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London, London, UK. .,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Abhishekh H. Ashok
- grid.14105.310000000122478951Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London, London, UK ,grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Ilinca Angelescu
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Faith Borgan
- grid.14105.310000000122478951Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London, London, UK ,grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Jim Myers
- grid.7445.20000 0001 2113 8111Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anne Lingford-Hughes
- grid.7445.20000 0001 2113 8111Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - David J. Nutt
- grid.7445.20000 0001 2113 8111Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Mattia Veronese
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Federico E. Turkheimer
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Oliver D. Howes
- grid.14105.310000000122478951Psychiatric Imaging Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London, London, UK ,grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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29
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Sasabayashi D, Yoshimura R, Takahashi T, Takayanagi Y, Nishiyama S, Higuchi Y, Mizukami Y, Furuichi A, Kido M, Nakamura M, Noguchi K, Suzuki M. Reduced Hippocampal Subfield Volume in Schizophrenia and Clinical High-Risk State for Psychosis. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:642048. [PMID: 33828496 PMCID: PMC8019805 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.642048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in schizophrenia demonstrated volume reduction in hippocampal subfields divided on the basis of specific cytoarchitecture and function. However, it remains unclear whether this abnormality exists prior to the onset of psychosis and differs across illness stages. MRI (3 T) scans were obtained from 77 patients with schizophrenia, including 24 recent-onset and 40 chronic patients, 51 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) (of whom 5 subsequently developed psychosis within the follow-up period), and 87 healthy controls. Using FreeSurfer software, hippocampal subfield volumes were measured and compared across the groups. Both schizophrenia and ARMS groups exhibited significantly smaller volumes for the bilateral Cornu Ammonis 1 area, left hippocampal tail, and right molecular layer of the hippocampus than the healthy control group. Within the schizophrenia group, chronic patients exhibited a significantly smaller volume for the left hippocampal tail than recent-onset patients. The left hippocampal tail volume was positively correlated with onset age, and negatively correlated with duration of psychosis and duration of medication in the schizophrenia group. Reduced hippocampal subfield volumes observed in both schizophrenia and ARMS groups may represent a common biotype associated with psychosis vulnerability. Volumetric changes of the left hippocampal tail may also suggest ongoing atrophy after the onset of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiki Sasabayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Ryo Yoshimura
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Takahashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Yoichiro Takayanagi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Arisawabashi Hospital, Toyama, Japan
| | - Shimako Nishiyama
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Health Administration Center, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Yuko Higuchi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Yuko Mizukami
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan
| | - Atsushi Furuichi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Mikio Kido
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Mihoko Nakamura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Kyo Noguchi
- Department of Radiology, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan
| | - Michio Suzuki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
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30
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Hu N, Luo C, Zhang W, Yang X, Xiao Y, Sweeney JA, Lui S, Gong Q. Hippocampal subfield alterations in schizophrenia: A selective review of structural MRI studies. Biomark Neuropsychiatry 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bionps.2020.100026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
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31
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Kahn JB, Port RG, Anderson SA, Coulter DA. Modular, Circuit-Based Interventions Rescue Hippocampal-Dependent Social and Spatial Memory in a 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Mouse Model. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 88:710-718. [PMID: 32682567 PMCID: PMC7554065 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS) manifests with myriad symptoms, including multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. Complications associated with the polygenic haploinsufficiency make 22qDS symptoms particularly difficult to manage with traditional therapeutic approaches. However, the varying mechanistic consequences often culminate to generate inappropriate regulation of neuronal circuit activity. We explored whether managing this aberrant activity in adults could be a therapeutically beneficial strategy. METHODS To assess and dissect hippocampal circuit function, we performed functional imaging in acute slices and targeted eloquent circuits (specific subcircuits tied to specific behavioral tasks) to provide relevant behavioral outputs. For example, the ventral and dorsal CA1 regions critically support social and spatial discrimination, respectively. We focally introduced chemogenetic constructs in 34 control and 24 22qDS model mice via adeno-associated viral vectors, driven by excitatory neuron-specific promoter elements, to manipulate circuit recruitment in an on-demand fashion. RESULTS 22qDS model mice exhibited CA1 excitatory ensemble hyperexcitability and concomitant behavioral deficits in both social and spatial memory. Remarkably, acute chemogenetic inhibition of pyramidal cells successfully corrected memory deficits and did so in a regionally specific manner: ventrally targeted constructs rescued only social behavior, while those expressed dorsally selectively affected spatial memory. Additionally, manipulating activity in control mice could recapitulate the memory deficits in a regionally specific manner. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that retuning activity dysregulation can rescue function in disease-altered circuits, even in the face of a polygenetic haploinsufficiency with a strong developmental component. Targeting circuit excitability in a focal, modular manner may prove to be an effective therapeutic for treatment-resistant symptoms of mental illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia B. Kahn
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Russell G. Port
- Departments of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA,The Research Institute of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Stewart A. Anderson
- Departments of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA,The Research Institute of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Douglas A. Coulter
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA,Departments of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA,The Research Institute of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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32
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Mancini V, Sandini C, Padula MC, Zöller D, Schneider M, Schaer M, Eliez S. Positive psychotic symptoms are associated with divergent developmental trajectories of hippocampal volume during late adolescence in patients with 22q11DS. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25:2844-2859. [PMID: 31164700 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0443-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Low hippocampal volume is a consistent finding in schizophrenia and across the psychosis spectrum. However, there is a lack of studies investigating longitudinal hippocampal development and its relationship with psychotic symptoms. The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) has proven to be a remarkable model for the prospective study of individuals at high risk of schizophrenia to unravel the pathophysiological processes predating the onset of psychosis. Repeated cerebral MRIs were acquired from 140 patients with 22q11DS (53 experiencing moderate-to-severe psychotic symptoms) and 135 healthy controls aged from 6 to 35 years and with up to 5 time points per participant. Hippocampal subfield analysis was conducted using FreeSurfer-v.6 and FIRST-FSL. Then, whole hippocampal and subfield volumes were compared across the groups. Relative to controls, patients with 22q11DS showed a remarkably lower volume of all subfields except for CA2/3. No divergent trajectories in hippocampal development were found. When comparing patients with 22q11DS exhibiting psychotic symptoms to those without psychosis, we detected a volume decrease during late adolescence, starting in CA1 and spreading to other subfields. Our findings suggested that hippocampal volume is consistently smaller in patients with 22q11DS. Moreover, we have demonstrated that patients with 22q11DS and psychotic symptoms undergo a further decrease in volume during adolescence, a vulnerable period for the emergence of psychosis. Interestingly, CA2/3, despite being affected in patients with psychotic symptoms, was the only area not reduced in patients with 22q11DS relative to controls, thus suggesting that its atrophy exclusively correlates with the presence of positive psychotic symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Mancini
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Corrado Sandini
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Maria C Padula
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniela Zöller
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maude Schneider
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Neuroscience, Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marie Schaer
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Eliez
- Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Laboratory, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
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33
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Kätzel D, Wolff AR, Bygrave AM, Bannerman DM. Hippocampal Hyperactivity as a Druggable Circuit-Level Origin of Aberrant Salience in Schizophrenia. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:486811. [PMID: 33178010 PMCID: PMC7596262 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.486811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of current neuroleptics was largely aiming to decrease excessive dopaminergic signaling in the striatum. However, the notion that abnormal dopamine creates psychotic symptoms by causing an aberrant assignment of salience that drives maladaptive learning chronically during disease development suggests a therapeutic value of early interventions that correct salience-related neural processing. The mesolimbic dopaminergic output is modulated by several interconnected brain-wide circuits centrally involving the hippocampus and key relays like the ventral and associative striatum, ventral pallidum, amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, nucleus reuniens, lateral and medial septum, prefrontal and cingulate cortex, among others. Unraveling the causal relationships between these circuits using modern neuroscience techniques holds promise for identifying novel cellular—and ultimately molecular—treatment targets for reducing transition to psychosis and symptoms of schizophrenia. Imaging studies in humans have implicated a hyperactivity of the hippocampus as a robust and early endophenotype in schizophrenia. Experiments in rodents, in turn, suggested that the activity of its output region—the ventral subiculum—may modulate dopamine release from ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons in the ventral striatum. Even though these observations suggested a novel circuit-level target for anti-psychotic action, no therapy has yet been developed along this rationale. Recently evaluated treatment strategies—at least in part—target excess glutamatergic activity, e.g. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), levetiracetam, and mGluR2/3 modulators. We here review the evidence for the central implication of the hippocampus-VTA axis in schizophrenia-related pathology, discuss its symptom-related implications with a particular focus on aberrant assignment of salience, and evaluate some of its short-comings and prospects for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Kätzel
- Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Amy R Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Alexei M Bygrave
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - David M Bannerman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Sherif MA, Neymotin SA, Lytton WW. In silico hippocampal modeling for multi-target pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2020; 6:25. [PMID: 32958782 PMCID: PMC7506542 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-020-00109-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Treatment of schizophrenia has had limited success in treating core cognitive symptoms. The evidence of multi-gene involvement suggests that multi-target therapy may be needed. Meanwhile, the complexity of schizophrenia pathophysiology and psychopathology, coupled with the species-specificity of much of the symptomatology, places limits on analysis via animal models, in vitro assays, and patient assessment. Multiscale computer modeling complements these traditional modes of study. Using a hippocampal CA3 computer model with 1200 neurons, we examined the effects of alterations in NMDAR, HCN (Ih current), and GABAAR on information flow (measured with normalized transfer entropy), and in gamma activity in local field potential (LFP). We found that altering NMDARs, GABAAR, Ih, individually or in combination, modified information flow in an inverted-U shape manner, with information flow reduced at low and high levels of these parameters. Theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling also had an inverted-U shape relationship with NMDAR augmentation. The strong information flow was associated with an intermediate level of synchrony, seen as an intermediate level of gamma activity in the LFP, and an intermediate level of pyramidal cell excitability. Our results are consistent with the idea that overly low or high gamma power is associated with pathological information flow and information processing. These data suggest the need for careful titration of schizophrenia pharmacotherapy to avoid extremes that alter information flow in different ways. These results also identify gamma power as a potential biomarker for monitoring pathology and multi-target pharmacotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Sherif
- Department of Psychiatry, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, SUNY Downstate Medical Center/NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
| | - Samuel A Neymotin
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - William W Lytton
- Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, SUNY Downstate Medical Center/NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology, Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
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Xiu MH, Lang X, Chen DC, Cao B, Kosten TR, Cho RY, Shi H, Wei CW, Wu AS, Zhang XY. Cognitive Deficits and Clinical Symptoms with Hippocampal Subfields in First-Episode and Never-Treated Patients with Schizophrenia. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:89-96. [PMID: 32901269 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Memory dysfunction and associated hippocampal disturbances play crucial roles in cognitive impairment of schizophrenia. To examine the relationships between cognitive function and the hippocampal subfields (HSs) in first-episode never-treated (FENT) schizophrenia patients, the HSs were segmented in 39 FENT patients and 30 healthy controls using a state-of the-art automated algorithm. We found no significant differences in any HSs between the patients and controls. However, multivariate regression analysis showed that the left cornu ammonis 1 (CA1), left hippocampal tail, left presubiculum, and right molecular layer contributed 40% to the variance of the PANSS negative symptom score. After adjusting for sex, age, education, and intracranial volume, the partial correlation analysis showed that the volumes of left CA1, CA3, CA4, molecular layer, granule cell layer and both left and right subiculum were negatively correlated with the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT). Multiple regression analysis showed that the left CA1 and CA3 hippocampal abnormalities contributed 66% to the variance of the HVLT. Our results suggest no detectable HS deficits were found in FENT schizophrenia patients. However, the HSs may be involved in the symptoms and cognitive deficits of schizophrenia patients in the early phase of their illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mei Hong Xiu
- Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing, 100096, China
| | - XiaoE Lang
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 03000, China
| | - Da Chun Chen
- Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing, 100096, China
| | - Bo Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Thomas R Kosten
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Raymond Y Cho
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Hui Shi
- Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
| | - Chang Wei Wei
- Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
| | - An Shi Wu
- Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
| | - Xiang Yang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
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36
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Assmann A, Richter A, Schütze H, Soch J, Barman A, Behnisch G, Knopf L, Raschick M, Schult A, Wüstenberg T, Behr J, Düzel E, Seidenbecher CI, Schott BH. Neurocan genome-wide psychiatric risk variant affects explicit memory performance and hippocampal function in healthy humans. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:3942-3959. [PMID: 32583466 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Alterations of the brain extracellular matrix (ECM) can perturb the structure and function of brain networks like the hippocampus, a key region in human memory that is commonly affected in psychiatric disorders. Here, we investigated the potential effects of a genome-wide psychiatric risk variant in the NCAN gene encoding the ECM proteoglycan neurocan (rs1064395) on memory performance, hippocampal function and cortical morphology in young, healthy volunteers. We assessed verbal memory performance in two cohorts (N = 572, 302) and found reduced recall performance in risk allele (A) carriers across both cohorts. In 117 participants, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging using a novelty-encoding task with visual scenes. Risk allele carriers showed higher false alarm rates during recognition, accompanied by inefficiently increased left hippocampal activation. To assess effects of rs1064395 on brain morphology, we performed voxel-based morphometry in 420 participants from four independent cohorts and found lower grey matter density in the ventrolateral and rostral prefrontal cortex of risk allele carriers. In silico eQTL analysis revealed that rs1064395 SNP is linked not only to increased prefrontal expression of the NCAN gene itself, but also of the neighbouring HAPLN4 gene, suggesting a more complex effect of the SNP on ECM composition. Our results suggest that the NCAN rs1064395 A allele is associated with lower hippocampus-dependent memory function, variation of prefrontal cortex structure and ECM composition. Considering the well-documented hippocampal and prefrontal dysfunction in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, our results may reflect an intermediate phenotype by which NCAN rs1064395 contributes to disease risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Assmann
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anni Richter
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hartmut Schütze
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany.,Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Joram Soch
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Lea Knopf
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Raschick
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Annika Schult
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Torsten Wüstenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Joachim Behr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Brandenburg, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Emrah Düzel
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany.,Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Constanze I Seidenbecher
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Björn H Schott
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Göttingen, Germany
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37
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Sonnenschein SF, Gomes FV, Grace AA. Dysregulation of Midbrain Dopamine System and the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:613. [PMID: 32719622 PMCID: PMC7350524 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of the dopamine system is central to many models of the pathophysiology of psychosis in schizophrenia. However, emerging evidence suggests that this dysregulation is driven by the disruption of upstream circuits that provide afferent control of midbrain dopamine neurons. Furthermore, stress can profoundly disrupt this regulatory circuit, particularly when it is presented at critical vulnerable prepubertal time points. This review will discuss the dopamine system and the circuits that regulate it, focusing on the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, thalamic nuclei, and medial septum, and the impact of stress. A greater understanding of the regulation of the dopamine system and its disruption in schizophrenia may provide a more complete neurobiological framework to interpret clinical findings and develop novel treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan F Sonnenschein
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Felipe V Gomes
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Modinos G, Allen P, Zugman A, Dima D, Azis M, Samson C, Bonoldi I, Quinn B, Gifford GWG, Smart SE, Antoniades M, Bossong MG, Broome MR, Perez J, Howes OD, Stone JM, Grace AA, McGuire P. Neural Circuitry of Novelty Salience Processing in Psychosis Risk: Association With Clinical Outcome. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:670-679. [PMID: 32227226 PMCID: PMC7147595 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Psychosis has been proposed to develop from dysfunction in a hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit, leading to aberrant salience processing. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during novelty salience processing to investigate this model in people at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis according to their subsequent clinical outcomes. Seventy-six CHR participants as defined using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) and 31 healthy controls (HC) were studied while performing a novelty salience fMRI task that engaged an a priori hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit of interest. The CHR sample was then followed clinically for a mean of 59.7 months (~5 y), when clinical outcomes were assessed in terms of transition (CHR-T) or non-transition (CHR-NT) to psychosis (CAARMS criteria): during this period, 13 individuals (17%) developed a psychotic disorder (CHR-T) and 63 did not. Functional activation and effective connectivity within a hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit were compared between groups. In CHR individuals compared to HC, hippocampal response to novel stimuli was significantly attenuated (P = .041 family-wise error corrected). Dynamic Causal Modelling revealed that stimulus novelty modulated effective connectivity from the hippocampus to the striatum, and from the midbrain to the hippocampus, significantly more in CHR participants than in HC. Conversely, stimulus novelty modulated connectivity from the midbrain to the striatum significantly less in CHR participants than in HC, and less in CHR participants who subsequently developed psychosis than in CHR individuals who did not become psychotic. Our findings are consistent with preclinical evidence implicating hippocampal-striatal-midbrain circuit dysfunction in altered salience processing and the onset of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF London, UK; tel: +44(0)2078480927, fax: +44(0)2078480976, e-mail:
| | - Paul Allen
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Andre Zugman
- Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Danai Dima
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Social Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Matilda Azis
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Carly Samson
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Ilaria Bonoldi
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Beverly Quinn
- CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - George W G Gifford
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Sophie E Smart
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Mathilde Antoniades
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Matthijs G Bossong
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | | | - Jesus Perez
- CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Department of Neuroscience, Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Oliver D Howes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - James M Stone
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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Volumetric and morphological characteristics of the hippocampus are associated with progression to schizophrenia in patients with first-episode psychosis. Eur Psychiatry 2020; 45:1-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractBackground:Abnormalities in the hippocampus have been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychosis. However, it is still unclear whether certain abnormalities are a pre-existing vulnerability factor, a sign of disease progression or a consequence of environmental factors. We hypothesized that first-episode psychosis patients who progress to schizophrenia after one year of follow up will display greater volumetric and morphological changes from the very beginning of the disorder.Methods:We studied the hippocampus of 41 patients with a first-episode psychosis and 41 matched healthy controls. MRI was performed at the time of the inclusion in the study. After one year, the whole sample was reevaluated and divided in two groups depending on the diagnoses (schizophrenia vs. non-schizophrenia).Results:Patients who progressed to schizophrenia showed a significantly smaller left hippocampus volume than control group and no-schizophrenia group (F = 3.54; df = 2, 77; P = 0.03). We also found significant differences in the morphology of the anterior hippocampus (CA1) of patients with first-episode psychosis who developed schizophrenia compared with patients who did not.Conclusions:These results are consistent with the assumption of hyperfunctioning dopaminergic cortico-subcortical circuits in schizophrenia, which might be related with an alteration of subcortical structures, such as the hippocampus, along the course of the disease. According with these results, hippocampus abnormalities may serve as a prognostic marker of clinical outcome in patients with a first-episode psychosis.
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40
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Provenzano FA, Guo J, Wall MM, Feng X, Sigmon HC, Brucato G, First MB, Rothman DL, Girgis RR, Lieberman JA, Small SA. Hippocampal Pathology in Clinical High-Risk Patients and the Onset of Schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:234-242. [PMID: 31771861 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We examined neuroimaging-derived hippocampal biomarkers in subjects at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis to further characterize the pathophysiology of early psychosis. We hypothesized that glutamate hyperactivity, reflected by increased metabolic activity derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging in the CA1 hippocampal subregion and from proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy-derived hippocampal levels of glutamate/glutamine, represents early hippocampal dysfunction in CHR subjects and is predictive of conversion to syndromal psychosis. METHODS We enrolled 75 CHR individuals with attenuated positive symptom psychosis-risk syndrome as defined by the Structured Interview for Psychosis-risk Syndromes. We used optimized magnetic resonance imaging techniques to measure 3 validated in vivo pathologies of hippocampal dysfunction-focal cerebral blood volume, focal atrophy, and evidence of elevated glutamate concentrations. All patients were imaged at baseline and were followed for up to 2 years to assess for conversion to psychosis. RESULTS At baseline, compared with control subjects, CHR individuals had high glutamate/glutamine and elevated focal cerebral blood volume on functional magnetic resonance imaging, but only baseline focal hippocampal atrophy predicted progression to syndromal psychosis. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide evidence that CHR patients with attenuated psychotic symptoms have glutamatergic abnormalities, although only CHR patients who develop syndromal psychosis exhibit focal hippocampal atrophy. Furthermore, these results support the growing evidence that hippocampal dysfunction is an early feature of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jia Guo
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Melanie M Wall
- Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Xinyang Feng
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Hannah C Sigmon
- University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - Gary Brucato
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | | | - Douglas L Rothman
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Ragy R Girgis
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | - Jeffrey A Lieberman
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York.
| | - Scott A Small
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York.
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41
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Lander SS, Chornyy S, Safory H, Gross A, Wolosker H, Gaisler‐Salomon I. Glutamate dehydrogenase deficiency disrupts glutamate homeostasis in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and impairs recognition memory. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 19:e12636. [DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sergiy Chornyy
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Haifa Haifa Israel
| | - Hazem Safory
- Department of Biochemistry, The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion‐Israel Institute of Technology Haifa Israel
| | - Amit Gross
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Haifa Haifa Israel
| | - Herman Wolosker
- Department of Biochemistry, The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of MedicineTechnion‐Israel Institute of Technology Haifa Israel
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42
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Ragland JD. Relating Basal and Phasic Hippocampal Activity in People With Psychosis: A Translational Bridge to Understanding Memory Deficits? Am J Psychiatry 2019; 176:979-981. [PMID: 31787018 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19090966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J Daniel Ragland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California at Davis, Sacramento
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McHugo M, Talati P, Armstrong K, Vandekar SN, Blackford JU, Woodward ND, Heckers S. Hyperactivity and Reduced Activation of Anterior Hippocampus in Early Psychosis. Am J Psychiatry 2019; 176:1030-1038. [PMID: 31623459 PMCID: PMC7716419 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19020151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In schizophrenia, the anterior hippocampus is hyperactive and shows reduced task-related recruitment, but the relationship between these two findings is unclear. The authors tested the hypothesis that hyperactivity impairs recruitment of the anterior hippocampus during scene processing. METHODS Functional MRI data from 45 early-psychosis patients and 35 demographically matched healthy control subjects were analyzed using a block-design 1-back scene-processing task. Hippocampal activation in response to scenes and faces compared with scrambled images was measured. In a subset of 20 early-psychosis patients and 31 healthy control subjects, baseline hippocampal activity using cerebral blood volume (CBV) mapping was measured. Correlation analyses were used to examine the association between baseline hippocampal activity and task-related hippocampal activation. RESULTS Activation of the anterior hippocampus was significantly reduced and CBV in the anterior hippocampus was significantly increased in the early stages of psychosis. Increased CBV in early-psychosis patients was inversely correlated with task-related activation during scene processing in the anterior hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS Anterior hippocampal hyperactivity in early-psychosis patients appears to limit effective recruitment of this region during task performance. These findings provide novel support for the anterior hippocampus as a therapeutic target in the treatment of cognitive deficits in psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Corresponding author: Maureen McHugo, PhD, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Suite 3057, 1601 23rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212,
| | - Pratik Talati
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Simon N. Vandekar
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jennifer Urbano Blackford
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Neil D. Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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44
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Hua J, Liu P, Kim T, Donahue M, Rane S, Chen JJ, Qin Q, Kim SG. MRI techniques to measure arterial and venous cerebral blood volume. Neuroimage 2019; 187:17-31. [PMID: 29458187 PMCID: PMC6095829 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Revised: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The measurement of cerebral blood volume (CBV) has been the topic of numerous neuroimaging studies. To date, however, most in vivo imaging approaches can only measure CBV summed over all types of blood vessels, including arterial, capillary and venous vessels in the microvasculature (i.e. total CBV or CBVtot). As different types of blood vessels have intrinsically different anatomy, function and physiology, the ability to quantify CBV in different segments of the microvascular tree may furnish information that is not obtainable from CBVtot, and may provide a more sensitive and specific measure for the underlying physiology. This review attempts to summarize major efforts in the development of MRI techniques to measure arterial (CBVa) and venous CBV (CBVv) separately. Advantages and disadvantages of each type of method are discussed. Applications of some of the methods in the investigation of flow-volume coupling in healthy brains, and in the detection of pathophysiological abnormalities in brain diseases such as arterial steno-occlusive disease, brain tumors, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and hypertension are demonstrated. We believe that the continual development of MRI approaches for the measurement of compartment-specific CBV will likely provide essential imaging tools for the advancement and refinement of our knowledge on the exquisite details of the microvasculature in healthy and diseased brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Hua
- Neurosection, Div. of MRI Research, Dept. of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Peiying Liu
- Neurosection, Div. of MRI Research, Dept. of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Tae Kim
- Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Manus Donahue
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Swati Rane
- Radiology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - J Jean Chen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Qin Qin
- Neurosection, Div. of MRI Research, Dept. of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Seong-Gi Kim
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon, South Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
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Lander SS, Khan U, Lewandowski N, Chakraborty D, Provenzano FA, Mingote S, Chornyy S, Frigerio F, Maechler P, Kaphzan H, Small SA, Rayport S, Gaisler-Salomon I. Glutamate Dehydrogenase-Deficient Mice Display Schizophrenia-Like Behavioral Abnormalities and CA1-Specific Hippocampal Dysfunction. Schizophr Bull 2019; 45:127-137. [PMID: 29471549 PMCID: PMC6293228 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sby011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Brain imaging has revealed that the CA1 subregion of the hippocampus is hyperactive in prodromal and diagnosed patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), and that glutamate is a driver of this hyperactivity. Strikingly, mice deficient in the glutamate synthetic enzyme glutaminase have CA1 hypoactivity and a SCZ-resilience profile, implicating glutamate-metabolizing enzymes. To address this further, we examined mice with a brain-wide deficit in the glutamate-metabolizing enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), encoded by Glud1, which should lead to glutamate excess due to reduced glutamate metabolism in astrocytes. We found that Glud1-deficient mice have behavioral abnormalities in the 3 SCZ symptom domains, with increased baseline and amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion as a positive symptom proxy, nest building and social preference as a negative symptom proxy, and reversal/extradimensional set shifting in the water T-maze and contextual fear conditioning as a cognitive symptom proxy. Neuroimaging of cerebral blood volume revealed hippocampal hyperactivity in CA1, which was associated with volume reduction. Parameters of hippocampal synaptic function revealed excess glutamate release and an elevated excitatory/inhibitory balance in CA1. Finally, in a direct clinical correlation using imaging-guided microarray, we found a significant SCZ-associated postmortem reduction in GLUD1 expression in CA1. These findings advance GLUD1 deficiency as a driver of excess hippocampal excitatory transmission and SCZ symptoms, and identify GDH as a target for glutamate modulation pharmacotherapy for SCZ. More broadly, these findings point to the likely involvement of alterations in glutamate metabolism in the pathophysiology of SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon S Lander
- Department of Psychology or Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Usman Khan
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Nicole Lewandowski
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Darpan Chakraborty
- Department of Psychology or Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Frank A Provenzano
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Susana Mingote
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
| | - Sergiy Chornyy
- Department of Psychology or Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Francesca Frigerio
- Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Geneva University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerl
| | - Pierre Maechler
- Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Geneva University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerl
| | - Hanoch Kaphzan
- Department of Psychology or Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Scott A Small
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Stephen Rayport
- Department of Neurology or Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
| | - Inna Gaisler-Salomon
- Department of Psychology or Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel,To whom correspondence should be addressed; 199 Abba Khoushi Ave, Haifa, Israel; tel: +972-4-8249674, fax +972-4-8240966, email
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46
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Modinos G, Şimşek F, Azis M, Bossong M, Bonoldi I, Samson C, Quinn B, Perez J, Broome MR, Zelaya F, Lythgoe DJ, Howes OD, Stone JM, Grace AA, Allen P, McGuire P. Prefrontal GABA levels, hippocampal resting perfusion and the risk of psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2652-2659. [PMID: 29440719 PMCID: PMC5955214 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-017-0004-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Revised: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical models propose that the onset of psychosis is associated with hippocampal hyperactivity, thought to be driven by cortical GABAergic interneuron dysfunction and disinhibition of pyramidal neurons. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that resting hippocampal perfusion is increased in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis, but how this may be related to GABA concentrations is unknown. The present study used a multimodal neuroimaging approach to address this issue in UHR subjects. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and pulsed-continuous arterial spin labeling imaging were acquired to investigate the relationship between medial prefrontal (MPFC) GABA+ levels (including some contribution from macromolecules) and hippocampal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 36 individuals at UHR of psychosis, based on preclinical evidence that MPFC dysfunction is involved in hippocampal hyperactivity. The subjects were then clinically monitored for 2 years: during this period, 7 developed a psychotic disorder and 29 did not. At baseline, MPFC GABA+ levels were positively correlated with rCBF in the left hippocampus (region of interest analysis, p = 0.044 family-wise error corrected, FWE). This correlation in the left hippocampus was significantly different in UHR subjects who went on to develop psychosis relative to those who did not (p = 0.022 FWE), suggesting the absence of a correlation in the latter subgroup. These findings provide the first human evidence that MPFC GABA+ concentrations are related to resting hippocampal perfusion in the UHR state, and offer some support for a link between GABA levels and hippocampal function in the development of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. .,Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Fatma Şimşek
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Matilda Azis
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Matthijs Bossong
- 0000000090126352grid.7692.aDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ilaria Bonoldi
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Carly Samson
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Beverly Quinn
- 0000 0004 0412 9303grid.450563.1CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jesus Perez
- 0000 0004 0412 9303grid.450563.1CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK ,0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK ,0000 0001 2180 1817grid.11762.33Department of Neuroscience, Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Matthew R Broome
- 0000 0004 1936 8948grid.4991.5Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK ,0000 0004 0573 576Xgrid.451190.8Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - David J Lythgoe
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Oliver D Howes
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - James M Stone
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Anthony A Grace
- 0000 0004 1936 9000grid.21925.3dDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Paul Allen
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK ,0000 0001 0468 7274grid.35349.38Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, UK
| | - Philip McGuire
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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Grimm CM, Aksamaz S, Schulz S, Teutsch J, Sicinski P, Liss B, Kätzel D. Schizophrenia-related cognitive dysfunction in the Cyclin-D2 knockout mouse model of ventral hippocampal hyperactivity. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:212. [PMID: 30301879 PMCID: PMC6178344 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0268-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Elevated activity at the output stage of the anterior hippocampus has been described as a physiological endophenotype of schizophrenia, and its development maps onto the transition from the prodromal to the psychotic state. Interventions that halt the spreading glutamatergic over-activity in this region and thereby the development of overt schizophrenia could be promising therapies. However, animal models with high construct validity to support such pre-clinical development are scarce. The Cyclin-D2 knockout (CD2-KO) mouse model shows a hippocampal parvalbumin-interneuron dysfunction, and its pattern of hippocampal over-activity shares similarities with that seen in prodromal patients. Conducting a comprehensive phenotyping of CD2-KO mice, we found that they displayed novelty-induced hyperlocomotion (a rodent correlate of positive symptoms of schizophrenia), that was largely resistant against D1- and D2-dopamine-receptor antagonism, but responsive to the mGluR2/3-agonist LY379268. In the negative symptom domain, CD2-KO mice showed transiently reduced sucrose-preference (anhedonia), but enhanced interaction with novel mice and objects, as well as normal nest building and incentive motivation. Also, unconditioned anxiety, perseveration, and motor-impulsivity were unaltered. However, in the cognitive domain, CD2-knockouts showed reduced executive function in assays of rule-shift and rule-reversal learning, and also an impairment in working memory, that was resistant against LY379268-treatment. In contrast, sustained attention and forms of spatial and object-related memory that are mediated by short-term habituation of stimulus-specific attention were intact. Our results suggest that CD2-KO mice are a valuable model in translational research targeted at the pharmacoresistant cognitive symptom domain in causal relation to hippocampal over-activity in the prodrome-to-psychosis transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M. Grimm
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sonat Aksamaz
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Stefanie Schulz
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Jasper Teutsch
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Piotr Sicinski
- 0000 0001 2106 9910grid.65499.37Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Birgit Liss
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Dennis Kätzel
- Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
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48
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Nakahara S, Matsumoto M, van Erp TGM. Hippocampal subregion abnormalities in schizophrenia: A systematic review of structural and physiological imaging studies. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep 2018; 38:156-166. [PMID: 30255629 PMCID: PMC7021222 DOI: 10.1002/npr2.12031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim The hippocampus is considered a key region in schizophrenia pathophysiology, but the nature of hippocampal subregion abnormalities and how they contribute to disease expression remain to be fully determined. This study reviews findings from schizophrenia hippocampal subregion volumetric and physiological imaging studies published within the last decade. Methods The PubMed database was searched for publications on hippocampal subregion volume and physiology abnormalities in schizophrenia and their findings were reviewed. Results The main replicated findings include smaller CA1 volumes and CA1 hyperactivation in schizophrenia, which may be predictive of conversion in individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis, smaller CA1 and CA4/DG volumes in first‐episode schizophrenia, and more widespread smaller hippocampal subregion volumes with longer duration of illness. Several studies have reported relationships between hippocampal subregion volumes and declarative memory or symptom severity. Conclusions Together these studies provide support for hippocampal formation circuitry models of schizophrenia. These initial findings must be taken with caution as the scientific community is actively working on hippocampal subregion method improvement and validation. Further improvements in our understanding of the nature of hippocampal formation subregion involvement in schizophrenia will require the collection of structural and physiological imaging data at submillimeter voxel resolution, standardization and agreement of atlases, adequate control for possible confounding factors, and multi‐method validation of findings. Despite the need for cautionary interpretation of the initial findings, we believe that improved localization of hippocampal subregion abnormalities in schizophrenia holds promise for the identification of disease contributing mechanisms. The hippocampus is considered a key region in schizophrenia pathophysiology but the nature of hippocampal subregion abnormalities and how they contribute to disease expression remains to be fully determined. This study reviews findings from schizophrenia hippocampal subregion volumetric and physiological imaging studies published within the last decade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soichiro Nakahara
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California.,Drug Discovery Research, Astellas Pharma Inc., Tsukuba, Japan
| | | | - Theo G M van Erp
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California
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Optogenetic induction of the schizophrenia-related endophenotype of ventral hippocampal hyperactivity causes rodent correlates of positive and cognitive symptoms. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12871. [PMID: 30150758 PMCID: PMC6110795 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31163-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathological over-activity of the CA1 subfield of the human anterior hippocampus has been identified as a potential predictive marker for transition from a prodromal state to overt schizophrenia. Psychosis, in turn, is associated with elevated activity in the anterior subiculum, the hippocampal output stage directly activated by CA1. Over-activity in these subfields may represent a useful endophenotype to guide translationally predictive preclinical models. To recreate this endophenotype and study its causal relation to deficits in the positive and cognitive symptom domains, we optogenetically activated excitatory neurons of the ventral hippocampus (vHPC; analogous to the human anterior hippocampus), targeting the ventral subiculum. Consistent with previous studies, we found that vHPC over-activity evokes hyperlocomotion, a rodent correlate of positive symptoms. vHPC activation also impaired performance on the spatial novelty preference (SNP) test of short-term memory, regardless of whether stimulation was applied during the encoding or retrieval stage of the task. Increasing dopamine transmission with amphetamine produced hyperlocomotion, but was not associated with SNP impairments. This suggests that short-term memory impairments resulting from hippocampal over-activity likely arise independently of a hyperdopaminergic state, a finding that is consistent with the pharmaco-resistance of cognitive symptoms in patients.
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50
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Vargas T, Dean DJ, Osborne KJ, Gupta T, Ristanovic I, Ozturk S, Turner J, van Erp TGM, Mittal VA. Hippocampal Subregions Across the Psychosis Spectrum. Schizophr Bull 2018; 44:1091-1099. [PMID: 29272467 PMCID: PMC6101630 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Converging evidence suggests that hippocampal subregions subserve different functions, and are differentially affected by psychosis illness progression. Despite this fact, studies have not often studied subregions cross-sectionally across the psychosis spectrum. Furthermore, little is known about associations between subregion volumes and hippocampus-mediated cognition. METHODS A total of 222 participants (61 ultra high risk [UHR], 91 schizophrenia [SCZ], and 70 healthy volunteers) underwent a 3T MRI scan, as well as structured clinical interviews and a cognitive battery. Hippocampal subfield analysis was conducted with Freesurfer. We compared subregion volumes across groups, controlling for age, gender, and intracranial volume. We also examined associations in the UHR and SCZ groups between hippocampal subregion volumes and verbal learning, visual learning, and working memory. RESULTS We found a dose-dependent relationship such that the SCZ group showed significantly greater subfield volume reductions than the UHR group, which in turn showed significantly greater subfield volume reductions than the healthy volunteer group. We also found associations between subregion volume and cognitive performance in the visual memory, verbal memory, and working memory domains. DISCUSSION Our study examined hippocampal subregion volumes cross-sectionally in a large sample across the psychosis spectrum, as well as links with hippocampus-mediated cognitive function. Our findings suggest that hippocampal abnormalities emerge before first psychosis episode onset, and may be etiologically informative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Vargas
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, IL,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: 847-467-3880, fax: 847-491-7859, e-mail:
| | - Derek J Dean
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
| | | | - Tina Gupta
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, IL
| | | | - Sekine Ozturk
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, IL
| | | | - Theo G M van Erp
- Psychiatry & Human Behavior Department, University of California Irvine
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