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Schreurs BG, O'Dell DE, Wang D. The Role of Cerebellar Intrinsic Neuronal Excitability, Synaptic Plasticity, and Perineuronal Nets in Eyeblink Conditioning. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:200. [PMID: 38534469 DOI: 10.3390/biology13030200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Evidence is strong that, in addition to fine motor control, there is an important role for the cerebellum in cognition and emotion. The deep nuclei of the mammalian cerebellum also contain the highest density of perineural nets-mesh-like structures that surround neurons-in the brain, and it appears there may be a connection between these nets and cognitive processes, particularly learning and memory. Here, we review how the cerebellum is involved in eyeblink conditioning-a particularly well-understood form of learning and memory-and focus on the role of perineuronal nets in intrinsic membrane excitability and synaptic plasticity that underlie eyeblink conditioning. We explore the development and role of perineuronal nets and the in vivo and in vitro evidence that manipulations of the perineuronal net in the deep cerebellar nuclei affect eyeblink conditioning. Together, these findings provide evidence of an important role for perineuronal net in learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard G Schreurs
- Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Deidre E O'Dell
- Department of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Pennsylvania Western (PennWest) University, California, PA 15419, USA
| | - Desheng Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
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2
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Osório C, White JJ, Lu H, Beekhof GC, Fiocchi FR, Andriessen CA, Dijkhuizen S, Post L, Schonewille M. Pre-ataxic loss of intrinsic plasticity and motor learning in a mouse model of SCA1. Brain 2023; 146:2332-2345. [PMID: 36352508 PMCID: PMC10232256 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac422] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinocerebellar ataxias are neurodegenerative diseases, the hallmark symptom of which is the development of ataxia due to cerebellar dysfunction. Purkinje cells, the principal neurons of the cerebellar cortex, are the main cells affected in these disorders, but the sequence of pathological events leading to their dysfunction is poorly understood. Understanding the origins of Purkinje cells dysfunction before it manifests is imperative to interpret the functional and behavioural consequences of cerebellar-related disorders, providing an optimal timeline for therapeutic interventions. Here, we report the cascade of events leading to Purkinje cells dysfunction before the onset of ataxia in a mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia 1 (SCA1). Spatiotemporal characterization of the ATXN1[82Q] SCA1 mouse model revealed high levels of the mutant ATXN1[82Q] weeks before the onset of ataxia. The expression of the toxic protein first caused a reduction of Purkinje cells intrinsic excitability, which was followed by atrophy of Purkinje cells dendrite arborization and aberrant glutamatergic signalling, finally leading to disruption of Purkinje cells innervation of climbing fibres and loss of intrinsic plasticity of Purkinje cells. Functionally, we found that deficits in eyeblink conditioning, a form of cerebellum-dependent motor learning, precede the onset of ataxia, matching the timeline of climbing fibre degeneration and reduced intrinsic plasticity. Together, our results suggest that abnormal synaptic signalling and intrinsic plasticity during the pre-ataxia stage of spinocerebellar ataxias underlie an aberrant cerebellar circuitry that anticipates the full extent of the disease severity. Furthermore, our work indicates the potential for eyeblink conditioning to be used as a sensitive tool to detect early cerebellar dysfunction as a sign of future disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Osório
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | - Joshua J White
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | - Heiling Lu
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | - Gerrit C Beekhof
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Stephanie Dijkhuizen
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Post
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Schonewille
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3015CN, The Netherlands
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O'Dell DE, Schreurs BG, Smith-Bell C, Wang D. Disruption of rat deep cerebellar perineuronal net alters eyeblink conditioning and neuronal electrophysiology. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 177:107358. [PMID: 33285318 PMCID: PMC8279724 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The perineuronal net (PNN) is a specialized type of extracellular matrix found in the central nervous system. The PNN forms on fast spiking neurons during postnatal development but the ontogeny of PNN development has yet to be elucidated. By studying the development and prevalence of the PNN in the juvenile and adult rat brain, we may be able to understand the PNN's role in development and learning and memory. We show that the PNN is fully developed in the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) of rats by P18. By using enzymatic digestion of the PNN with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), we are able to study how digestion of the PNN affects cerebellar-dependent eyeblink conditioning in vivo and perform electrophysiological recordings from DCN neurons in vitro. In vivo degradation of the PNN resulted in significant differences in eyeblink conditioning amplitude and area. Female animals in the vehicle group demonstrated higher levels of conditioning as well as significantly higher post-probe conditioned responses compared to males in that group, differences not present in the ChABC group. In vitro, we found that DCN neurons with a disrupted PNN following exposure to ChABC had altered membrane properties, fewer rebound spikes, and decreased intrinsic excitability. Together, this study further elucidates the role of the PNN in cerebellar learning in the DCN and is the first to demonstrate PNN degradation may erase sex differences in delay conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deidre E O'Dell
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU, 33 Medical Center Dr, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States.
| | - Bernard G Schreurs
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU, 33 Medical Center Dr, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States
| | - Carrie Smith-Bell
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU, 33 Medical Center Dr, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States
| | - Desheng Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU, 33 Medical Center Dr, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States
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Bolaños-Burgos IC, Bernal-Correa AM, Mahecha GAB, Ribeiro ÂM, Kushmerick C. Thiamine Deficiency Increases Intrinsic Excitability of Mouse Cerebellar Purkinje Cells. THE CEREBELLUM 2020; 20:186-202. [PMID: 33098550 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-020-01202-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Thiamine deficiency is associated with cerebellar dysfunction; however, the consequences of thiamine deficiency on the electrophysiological properties of cerebellar Purkinje cells are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated these parameters in brain slices containing cerebellar vermis. Adult mice were maintained for 12-13 days on a thiamine-free diet coupled with daily injections of pyrithiamine, an inhibitor of thiamine phosphorylation. Morphological analysis revealed a 20% reduction in Purkinje cell and nuclear volume in thiamine-deficient animals compared to feeding-matched controls, with no reduction in cell count. Under whole-cell current clamp, thiamine-deficient Purkinje cells required significantly less current injection to fire an action potential. This reduction in rheobase was not due to a change in voltage threshold. Rather, thiamine-deficient neurons presented significantly higher input resistance specifically in the voltage range just below threshold, which increases their sensitivity to current at these critical membrane potentials. In addition, thiamine deficiency caused a significant decrease in the amplitude of the action potential afterhyperpolarization, broadened the action potential, and decreased the current threshold for depolarization block. When thiamine-deficient animals were allowed to recover for 1 week on a normal diet, rheobase, threshold, action potential half-width, and depolarization block threshold were no longer different from controls. We conclude that thiamine deficiency causes significant but reversible changes to the electrophysiology properties of Purkinje cells prior to pathological morphological alterations or cell loss. Thus, the data obtained in the present study indicate that increased excitability of Purkinje cells may represent a leading indicator of cerebellar dysfunction caused by lack of thiamine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ana María Bernal-Correa
- Graduate Program in Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Ângela Maria Ribeiro
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Christopher Kushmerick
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. .,Graduate Program in Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. .,Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
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Lindquist DH. Emotion in motion: A three-stage model of aversive classical conditioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 115:363-377. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Ohtsuki G, Shishikura M, Ozaki A. Synergistic excitability plasticity in cerebellar functioning. FEBS J 2020; 287:4557-4593. [PMID: 32367676 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The cerebellum, a universal processor for sensory acquisition and internal models, and its association with synaptic and nonsynaptic plasticity have been envisioned as the biological correlates of learning, perception, and even thought. Indeed, the cerebellum is no longer considered merely as the locus of motor coordination and its learning. Here, we introduce the mechanisms underlying the induction of multiple types of plasticity in cerebellar circuit and give an overview focusing on the plasticity of nonsynaptic intrinsic excitability. The discovery of long-term potentiation of synaptic responsiveness in hippocampal neurons led investigations into changes of their intrinsic excitability. This activity-dependent potentiation of neuronal excitability is distinct from that of synaptic efficacy. Systematic examination of excitability plasticity has indicated that the modulation of various types of Ca2+ - and voltage-dependent K+ channels underlies the phenomenon, which is also triggered by immune activity. Intrinsic plasticity is expressed specifically on dendrites and modifies the integrative processing and filtering effect. In Purkinje cells, modulation of the discordance of synaptic current on soma and dendrite suggested a novel type of cellular learning mechanism. This property enables a plausible synergy between synaptic efficacy and intrinsic excitability, by amplifying electrical conductivity and influencing the polarity of bidirectional synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, the induction of intrinsic plasticity in the cerebellum correlates with motor performance and cognitive processes, through functional connections from the cerebellar nuclei to neocortex and associated regions: for example, thalamus and midbrain. Taken together, recent advances in neuroscience have begun to shed light on the complex functioning of nonsynaptic excitability and the synergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen Ohtsuki
- The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Japan.,Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Science, Japan.,Department of Drug Discovery Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
| | - Mari Shishikura
- Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Science, Japan
| | - Akitoshi Ozaki
- Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Science, Japan
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Titley HK, Watkins GV, Lin C, Weiss C, McCarthy M, Disterhoft JF, Hansel C. Intrinsic Excitability Increase in Cerebellar Purkinje Cells after Delay Eye-Blink Conditioning in Mice. J Neurosci 2020; 40:2038-2046. [PMID: 32015022 PMCID: PMC7055141 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2259-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cerebellar-based learning is thought to rely on synaptic plasticity, particularly at synaptic inputs to Purkinje cells. Recently, however, other complementary mechanisms have been identified. Intrinsic plasticity is one such mechanism, and depends in part on the downregulation of calcium-dependent SK-type K+ channels, which contribute to a medium-slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) after spike bursts, regulating membrane excitability. In the hippocampus, intrinsic plasticity plays a role in trace eye-blink conditioning; however, corresponding excitability changes in the cerebellum in associative learning, such as in trace or delay eye-blink conditioning, are less well studied. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were obtained from Purkinje cells in cerebellar slices prepared from male mice ∼48 h after they learned a delay eye-blink conditioning task. Over a period of repeated training sessions, mice received either paired trials of a tone coterminating with a periorbital shock (conditioning) or trials in which these stimuli were randomly presented in an unpaired manner (pseudoconditioning). Purkinje cells from conditioned mice show a significantly reduced AHP after trains of parallel fiber stimuli and after climbing fiber evoked complex spikes. The number of spikelets in the complex spike waveform is increased after conditioning. Moreover, we find that SK-dependent intrinsic plasticity is occluded in conditioned, but not pseudoconditioned mice. These findings show that excitability is enhanced in Purkinje cells after delay eye-blink conditioning, and point toward a downregulation of SK channels as a potential underlying mechanism. The observation that this learning effect lasts at least up to 2 d after training shows that intrinsic plasticity regulates excitability in the long term.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Plasticity of membrane excitability ("intrinsic plasticity") has been observed in invertebrate and vertebrate neurons, coinduced with synaptic plasticity or in isolation. Although the cellular phenomenon per se is well established, it remains unclear what role intrinsic plasticity plays in learning and if it even persists long enough to serve functions in engram physiology beyond aiding synaptic plasticity. Here, we demonstrate that cerebellar Purkinje cells upregulate excitability in delay eye-blink conditioning, a form of motor learning. This plasticity is observed 48 h after training and alters synaptically evoked spike firing and integrative properties of these neurons. These findings show that intrinsic plasticity enhances the spike firing output of Purkinje cells and persists over the course of days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather K Titley
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, and
| | - Gabrielle V Watkins
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, and
| | - Carmen Lin
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Craig Weiss
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Michael McCarthy
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - John F Disterhoft
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Christian Hansel
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, and
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Grasselli G, Boele HJ, Titley HK, Bradford N, van Beers L, Jay L, Beekhof GC, Busch SE, De Zeeuw CI, Schonewille M, Hansel C. SK2 channels in cerebellar Purkinje cells contribute to excitability modulation in motor-learning-specific memory traces. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000596. [PMID: 31905212 PMCID: PMC6964916 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons store information by changing synaptic input weights. In addition, they can adjust their membrane excitability to alter spike output. Here, we demonstrate a role of such "intrinsic plasticity" in behavioral learning in a mouse model that allows us to detect specific consequences of absent excitability modulation. Mice with a Purkinje-cell-specific knockout (KO) of the calcium-activated K+ channel SK2 (L7-SK2) show intact vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain adaptation but impaired eyeblink conditioning (EBC), which relies on the ability to establish associations between stimuli, with the eyelid closure itself depending on a transient suppression of spike firing. In these mice, the intrinsic plasticity of Purkinje cells is prevented without affecting long-term depression or potentiation at their parallel fiber (PF) input. In contrast to the typical spike pattern of EBC-supporting zebrin-negative Purkinje cells, L7-SK2 neurons show reduced background spiking but enhanced excitability. Thus, SK2 plasticity and excitability modulation are essential for specific forms of motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Grasselli
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heather K. Titley
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Nora Bradford
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Lisa van Beers
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Lindsey Jay
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Gerco C. Beekhof
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Silas E. Busch
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Chris I. De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Christian Hansel
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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