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Frescura F, Stark T, Tiziani E, Di Martino S, Ruda-Kucerova J, Drago F, Ferraro L, Micale V, Beggiato S. Prenatal MAM exposure raises kynurenic acid levels in the prefrontal cortex of adult rats. Pharmacol Rep 2024:10.1007/s43440-024-00604-6. [PMID: 38789891 DOI: 10.1007/s43440-024-00604-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elevated brain levels of kynurenic acid (KYNA), a metabolite in the kynurenine pathway, are associated with cognitive dysfunctions, which are nowadays often considered as fundamental characteristics of several psychopathologies; however, the role of KYNA in mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, is not fully elucidated. This study aimed to assess KYNA levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats prenatally treated with methylazoxymethanol (MAM) acetate, i.e., a well-validated neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia. The effects of an early pharmacological modulation of the endogenous cannabinoid system were also evaluated. METHODS Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with MAM (22 mg/kg, ip) or its vehicle at gestational day 17. Male offspring were treated with the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist AM251 (0.5 mg/kg/day, ip) or with the typical antipsychotic haloperidol (0.6 mg/kg/day, ip) from postnatal day (PND) 19 to PND39. The locomotor activity and cognitive performance were assessed in the novel object recognition test and the open field test in adulthood. KYNA levels in the PFC of prenatally MAM-treated rats were also assessed. RESULTS A significant cognitive impairment was observed in prenatally MAM-treated rats (p < 0.01), which was associated with enhanced PFC KYNA levels (p < 0.05). The peripubertal AM251, but not haloperidol, treatment ameliorated the cognitive deficit (p < 0.05), by normalizing the PFC KYNA content in MAM rats. CONCLUSIONS The present findings suggest that the cognitive deficit observed in MAM rats may be related to enhanced PFC KYNA levels which could be, in turn, mediated by the activation of cannabinoid CB1 receptor. These results further support the modulation of brain KYNA levels as a potential therapeutic strategy to ameliorate the cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Frescura
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Tibor Stark
- Department Emotion Research, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80807, Munich, Germany
| | - Edoardo Tiziani
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Serena Di Martino
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Luca Ferraro
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
- LTTA Centre, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
- Psychiatric Department, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Sarah Beggiato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
- Psychiatric Department, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Cieślik P, Rafało-Ulińska A, Wierońska JM. Prevention of MK-801-induced amnestic effect with combined activation of 5-HT 1A and muscarinic receptors in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2024; 238:173749. [PMID: 38462045 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Muscarinic or 5-HT1A receptors are crucial in learning and memory processes, and their expression is evident in the brain areas involved in cognition. The administration of the activators of these receptors prevents the development of cognitive dysfunctions in animal models of schizophrenia induced by MK-801 (N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist) administration. GABAergic dysfunction is considered as one of the most important causes of MK-801-induced spatial learning deficits. METHODS Novel object recognition (NOR) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were used to study the anti-amnestic effect of the biased 5-HT1A receptor agonist (F15599) alone or in combinations with VU0357017 (M1 receptor allosteric agonist), VU0152100 (M4 receptor positive allosteric modulator), and VU0238429 (M5 receptor positive allosteric modulator) on MK-801-induced dysfunctions. The compounds were administered for 5 consecutive days. Animals tested with the MWM underwent 5-day training. Western blotting was used to study the expressions of 5-HT1A receptors and the level of GAD65 in the frontal cortices (FCs) and hippocampi of the animals. RESULTS F15599 prevented the amnestic effect induced by MK-801 in the MWM at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg. The co-administration of the compound with muscarinic receptors activators had no synergistic effect. The additive effect of the combinations was evident in the prevention of declarative memory dysfunctions investigated in NOR. The administration of MK-801 impaired 5-HT1A expression in the hippocampi and decreased GAD65 levels in both the FCs and hippocampi. The administration of muscarinic ligands prevented these MK-801-induced deficits only in the hippocampi of MWM-trained animals. No effects of the compounds were observed in untrained mice. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that F15599 prevents schizophrenia-related spatial learning deficits in the MWM; however, the activity of the compound is not intensified with muscarinic receptors activators. In contrast, the combined administration of the ligands is effective in the NOR model of declarative memory. The muscarinic receptors activators reversed MK-801-induced 5-HT1A and GAD65 dysfunctions in the hippocampi of MWM-trained mice, but not in untrained mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Cieślik
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Neurobiology, 12 Smętna Street, 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | - Anna Rafało-Ulińska
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Neurobiology, 12 Smętna Street, 31-343 Kraków, Poland
| | - Joanna M Wierońska
- Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Neurobiology, 12 Smętna Street, 31-343 Kraków, Poland.
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Kotov R, Carpenter WT, Cicero DC, Correll CU, Martin EA, Young JW, Zald DH, Jonas KG. Psychosis superspectrum II: neurobiology, treatment, and implications. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02410-1. [PMID: 38351173 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02410-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Alternatives to traditional categorical diagnoses have been proposed to improve the validity and utility of psychiatric nosology. This paper continues the companion review of an alternative model, the psychosis superspectrum of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). The superspectrum model aims to describe psychosis-related psychopathology according to data on distributions and associations among signs and symptoms. The superspectrum includes psychoticism and detachment spectra as well as narrow subdimensions within them. Auxiliary domains of cognitive deficit and functional impairment complete the psychopathology profile. The current paper reviews evidence on this model from neurobiology, treatment response, clinical utility, and measure development. Neurobiology research suggests that psychopathology included in the superspectrum shows similar patterns of neural alterations. Treatment response often mirrors the hierarchy of the superspectrum with some treatments being efficacious for psychoticism, others for detachment, and others for a specific subdimension. Compared to traditional diagnostic systems, the quantitative nosology shows an approximately 2-fold increase in reliability, explanatory power, and prognostic accuracy. Clinicians consistently report that the quantitative nosology has more utility than traditional diagnoses, but studies of patients with frank psychosis are currently lacking. Validated measures are available to implement the superspectrum model in practice. The dimensional conceptualization of psychosis-related psychopathology has implications for research, clinical practice, and public health programs. For example, it encourages use of the cohort study design (rather than case-control), transdiagnostic treatment strategies, and selective prevention based on subclinical symptoms. These approaches are already used in the field, and the superspectrum provides further impetus and guidance for their implementation. Existing knowledge on this model is substantial, but significant gaps remain. We identify outstanding questions and propose testable hypotheses to guide further research. Overall, we predict that the more informative, reliable, and valid characterization of psychopathology offered by the superspectrum model will facilitate progress in research and clinical care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Kotov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
| | | | - David C Cicero
- Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
| | - Christoph U Correll
- Department of Psychiatry, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, Glen Oaks, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Elizabeth A Martin
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - David H Zald
- Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Katherine G Jonas
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Socha J, Grochecki P, Smaga I, Jastrzębska J, Wronikowska-Denysiuk O, Marszalek-Grabska M, Slowik T, Kotlinski R, Filip M, Lubec G, Kotlinska JH. Social Interaction in Adolescent Rats with Neonatal Ethanol Exposure: Impact of Sex and CE-123, a Selective Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1041. [PMID: 38256113 PMCID: PMC10816180 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) demonstrate deficits in social functioning that contribute to early withdrawal from school and delinquency, as well as the development of anxiety and depression. Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, and social behavior. Thus, we evaluated whether neonatal ethanol exposure (in an animal model of FASDs) has an impact on social recognition memory using the three-chamber social novelty discrimination test during early and middle adolescence in male and female rats, and whether the modafinil analog, the novel atypical dopamine reuptake inhibitor CE-123, can modify this effect. Our study shows that male and female rats neonatally exposed to ethanol exhibited sex- and age-dependent deficits in social novelty discrimination in early (male) and middle (female) adolescence. These deficits were specific to the social domain and not simply due to more general deficits in learning and memory because these animals did not exhibit changes in short-term recognition memory in the novel object recognition task. Furthermore, early-adolescent male rats that were neonatally exposed to ethanol did not show changes in the anxiety index but demonstrated an increase in locomotor activity. Chronic treatment with CE-123, however, prevented the appearance of these social deficits. In the hippocampus of adolescent rats, CE-123 increased BDNF and decreased its signal transduction TrkB receptor expression level in ethanol-exposed animals during development, suggesting an increase in neuroplasticity. Thus, selective dopamine reuptake inhibitors, such as CE-123, represent interesting drug candidates for the treatment of deficits in social behavior in adolescent individuals with FASDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justyna Socha
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland; (J.S.); (P.G.)
| | - Pawel Grochecki
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland; (J.S.); (P.G.)
| | - Irena Smaga
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Smetna 12, 31-343 Krakow, Poland; (I.S.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Joanna Jastrzębska
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Smetna 12, 31-343 Krakow, Poland; (I.S.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Olga Wronikowska-Denysiuk
- Independent Laboratory of Behavioral Studies, Chair of Biomedical Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland;
| | - Marta Marszalek-Grabska
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University, Jaczewskiego 8b, 20-090 Lublin, Poland;
| | - Tymoteusz Slowik
- Experimental Medicine Center, Medical University, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-090 Lublin, Poland;
| | - Robert Kotlinski
- Clinical Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Rzeszow, 35-601 Rzeszow, Poland;
| | - Małgorzata Filip
- Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Smetna 12, 31-343 Krakow, Poland; (I.S.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Gert Lubec
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;
| | - Jolanta H. Kotlinska
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Lublin, Chodzki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland; (J.S.); (P.G.)
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Sampedro-Viana D, Cañete T, Mourelo L, Oliveras I, Peralta-Vallejo N, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Low prepulse inhibition predicts lower social interaction, impaired spatial working memory, reference memory and cognitive flexibility in genetically heterogeneous rats. Physiol Behav 2023; 271:114355. [PMID: 37734470 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The "Genetically Heterogeneous National Institutes of Health (NIHHS)" stock rat (hereafter HS) shows a wide phenotypic variation, as a result of having been derived from eight inbred rat strains. Thus, these rats may be a conceivable parallel model of a healthy human sample. In order to evaluate whether HS rats have face validity as an animal model of schizophrenia-relevant features, it should be demonstrated that they present behavioural traits that may model negative and cognitive symptoms of the disorder. Previous studies on HS rats have shown that prepulse inhibition (PPI, a measure of sensorimotor gating processes), which is impaired in schizophrenic patients, is correlated with their working memory performance. In this study, we evaluated whether low PPI in the HS stock rat predicts impairments of spatial working memory (SWM), spatial reference memory and cognitive flexibility in the Morris water maze (MWM) test, and we evaluated HS rats for social interaction (SI) in a social investigation task. HS rats were stratified into 2 different groups according to their PPI scores, i.e. low- and high-PPI. In the SI task, low-PPI rats showed decreased social behaviour compared to high-PPI rats. In addition, relative to high-PPI HS rats, the low-PPI group displayed poorer SWM performance, impaired cognitive flexibility (in a reversal task) and worsened long-term spatial memory. Such differential behaviours in social and cognitive paradigms provide evidence on the face validity of low-PPI HS rats as a model of negative-like and cognitive schizophrenia-relevant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sampedro-Viana
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - T Cañete
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Mourelo
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - I Oliveras
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - N Peralta-Vallejo
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Tobeña
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Fernández-Teruel
- Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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6
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Murlanova K, Pletnikov MV. Modeling psychotic disorders: Environment x environment interaction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105310. [PMID: 37437753 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a major psychotic disorder with multifactorial etiology that includes interactions between genetic vulnerability and environmental risk factors. In addition, interplay of multiple environmental adversities affects neurodevelopment and may increase the individual risk of developing schizophrenia. Consistent with the two-hit hypothesis of schizophrenia, we review rodent models that combine maternal immune activation as the first hit with other adverse environmental exposures as the second hit. We discuss the strengths and pitfalls of the current animal models of environment x environment interplay and propose some future directions to advance the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateryna Murlanova
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Mikhail V Pletnikov
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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7
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Woods R, Lorusso J, Fletcher J, ElTaher H, McEwan F, Harris I, Kowash H, D'Souza SW, Harte M, Hager R, Glazier JD. Maternal immune activation and role of placenta in the prenatal programming of neurodevelopmental disorders. Neuronal Signal 2023; 7:NS20220064. [PMID: 37332846 PMCID: PMC10273029 DOI: 10.1042/ns20220064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal infection during pregnancy, leading to maternal immune activation (mIA) and cytokine release, increases the offspring risk of developing a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including schizophrenia. Animal models have provided evidence to support these mechanistic links, with placental inflammatory responses and dysregulation of placental function implicated. This leads to changes in fetal brain cytokine balance and altered epigenetic regulation of key neurodevelopmental pathways. The prenatal timing of such mIA-evoked changes, and the accompanying fetal developmental responses to an altered in utero environment, will determine the scope of the impacts on neurodevelopmental processes. Such dysregulation can impart enduring neuropathological changes, which manifest subsequently in the postnatal period as altered neurodevelopmental behaviours in the offspring. Hence, elucidation of the functional changes that occur at the molecular level in the placenta is vital in improving our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of NDDs. This has notable relevance to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, where inflammatory responses in the placenta to SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and NDDs in early childhood have been reported. This review presents an integrated overview of these collective topics and describes the possible contribution of prenatal programming through placental effects as an underlying mechanism that links to NDD risk, underpinned by altered epigenetic regulation of neurodevelopmental pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Woods
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Jarred M. Lorusso
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Jennifer Fletcher
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Heidi ElTaher
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt
| | - Francesca McEwan
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Isabella Harris
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Hager M. Kowash
- Division of Developmental Biology and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, U.K
| | - Stephen W. D'Souza
- Division of Developmental Biology and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, U.K
| | - Michael Harte
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Jocelyn D. Glazier
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
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Lewis AS, Nobis WP. Narrowing the translational research gap by aligning replication concepts in basic and clinical neuroscience. J Neurosci Methods 2023; 392:109878. [PMID: 37169225 PMCID: PMC10214459 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.109878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Replicability and reproducibility are widely considered to be cornerstones of valid scientific research. Yet, the elements of replication in fundamental neuroscience studies do not fully overlap with the process of replication in clinical neuroscience involving patients. Here we discuss how better aligning the concept of replication across this translational spectrum might enhance the rate at which basic findings in the organization and function of the nervous system are leveraged to develop new treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan S Lewis
- Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
| | - William P Nobis
- Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
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Vizeli P, Cuccurazzu B, Drummond SPA, Acheson DT, Risbrough VB. Effects of total sleep deprivation on sensorimotor gating in humans. Behav Brain Res 2023; 449:114487. [PMID: 37169130 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Sensorimotor gating is a measure of pre-attentional information processing and can be measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. Sleep deprivation has been shown to disrupt PPI in animals and humans, and has been proposed as an early phase 2 model to probe antipsychotic efficacy in heathy humans. To further investigate the reliability and efficacy of sleep deprivation to produce PPI deficits we tested the effects of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on PPI in healthy controls in a highly controlled sleep laboratory environment. Participants spent 4 days and nights in a controlled laboratory environment with their sleep monitored with polysomnography. Participants were randomly assigned to either normal sleep on all 4 nights (N=17) or 36hours of TSD on the 3rd or 4th night (N=40). Participants were assessed for sleepiness using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and underwent a daily PPI task (interstimlulus intervals 30-2000 ms) in the evening. Both within-subject effects (TSD vs. normal sleep in TSD group alone) and between-subject effects (TSD vs. no TSD group) of TSD on PPI were assessed. TSD increased subjective sleepiness measured with the KSS, but did not significantly alter overall startle, habituation or PPI. Sleep measures including duration, rapid eye movement and slow wave sleep duration were also not associated with PPI performance. The current results show that human sensorimotor gating may not be reliably sensitive to sleep deprivation. Further research is required for TSD to be considered a dependable model of PPI disruption for drug discovery in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Vizeli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Bruna Cuccurazzu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sean P A Drummond
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Dean T Acheson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Victoria B Risbrough
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, USA
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Woods RM, Lorusso JM, Harris I, Kowash HM, Murgatroyd C, Neill JC, Glazier JD, Harte M, Hager R. Maternal Immune Activation Induces Adolescent Cognitive Deficits Preceded by Developmental Perturbations in Cortical Reelin Signalling. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13030489. [PMID: 36979424 PMCID: PMC10046789 DOI: 10.3390/biom13030489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA) in utero significantly elevates the risk of developing schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. To understand the biological mechanisms underlying the link between MIA and increased risk, preclinical animal models have focussed on specific signalling pathways in the brain that mediate symptoms associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as cognitive dysfunction. Reelin signalling in multiple brain regions is involved in neuronal migration, synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation, and has been implicated in cognitive deficits. However, how regulation of Reelin expression is affected by MIA across cortical development and associated cognitive functions remains largely unclear. Using a MIA rat model, here we demonstrate cognitive deficits in adolescent object-location memory in MIA offspring and reductions in Reln expression prenatally and in the adult prefrontal cortex. Further, developmental disturbances in gene/protein expression and DNA methylation of downstream signalling components occurred subsequent to MIA-induced Reelin dysregulation and prior to cognitive deficits. We propose that MIA-induced dysregulation of Reelin signalling contributes to the emergence of prefrontal cortex-mediated cognitive deficits through altered NMDA receptor function, resulting in inefficient long-term potentiation. Our data suggest a developmental window during which attenuation of Reelin signalling may provide a possible therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Woods
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
- Correspondence: (R.M.W.); (J.M.L.)
| | - Jarred M. Lorusso
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
- Correspondence: (R.M.W.); (J.M.L.)
| | - Isabella Harris
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
| | - Hager M. Kowash
- Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, School of Medical Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
| | | | - Joanna C. Neill
- Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
| | - Jocelyn D. Glazier
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
| | - Michael Harte
- Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PL, UK
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11
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Potter HG, Kowash HM, Woods RM, Revill G, Grime A, Deeney B, Burgess MA, Aarons T, Glazier JD, Neill JC, Hager R. Maternal behaviours and adult offspring behavioural deficits are predicted by maternal TNFα concentration in a rat model of neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain Behav Immun 2023; 108:162-175. [PMID: 36503051 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to inflammatory stressors during fetal development is a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in adult offspring. Maternal immune activation (MIA), induced by infection, causes an acute increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines which can increase the risk for NDDs directly by inducing placental and fetal brain inflammation, or indirectly through affecting maternal care behaviours thereby affecting postnatal brain development. Which of these two potential mechanisms dominates in increasing offspring risk for NDDs remains unclear. Here, we show that acute systemic maternal inflammation induced by the viral mimetic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) on gestational day 15 of rat pregnancy affects offspring and maternal behaviour, offspring cognition, and expression of NDD-relevant genes in the offspring brain. Dams exposed to poly I:C elicited an acute increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF; referred to here as TNFα), which predicted disruption of key maternal care behaviours. Offspring of poly I:C-treated dams showed early behavioural and adult cognitive deficits correlated to the maternal TNFα response, but, importantly, not with altered maternal care. We also found interacting effects of sex and treatment on GABAergic gene expression and DNA methylation in these offspring in a brain region-specific manner, including increased parvalbumin expression in the female adolescent frontal cortex. We conclude that the MIA-induced elevation of TNFα in the maternal compartment affects fetal neurodevelopment leading to altered offspring behaviour and cognition. Our results suggest that a focus on prenatal pathways affecting fetal neurodevelopment would provide greater insights into the mechanisms underpinning the TNFα-mediated genesis of altered offspring behaviour and cognition following maternal inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry G Potter
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom; School of Medicine, University of Central Lancashire, Burnley BB11 1RA, United Kingdom.
| | - Hager M Kowash
- Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, Division of Developmental Biology and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester M13 9WL, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca M Woods
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Grace Revill
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Amy Grime
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Brendan Deeney
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew A Burgess
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Toby Aarons
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Jocelyn D Glazier
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Joanna C Neill
- Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom; Chair of Medical Psychedelics Working Group, Drug Science, United Kingdom
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
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12
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Cothren TO, Evonko CJ, MacQueen DA. Olfactory Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Evaluating Olfactory Abilities Across Species. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 63:363-392. [PMID: 36059004 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Though understudied relative to perturbations in the auditory and visual domains, olfactory dysfunction is a common symptom of schizophrenia. Over the past two decades, the availability of standardized assessments to quantify human olfactory abilities, and enhance understanding of the neurophysiology supporting olfaction, has increased, enabling a more thorough characterization of these deficits. In contrast to other psychiatric conditions for which olfactory dysfunction has been observed (e.g., major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease), the impairments observed in schizophrenia are particularly global and profound. At this level, such deficits in olfactory abilities likely impact the enjoyment of food, detection of environmental hazards, and influence social relationships. More broadly, the study of olfactory phenotypes in schizophrenia presents new avenues for detection of those at-risk for the condition, identification of therapeutic targets for treatment development, and for the characterization of novel animal models relevant to schizophrenia and psychosis. This review will consider the olfactory performance of individuals with schizophrenia in domains for which standardized assessments are available (odor sensitivity, discrimination, identification, and memory). Paradigms available for assessing these abilities in rodents will also be discussed with the aim of facilitating translation. Thus, future studies will be able to include cross-species translation of mechanisms relevant to olfactory function and cognition, what has gone awry in the disease state, and test potential therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taitum O Cothren
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - Christopher J Evonko
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - David A MacQueen
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA.
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13
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Huang X, Li Y, Liu H, Xu J, Tan Z, Dong H, Tian B, Wu S, Wang W. Activation of basolateral amygdala to anterior cingulate cortex circuit alleviates MK-801 induced social and cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:1070015. [PMID: 36619672 PMCID: PMC9813383 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.1070015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with a high prevalence worldwide, however, its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Methods and results In this study, we used the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 to induce schizophrenia-like behaviors and confirmed that mice exhibited stereotypic rotational behavior and hyperlocomotion, social interaction defects and cognitive dysfunction, similar to the clinical symptoms in patients. Here, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) were involved in the schizophrenia-like behaviors induced by MK-801. Furthermore, we confirmed BLA sent glutamatergic projection to the ACC. Chemogenetic and optogenetic regulation of BLA-ACC projecting neurons affected social and cognitive deficits but not stereotypic rotational behavior in MK-801-treated mice. Discussion Overall, our study revealed that the BLA-ACC circuit plays a major role and may be a potential target for treating schizophrenia-related symptoms.
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14
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Mwesiga EK, Ssemata AS, Gumikiriza J, Nanteza A, Nakitende AJ, Nakku J, Akena D, Nakasujja N. The association of cognitive impairment with quality of life and functional impairment in Ugandan first-episode psychosis patients: a cross sectional study. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2022; 20:113. [PMID: 35870969 PMCID: PMC9308281 DOI: 10.1186/s12955-022-02020-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Cognitive impairment is common in first-episode psychosis patients and often associated with poor quality of life and functional impairment. However, most literature on this association is from high income countries and not low resource countries like Uganda. We aimed to determine the association between cognitive impairment with quality of life and functional impairment in Ugandan first-episode psychosis patients. Methods At Butabika national psychiatric hospital of Uganda, we enrolled 94 first-episode psychosis patients aged 18–60 years with a confirmed first-episode of psychosis and no previous treatment with antipsychotic medication. Neuropsychological assessment was performed using the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB). Quality of life and functional impairment were assessed using the brief version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Inventory (MINI) respectively. Linear regression analyses determined the association between impairment in different cognitive domains with various quality of life and functional impairment domains while controlling for age, gender and level of education. Results High scores in the reasoning and problem solving cognitive domain were associated with better quality of life in the psychological domain of WHOQOL-BREF (p = 0.029). For functional impairment, high cognitive scores in the domains of speed of processing (p = 0.018), reasoning and problem solving (p = 0.015), working memory (p = 0.017) and visual learning and memory (p = 0.002) were associated with psychosis “having a greater impact on other members of the family” on the MINI. Higher scores in the social cognition domain were associated with “less aggressive and disruptive behaviour” (p = 0.003). Conclusion Cognitive impairment in Ugandan first-episode psychotic patients is associated with both poorer quality of life and functional impairment. Remediation of cognitive function may be a plausible intervention to improve outcomes in Ugandan first-episode psychosis patients.
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15
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Lorusso JM, Woods RM, McEwan F, Glazier JD, Neill JC, Harte M, Hager R. Clustering of cognitive phenotypes identifies susceptible and resilient offspring in a rat model of maternal immune activation and early-life stress. Brain Behav Immun Health 2022; 25:100514. [PMID: 36177307 PMCID: PMC9513103 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders often have very heterogeneous symptoms, especially regarding cognition: while some individuals may exhibit deficient cognition, others are relatively unaffected. Studies using developmental animal models often ignore phenotypic heterogeneity in favour of traditional treatment/control comparisons. This may result in resilient or unaffected individuals masking the effects of susceptible individuals if grouped together. Here, we used maternal immune activation and limited bedding and nesting, respectively, as a two-hit neurodevelopmental model for schizophrenia. Both factors reduced cognitive function in a novel object recognition (NOR) task. While we found treatment group effects on cognitive phenotypes, behavioural clustering identified three subpopulations exposed to either insult: those exhibiting ‘typical’ cognitive performance on the NOR, an intermediate phenotype, or a marked deficit. These clusters included offspring from each treatment group, although both intermediate and marked deficit clusters were composed primarily of offspring from treated groups. Clustering allowed stratification within treatment groups into ‘susceptible’ and ‘resilient’ individuals, while also identifying conserved phenotypes across treatment groups. Using unbiased cluster analyses in preclinical models can better characterize phenotypes and enables a better understanding of both face and construct validity of phenotypic heterogeneity. The use of unbiased clustering techniques may help identify potential markers associated with individual susceptibility and resilience in neurodevelopmental disorder models. Maternal immune activation and early life stress affect recognition memory. New groups were identified using unbiased clustering based on task performance. These clusters reflected high-, low-, and intermediary recognition memory. Treatment offspring were distributed across all three unbiased clusters. These findings suggest some offspring will be resilient to developmental insults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarred M. Lorusso
- Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
- Corresponding author.
| | - Rebecca M. Woods
- Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca McEwan
- Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Jocelyn D. Glazier
- Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Joanna C. Neill
- Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Harte
- Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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16
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Driskill CM, Childs JE, Itmer B, Rajput JS, Kroener S. Acute Vagus Nerve Stimulation Facilitates Short Term Memory and Cognitive Flexibility in Rats. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12091137. [PMID: 36138873 PMCID: PMC9496852 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12091137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) causes the release of several neuromodulators, leading to cortical activation and deactivation. The resulting preparatory cortical plasticity can be used to increase learning and memory in both rats and humans. The effects of VNS on cognition have mostly been studied either in animal models of different pathologies, and/or after extended VNS. Considerably less is known about the effects of acute VNS. Here, we examined the effects of acute VNS on short-term memory and cognitive flexibility in naïve rats, using three cognitive tasks that require comparatively brief (single session) training periods. In all tasks, VNS was delivered immediately before or during the testing phase. We used a rule-shifting task to test cognitive flexibility, a novel object recognition task to measure short-term object memory, and a delayed spontaneous alternation task to measure spatial short-term memory. We also analyzed exploratory behavior in an elevated plus maze to determine the effects of acute VNS on anxiety. Our results indicate that acute VNS can improve memory and cognitive flexibility relative to Sham-stimulation, and these effects are independent of unspecific VNS-induced changes in locomotion or anxiety.
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17
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Hazani R, Lavidor M, Weller A. Treatments for Social Interaction Impairment in Animal Models of Schizophrenia: A Critical Review and Meta-analysis. Schizophr Bull 2022; 48:1179-1193. [PMID: 35925025 PMCID: PMC9673263 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While pharmacological treatments for positive symptoms of schizophrenia are widely used, their beneficial effect on negative symptoms, particularly social impairment, is insufficiently studied. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in preclinical research of potentially beneficial treatments, with mixed results. The current review aims to evaluate the efficacy of available treatments for social deficits in different animal models of schizophrenia. STUDY DESIGN A systematic literature search generated 145 outcomes for the measures "total time" and "number" of social interactions. Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated, and heterogeneity was tested using Q statistics in a random-effect meta-analytic model. Given the vast heterogeneity in effect sizes, the animal model, treatment group, and sample size were all examined as potential moderators. STUDY RESULTS The results showed that in almost all models, treatment significantly improved social deficit (total time: SMD = 1.24; number: SMD = 1.1). The moderator analyses discovered significant subgroup differences across models and treatment subgroups. Perinatal and adult pharmacological models showed the most substantial influence of treatments on social deficits, reflecting relative pharmacological validity. Furthermore, atypical antipsychotic drugs had the highest SMD within each model subgroup. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that the improvement in social interaction behaviors is dependent on the animal model and treatment family used. Implications for the preclinical and clinical fields are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Hazani
- To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; tel: 972-3-531-8548, fax: 972-3-738-4173, e-mail:
| | - Michal Lavidor
- Psychology Department and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Aron Weller
- Psychology Department and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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18
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Millard SJ, Bearden CE, Karlsgodt KH, Sharpe MJ. The prediction-error hypothesis of schizophrenia: new data point to circuit-specific changes in dopamine activity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:628-640. [PMID: 34588607 PMCID: PMC8782867 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01188-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting 21 million people worldwide. People with schizophrenia suffer from symptoms including psychosis and delusions, apathy, anhedonia, and cognitive deficits. Strikingly, schizophrenia is characterised by a learning paradox involving difficulties learning from rewarding events, whilst simultaneously 'overlearning' about irrelevant or neutral information. While dysfunction in dopaminergic signalling has long been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a cohesive framework that accounts for this learning paradox remains elusive. Recently, there has been an explosion of new research investigating how dopamine contributes to reinforcement learning, which illustrates that midbrain dopamine contributes in complex ways to reinforcement learning, not previously envisioned. This new data brings new possibilities for how dopamine signalling contributes to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Building on recent work, we present a new neural framework for how we might envision specific dopamine circuits contributing to this learning paradox in schizophrenia in the context of models of reinforcement learning. Further, we discuss avenues of preclinical research with the use of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques where aspects of this model may be tested. Ultimately, it is hoped that this review will spur to action more research utilising specific reinforcement learning paradigms in preclinical models of schizophrenia, to reconcile seemingly disparate symptomatology and develop more efficient therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Millard
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Katherine H. Karlsgodt
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Melissa J. Sharpe
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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Stark T, Iannotti FA, Di Martino S, Di Bartolomeo M, Ruda-Kucerova J, Piscitelli F, Wotjak CT, D’Addario C, Drago F, Di Marzo V, Micale V. Early Blockade of CB1 Receptors Ameliorates Schizophrenia-like Alterations in the Neurodevelopmental MAM Model of Schizophrenia. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12010108. [PMID: 35053256 PMCID: PMC8773886 DOI: 10.3390/biom12010108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In agreement with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, prenatal exposure of Sprague-Dawley rats to the antimitotic agent methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 produces long-lasting behavioral alterations such as social withdrawal and cognitive impairment in adulthood, mimicking a schizophrenia-like phenotype. These abnormalities were preceded at neonatal age both by the delayed appearance of neonatal reflexes, an index of impaired brain maturation, and by higher 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) brain levels. Schizophrenia-like deficits were reversed by early treatment [from postnatal day (PND) 2 to PND 8] with the CB1 antagonist/inverse agonist AM251 (0.5 mg/kg/day). By contrast, early CB1 blockade affected the behavioral performance of control rats which was paralleled by enhanced 2-AG content in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These results suggest that prenatal MAM insult leads to premorbid anomalies at neonatal age via altered tone of the endocannabinoid system, which may be considered as an early marker preceding the development of schizophrenia-like alterations in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibor Stark
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (T.S.); (J.R.-K.)
- Scientific Core Unit Neuroimaging, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Fabio Arturo Iannotti
- Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy; (F.A.I.); (F.P.); (V.D.M.)
| | - Serena Di Martino
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (S.D.M.); (F.D.)
| | - Martina Di Bartolomeo
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (M.D.B.); (C.D.)
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (T.S.); (J.R.-K.)
| | - Fabiana Piscitelli
- Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy; (F.A.I.); (F.P.); (V.D.M.)
| | - Carsten T. Wotjak
- Central Nervous System Diseases Research (CNSDR), Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany;
| | - Claudio D’Addario
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy; (M.D.B.); (C.D.)
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (S.D.M.); (F.D.)
| | - Vincenzo Di Marzo
- Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy; (F.A.I.); (F.P.); (V.D.M.)
- Canada Excellence Research Chair on the Microbiome-Endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Centre de Recherche de l’Institut de Cardiologie et Pneumologie de l’Université et Institut sur la Nutrition et les Aliments Fonctionnels, Centre NUTRISS, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 4G5, Canada
| | - Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy; (S.D.M.); (F.D.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-095-4781199
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20
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Riggs LM, An X, Pereira EFR, Gould TD. (R,S)-ketamine and (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine differentially affect memory as a function of dosing frequency. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:583. [PMID: 34772915 PMCID: PMC8590048 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01685-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A single subanesthetic infusion of ketamine can rapidly alleviate symptoms of treatment-resistant major depression. Since repeated administration is required to sustain symptom remission, it is important to characterize the potential untoward effects of prolonged ketamine exposure. While studies suggest that ketamine can alter cognitive function, it is unclear to what extent these effects are modulated by the frequency or chronicity of treatment. To test this, male and female adolescent (postnatal day [PD] 35) and adult (PD 60) BALB/c mice were treated for four consecutive weeks, either daily or thrice-weekly, with (R,S)-ketamine (30 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) or its biologically active metabolite, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK; 30 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Following drug cessation, memory performance was assessed in three operationally distinct tasks: (1) novel object recognition to assess explicit memory, (2) Y-maze to assess working memory, and (3) passive avoidance to assess implicit memory. While drug exposure did not influence working memory performance, thrice-weekly ketamine and daily (2R,6R)-HNK led to explicit memory impairment in novel object recognition independent of sex or age of exposure. Daily (2R,6R)-HNK impaired implicit memory in the passive-avoidance task whereas thrice-weekly (2R,6R)-HNK tended to improve it. These differential effects on explicit and implicit memory possibly reflect the unique mechanisms by which ketamine and (2R,6R)-HNK alter the functional integrity of neural circuits that subserve these distinct cognitive domains, a topic of clinical and mechanistic relevance to their antidepressant actions. Our findings also provide additional support for the importance of dosing frequency in establishing the cognitive effects of repeated ketamine exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lace M Riggs
- Program in Neuroscience and Training Program in Integrative Membrane Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Xiaoxian An
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Edna F R Pereira
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Translational Toxicology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Todd D Gould
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
- Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
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21
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Lins B. Maternal immune activation as a risk factor for psychiatric illness in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Brain Behav Immun Health 2021; 16:100297. [PMID: 34308388 PMCID: PMC8279925 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100297] [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] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Inflammation, due to infectious pathogens or other non-infectious stimuli, during pregnancy is associated with elevated risk for neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism in the offspring. Although historically identified through retrospective epidemiologic studies, the relationship between maternal immune activation and offspring neurodevelopmental disease risk is now well established because of clinical studies which utilized prospective birth cohorts, serologically confirmed infection records, and subsequent long-term offspring follow-up. These efforts have been corroborated by preclinical research which demonstrates anatomical, biochemical, and behavioural alterations that resemble the clinical features of psychiatric illnesses. Intervention studies further demonstrate causal roles of inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, in these long-lasting changes in behaviour and brain. This review summarizes a selection of maternal immune activation literature that explores the relationship between these inflammatory mediators and the neuropsychiatric-like effects later observed in the offspring. This literature is presented alongside emerging information regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, with discussion of how these data may inform future research regarding the effects of the present coronavirus pandemic on emerging birth cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittney Lins
- Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia.
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22
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Pocuca N, Walter TJ, Minassian A, Young JW, Geyer MA, Perry W. The Effects of Cannabis Use on Cognitive Function in Healthy Aging: A Systematic Scoping Review. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 36:673-685. [PMID: 33159510 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acaa105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Older adults (≥50 years) represent the fastest-growing population of people who use cannabis, potentially due to the increasing promotion of cannabis as medicine by dispensaries and cannabis websites. Given healthy aging and cannabis use are both associated with cognitive decline, it is important to establish the effects of cannabis on cognition in healthy aging. OBJECTIVE This systematic scoping review used preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines to critically examine the extent of literature on this topic and highlight areas for future research. METHOD A search of six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, and CINAHL) for articles published by September 2019, yielded 1,014 unique results. RESULTS Six articles reported findings for older populations (three human and three rodent studies), highlighting the paucity of research in this area. Human studies revealed largely null results, likely due to several methodological limitations. Better-controlled rodent studies indicate that the relationship between ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cognitive function in healthy aging depends on age and level of THC exposure. Extremely low doses of THC improved cognition in very old rodents. Somewhat higher chronic doses improved cognition in moderately aged rodents. No studies examined the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) or high-CBD cannabis on cognition. CONCLUSIONS This systematic scoping review provides crucial, timely direction for future research on this emerging issue. Future research that combines neuroimaging and cognitive assessment would serve to advance understanding of the effects of age and quantity of THC and CBD on cognition in healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Pocuca
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - T Jordan Walter
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Arpi Minassian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Center for Stress and Mental Health, Veteran's Administration San Diego Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Mark A Geyer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - William Perry
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
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23
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Draxler P, Moen A, Galek K, Boghos A, Ramazanova D, Sandkühler J. Spontaneous, Voluntary, and Affective Behaviours in Rat Models of Pathological Pain. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2021; 2:672711. [PMID: 35295455 PMCID: PMC8915731 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2021.672711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In pain patients affective and motivational reactions as well as impairment of daily life activities dominate the clinical picture. In contrast, many rodent pain models have been established on the basis of mechanical hypersensitivity testing. Up to today most rodent studies on pain still rely on reflexive withdrawal responses only. This discrepancy has likely contributed to the low predictive power of preclinical pain models for novel therapies. Here, we used a behavioural test array for rats to behaviourally evaluate five aetiologically distinct pain models consisting of inflammatory-, postsurgical-, cephalic-, neuropathic- and chemotherapy-induced pain. We assessed paralleling clinical expressions and comorbidities of chronic pain with an array of behavioural tests to assess anxiety, social interaction, distress, depression, and voluntary/spontaneous behaviours. Pharmacological treatment of the distinct pain conditions was performed with pathology-specific and clinically efficacious analgesics as gabapentin, sumatriptan, naproxen, and codeine. We found that rats differed in their manifestation of symptoms depending on the pain model and that pathology-specific analgesics also reduced the associated behavioural parameters. Based on all behavioural test performed, we screened for tests that can discriminate experimental groups on the basis of reflexive as well as non-sensory, affective parameters. Together, we propose a set of non-evoked behaviours with a comparable predictive power to mechanical threshold testing for each pain model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Draxler
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aurora Moen
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karolina Galek
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ani Boghos
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dariga Ramazanova
- Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems (CeMSIIS) Section for Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jürgen Sandkühler
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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24
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Chang CY, Luo DZ, Pei JC, Kuo MC, Hsieh YC, Lai WS. Not Just a Bystander: The Emerging Role of Astrocytes and Research Tools in Studying Cognitive Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22105343. [PMID: 34069523 PMCID: PMC8160762 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22105343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction is one of the core symptoms in schizophrenia, and it is predictive of functional outcomes and therefore useful for treatment targets. Rather than improving cognitive deficits, currently available antipsychotics mainly focus on positive symptoms, targeting dopaminergic/serotoninergic neurons and receptors in the brain. Apart from investigating the neural mechanisms underlying schizophrenia, emerging evidence indicates the importance of glial cells in brain structure development and their involvement in cognitive functions. Although the etiopathology of astrocytes in schizophrenia remains unclear, accumulated evidence reveals that alterations in gene expression and astrocyte products have been reported in schizophrenic patients. To further investigate the role of astrocytes in schizophrenia, we highlighted recent progress in the investigation of the effect of astrocytes on abnormalities in glutamate transmission and impairments in the blood–brain barrier. Recent advances in animal models and behavioral methods were introduced to examine schizophrenia-related cognitive deficits and negative symptoms. We also highlighted several experimental tools that further elucidate the role of astrocytes. Instead of focusing on schizophrenia as a neuron-specific disorder, an additional astrocytic perspective provides novel and promising insight into its causal mechanisms and treatment. The involvement of astrocytes in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and other brain disorders is worth further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Yuan Chang
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; (C.-Y.C.); (D.-Z.L.); (J.-C.P.); (Y.-C.H.)
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan;
| | - Da-Zhong Luo
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; (C.-Y.C.); (D.-Z.L.); (J.-C.P.); (Y.-C.H.)
| | - Ju-Chun Pei
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; (C.-Y.C.); (D.-Z.L.); (J.-C.P.); (Y.-C.H.)
| | - Ming-Che Kuo
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan;
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100225, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chen Hsieh
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; (C.-Y.C.); (D.-Z.L.); (J.-C.P.); (Y.-C.H.)
| | - Wen-Sung Lai
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; (C.-Y.C.); (D.-Z.L.); (J.-C.P.); (Y.-C.H.)
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan;
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-2-3366-3112; Fax: +886-2-3362-9909
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25
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Brymer KJ, Kulhaway EY, Howland JG, Caruncho HJ, Kalynchuk LE. Altered acoustic startle, prepulse facilitation, and object recognition memory produced by corticosterone withdrawal in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2021; 408:113291. [PMID: 33836169 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The symptoms of human depression often include cognitive deficits. However, cognition is not frequently included in the behavioral assessments conducted in preclinical models of depression. For example, it is well known that repeated corticosterone (CORT) injections in rodents produce depression-like behavior as measured by the forced swim test, sucrose preference test, and tail suspension test, but the cognitive impairments produced by repeated CORT have not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this experiment was to assess the effect of repeated CORT injections on several versions of object recognition memory and modulation of the acoustic startle response by relatively low intensity prepulses, along with the more traditional assessment of depression-like behavior using the forced swim test. Rats received 21 days of CORT (40 mg/kg) or vehicle injections followed by a battery of behavioral tests. Importantly, during behavioral testing CORT treatment did not occur (CORT withdrawal). Corticosterone decreased body weight, increased immobility in the forced swim test, lowered startle amplitudes, and facilitated responding to trials with a short interval (30 ms) between the prepulse and pulse. Corticosterone also impaired both object location and object-in-place recognition memory, while sparing performance on object recognition memory. Collectively, our data suggest that CORT produces selective disruptions in prepulse facilitation, object location, and object-in-place recognition memory, and that these impairments should be considered as part of the phenotype produced by repeated CORT, and perhaps chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J Brymer
- Faculty of Medicine, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada.
| | - Erin Y Kulhaway
- Research Excellence and Innovation, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - John G Howland
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Hector J Caruncho
- Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Lisa E Kalynchuk
- Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada
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26
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Cleal M, Fontana BD, Ranson DC, McBride SD, Swinny JD, Redhead ES, Parker MO. The Free-movement pattern Y-maze: A cross-species measure of working memory and executive function. Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:536-557. [PMID: 32748238 PMCID: PMC8062322 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-020-01452-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Numerous neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders are associated with deficits in executive functions such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. Progress in developing effective treatments for disorders may benefit from targeting these cognitive impairments, the success of which is predicated on the development of animal models with validated behavioural assays. Zebrafish offer a promising model for studying complex brain disorders, but tasks assessing executive function are lacking. The Free-movement pattern (FMP) Y-maze combines aspects of the common Y-maze assay, which exploits the inherent motivation of an organism to explore an unknown environment, with analysis based on a series of sequential two-choice discriminations. We validate the task as a measure of working memory and executive function by comparing task performance parameters in adult zebrafish treated with a range of glutamatergic, cholinergic and dopaminergic drugs known to impair working memory and cognitive flexibility. We demonstrate the cross-species validity of the task by assessing performance parameters in adapted versions of the task for mice and Drosophila, and finally a virtual version in humans, and identify remarkable commonalities between vertebrate species' navigation of the maze. Together, our results demonstrate that the FMP Y-maze is a sensitive assay for assessing working memory and cognitive flexibility across species from invertebrates to humans, providing a simple and widely applicable behavioural assay with exceptional translational relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Cleal
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK.
| | - Barbara D Fontana
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK
| | - Daniel C Ranson
- Medicines Research Group, University of East London, London, UK
| | | | - Jerome D Swinny
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK
| | - Edward S Redhead
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Matthew O Parker
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Old St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK.
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27
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Dysbindin-1 regulates mitochondrial fission and gamma oscillations. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:4633-4651. [PMID: 33589740 PMCID: PMC8364574 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01038-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondria are cellular ATP generators. They are dynamic structures undergoing fission and fusion. While much is known about the mitochondrial fission machinery, the mechanism of initiating fission and the significance of fission to neurophysiology are largely unclear. Gamma oscillations are synchronized neural activities that impose a great energy challenge to synapses. The cellular mechanism of fueling gamma oscillations has yet to be defined. Here, we show that dysbindin-1, a protein decreased in the brain of individuals with schizophrenia, is required for neural activity-induced fission by promoting Drp1 oligomerization. This process is engaged by gamma-frequency activities and in turn, supports gamma oscillations. Gamma oscillations and novel object recognition are impaired in dysbindin-1 null mice. These defects can be ameliorated by increasing mitochondrial fission. These findings identify a molecular mechanism for activity-induced mitochondrial fission, a role of mitochondrial fission in gamma oscillations, and mitochondrial fission as a potential target for improving cognitive functions.
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28
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Ang MJ, Lee S, Kim JC, Kim SH, Moon C. Behavioral Tasks Evaluating Schizophrenia-like Symptoms in Animal Models: A Recent Update. Curr Neuropharmacol 2021; 19:641-664. [PMID: 32798374 PMCID: PMC8573744 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x18666200814175114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects more than 21 million people worldwide. Both genetics and the environment play a role in its etiology and pathogenesis. Symptoms of schizophrenia are mainly categorized into positive, negative, and cognitive. One major approach to identify and understand these diverse symptoms in humans has been to study behavioral phenotypes in a range of animal models of schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE We aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the behavioral tasks commonly used for measuring schizophrenia-like behaviors in rodents together with an update of the recent study findings. METHODS Articles describing phenotypes of schizophrenia-like behaviors in various animal models were collected through a literature search in Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, with a focus on advances over the last 10 years. RESULTS Numerous studies have used a range of animal models and behavioral paradigms of schizophrenia to develop antipsychotic drugs for improved therapeutics. In establishing animal models of schizophrenia, the candidate models were evaluated for schizophrenia-like behaviors using several behavioral tasks for positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms designed to verify human symptoms of schizophrenia. Such validated animal models were provided as rapid preclinical avenues for drug testing and mechanistic studies. CONCLUSION Based on the most recent advances in the field, it is apparent that a myriad of behavior tests are needed to confirm and evaluate the congruency of animal models with the numerous behaviors and clinical signs exhibited by patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Changjong Moon
- Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Animal Behavior, College of Veterinary Medicine and BK21 Plus Project Team, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, South Korea, Tel: +82-62-530-2838; E-mail:
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29
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Phencyclidine-induced cognitive impairments in repeated touchscreen visual reversal learning tests in rats. Behav Brain Res 2020; 404:113057. [PMID: 33316322 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Reversal learning, a component of executive functioning, is commonly impaired among schizophrenia patients and is lacking effective treatment. N-methyl-ᴅ-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, such as phencyclidine (PCP), impair reversal learning of rodents. Touchscreen-based pairwise visual discrimination and reversal test is a translational tool to assess reversal learning in rodents. However, to fully exploit this task in testing of novel compounds, it is necessary to perform several reversal learning experiments with trained animals. Firstly, we assessed whether PCP-induced deficits in visual reversal learning in rats would be detectable with a short (5 sessions) reversal learning phase, and whether the short reversal phases could be repeated with novel stimulus pairs. Secondly, we assessed whether the PCP-induced deficits in reversal learning could be seen upon repeated PCP challenges with the same animals. Finally, we tested the effect of a novel compound, a selective α2C adrenoceptor antagonist, ORM-13070, to reverse PCP-induced cognitive deficits in this model. A 4-day PCP treatment at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg/day impaired early reversal learning in male Lister Hooded rats without inducing non-specific behavioral effects. We repeated the reversal learning experiment four times using different stimulus pairs with the same animals, and the PCP-induced impairment was evident in every single experiment. The α2C adrenoceptor antagonist ameliorated the PCP-induced cognitive deficits. Our results suggest that repeated PCP challenges in the touchscreen set-up induce schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits in visual reversal learning, improve throughput of the test and provide a protocol for testing novel drugs.
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30
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Hatzipantelis C, Langiu M, Vandekolk TH, Pierce TL, Nithianantharajah J, Stewart GD, Langmead CJ. Translation-Focused Approaches to GPCR Drug Discovery for Cognitive Impairments Associated with Schizophrenia. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2020; 3:1042-1062. [PMID: 33344888 PMCID: PMC7737210 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
There are no effective therapeutics for cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS), which includes deficits in executive functions (working memory and cognitive flexibility) and episodic memory. Compounds that have entered clinical trials are inadequate in terms of efficacy and/or tolerability, highlighting a clear translational bottleneck and a need for a cohesive preclinical drug development strategy. In this review we propose hippocampal-prefrontal-cortical (HPC-PFC) circuitry underlying CIAS-relevant cognitive processes across mammalian species as a target source to guide the translation-focused discovery and development of novel, procognitive agents. We highlight several G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) enriched within HPC-PFC circuitry as therapeutic targets of interest, including noncanonical approaches (biased agonism and allosteric modulation) to conventional clinical targets, such as dopamine and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, along with prospective novel targets, including the orphan receptors GPR52 and GPR139. We also describe the translational limitations of popular preclinical cognition tests and suggest touchscreen-based assays that probe cognitive functions reliant on HPC-PFC circuitry and reflect tests used in the clinic, as tests of greater translational relevance. Combining pharmacological and behavioral testing strategies based in HPC-PFC circuit function creates a cohesive, translation-focused approach to preclinical drug development that may improve the translational bottleneck currently hindering the development of treatments for CIAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra
J. Hatzipantelis
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Monica Langiu
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Teresa H. Vandekolk
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Tracie L. Pierce
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Jess Nithianantharajah
- Florey
Institute of Neuroscience
and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Gregory D. Stewart
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Christopher J. Langmead
- Drug
Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
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31
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Goh JY, O'Sullivan SE, Shortall SE, Zordan N, Piccinini AM, Potter HG, Fone KCF, King MV. Gestational poly(I:C) attenuates, not exacerbates, the behavioral, cytokine and mTOR changes caused by isolation rearing in a rat 'dual-hit' model for neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain Behav Immun 2020; 89:100-117. [PMID: 32485291 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many psychiatric illnesses have a multifactorial etiology involving genetic and environmental risk factors that trigger persistent neurodevelopmental impairments. Several risk factors have been individually replicated in rodents, to understand disease mechanisms and evaluate novel treatments, particularly for poorly-managed negative and cognitive symptoms. However, the complex interplay between various factors remains unclear. Rodent dual-hit neurodevelopmental models offer vital opportunities to examine this and explore new strategies for early therapeutic intervention. This study combined gestational administration of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C); PIC, to mimic viral infection during pregnancy) with post-weaning isolation of resulting offspring (to mirror adolescent social adversity). After in vitro and in vivo studies required for laboratory-specific PIC characterization and optimization, we administered 10 mg/kg i.p. PIC potassium salt to time-mated Lister hooded dams on gestational day 15. This induced transient hypothermia, sickness behavior and weight loss in the dams, and led to locomotor hyperactivity, elevated striatal cytokine levels, and increased frontal cortical JNK phosphorylation in the offspring at adulthood. Remarkably, instead of exacerbating the well-characterized isolation syndrome, gestational PIC exposure actually protected against a spectrum of isolation-induced behavioral and brain regional changes. Thus isolation reared rats exhibited locomotor hyperactivity, impaired associative memory and reversal learning, elevated hippocampal and frontal cortical cytokine levels, and increased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activation in the frontal cortex - which were not evident in isolates previously exposed to gestational PIC. Brains from adolescent littermates suggest little contribution of cytokines, mTOR or JNK to early development of the isolation syndrome, or resilience conferred by PIC. But notably hippocampal oxytocin, which can protect against stress, was higher in adolescent PIC-exposed isolates so might contribute to a more favorable outcome. These findings have implications for identifying individuals at risk for disorders like schizophrenia who may benefit from early therapeutic intervention, and justify preclinical assessment of whether adolescent oxytocin manipulations can modulate disease onset or progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jen-Yin Goh
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Saoirse E O'Sullivan
- School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby DE22 3DT, UK
| | - Sinead E Shortall
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Nicole Zordan
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Anna M Piccinini
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Harry G Potter
- Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Kevin C F Fone
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Madeleine V King
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK.
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Phensy A, Lindquist KL, Lindquist KA, Bairuty D, Gauba E, Guo L, Tian J, Du H, Kroener S. Deletion of the Mitochondrial Matrix Protein CyclophilinD Prevents Parvalbumin Interneuron Dysfunctionand Cognitive Deficits in a Mouse Model of NMDA Hypofunction. J Neurosci 2020; 40:6121-6132. [PMID: 32605939 PMCID: PMC7406283 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0880-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Redox dysregulation and oxidative stress are final common pathways in the pathophysiology of a variety of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Oxidative stress causes dysfunction of GABAergic parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons (PVI), which are crucial for the coordination of neuronal synchrony during sensory and cognitive processing. Mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neurons and they control synaptic activity through their roles in energy production and intracellular calcium homeostasis. We have previously shown that in male mice transient blockade of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) during development [subcutaneous injections of 30 mg/kg ketamine (KET) on postnatal days 7, 9, and 11] results in long-lasting alterations in synaptic transmission and reduced PV expression in the adult prefrontal cortex (PFC), contributing to a behavioral phenotype that mimics multiple symptoms associated with schizophrenia. These changes correlate with oxidative stress and impaired mitochondrial function in both PVI and pyramidal cells. Here, we show that genetic deletion (Ppif-/-) of the mitochondrial matrix protein cyclophilin D (CypD) prevents perinatal KET-induced increases in ROS and the resulting deficits in PVI function, and changes in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in the PFC. Deletion of CypD also prevented KET-induced behavioral deficits in cognitive flexibility, social interaction, and novel object recognition (NOR). Taken together, these data highlight how mitochondrial activity may play an integral role in modulating PVI-mediated cognitive processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Mitochondria are important modulators of oxidative stress and cell function, yet how mitochondrial dysfunction affects cell activity and synaptic transmission in psychiatric illnesses is not well understood. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) blockade with ketamine (KET) during development causes oxidative stress, dysfunction of parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons (PVI), and long-lasting physiological and behavioral changes. Here we show that mice deficient for the mitochondrial matrix protein cyclophilin D (CypD) show robust protection from PVI dysfunction following perinatal NMDAR blockade. Mitochondria serve as an essential node for a number of stress-induced signaling pathways and our experiments suggest that failure of mitochondrial redox regulation can contribute to PVI dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarron Phensy
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Kathy L Lindquist
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Karen A Lindquist
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Dania Bairuty
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Esha Gauba
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Lan Guo
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Jing Tian
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Heng Du
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
| | - Sven Kroener
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080
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Kwiatkowski MA, Cope ZA, Lavadia ML, van de Cappelle CJA, Dulcis D, Young JW. Short-active photoperiod gestation induces psychiatry-relevant behavior in healthy mice but a resiliency to such effects are seen in mice with reduced dopamine transporter expression. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10217. [PMID: 32576854 PMCID: PMC7311429 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66873-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A higher incidence of multiple psychiatric disorders occurs in people born in late winter/early spring. Reduced light exposure/activity level impacts adult rodent behavior and neural mechanisms, yet few studies have investigated such light exposure on gestating fetuses. A dysfunctional dopamine system is implicated in most psychiatric disorders, and genetic polymorphisms reducing expression of the dopamine transporter (DAT) are associated with some conditions. Furthermore, adult mice with reduced DAT expression (DAT-HT) were hypersensitive to short active (SA; 19:5 L:D) photoperiod exposure versus their wildtype (WT) littermates. Effects of SA photoperiod exposure during gestation in these mice have not been examined. We confirmed adult females exhibit a heightened corticosterone response when in SA photoperiod. We then tested DAT-HT mice and WT littermates in psychiatry-relevant behavioral tests after SA or normal active (NA; 12:12 L:D) photoperiod exposure during gestation and early life. SA-born WT mice exhibited sensorimotor gating deficits (males), increased reward preference, less immobility, open arm avoidance (females), less motivation to obtain a reward, and reversal learning deficits, vs. NA-born WT mice. DAT-HT mice were largely resilient to these effects, however. Future studies will determine the mechanism(s) by which SA photoperiod exposure influences brain development to predispose toward emergence of psychiatry-relevant behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly A Kwiatkowski
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA
| | - Zackary A Cope
- Department of Medicine, Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Maria L Lavadia
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA
| | - Chuck J A van de Cappelle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA.,Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Davide Dulcis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA. .,Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, USA.
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Conn KA, Burne THJ, Kesby JP. Subcortical Dopamine and Cognition in Schizophrenia: Looking Beyond Psychosis in Preclinical Models. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:542. [PMID: 32655348 PMCID: PMC7325949 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. All current antipsychotic treatments feature dopamine-receptor antagonism that is relatively effective at addressing the psychotic (positive) symptoms of schizophrenia. However, there is no clear evidence that these medications improve the negative or cognitive symptoms, which are the greatest predictors of functional outcomes. One of the most robust pathophysiological observations in patients with schizophrenia is increased subcortical dopamine neurotransmission, primarily in the associative striatum. This brain area has an important role in a range of cognitive processes. Dopamine is also known to play a major part in regulating a number of cognitive functions impaired in schizophrenia but much of this research has been focused on cortical dopamine. Emerging research highlights the strong influence subcortical dopamine has on a range of cognitive domains, including attention, reward learning, goal-directed action and decision-making. Nonetheless, the precise role of the associative striatum in the cognitive impairments observed in schizophrenia remains poorly understood, presenting an opportunity to revisit its contribution to schizophrenia. Without a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction, treatment development remains at a standstill. For this reason, improved preclinical animal models are needed if we are to understand the complex relationship between subcortical dopamine and cognition. A range of new techniques are facillitating the discrete manipulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission and measurements of cognitive performance, which can be investigated using a variety of sensitive translatable tasks. This has the potential to aid the successful incorporation of recent clinical research to address the lack of treatment strategies for cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. This review will give an overview on the current state of research focused on subcortical dopamine and cognition in the context of schizophrenia research. We also discuss future strategies and approaches aimed at improving the translational outcomes for the treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyna-Anne Conn
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Thomas H J Burne
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Wacol, QLD, Australia
| | - James P Kesby
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD, Australia
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Arakawa K, Maehara S. Combination of the phosphodiesterase 10A inhibitor, MR1916 with risperidone shows additive antipsychotic-like effects without affecting cognitive enhancement and cataleptic effects in rats. Neuropsychopharmacol Rep 2020; 40:190-195. [PMID: 32351052 PMCID: PMC7722671 DOI: 10.1002/npr2.12108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitors not only have antipsychotic-like effects but also cause cognitive enhancement without affecting extrapyramidal side effects in rodents, suggesting that PDE10A may be a novel approach for the treatment of schizophrenia. However, how a combination of PDE10A inhibitor with a currently available antipsychotic drug, risperidone contributes to the effect of each compound in rats remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the combination effects of MR1916 with a currently available antipsychotic drug, risperidone, in rats. METHODS We examined the combination effects of the PDE10A inhibitor, MR1916 with risperidone on conditioned avoidance response (CAR) to assess antipsychotic-like effects in rats. We also examined them on catalepsy as extrapyramidal side effects and novel object recognition test in cognitive functions in rats. RESULTS MR1916 (0.025-0.2 mg/kg, p.o.) and risperidone (0.75-6 mg/kg, p.o.) alone attenuated the CAR in a dose-dependent manner. The combination of MR1916 (0.025 mg/kg, p.o.) with risperidone (0.75 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly enhanced the attenuation of CAR without increasing the escape failure response. At the same dosage, the cataleptic effects were not enhanced by combined treatment of MR1916 with risperidone. Furthermore, the enhancement of object recognition memory induced by MR1916 (0.3 mg/kg, p.o.) was not affected by the combination with risperidone (0.75 mg/kg, p.o.). CONCLUSION The combination of MR1916 with risperidone may have additive antipsychotic-like effects without affecting extrapyramidal side effects, and the cognitive-enhancing effect of MR1916 may not be interfered with the addition of risperidone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keita Arakawa
- Biology Laboratory, Discovery Research, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Gotemba, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Maehara
- Biology Laboratory, Discovery Research, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Gotemba, Japan
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Gyertyán I. How can preclinical cognitive research further neuropsychiatric drug discovery? Chances and challenges. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 15:659-670. [DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1739645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- István Gyertyán
- Cognitive Translational Behavioural Pharmacology Group, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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Poddar I, Callahan PM, Hernandez CM, Pillai A, Yang X, Bartlett MG, Terry AV. Chronic oral treatment with risperidone impairs recognition memory and alters brain-derived neurotrophic factor and related signaling molecules in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2020; 189:172853. [PMID: 31945381 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2020.172853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Antipsychotic drugs (APDs) are essential for the treatment of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric illnesses such as bipolar disease. However, they are also extensively prescribed off-label for many other conditions, a practice that is controversial given their potential for long-term side effects. There is clinical and preclinical evidence that chronic treatment with some APDs may lead to impairments in cognition and decreases in brain volume, although the molecular mechanisms of these effects are unknown. The purpose of the rodent studies described here was to evaluate a commonly prescribed APD, risperidone, for chronic effects on recognition memory, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), its precursor proBDNF, as well as relevant downstream signaling molecules that are known to influence neuronal plasticity and cognition. Multiple cohorts of adult rats were treated with risperidone (2.5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (dilute acetic acid solution) in their drinking water for 30 or 90 days. Subjects were then evaluated for drug effects on recognition memory in a spontaneous novel object recognition task and protein levels of BDNF-related signaling molecules in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. The results indicated that depending on the treatment period, a therapeutically relevant daily dose of risperidone impaired recognition memory and increased the proBDNF/BDNF ratio in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Risperidone treatment also led to a decrease in Akt and CREB phosphorylation in the prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that chronic treatment with a commonly prescribed APD, risperidone, has the potential to adversely affect recognition memory and neurotrophin-related signaling molecules that support synaptic plasticity and cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrani Poddar
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America
| | - Patrick M Callahan
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America.; Small Animal Behavior Core, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America
| | - Caterina M Hernandez
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America
| | - Anilkumar Pillai
- Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America
| | - Xiangkun Yang
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, Athens, GA 30607, United States of America
| | - Michael G Bartlett
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, Athens, GA 30607, United States of America
| | - Alvin V Terry
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America.; Small Animal Behavior Core, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, United States of America.
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Comparative Pro-cognitive and Neurochemical Profiles of Glycine Modulatory Site Agonists and Glycine Reuptake Inhibitors in the Rat: Potential Relevance to Cognitive Dysfunction and Its Management. Mol Neurobiol 2020; 57:2144-2166. [PMID: 31960362 PMCID: PMC7170834 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-01875-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Frontocortical NMDA receptors are pivotal in regulating cognition and mood, are hypofunctional in schizophrenia, and may contribute to autistic spectrum disorders. Despite extensive interest in agents potentiating activity at the co-agonist glycine modulatory site, few comparative functional studies exist. This study systematically compared the actions of the glycine reuptake inhibitors, sarcosine (40–200 mg/kg) and ORG24598 (0.63–5 mg/kg), the agonists, glycine (40–800 mg/kg), and D-serine (10–160 mg/kg) and the partial agonists, S18841 (2.5 mg/kg s.c.) and D-cycloserine (2.5–40 mg/kg) that all dose-dependently prevented scopolamine disruption of social recognition in adult rats. Over similar dose ranges, they also prevented a delay-induced impairment of novel object recognition (NOR). Glycine reuptake inhibitors specifically elevated glycine but not D-serine levels in rat prefrontal cortical (PFC) microdialysates, while glycine and D-serine markedly increased levels of glycine and D-serine, respectively. D-Cycloserine slightly elevated D-serine levels. Conversely, S18841 exerted no influence on glycine, D-serine, other amino acids, monamines, or acetylcholine. Reversal of NOR deficits by systemic S18841 was prevented by the NMDA receptor antagonist, CPP (20 mg/kg), and the glycine modulatory site antagonist, L701,324 (10 mg/kg). S18841 blocked deficits in NOR following microinjection into the PFC (2.5–10 μg/side) but not the striatum. Finally, in rats socially isolated from weaning (a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia), S18841 (2.5 and 10 mg/kg s.c.) reversed impairment of NOR and contextual fear-motivated learning without altering isolation-induced hyperactivity. In conclusion, despite contrasting neurochemical profiles, partial glycine site agonists and glycine reuptake inhibitors exhibit comparable pro-cognitive effects in rats of potential relevance to treatment of schizophrenia and other brain disorders where cognitive performance is impaired.
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Monte AS, da Silva FER, Lima CNDC, Vasconcelos GS, Gomes NS, Miyajima F, Vasconcelos SMM, Gama CS, Seeman MV, de Lucena DF, Macedo DS. Sex influences in the preventive effects of N-acetylcysteine in a two-hit animal model of schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:125-136. [PMID: 31556775 DOI: 10.1177/0269881119875979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder influenced by patient sex. Mechanisms underlying sex differences in SCZ remain unknown. A two-hit model of SCZ combines the exposure to perinatal infection (first-hit) with peripubertal unpredictable stress (PUS, second-hit). N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been tested in SCZ because of the involvement of glutathione mechanisms in its neurobiology. AIMS We aim to investigate whether NAC administration to peripubertal rats of both sexes could prevent behavioral and neurochemical changes induced by the two-hit model. METHODS Wistar rats were exposed to polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (a viral mimetic) or saline on postnatal days (PND) 5-7. On PND30-59 they received saline or NAC 220 mg/kg and between PND40-48 were subjected to PUS or left undisturbed. On PND60 behavioral and oxidative alterations were evaluated in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum. Mechanisms of hippocampal memory regulation such as immune expression of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER), α7-nAChR and parvalbumin were also evaluated. RESULTS NAC prevented sensorimotor gating deficits only in females, while it prevented alterations in social interaction, working memory and locomotor activity in both sexes. Again, in rats of both sexes, NAC prevented the following neurochemical alterations: glutathione (GSH) and nitrite levels in the PFC and lipid peroxidation in the PFC and striatum. Striatal oxidative alterations in GSH and nitrite were observed in females and prevented by NAC. Two-hit induced hippocampal alterations in females, namely expression of GPER-1, α7-nAChR and parvalbumin, were prevented by NAC. CONCLUSION Our results highlights the influences of sex in NAC preventive effects in rats exposed to a two-hit schizophrenia model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Santos Monte
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Francisco Eliclécio Rodrigues da Silva
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Camila Nayane de Carvalho Lima
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Germana Silva Vasconcelos
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Nayana Soares Gomes
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Fábio Miyajima
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz-CE), Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil
| | - Silvania Maria Mendes Vasconcelos
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Clarissa S Gama
- Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Mary V Seeman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - David Freitas de Lucena
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Danielle S Macedo
- Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.,National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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Erkol C, Cohen T, Chouinard VA, Lewandowski KE, Du F, Öngür D. White Matter Measures and Cognition in Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:603. [PMID: 32765308 PMCID: PMC7378969 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) abnormalities are commonly reported in schizophrenia but whether these arise from the axon or myelin compartments or both is not known. In addition, the relationship between WM abnormalities and cognitive function is not fully explored in this condition. We recruited 39 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 37 healthy comparison subjects. All participants underwent MRI scanning at 4 Tesla to collect data in the prefrontal white matter on magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and diffusion tensor spectroscopy (DTS) which provide information on myelin and axon compartments, respectively. We also collected Matrics Composite Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and Stroop cognitive data. We found an elevated N-acetylaspartate (NAA) apparent diffusion coefficient in schizophrenia in this cohort as in our previous work; we also observed poorer performance on both the MCCB composite and the Stroop in schizophrenia patients compared to controls. The MTR measure was correlated with the MCCB composite (r = 0.363, p = 0.032) and Stroop scores (r = 0.387, p = 0.029) in healthy individuals but not in schizophrenia. Since this is the first exploration of the relationship between these WM and cognitive measures, we consider our analyses exploratory and did not adjust for multiple comparisons; the findings are not statistically significant if adjusted for multiple comparisons. These findings indicate that WM integrity is associated with cognitive function in healthy individuals but this relationship breaks down in patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cemre Erkol
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Talia Cohen
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Virginie-Anne Chouinard
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kathryn Eve Lewandowski
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Fei Du
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Dost Öngür
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Spatial learning and flexibility in 129S2/SvHsd and C57BL/6J mouse strains using different variants of the Barnes maze. Behav Pharmacol 2019; 29:688-700. [PMID: 30212384 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural flexibility is the ability to switch between tasks and strategies following a change in rules, and involves intact functioning of the medial prefrontal cortex. Impairments of behavioural flexibility have frequently been reported in patients with schizophrenia and rodents with disruption/dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex. The discovery of a mutation in the disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene in the 129 mouse strain suggests that these mice may be exploited as a 'naturally occurring' model of schizophrenia. The aim of this present study was to assess cognition and behavioural flexibility of 129S2/SvHsd mice in comparison with C57BL/6J mice in the Barnes maze, using three different maze variations that consisted of either 8, 16 or 32 holes. Whereas C57BL/6J mice were able to perform both acquisition and reversal learning in all three mazes, 129S2/SvHsd mice displayed impairments dependent on the complexity of the test. Intact acquisition and reversal occurred in the 8-hole maze; intact acquisition, but impaired reversal, was evident in the 16-hole maze and impaired acquisition was evident in the most difficult 32-hole test. Furthermore, analysis of search strategies confirmed strain differences in the adoption of spatial searches across both acquisition and reversal trials. 129S2/SvHsd mice displayed fewer spatial-type trials than C57BL/6J mice and instead employed more random or serial/chaining search behaviours. The deficits observed in both cognition and behavioural flexibility support the notion of the 129 mouse strain as a potential model of schizophrenia.
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Arakawa Y, Yokoyama K, Tasaki S, Kato J, Nakashima K, Takeyama M, Nakatani A, Suzuki M. Transgenic mice overexpressing miR-137 in the brain show schizophrenia-associated behavioral deficits and transcriptome profiles. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220389. [PMID: 31361772 PMCID: PMC6667145 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by positive and negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. The exact cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, but substantial evidence indicates that it has a genetic component. Genome wide association studies demonstrate variants within miR-137 host gene are a risk factor for schizophrenia. However, the direct relationship between the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the dosage of miR-137 remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we generated transgenic mice overexpressing miR-137 (miR-137 Tg mice) with the neuron-specific Thy-1 promoter and examined schizophrenia-related phenotypes in these mice. Overexpression of miR-137 was observed in various brain regions of the miR-137 Tg mice, with down-regulation of putative miR-137 targets. MiR-137 Tg mice showed sensory gating deficits in a prepulse inhibition test, social deficits in a sociability and social novelty test, and cognitive deficits in a novel object recognition test. Interestingly, the predicted-altered pathways of the medial prefrontal cortex of miR-137 Tg mice were partially overlapped with those of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in postmortem brain of patients who died in equal to or less than 4 years after initial diagnosis of schizophrenia in published data. These results suggest that overexpression of miR-137 in the whole brain induces the several phenotypes that are relevant to aspects of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Based on these findings, miR-137 Tg mice may have the potential to become a useful tool in researching the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuuichi Arakawa
- Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Research, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kazumasa Yokoyama
- Integrated Technology Research Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Research Division, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Shinya Tasaki
- Integrated Technology Research Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Research Division, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Junichi Kato
- Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Research, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kosuke Nakashima
- Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Research, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Michiyasu Takeyama
- Integrated Technology Research Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Research Division, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Atsushi Nakatani
- Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Research, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Motohisa Suzuki
- Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Research, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
- * E-mail:
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Ward KR, Featherstone RE, Naschek MJ, Melnychenko O, Banerjee A, Yi J, Gifford RL, Borgmann-Winter KE, Salter MW, Hahn CG, Siegel SJ. Src deficient mice demonstrate behavioral and electrophysiological alterations relevant to psychiatric and developmental disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 93:84-92. [PMID: 30826459 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Much evidence suggests that hypofunction of the N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) may contribute broadly towards a subset of molecular, cognitive and behavioral abnormalities common among psychiatric and developmental diseases. However, little is known about the specific molecular changes that lead to NMDAR dysfunction. As such, personalized approaches to remediating NMDAR dysfunction based on a specific etiology remains a challenge. Sarcoma tyrosine kinase (Src) serves as a hub for multiple signaling mechanisms affecting GluN2 phosphorylation and can be disrupted by convergent alterations of various signaling pathways. We recently showed reduced Src signaling in post mortem tissue from schizophrenia patients, despite increased MK-801 binding and NMDA receptor complex expression in the postsynaptic density (PSD). These data suggest that Src dysregulation may be an important underlying mechanism responsible for reduced glutamate signaling. Despite this evidence for a central role of Src in NMDAR signaling, little is known about how reductions in Src activity might regulate phenotypic changes in cognition and behavior. As such, the current study sought to characterize behavioral and electrophysiological phenotypes in mice heterozygous for the Src Acl gene (Src+/- mice). Src+/- mice demonstrated decreased sociability and working memory relative to Src+/+ (WT) mice while no significant differences were seen on locomotive activity and anxiety-related behavior. In relation to WT mice, Src+/- mice showed decreased mid-latency P20 auditory event related potential (aERP) amplitudes, decreased mismatch negativity (MMN) and decreased evoked gamma power, which was only present in males. These data indicate that Src+/- mice are a promising new model to help understand the pathophysiology of these electrophysiological, behavioral and cognitive changes. As such, we propose that Src+/- mice can be used in the future to evaluate potential therapeutic approaches by targeting increased Src activity as a common final pathway for multiple etiologies of SCZ and other diseases characterized by reduced glutamate function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn R Ward
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Robert E Featherstone
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Melissa J Naschek
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Olga Melnychenko
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Anamika Banerjee
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Janice Yi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Raymond L Gifford
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | - Michael W Salter
- Program in Neurosciences &Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Chang-Gyu Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Steven J Siegel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
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Strauss GP, Ahmed AO, Young JW, Kirkpatrick B. Reconsidering the Latent Structure of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Review of Evidence Supporting the 5 Consensus Domains. Schizophr Bull 2019; 45:725-729. [PMID: 30541136 PMCID: PMC6581128 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sby169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602; tel: 1-706-542-0307, fax: 1-706-542-3275, e-mail:
| | - Anthony O Ahmed
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
| | - Jared W Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Brian Kirkpatrick
- Department of Psychiatry, Reno School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
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45
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Dysregulation of a specific immune-related network of genes biologically defines a subset of schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:156. [PMID: 31150013 PMCID: PMC6544656 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0486-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently, the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia relies solely on self-reporting and clinical interview, and likely comprises heterogeneous biological subsets. Such subsets may be defined by an underlying biology leading to solid biomarkers. A transgenic rat model modestly overexpressing the full-length, non-mutant Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) protein (tgDISC1 rat) was generated that defines such a subset, inspired by our previous identification of insoluble DISC1 protein in post mortem brains from patients with chronic mental illness. Besides specific phenotypes such as DISC1 protein pathology, abnormal dopamine homeostasis, and changes in neuroanatomy and behavior, this animal model also shows subtle disturbances in overarching signaling pathways relevant for schizophrenia. In a reverse-translational approach, assuming that both the animal model and a patient subset share common disturbed signaling pathways, we identified differentially expressed transcripts from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of tgDISC1 rats that revealed an interconnected set of dysregulated genes, led by decreased expression of regulator of G-protein signaling 1 (RGS1), chemokine (C-C) ligand 4 (CCL4), and other immune-related transcripts enriched in T-cell and macrophage signaling and converging in one module after weighted gene correlation network analysis. Testing expression of this gene network in two independent cohorts of patients with schizophrenia versus healthy controls (n = 16/50 and n = 54/45) demonstrated similar expression changes. The two top markers RGS1 and CCL4 defined a subset of 27% of patients with 97% specificity. Thus, analogous aberrant signaling pathways can be identified by a blood test in an animal model and a corresponding schizophrenia patient subset, suggesting that in this animal model tailored pharmacotherapies for this patient subset could be achieved.
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46
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Stark T, Ruda-Kucerova J, Iannotti FA, D'Addario C, Di Marco R, Pekarik V, Drazanova E, Piscitelli F, Bari M, Babinska Z, Giurdanella G, Di Bartolomeo M, Salomone S, Sulcova A, Maccarrone M, Wotjak CT, Starcuk Z, Drago F, Mechoulam R, Di Marzo V, Micale V. Peripubertal cannabidiol treatment rescues behavioral and neurochemical abnormalities in the MAM model of schizophrenia. Neuropharmacology 2019; 146:212-221. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.11.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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47
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Downregulation of Npas4 in parvalbumin interneurons and cognitive deficits after neonatal NMDA receptor blockade: relevance for schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:99. [PMID: 30792384 PMCID: PMC6385315 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0436-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [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: 06/06/2018] [Revised: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction of prefrontal parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons has been linked with severe cognitive deficits as observed in several neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia. However, whether a specific aspect of PV+ neurons deregulation, or a specific molecular mechanism within PV+ neurons is responsible for cognitive deficits and other behavioral impairments remain to be determined. Here, we induced cognitive deficits and altered the prefrontal PV system in mice by exposing them neonatally to the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine. We observed that the cognitive deficits and hyperactivity induced by neonatal ketamine were associated with a downregulation of Npas4 expression specifically in PV+ neurons. To determine whether Npas4 downregulation-induced dysfunction of PV+ neurons could be a molecular contributor to the cognitive and behavioral impairments reported after neonatal ketamine, we used a transgenic Cre-Lox approach. Reduced Npas4 expression within PV+ neurons replicates deficits in short-term memory observed after neonatal ketamine, but does not reproduce disturbances in general activity. Our data show for the first time that the brain-specific transcription factor Npas4 may be an important contributor to PV+ neurons dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders, and thereby could contribute to the cognitive deficits observed in diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of PV+ neurons such as schizophrenia. These findings provide a potential novel therapeutic target to rescue the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia that remain to date unresponsive to treatments.
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48
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Daya RP, Bhandari J, Kooner SK, Ho J, Rowley CD, Bock NA, Farncombe T, Mishra RK. The Dopamine Allosteric Agent, PAOPA, Demonstrates Therapeutic Potential in the Phencyclidine NMDA Pre-clinical Rat Model of Schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 12:302. [PMID: 30618660 PMCID: PMC6299008 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
PAOPA, a potent analog of prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide, has shown therapeutic potential at the preclinical stage for dopaminergic related illnesses, including animal models of schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and haloperidol-induced extrapyramidal movement disorders. PAOPA’s unique allosteric mechanism and dopamine D2 receptor specificity provide a unique composition of properties for the development of potential therapeutics for neuropsychiatric illnesses. We sought to investigate PAOPA’s therapeutic prospects across the spectrum of schizophrenia-like symptoms represented in the established phencyclidine-induced rat model of schizophrenia, (5 mg/kg PCP twice daily for 7 days, followed by 7 days of drug withdrawal). PAOPA was assessed for its effect on brain metabolic activity and across a battery of behavioral tests including, hyperlocomotion, social withdrawal, sensorimotor gating, and novel object recognition. PAOPA showed therapeutic efficacy in behavioral paradigms representing the negative (social withdrawal) and cognitive-like (novel object recognition) symptoms of schizophrenia. Interestingly, some behavioral indices associated with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia that were ameliorated in PAOPA’s prior examination in the amphetamine-sensitized model of schizophrenia were not ameliorated in the PCP model; suggesting that the deficits induced by amphetamine and PCP—while phenotypically similar—are mechanistically different and that PAOPA’s effects are restricted to certain mechanisms and systems. These studies provide insight on the potential use of PAOPA for the safe and effective treatment of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritesh P Daya
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jayant Bhandari
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sharnpreet K Kooner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Joella Ho
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher D Rowley
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Nicholas A Bock
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Troy Farncombe
- Department of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ram K Mishra
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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49
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Winship IR, Dursun SM, Baker GB, Balista PA, Kandratavicius L, Maia-de-Oliveira JP, Hallak J, Howland JG. An Overview of Animal Models Related to Schizophrenia. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2019; 64:5-17. [PMID: 29742910 PMCID: PMC6364139 DOI: 10.1177/0706743718773728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder that is poorly treated with current therapies. In this brief review, we provide an update regarding the use of animal models to study schizophrenia in an attempt to understand its aetiology and develop novel therapeutic strategies. Tremendous progress has been made developing and validating rodent models that replicate the aetiologies, brain pathologies, and behavioural abnormalities associated with schizophrenia in humans. Here, models are grouped into 3 categories-developmental, drug induced, and genetic-to reflect the heterogeneous risk factors associated with schizophrenia. Each of these models is associated with varied but overlapping pathophysiology, endophenotypes, behavioural abnormalities, and cognitive impairments. Studying schizophrenia using multiple models will permit an understanding of the core features of the disease, thereby facilitating preclinical research aimed at the development and validation of better pharmacotherapies to alter the progression of schizophrenia or alleviate its debilitating symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian R Winship
- 1 Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
| | - Serdar M Dursun
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Neurochemical Research Unit and Bebensee Schizophrenia Research Unit, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.,3 National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Science, Brazil
| | - Glen B Baker
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Neurochemical Research Unit and Bebensee Schizophrenia Research Unit, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.,3 National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Science, Brazil
| | - Priscila A Balista
- 4 Department of Pharmacy, Centro Universitario das Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ludmyla Kandratavicius
- 5 Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
| | - Joao Paulo Maia-de-Oliveira
- 3 National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Science, Brazil.,6 Department of Clinical Medicine, Rio Grande do Norte Federal University, Natal, Brazil
| | - Jaime Hallak
- 3 National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Science, Brazil.,5 Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.,7 Department of Psychiatry (NRU), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
| | - John G Howland
- 8 Department of Physiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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50
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Zain MA, Pandy V, Majeed ABA, Wong WF, Mohamed Z. Chronic restraint stress impairs sociability but not social recognition and spatial memoryin C57BL/6J mice. Exp Anim 2018; 68:113-124. [PMID: 30393276 PMCID: PMC6389516 DOI: 10.1538/expanim.18-0078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress has been associated with impairment of memory, learning, and social
cognition. In animal studies, chronic stress has been shown to impair rodent sociability
behaviour which mimics social withdrawal as observed in depression patients. The effect of
chronic stress on social recognition, however, is uncertain. Moreover, with reference to
spatial learning and memory, the effect of chronic stress is dependent on the type of
behavioural task: an appetitively or aversively motivated tasks. The effect of chronic
stress was consistent in impairing spatial learning and memory in the appetitive task;
however, the effect was inconsistent in an aversive task like the Morris water maze. Thus,
we aimed to investigate the effect of chronic restraint stress on sociability and social
recognition by using a modified protocol of the three-chamber paradigm and the effect of
chronic restraint stress on spatial learning and memory by using the Morris water maze
test in young adult C57BL/6J male mice. The present report also describes a modified
protocol of the three-chamber paradigm. Our modification is based on measurement of
sniffing behaviour, which is a direct social interaction that represents sociability. We
used the chronic restraint stress paradigm for 6 h/day for 21 days to induce
depression-like symptoms in male C57BL/6J mice which were validated by forced-swim test.
We observed that the stressed group had impairments in their sociability behaviour but
that social recognition was not affected. Furthermore, we confirmed that chronic stress
produced no significant impairment in spatial learning and memory of the mice in the water
maze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Aizat Zain
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
| | - Vijayapandi Pandy
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia.,Department of Pharmacology, Chalapathi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chalapathi Nagar, LAM, Guntur, 522034, Andhra Pradesh, India
| | - Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 42300, Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.,Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Core, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Won Fen Wong
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
| | - Zahurin Mohamed
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
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