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Higa GSV, Viana FJC, Francis-Oliveira J, Cruvinel E, Franchin TS, Marcourakis T, Ulrich H, De Pasquale R. Serotonergic neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity. Neuropharmacology 2024; 257:110036. [PMID: 38876308 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.110036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Synaptic plasticity constitutes a fundamental process in the reorganization of neural networks that underlie memory, cognition, emotional responses, and behavioral planning. At the core of this phenomenon lie Hebbian mechanisms, wherein frequent synaptic stimulation induces long-term potentiation (LTP), while less activation leads to long-term depression (LTD). The synaptic reorganization of neuronal networks is regulated by serotonin (5-HT), a neuromodulator capable of modify synaptic plasticity to appropriately respond to mental and behavioral states, such as alertness, attention, concentration, motivation, and mood. Lately, understanding the serotonergic Neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity has become imperative for unraveling its impact on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions. Through a comparative analysis across three main forebrain structures-the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, this review discusses the actions of 5-HT on synaptic plasticity, offering insights into its role as a neuromodulator involved in emotional and cognitive functions. By distinguishing between plastic and metaplastic effects, we provide a comprehensive overview about the mechanisms of 5-HT neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity and associated functions across different brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme Shigueto Vilar Higa
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química (USP), Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Felipe José Costa Viana
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - José Francis-Oliveira
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Emily Cruvinel
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Thainá Soares Franchin
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Tania Marcourakis
- Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Henning Ulrich
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química (USP), Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Roberto De Pasquale
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.
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Smith HC, Yu Z, Iyer L, Marvar PJ. Sex-Dependent Effects of Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor-Expressing Medial Prefrontal Cortex Interneurons in Fear Extinction Learning. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:100340. [PMID: 39140003 PMCID: PMC11321323 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The renin-angiotensin system has been identified as a potential therapeutic target for posttraumatic stress disorder, although its mechanisms are not well understood. Brain angiotensin type 2 receptors (AT2Rs) are a subtype of angiotensin II receptors located in stress and anxiety-related regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but their function and mechanism in the mPFC remain unexplored. Therefore, we used a combination of imaging, cre/lox, and behavioral methods to investigate mPFC-AT2R-expressing neurons in fear and stess related behavior. Methods To characterize mPFC-AT2R-expressing neurons in the mPFC, AT2R-Cre/tdTomato male and female mice were used for immunohistochemistry. mPFC brain sections were stained with glutamatergic or interneuron markers, and density of AT2R+ cells and colocalization with each marker were quantified. To assess fear-related behaviors in AT2R-flox mice, we selectively deleted AT2R from mPFC neurons using a Cre-expressing adeno-associated virus. Mice then underwent Pavlovian auditory fear conditioning, elevated plus maze, and open field testing. Results Immunohistochemistry results revealed that AT2R was densely expressed throughout the mPFC and primarily expressed in somatostatin interneurons in a sex-dependent manner. Following fear conditioning, mPFC-AT2R Cre-lox deletion impaired extinction and increased exploratory behavior in female but not male mice, while locomotion was unaltered by mPFC-AT2R deletion in both sexes. Conclusions These results identify mPFC-AT2R+ neurons as a novel subgroup of somatostatin interneurons and reveal their role in regulating fear learning in a sex-dependent manner, potentially offering insights into novel therapeutic targets for posttraumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah C. Smith
- Department of Neuroscience, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Zhe Yu
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Laxmi Iyer
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Paul J. Marvar
- Department of Neuroscience, George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC
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Molla HM, Miguelez Fernández AMM, Tseng KY. Late-adolescent onset of prefrontal endocannabinoid control of hippocampal and amygdalar inputs and its impact on trace-fear conditioning behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1417-1424. [PMID: 38467844 PMCID: PMC11250818 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01844-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) maturation during adolescence is characterized by structural and functional changes, which involve the remodeling of GABA and glutamatergic synapses, as well as changes in the endocannabinoid system. Yet, the way PFC endocannabinoid signaling interacts with local GABA and glutamatergic function to impact its processing of afferent transmission during the adolescent transition to adulthood remains unknown. Here we combined PFC local field potential recordings with local manipulations of 2-AG and anandamide levels to assess how PFC endocannabinoid signaling is recruited to modulate ventral hippocampal and basolateral amygdalar inputs in vivo in adolescent and adult male rats. We found that the PFC endocannabinoid signaling does not fully emerge until late-adolescence/young adulthood. Once present, both 2-AG and anandamide can be recruited in the PFC to limit the impact of hippocampal drive through a CB1R-mediated mechanism whereas basolateral amygdalar inputs are only inhibited by 2-AG. Similarly, the behavioral effects of increasing 2-AG and anandamide in the PFC do not emerge until late-adolescence/young adulthood. Using a trace fear conditioning paradigm, we found that elevating PFC 2-AG levels preferentially reduced freezing behavior during acquisition without affecting its extinction. In contrast, increasing anandamide levels in the PFC selectively disrupted the extinction of trace fear memory without affecting its acquisition. Collectively, these results indicate a protracted recruitment of PFC endocannabinoid signaling, which becomes online in late adolescence/young adulthood as revealed by its impact on hippocampal and amygdalar-evoked local field potential responses and trace fear memory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna M Molla
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois Chicago - College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Anabel M M Miguelez Fernández
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois Chicago - College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Kuei Y Tseng
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois Chicago - College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
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Zhang SR, Wu DY, Luo R, Wu JL, Chen H, Li ZM, Zhuang JP, Hu NY, Li XW, Yang JM, Gao TM, Chen YH. A Prelimbic Cortex-Thalamus Circuit Bidirectionally Regulates Innate and Stress-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e2103232024. [PMID: 38886059 PMCID: PMC11255430 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2103-23.2024] [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: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Anxiety-related disorders respond to cognitive behavioral therapies, which involved the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Previous studies have suggested that subregions of the mPFC have different and even opposite roles in regulating innate anxiety. However, the specific causal targets of their descending projections in modulating innate anxiety and stress-induced anxiety have yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we found that among the various downstream pathways of the prelimbic cortex (PL), a subregion of the mPFC, PL-mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) projection, and PL-ventral tegmental area (VTA) projection exhibited antagonistic effects on anxiety-like behavior, while the PL-MD projection but not PL-VTA projection was necessary for the animal to guide anxiety-related behavior. In addition, MD-projecting PL neurons bidirectionally regulated remote but not recent fear memory retrieval. Notably, restraint stress induced high-anxiety state accompanied by strengthening the excitatory inputs onto MD-projecting PL neurons, and inhibiting PL-MD pathway rescued the stress-induced anxiety. Our findings reveal that the activity of PL-MD pathway may be an essential factor to maintain certain level of anxiety, and stress increased the excitability of this pathway, leading to inappropriate emotional expression, and suggests that targeting specific PL circuits may aid the development of therapies for the treatment of stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Rong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Ding-Yu Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Rong Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jian-Lin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Zi-Ming Li
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jia-Pai Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Neng-Yuan Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Xiao-Wen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jian-Ming Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Tian-Ming Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yi-Hua Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine for Qingzhi Diseases, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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Proverbio AM, Cesati F. Neural correlates of recalled sadness, joy, and fear states: a source reconstruction EEG study. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1357770. [PMID: 38638416 PMCID: PMC11024723 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1357770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The capacity to understand the others' emotional states, particularly if negative (e.g. sadness or fear), underpins the empathic and social brain. Patients who cannot express their emotional states experience social isolation and loneliness, exacerbating distress. We investigated the feasibility of detecting non-invasive scalp-recorded electrophysiological signals that correspond to recalled emotional states of sadness, fear, and joy for potential classification. Methods The neural activation patterns of 20 healthy and right-handed participants were studied using an electrophysiological technique. Analyses were focused on the N400 component of Event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during silent recall of subjective emotional states; Standardized weighted Low-resolution Electro-magnetic Tomography (swLORETA) was employed for source reconstruction. The study classified individual patterns of brain activation linked to the recollection of three distinct emotional states into seven regions of interest (ROIs). Results Statistical analysis (ANOVA) of the individual magnitude values revealed the existence of a common emotional circuit, as well as distinct brain areas that were specifically active during recalled sad, happy and fearful states. In particular, the right temporal and left superior frontal areas were more active for sadness, the left limbic region for fear, and the right orbitofrontal cortex for happy affective states. Discussion In conclusion, this study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of detecting scalp-recorded electrophysiological signals corresponding to internal and subjective affective states. These findings contribute to our understanding of the emotional brain, and have potential applications for future BCI classification and identification of emotional states in LIS patients who may be unable to express their emotions, thus helping to alleviate social isolation and sense of loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NEURO-MI Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Federico Cesati
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Quiñones-Labernik P, Blocklinger KL, Bruce MR, Ferri SL. Excess neonatal testosterone causes male-specific social and fear memory deficits in wild-type mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.18.562939. [PMID: 37905064 PMCID: PMC10614869 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.18.562939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) disproportionately affect males compared to females, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in particular exhibits a 4:1 male bias. The biological mechanisms of this female protection or male susceptibility have not been identified. There is some evidence to suggest that fetal/neonatal gonadal hormones, which play pivotal roles in many aspects of development, may contribute. Here, we investigate the role of testosterone administration during a critical period of development, and its effects on social approach and fear learning in C57BL/6J wildtype mice. Male, but not female mice treated with testosterone on the day of birth (PN0) exhibited deficits in both social behavior and contextual fear conditioning, whereas mice treated with the same dose of testosterone on postnatal day 18 (PN18) did not display such impairments. Testosterone administration did not induce anxiogenic effects or lead to changes in body weight compared to the vehicle-treated group. These impairmeants are relevant to ND and may help identify novel treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sarah L Ferri
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
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Liu S, Nawarawong N, Liu X, Liu QS, Olsen CM. Dissociable dorsal medial prefrontal cortex ensembles are necessary for cocaine seeking and fear conditioning in mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.17.585444. [PMID: 38562850 PMCID: PMC10983871 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.17.585444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The dmPFC plays a dual role in modulating drug seeking and fear-related behaviors. Learned associations between cues and drug seeking are encoded by a specific ensemble of neurons. This study explored the stability of a dmPFC cocaine seeking ensemble over two weeks and its influence on persistent cocaine seeking and fear memory retrieval. In the first series of experiments, we trained TetTag mice in cocaine self-administration and tagged strongly activated neurons with EGFP during the initial day 7 cocaine seeking session. Subsequently, a follow-up seeking test was conducted two weeks later to examine ensemble reactivation between two seeking sessions via c-Fos immunostaining. In the second series of experiments, we co-injected viruses expressing TRE-cre and a cre-dependent inhibitory PSAM-GlyR into the dmPFC of male and female c-fos -tTA mice to enable "tagging" of cocaine seeking ensemble or cued fear ensemble neurons with an inhibitory chemogenetic receptors. Then we investigated their contribution to subsequent cocaine seeking and fear recall during inhibition of the tagged ensemble by administering uPSEM792s (0.3 mg/kg), a selective ligand for PSAM-GlyR. In both sexes, there was a positive association between the persistence of cocaine seeking and the proportion of reactivated EGFP+ neurons within the dmPFC. More importantly, inhibition of the cocaine seeking ensemble suppressed cocaine seeking, but not recall of fear memory, while inhibition of the fear ensemble reduced conditioned freezing but not cocaine seeking. The results demonstrate that cocaine and fear recall ensembles in the dmPFC are stable, but largely exclusive from one another.
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Plas SL, Tuna T, Bayer H, Juliano VAL, Sweck SO, Arellano Perez AD, Hassell JE, Maren S. Neural circuits for the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1352797. [PMID: 38370858 PMCID: PMC10869525 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1352797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The regulation of fear memories is critical for adaptive behaviors and dysregulation of these processes is implicated in trauma- and stress-related disorders. Treatments for these disorders include pharmacological interventions as well as exposure-based therapies, which rely upon extinction learning. Considerable attention has been directed toward elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying fear and extinction learning. In this review, we will discuss historic discoveries and emerging evidence on the neural mechanisms of the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memories. We will focus on neural circuits regulating the acquisition and extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning in rodent models, particularly the role of the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the contextual control of extinguished fear memories. We will also consider new work revealing an important role for the thalamic nucleus reuniens in the modulation of prefrontal-hippocampal interactions in extinction learning and memory. Finally, we will explore the effects of stress on this circuit and the clinical implications of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L. Plas
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Tuğçe Tuna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Hugo Bayer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Vitor A. L. Juliano
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Samantha O. Sweck
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Angel D. Arellano Perez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - James E. Hassell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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Santos TB, Kramer-Soares JC, Coelho CAO, Oliveira MGM. Temporal association activates projections from the perirhinal cortex and ventral CA1 to the prelimbic cortex and from the prelimbic cortex to the basolateral amygdala. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11456-11470. [PMID: 37823340 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad375] [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: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In trace fear conditioning, the prelimbic cortex exhibits persistent activity during the interval between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, which maintains a conditioned stimulus representation. Regions cooperating for this function or encoding the conditioned stimulus before the interval could send inputs to the prelimbic cortex, supporting learning. The basolateral amygdala has conditioned stimulus- and unconditioned stimulus-responsive neurons, convergently activated. The prelimbic cortex could directly project to the basolateral amygdala to associate the transient memory of the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus. We investigated the neuronal circuit supporting temporal associations using contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval, in which 5 s separates the contextual conditioned stimulus from the unconditioned stimulus. Injecting retrobeads, we quantified c-Fos in prelimbic cortex- or basolateral amygdala-projecting neurons from 9 regions after contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval or contextual fear conditioning, in which the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli overlap. The contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval activated ventral CA1 and perirhinal cortex neurons projecting to the prelimbic cortex and prelimbic cortex neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala. Both fear conditioning activated ventral CA1 and lateral entorhinal cortex neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala and basolateral amygdala neurons projecting to prelimbic cortex. The perirhinal cortex → prelimbic cortex and ventral CA1 → prelimbic cortex connections are the first identified prelimbic cortex afferent projections participating in temporal associations. These results help to understand time-linked memories, a process required in episodic and working memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thays B Santos
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
| | - Juliana C Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
- Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul-UNICSUL, São Paulo 08060-070, Brazil
| | - Cesar A O Coelho
- Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Maria G M Oliveira
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
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Iqbal J, Huang GD, Xue YX, Yang M, Jia XJ. The neural circuits and molecular mechanisms underlying fear dysregulation in posttraumatic stress disorder. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1281401. [PMID: 38116070 PMCID: PMC10728304 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1281401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress-associated complex and debilitating psychiatric disorder due to an imbalance of neurotransmitters in response to traumatic events or fear. PTSD is characterized by re-experiencing, avoidance behavior, hyperarousal, negative emotions, insomnia, personality changes, and memory problems following exposure to severe trauma. However, the biological mechanisms and symptomatology underlying this disorder are still largely unknown or poorly understood. Considerable evidence shows that PTSD results from a dysfunction in highly conserved brain systems involved in regulating stress, anxiety, fear, and reward circuitry. This review provides a contemporary update about PTSD, including new data from the clinical and preclinical literature on stress, PTSD, and fear memory consolidation and extinction processes. First, we present an overview of well-established laboratory models of PTSD and discuss their clinical translational value for finding various treatments for PTSD. We then highlight the research progress on the neural circuits of fear and extinction-related behavior, including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. We further describe different molecular mechanisms, including GABAergic, glutamatergic, cholinergic, and neurotropic signaling, responsible for the structural and functional changes during fear acquisition and fear extinction processes in PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javed Iqbal
- Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Geng-Di Huang
- Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan-Xue Xue
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Mei Yang
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiao-Jian Jia
- Department of Addiction Medicine, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Precision Psychiatric Technology, Shenzhen Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital and Shenzhen Mental Health Center; Clinical College of Mental Health, Shenzhen University Health Science Center; Affiliated Mental Health Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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11
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Wong SA, Lebois LAM, Ely TD, van Rooij SJH, Bruce SE, Murty VP, Jovanovic T, House SL, Beaudoin FL, An X, Zeng D, Neylan TC, Clifford GD, Linnstaedt SD, Germine LT, Bollen KA, Rauch SL, Haran JP, Storrow AB, Lewandowski C, Musey PI, Hendry PL, Sheikh S, Jones CW, Punches BE, Kurz MC, Swor RA, Hudak LA, Pascual JL, Seamon MJ, Pearson C, Peak DA, Merchant RC, Domeier RM, Rathlev NK, O'Neil BJ, Sergot P, Sanchez LD, Miller MW, Pietrzak RH, Joormann J, Barch DM, Pizzagalli DA, Harte SE, Elliott JM, Kessler RC, Koenen KC, McLean SA, Ressler KJ, Stevens JS, Harnett NG. Internal capsule microstructure mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and PTSD following adulthood trauma exposure. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:5140-5149. [PMID: 36932158 PMCID: PMC10505244 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02012-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
Childhood trauma is a known risk factor for trauma and stress-related disorders in adulthood. However, limited research has investigated the impact of childhood trauma on brain structure linked to later posttraumatic dysfunction. We investigated the effect of childhood trauma on white matter microstructure after recent trauma and its relationship with future posttraumatic dysfunction among trauma-exposed adult participants (n = 202) recruited from emergency departments as part of the AURORA Study. Participants completed self-report scales assessing prior childhood maltreatment within 2-weeks in addition to assessments of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and dissociation symptoms within 6-months of their traumatic event. Fractional anisotropy (FA) obtained from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) collected at 2-weeks and 6-months was used to index white matter microstructure. Childhood maltreatment load predicted 6-month PTSD symptoms (b = 1.75, SE = 0.78, 95% CI = [0.20, 3.29]) and inversely varied with FA in the bilateral internal capsule (IC) at 2-weeks (p = 0.0294, FDR corrected) and 6-months (p = 0.0238, FDR corrected). We observed a significant indirect effect of childhood maltreatment load on 6-month PTSD symptoms through 2-week IC microstructure (b = 0.37, Boot SE = 0.18, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.76]) that fully mediated the effect of childhood maltreatment load on PCL-5 scores (b = 1.37, SE = 0.79, 95% CI = [-0.18, 2.93]). IC microstructure did not mediate relationships between childhood maltreatment and depressive, anxiety, or dissociative symptomatology. Our findings suggest a unique role for IC microstructure as a stable neural pathway between childhood trauma and future PTSD symptoms following recent trauma. Notably, our work did not support roles of white matter tracts previously found to vary with PTSD symptoms and childhood trauma exposure, including the cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus, and corpus callosum. Given the IC contains sensory fibers linked to perception and motor control, childhood maltreatment might impact the neural circuits that relay and process threat-related inputs and responses to trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha A Wong
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Lauren A M Lebois
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Timothy D Ely
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Sanne J H van Rooij
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Steven E Bruce
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Vishnu P Murty
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Tanja Jovanovic
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Stacey L House
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Francesca L Beaudoin
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Xinming An
- Institute for Trauma Recovery, Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Donglin Zeng
- Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Thomas C Neylan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gari D Clifford
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Sarah D Linnstaedt
- Institute for Trauma Recovery, Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Laura T Germine
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- The Many Brains Project, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Kenneth A Bollen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience & Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Scott L Rauch
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - John P Haran
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Alan B Storrow
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Paul I Musey
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Phyllis L Hendry
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Sophia Sheikh
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Christopher W Jones
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA
| | - Brittany E Punches
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA
- Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Michael C Kurz
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgery, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Center for Injury Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Robert A Swor
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Lauren A Hudak
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jose L Pascual
- Department of Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mark J Seamon
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Surgery, Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Claire Pearson
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University, Ascension St. John Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - David A Peak
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roland C Merchant
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert M Domeier
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ypsilanti, MI, USA
| | - Niels K Rathlev
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, MA, USA
| | - Brian J O'Neil
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Paulina Sergot
- Department of Emergency Medicine, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Leon D Sanchez
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark W Miller
- National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert H Pietrzak
- National Center for PTSD, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jutta Joormann
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven E Harte
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - James M Elliott
- Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Northern Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Physical Therapy & Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ronald C Kessler
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karestan C Koenen
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Samuel A McLean
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Institute for Trauma Recovery, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer S Stevens
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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12
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Smith HC, Yu Z, Iyer L, Marvar PJ. Sex-dependent effects of angiotensin type 2 receptor expressing medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) interneurons in fear extinction learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.21.568156. [PMID: 38045293 PMCID: PMC10690250 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.21.568156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Background The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been identified as a potential therapeutic target for PTSD, though its mechanisms are not well understood. Brain angiotensin type 2 receptors (AT2Rs) are a subtype of angiotensin II receptors located in stress and anxiety-related regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but their function and mechanism in the mPFC remain unexplored. We therefore used a combination of imaging, cre/lox, and behavioral methods to investigate mPFC-AT2R-expressing neuron involvement in fear learning. Methods To characterize mPFC-AT2R-expressing neurons in the mPFC, AT2R-Cre/td-Tomato male and female mice were used for immunohistochemistry (IHC). mPFC brain sections were stained with glutamatergic or interneuron markers, and density of AT2R+ cells and colocalization with each marker was quantified. To assess fear-related behaviors in AT2R-flox mice, we selectively deleted AT2R from mPFC neurons using an AAV-Cre virus. Mice then underwent Pavlovian auditory fear conditioning, approach/avoidance, and locomotion testing. Results IHC results revealed that AT2R is densely expressed in the mPFC. Furthermore, AT2R is primarily expressed in somatostatin interneurons in females but not males. Following fear conditioning, mPFC-AT2R deletion impaired extinction in female but not male mice. Locomotion was unaltered by mPFC-AT2R deletion in males or females, while AT2R-deleted females had increased exploratory behavior. Conclusion These results lend support for mPFC-AT2R+ neurons as a novel subgroup of somatostatin interneurons that influence fear extinction in a sex-dependent manner. This furthers underscores the role of mPFC in top-down regulation and a unique role for peptidergic (ie., angiotensin) mPFC regulation of fear and sex differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah C. Smith
- Department of Neuroscience, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Zhe Yu
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Laxmi Iyer
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Paul J. Marvar
- Department of Neuroscience, George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC
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13
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Tsuchiyagaito A, Sánchez SM, Misaki M, Kuplicki R, Park H, Paulus MP, Guinjoan SM. Intensity of repetitive negative thinking in depression is associated with greater functional connectivity between semantic processing and emotion regulation areas. Psychol Med 2023; 53:5488-5499. [PMID: 36043367 PMCID: PMC9973538 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722002677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Repetitive negative thinking (RNT), a cognitive process that encompasses past (rumination) and future (worry) directed thoughts focusing on negative experiences and the self, is a transdiagnostic construct that is especially relevant for major depressive disorder (MDD). Severe RNT often occurs in individuals with severe levels of MDD, which makes it challenging to disambiguate the neural circuitry underlying RNT from depression severity. METHODS We used a propensity score, i.e., a conditional probability of having high RNT given observed covariates to match high and low RNT individuals who are similar in the severity of depression, anxiety, and demographic characteristics. Of 148 MDD individuals, we matched high and low RNT groups (n = 50/group) and used a data-driven whole-brain voxel-to-voxel connectivity pattern analysis to investigate the resting-state functional connectivity differences between the groups. RESULTS There was an association between RNT and connectivity in the bilateral superior temporal sulcus (STS), an important region for speech processing including inner speech. High relative to low RNT individuals showed greater connectivity between right STS and bilateral anterior insular cortex (AI), and between bilateral STS and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Greater connectivity in those regions was specifically related to RNT but not to depression severity. CONCLUSIONS RNT intensity is directly related to connectivity between STS and AI/DLPFC. This might be a mechanism underlying the role of RNT in perceptive, cognitive, speech, and emotional processing. Future investigations will need to determine whether modifying these connectivities could be a treatment target to reduce RNT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aki Tsuchiyagaito
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA
- The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
- Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | | | - Masaya Misaki
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | | | - Heekyong Park
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA
- University of North Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
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14
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Lai TT, Gericke B, Feja M, Conoscenti M, Zelikowsky M, Richter F. Anxiety in synucleinopathies: neuronal circuitry, underlying pathomechanisms and current therapeutic strategies. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2023; 9:97. [PMID: 37349373 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00547-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by alpha-synuclein (αSyn) accumulation in neurons or glial cells, including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). αSyn-related pathology plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies leading to the progressive loss of neuronal populations in specific brain regions and the development of motor and non-motor symptoms. Anxiety is among the most frequent non-motor symptoms in patients with PD, but it remains underrecognized and undertreated, which significantly reduces the quality of life for patients. Anxiety is defined as a neuropsychiatric complication with characteristics such as nervousness, loss of concentration, and sweating due to the anticipation of impending danger. In patients with PD, neuropathology in the amygdala, a central region in the anxiety and fear circuitry, may contribute to the high prevalence of anxiety. Studies in animal models reported αSyn pathology in the amygdala together with alteration of anxiety or fear learning response. Therefore, understanding the progression, extent, and specifics of pathology in the anxiety and fear circuitry in synucleinopathies will suggest novel approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Here, we provide an overview of studies that address neuropsychiatric symptoms in synucleinopathies. We offer insights into anxiety and fear circuitry in animal models and the current implications for therapeutic intervention. In summary, it is apparent that anxiety is not a bystander symptom in these disorders but reflects early pathogenic mechanisms in the cortico-limbic system which may even contribute as a driver to disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thuy Thi Lai
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Birthe Gericke
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Malte Feja
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | | | | | - Franziska Richter
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany.
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15
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Perez RF, Conner KE, Erickson MA, Nabatanzi M, Huffman KJ. Alcohol and lactation: Developmental deficits in a mouse model. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1147274. [PMID: 36992847 PMCID: PMC10040541 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1147274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well documented that prenatal ethanol exposure via maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy alters brain and behavioral development in offspring. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises against maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. However, little emphasis has been placed on educating new parents about alcohol consumption while breastfeeding. This is partly due to a paucity of research on lactational ethanol exposure (LEE) effects in children; although, it has been shown that infants exposed to ethanol via breast milk frequently present with reduced body mass, low verbal IQ scores, and altered sleeping patterns. As approximately 36% of breastfeeding mothers in the US consume alcohol, continued research in this area is critical. Our study employed a novel murine LEE model, where offspring were exposed to ethanol via nursing from postnatal day (P) 6 through P20, a period correlated with infancy in humans. Compared to controls, LEE mice had reduced body weights and neocortical lengths at P20 and P30. Brain weights were also reduced in both ages in males, and at P20 for females, however, female brain weights recovered to control levels by P30. We investigated neocortical features and found that frontal cortex thickness was reduced in LEE males compared to controls. Analyses of dendritic spines in the prelimbic subdivision of medial prefrontal cortex revealed a trend of reduced densities in LEE mice. Results of behavioral tests suggest that LEE mice engage in higher risk-taking behavior, show abnormal stress regulation, and exhibit increased hyperactivity. In summary, our data describe potential adverse brain and behavioral developmental outcomes due to LEE. Thus, women should be advised to refrain from consuming alcohol during breastfeeding until additional research can better guide recommendations of safe maternal practices in early infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto F. Perez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Kathleen E. Conner
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Michael A. Erickson
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Mirembe Nabatanzi
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Kelly J. Huffman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Kelly J. Huffman,
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16
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Zaizar ED, Papini S, Gonzalez-Lima F, Telch MJ. Singular and combined effects of transcranial infrared laser stimulation and exposure therapy on pathological fear: a randomized clinical trial. Psychol Med 2023; 53:908-917. [PMID: 34284836 PMCID: PMC9976021 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721002270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preclinical findings suggest that transcranial infrared laser stimulation (TILS) improves fear extinction learning and cognitive function by enhancing prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygen metabolism. These findings prompted our investigation of treating pathological fear using this non-invasive stimulation approach either alone to the dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), or to the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) in combination with exposure therapy. METHODS Volunteers with pathological fear of either enclosed spaces, contamination, public speaking, or anxiety-related bodily sensations were recruited for this randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled trial with four arms: (a) Exposure + TILS_vmPFC (n = 29), (b) Exposure + sham TILS_vmPFC (n = 29), (c) TILS_dlPFC alone (n = 26), or (d) Sham TILS _dlPFC alone (n = 28). Post-treatment assessments occurred immediately following treatment. Follow-up assessments occurred 2 weeks after treatment. RESULTS A total of 112 participants were randomized [age range: 18-63 years; 96 females (85.71%)]. Significant interactions of Group × Time and Group × Context indicated differential treatment effects on retention (i.e. between time-points, averaged across contexts) and on generalization (i.e. between contexts, averaged across time-points), respectively. Among the monotherapies, TILS_dlPFC outperformed SHAM_dlPFC in the initial context, b = -13.44, 95% CI (-25.73 to -1.15), p = 0.03. Among the combined treatments, differences between EX + TILS_vmPFC and EX + SHAM_vmPFC were non-significant across all contrasts. CONCLUSIONS TILS to the dlPFC, one of the PFC regions implicated in emotion regulation, resulted in a context-specific benefit as a monotherapy for reducing fear. Contrary to prediction, TILS to the vmPFC, a region implicated in fear extinction memory consolidation, did not enhance exposure therapy outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D. Zaizar
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Santiago Papini
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - F. Gonzalez-Lima
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Michael J. Telch
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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17
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Lee D, Guiomar R, Gonçalves ÓF, Almeida J, Ganho-Ávila A. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on neural activity and functional connectivity during fear extinction. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2023; 23:100342. [PMID: 36299490 PMCID: PMC9578989 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100342] [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: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background/Objective Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), especially in the right hemisphere impacts extinction learning; however, the underlying neural mechanisms are elusive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of cathodal tDCS stimulation to the right dlPFC on neural activity and connectivity patterns during delayed fear extinction in healthy participants. Methods We conducted a two-day fear conditioning and extinction procedure. On the first day, we collected fear-related self-reports, clinical questionnaires, and skin conductance responses during fear acquisition. On the second day, participants in the tDCS group (n = 16) received 20-min offline tDCS before fMRI and then completed the fear extinction session during fMRI. Participants in the control group (n = 18) skipped tDCS and directly underwent fMRI to complete the fear extinction procedure. Whole-brain searchlight classification and resting-state functional connectivity analyses were performed. Results Whole-brain searchlight classification during fear extinction showed higher classification accuracy of threat and safe cues in the left anterior dorsal and ventral insulae and hippocampus in the tDCS group than in the control group. Functional connectivity derived from the insula with the dlPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and inferior parietal lobule was increased after tDCS. Conclusion tDCS over the right dlPFC may function as a primer for information exchange among distally connected areas, thereby increasing stimulus discrimination. The current study did not include a sham group, and one participant of the control group was not randomized. Therefore, to address potential allocation bias, findings should be confirmed in the future with a fully randomized and sham controlled study.
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Key Words
- ACC, anterior cingulate cortex
- CS, conditioned stimulus
- EPI, echo-planar imaging
- FOV, field of view
- Fear extinction
- GLM, general linear model
- HC, hippocampus
- IPL, inferior parietal lobule
- PFC, prefrontal cortex
- Resting-state functional connectivity
- SCR, skin conductance response
- TE, echo time
- TR, repetition time
- US, unconditioned stimulus
- Whole-brain searchlight classification
- dAI, dorsal anterior insula
- dlPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
- fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging
- tDCS
- tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation
- vAI, ventral anterior insula
- vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongha Lee
- Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, 61 Cheomdan-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea,Corresponding author at: Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, 61 Cheomdan-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea 41062.
| | - Raquel Guiomar
- Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo 3000-115, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Óscar F. Gonçalves
- Proaction Laboratory, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo 3001-802 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo 3001-802 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Ganho-Ávila
- Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo 3000-115, Coimbra, Portugal,Corresponding author at: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal.
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18
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Stevanovic KD, Fry SA, DeFilipp JMS, Wu N, Bernstein BJ, Cushman JD. Assessing the importance of sex in a hippocampus-dependent behavioral test battery in C57BL/6NTac mice. LEARNING & MEMORY (COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y.) 2022; 29:203-215. [PMID: 35882502 PMCID: PMC9374270 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053599.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Inclusion of male and female subjects in behavioral neuroscience research requires a concerted effort to characterize sex differences in standardized behavioral assays. Sex differences in hippocampus-dependent assays have been widely reported but are still poorly characterized. In the present study, we conducted a parametric analysis of spontaneous alternation, object recognition, and fear conditioning in a commonly used control strain, C57BL/6NTac. Our findings show largely similar performance between males and females across the majority of behavioral end points. However, we identified an important difference in nonassociative fear sensitization, whereby females showed an enhanced fear response to the 75-dB tone that is used as the conditional stimulus. In addition, we observed an impairment in object location performance in females that was ameliorated by more extensive habituation to handling. Together, these findings argue that sex differences in nonassociative fear responses to both novel auditory cues and novel objects need to be considered when designing and interpreting cognitive assays in C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, this elevated fear sensitization could serve as a novel approach to model the increased incidence of anxiety disorders in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korey D Stevanovic
- Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Sydney A Fry
- Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Jemma M S DeFilipp
- Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Nicholas Wu
- University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Briana J Bernstein
- Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Jesse D Cushman
- Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Durham, North Carolina 27709, USA
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19
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Olguin SL, Patel P, Buchanan CN, Dell'Orco M, Gardiner AS, Cole R, Vaughn LS, Sundararajan A, Mudge J, Allan AM, Ortinski P, Brigman JL, Twiss JL, Perrone-Bizzozero NI. KHSRP loss increases neuronal growth and synaptic transmission and alters memory consolidation through RNA stabilization. Commun Biol 2022; 5:672. [PMID: 35798971 PMCID: PMC9262970 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03594-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP) is an RNA-binding protein linked to decay of mRNAs with AU-rich elements. KHSRP was previously shown to destabilize Gap43 mRNA and decrease neurite growth in cultured embryonic neurons. Here, we have tested functions of KHSRP in vivo. We find upregulation of 1460 mRNAs in neocortex of adult Khsrp-/- mice, of which 527 bind to KHSRP with high specificity. These KHSRP targets are involved in pathways for neuronal morphology, axon guidance, neurotransmission and long-term memory. Khsrp-/- mice show increased axon growth and dendritic spine density in vivo. Neuronal cultures from Khsrp-/- mice show increased axon and dendrite growth and elevated KHSRP-target mRNAs, including subcellularly localized mRNAs. Furthermore, neuron-specific knockout of Khsrp confirms these are from neuron-intrinsic roles of KHSRP. Consistent with this, neurons in the hippocampus and infralimbic cortex of Khsrp-/- mice show elevations in frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. The Khsrp-/- mice have deficits in trace conditioning and attention set-shifting tasks compared Khsrp+/+ mice, indicating impaired prefrontal- and hippocampal-dependent memory consolidation with loss of KHSRP. Overall, these results indicate that deletion of KHSRP impairs neuronal development resulting in alterations in neuronal morphology and function by changing post-transcriptional control of neuronal gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Olguin
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Priyanka Patel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Courtney N Buchanan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Michela Dell'Orco
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Amy S Gardiner
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Robert Cole
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Lauren S Vaughn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | | | - Joann Mudge
- National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, NM, 87505, USA
| | - Andrea M Allan
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Pavel Ortinski
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA
| | - Jonathan L Brigman
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Jeffery L Twiss
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
- Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
| | - Nora I Perrone-Bizzozero
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
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20
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Luo B, Li J, Liu J, Li F, Gu M, Xiao H, Lei S, Xiao Z. Frequency-Dependent Plasticity in the Temporal Association Cortex Originates from the Primary Auditory Cortex, and Is Modified by the Secondary Auditory Cortex and the Medial Geniculate Body. J Neurosci 2022; 42:5254-5267. [PMID: 35613891 PMCID: PMC9236291 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1481-21.2022] [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: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain areas that mediate the formation of auditory threat memory and perceptual decisions remain uncertain to date. Candidates include the primary (A1) and secondary (A2) auditory cortex, the medial division of the medial geniculate body (MGm), amygdala, and the temporal association cortex. We used chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulations with in vivo and in vitro patch-clamp recordings to assess the roles of these brain regions in threat memory learning in female mice. We found that conditioned sound (CS) frequency-dependent plasticity resulted in the formation of auditory threat memory in the temporal association cortex. This neural correlated auditory threat memory depended on CS frequency information from A1 glutamatergic subthreshold monosynaptic inputs, CS lateral inhibition from A2 glutamatergic disynaptic inputs, and non-frequency-specific facilitation from MGm glutamatergic monosynaptic inputs. These results indicate that the A2 and MGm work together in an inhibitory-facilitative role.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The ability to recognize specific sounds to avoid predators or seek prey is a useful survival tool. Improving this ability through experiential learning is an added advantage requiring neural plasticity. As an example, humans must learn to distinguish the sound of a car horn, and thus avoid oncoming traffic. Our research discovered that the temporal association cortex can encode this kind of auditory information through tonal receptive field plasticity. In addition, the results revealed the underlying synaptic mechanisms of this process. These results extended our understanding of how meaningful auditory information is processed in an animal's brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingmin Luo
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
| | - Jingpeng Liu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
| | - Funi Li
- General Practice Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, Guangdong 528244, China
| | - Miaoqing Gu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
| | - Haoran Xiao
- General Practice Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, Guangdong 528244, China
| | - Shujun Lei
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
| | - Zhongju Xiao
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders of Guangdong Province, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China
- General Practice Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, Guangdong 528244, China
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21
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Pierre WC, Zhang E, Londono I, De Leener B, Lesage F, Lodygensky GA. Non-invasive in vivo MRI detects long-term microstructural brain alterations related to learning and memory impairments in a model of inflammation-induced white matter injury. Behav Brain Res 2022; 428:113884. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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22
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Lee JY, You T, Lee CH, Im GH, Seo H, Woo CW, Kim SG. Role of anterior cingulate cortex inputs to periaqueductal gray for pain avoidance. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2834-2847.e5. [PMID: 35609604 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Although pain-related excessive fear is known to be a key factor in chronic pain disability, which involves the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), little is known about the downstream circuits of the ACC for fear avoidance in pain processing. Using behavioral experiments and functional magnetic resonance imaging with optogenetics at 15.2 T, we demonstrate that the ACC is a part of the abnormal circuit changes in chronic pain and its downstream circuits are closely related to modulating sensorimotor integration and generating active movement rather than carrying sensory information. The projection from the ACC to the dorsolateral and lateral parts of the periaqueductal gray (dl/lPAG) especially enhances both reflexive and active avoidance behavior toward pain. Collectively, our results indicate that increased signals from the ACC to the dl/lPAG might be critical for excessive fear avoidance in chronic pain disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeong-Yun Lee
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
| | - Taeyi You
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Choong-Hee Lee
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Geun Ho Im
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Heewon Seo
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44704, USA
| | - Choong-Wan Woo
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong-Gi Kim
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
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23
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Plexin-A1 expression in the inhibitory neurons of infralimbic cortex regulates the specificity of fear memory in male mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1220-1230. [PMID: 34508226 PMCID: PMC9018853 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01177-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Maintaining appropriate levels of fear memory specificity is crucial for individual's survival and mental health, whereas overgeneralized fear commonly occurs in neuropsychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating fear memory specificity remain poorly understood. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is considered as a key brain region in fear memory regulation. Previous transcriptomic studies have identified that plexin-A1, a transmembrane receptor critical for axon development, was downregulated in the mPFC after fear memory training. In this study, we identified that learning-induced downregulation of the mRNA and protein levels of plexin-A1 specifically occurred in the inhibitory but not excitatory neurons in the infralimbic cortex (IL) of mPFC. Further studies of plexin-A1 by virus-mediated over-expression of functional mutants selectively in the IL inhibitory neurons revealed the critical roles of plexin-A1 for regulating memory specificity and anxiety. Moreover, our findings revealed that plexin-A1 regulated the distribution of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67, a GABA synthetase, which in turn modulated the activity of IL and its downstream brain regions. Collectively, our findings elucidate the molecular modifier of IL inhibitory neurons in regulating memory specificity and anxiety, and provide candidates for developing therapeutic strategies for the prevention or treatment of a series of fear generalization-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
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24
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Narvaes RF, Nachtigall EG, Marcondes LA, Izquierdo I, Myskiw JDC, Furini CR. Involvement of medial prefrontal cortex canonical Wnt/β-catenin and non-canonical Wnt/Ca2+ signaling pathways in contextual fear memory in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2022; 430:113948. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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25
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Labrenz F, Spisák T, Ernst TM, Gomes CA, Quick HH, Axmacher N, Elsenbruch S, Timmann D. Temporal dynamics of fMRI signal changes during conditioned interoceptive pain-related fear and safety acquisition and extinction. Behav Brain Res 2022; 427:113868. [PMID: 35364111 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Associative learning and memory mechanisms drive interoceptive signaling along the gut-brain axis, thus shaping affective-emotional reactions and behavior. Specifically, learning to predict potentially harmful, visceral pain is assumed to succeed within very few trials. However, the temporal dynamics of cerebellar and cerebral fMRI signal changes underlying early acquisition and extinction of learned fear signals and the concomitant evolvement of safety learning remain incompletely understood. 3T fMRI data of healthy individuals from three studies were uniformly processed across the whole brain and the cerebellum including an advanced normalizing method of the cerebellum. All studies employed differential delay conditioning (N=94) with one visual cue (CS+) being repeatedly paired with visceral pain as unconditioned stimulus (US) while a second cue remained unpaired (CS-). During subsequent extinction (N=51), all CS were presented without US. Behavioral results revealed increased CS+-aversiveness and CS--pleasantness after conditioning and diminished valence ratings for both CS following extinction. During early acquisition, the CS- induced linearly increasing neural activation in the insula, midcingulate cortex, hippocampus, precuneus as well as cerebral and cerebellar somatomotor regions. The comparison between acquisition and extinction phases yielded a CS--induced linear increase in the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus during early acquisition, while there was no evidence for linear fMRI signal changes for the CS+ during acquisition and for both CS during extinction. Based on theoretical accounts of discrimination and temporal difference learning, these results suggest a gradual evolvement of learned safety cues that engage emotional arousal, memory, and cortical modulatory networks. As safety signals are presumably more difficult to learn and to discriminate from learned threat cues, the underlying temporal dynamics may reflect enhanced salience and prediction processing as well as increasing demands for attentional resources and the integration of multisensory information. Maladaptive responses to learned safety signals are a clinically relevant phenotype in multiple conditions, including chronic visceral pain, and can be exceptionally resistant to modification or extinction. Through sustained hypervigilance, safety seeking constitutes one key component in pain and stress-related avoidance behavior, calling for future studies targeting the mechanisms of safety learning and extinction to advance current cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Labrenz
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
| | - Tamás Spisák
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Thomas M Ernst
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Carlos A Gomes
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Harald H Quick
- High-Field and Hybrid Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MR Imaging, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Dagmar Timmann
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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26
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Lawrenson C, Paci E, Pickford J, Drake RAR, Lumb BM, Apps R. Cerebellar modulation of memory encoding in the periaqueductal grey and fear behaviour. eLife 2022; 11:76278. [PMID: 35287795 PMCID: PMC8923669 DOI: 10.7554/elife.76278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The pivotal role of the periaqueductal grey (PAG) in fear learning is reinforced by the identification of neurons in male rat ventrolateral PAG (vlPAG) that encode fear memory through signalling the onset and offset of an auditory-conditioned stimulus during presentation of the unreinforced conditioned tone (CS+) during retrieval. Some units only display CS+ onset or offset responses, and the two signals differ in extinction sensitivity, suggesting that they are independent of each other. In addition, understanding cerebellar contributions to survival circuits is advanced by the discovery that (i) reversible inactivation of the medial cerebellar nucleus (MCN) during fear consolidation leads in subsequent retrieval to (a) disruption of the temporal precision of vlPAG offset, but not onset responses to CS+, and (b) an increase in duration of freezing behaviour. And (ii) chemogenetic manipulation of the MCN-vlPAG projection during fear acquisition (a) reduces the occurrence of fear-related ultrasonic vocalisations, and (b) during subsequent retrieval, slows the extinction rate of fear-related freezing. These findings show that the cerebellum is part of the survival network that regulates fear memory processes at multiple timescales and in multiple ways, raising the possibility that dysfunctional interactions in the cerebellar-survival network may underlie fear-related disorders and comorbidities. Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental health conditions characterised by persistent and excessive amounts of fear and worry. They affect millions of people worldwide, but treatments can sometimes be ineffective and have unwanted side effects. Understanding which brain regions are involved in fear and anxiety-related behaviours, and how those areas are connected, is the first step towards designing more effective treatments. A region known as the periaqueductal grey (or PAG) sits at the centre of the brain’s fear and anxiety network, regulating pain, encoding fear memories and responding to threats and stressors. It also controls survival behaviours such as the ‘freeze’ response, when an animal is frightened. A more recent addition to the fear and anxiety network is the cerebellum, which sits at the base of the brain. Two-way connections between this region and the PAG have been well described, but how the cerebellum might influence fear and anxiety-related behaviours remains unclear. To explore this role, Lawrenson, Paci et al. investigated whether the cerebellum modulates brain activity within the PAG and if so, how this relates to fear behaviours. Rats had electrodes implanted in their brains to record the activity of nerve cells within the PAG. A common fear-conditioning task was then used to elicit ‘freeze’ responses: a sound was paired with mild foot shocks until the animals learned to fear the auditory signal. In the rats, a subset of neurons within the PAG responded to the tone, consistent with those cells encoding a fear memory. But when a drug blocked the cerebellum’s output during fear conditioning, the timing of the PAG response was less precise and the rats’ freeze response lasted longer. Lawrenson, Paci et al. concluded that the cerebellum, through its interactions with the brain’s fear and anxiety network, might be responsible for coordinating the most appropriate behavioural response to fear, and how long ‘freezing’ lasts. In summary, these findings show that the cerebellum is a part of the brain’s survival network which regulates fear-memory processes. It raises the possibility that disruption of the cerebellum might underlie anxiety and other fear-related disorders, thereby providing a new target for future therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Lawrenson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Elena Paci
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Jasmine Pickford
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Robert A R Drake
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Bridget M Lumb
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Apps
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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27
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Namkung H, Thomas KL, Hall J, Sawa A. Parsing neural circuits of fear learning and extinction across basic and clinical neuroscience: Towards better translation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104502. [PMID: 34921863 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decades, studies of fear learning and extinction have advanced our understanding of the neurobiology of threat and safety learning. Animal studies can provide mechanistic/causal insights into human brain regions and their functional connectivity involved in fear learning and extinction. Findings in humans, conversely, may further enrich our understanding of neural circuits in animals by providing macroscopic insights at the level of brain-wide networks. Nevertheless, there is still much room for improvement in translation between basic and clinical research on fear learning and extinction. Through the lens of neural circuits, in this article, we aim to review the current knowledge of fear learning and extinction in both animals and humans, and to propose strategies to fill in the current knowledge gap for the purpose of enhancing clinical benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ho Namkung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Kerrie L Thomas
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Jeremy Hall
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Akira Sawa
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
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28
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de Lima MAX, Baldo MVC, Oliveira FA, Canteras NS. The anterior cingulate cortex and its role in controlling contextual fear memory to predatory threats. eLife 2022; 11:67007. [PMID: 34984975 PMCID: PMC8730726 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Predator exposure is a life-threatening experience and elicits learned fear responses to the context in which the predator was encountered. The anterior cingulate area (ACA) occupies a pivotal position in a cortical network responsive to predatory threats, and it exerts a critical role in processing fear memory. The experiments were made in mice and revealed that the ACA is involved in both the acquisition and expression of contextual fear to predatory threat. Overall, the ACA can provide predictive relationships between the context and the predator threat and influences fear memory acquisition through projections to the basolateral amygdala and perirhinal region and the expression of contextual fear through projections to the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray. Our results expand previous studies based on classical fear conditioning and open interesting perspectives for understanding how the ACA is involved in processing contextual fear memory to ethologic threatening conditions that entrain specific medial hypothalamic fear circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcus Vinicius C Baldo
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fernando A Oliveira
- Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory (LaNeC) - Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition (CMCC), Federal University of ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
| | - Newton Sabino Canteras
- Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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29
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An epigenetic mechanism for over-consolidation of fear memories. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4893-4904. [PMID: 36127428 PMCID: PMC9763112 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01758-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Excessive fear is a hallmark of anxiety disorders, a major cause of disease burden worldwide. Substantial evidence supports a role of prefrontal cortex-amygdala circuits in the regulation of fear and anxiety, but the molecular mechanisms that regulate their activity remain poorly understood. Here, we show that downregulation of the histone methyltransferase PRDM2 in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex enhances fear expression by modulating fear memory consolidation. We further show that Prdm2 knock-down (KD) in neurons that project from the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex to the basolateral amygdala (dmPFC-BLA) promotes increased fear expression. Prdm2 KD in the dmPFC-BLA circuit also resulted in increased expression of genes involved in synaptogenesis, suggesting that Prdm2 KD modulates consolidation of conditioned fear by modifying synaptic strength at dmPFC-BLA projection targets. Consistent with an enhanced synaptic efficacy, we found that dmPFC Prdm2 KD increased glutamatergic release probability in the BLA and increased the activity of BLA neurons in response to fear-associated cues. Together, our findings provide a new molecular mechanism for excessive fear responses, wherein PRDM2 modulates the dmPFC -BLA circuit through specific transcriptomic changes.
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30
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Upadhyay J, Verrico CD, Cay M, Kodele S, Yammine L, Koob GF, Schreiber R. Neurocircuitry basis of the opioid use disorder-post-traumatic stress disorder comorbid state: conceptual analyses using a dimensional framework. Lancet Psychiatry 2022; 9:84-96. [PMID: 34774203 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00008-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the interface between opioid use disorder (OUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is challenging. By use of a dimensional framework, such as research domain criteria, convergent and targetable neurobiological processes in OUD-PTSD comorbidity can be identified. We hypothesise that, in OUD-PTSD, circuitry that is implicated in two research domain criteria systems (ie, negative valence and cognitive control) underpins dysregulation of incentive salience, negative emotionality, and executive function. We also propose that the OUD-PTSD state might be systematically investigated with approaches outlined within a neuroclinical assessment framework for addictions and PTSD. Our dimensional analysis of the OUD-PTSD state shows how first-line therapeutic approaches (ie, partial μ-type opioid receptor [MOR1] agonism) modulate overlapping neurobiological and clinical features and also provides mechanistic rationale for evaluating polytherapeutic strategies (ie, partial MOR1 agonism, κ-type opioid receptor [KOR1] antagonism, and α-2A adrenergic receptor [ADRA2A] agonism). A combination of these therapeutic mechanisms is projected to facilitate recovery in patients with OUD-PTSD by mitigating negative valence states and enhancing executive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaymin Upadhyay
- Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA.
| | - Christopher D Verrico
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Pharmacology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mariesa Cay
- Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Sanda Kodele
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Section Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Luba Yammine
- Louis A Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA
| | - George F Koob
- National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rudy Schreiber
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Section Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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31
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Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Comorbid Major Depressive Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder. Brain Sci 2021; 12:brainsci12010048. [PMID: 35053792 PMCID: PMC8773947 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are leading causes of disability, and patients are frequently affected by both conditions. This comorbidity is known to confer worse outcomes and greater illness severity. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation method that has demonstrated antidepressant effects. However, the study of rTMS for patients with MDD and commonly associated comorbidities, such as AUD, has been largely overlooked, despite significant overlap in clinical presentation and neurobiological mechanisms. This narrative review aims to highlight the interrelated aspects of the literature on rTMS for MDD and rTMS for AUD. First, we summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of rTMS for each condition, both most studied through stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Second, we describe common symptom constructs that can be modulated by rTMS, such as executive dysfunction, that are transdiagnostic across these disorders. Lastly, we describe promising approaches in the personalization and optimization of rTMS that may be applicable to both AUD and MDD. By bridging the gap between research efforts in MDD and AUD, rTMS is well positioned to be developed as a treatment for the many patients who have both conditions concurrently.
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32
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Meyer HC, Sangha S, Radley JJ, LaLumiere RT, Baratta MV. Environmental certainty influences the neural systems regulating responses to threat and stress. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:1037-1055. [PMID: 34673111 PMCID: PMC8642312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Flexible calibration of threat responding in accordance with the environment is an adaptive process that allows an animal to avoid harm while also maintaining engagement of other goal-directed actions. This calibration process, referred to as threat response regulation, requires an animal to calculate the probability that a given encounter will result in a threat so they can respond accordingly. Here we review the neural correlates of two highly studied forms of threat response suppression: extinction and safety conditioning. We focus on how relative levels of certainty or uncertainty in the surrounding environment alter the acquisition and application of these processes. We also discuss evidence indicating altered threat response regulation following stress exposure, including enhanced fear conditioning, and disrupted extinction and safety conditioning. To conclude, we discuss research using an animal model of coping that examines the impact of stressor controllability on threat responding, highlighting the potential for previous experiences with control, or other forms of coping, to protect against the effects of future adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi C Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
| | - Jason J Radley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Michael V Baratta
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA.
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Vargas MV, Meyer R, Avanes AA, Rus M, Olson DE. Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:727117. [PMID: 34671279 PMCID: PMC8520991 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.727117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychedelics have inspired new hope for treating brain disorders, as they seem to be unlike any treatments currently available. Not only do they produce sustained therapeutic effects following a single administration, they also appear to have broad therapeutic potential, demonstrating efficacy for treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorder, and alcohol use disorder, among others. Psychedelics belong to a more general class of compounds known as psychoplastogens, which robustly promote structural and functional neural plasticity in key circuits relevant to brain health. Here we discuss the importance of structural plasticity in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as the evidence demonstrating that psychedelics are among the most effective chemical modulators of neural plasticity studied to date. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical framework with the potential to explain why psychedelic compounds produce long-lasting therapeutic effects across a wide range of brain disorders. Despite their promise as broadly efficacious neurotherapeutics, there are several issues associated with psychedelic-based medicines that drastically limit their clinical scalability. We discuss these challenges and how they might be overcome through the development of non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens. The clinical use of psychedelics and other psychoplastogenic compounds marks a paradigm shift in neuropsychiatry toward therapeutic approaches relying on the selective modulation of neural circuits with small molecule drugs. Psychoplastogen research brings us one step closer to actually curing mental illness by rectifying the underlying pathophysiology of disorders like depression, moving beyond simply treating disease symptoms. However, determining how to most effectively deploy psychoplastogenic medicines at scale will be an important consideration as the field moves forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxemiliano V. Vargas
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Retsina Meyer
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
| | - Arabo A. Avanes
- Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Mark Rus
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
| | - David E. Olson
- Delix Therapeutics, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Feng Y, Li K, Roth E, Chao D, Mecca CM, Hogan QH, Pawela C, Kwok WM, Camara AKS, Pan B. Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats Impairs Cognition, Enhances Prefrontal Cortex Neuronal Activity, and Reduces Pre-synaptic Mitochondrial Function. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:689334. [PMID: 34447298 PMCID: PMC8383341 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.689334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A major hurdle preventing effective interventions for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the lack of known mechanisms for the long-term cognitive impairment that follows mTBI. The closed head impact model of repeated engineered rotational acceleration (rCHIMERA), a non-surgical animal model of repeated mTBI (rmTBI), mimics key features of rmTBI in humans. Using the rCHIMERA in rats, this study was designed to characterize rmTBI-induced behavioral disruption, underlying electrophysiological changes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and associated mitochondrial dysfunction. Rats received 6 closed-head impacts over 2 days at 2 Joules of energy. Behavioral testing included automated analysis of behavior in open field and home-cage environments, rotarod test for motor skills, novel object recognition, and fear conditioning. Following rmTBI, rats spent less time grooming and less time in the center of the open field arena. Rats in their home cage had reduced inactivity time 1 week after mTBI and increased exploration time 1 month after injury. Impaired associative fear learning and memory in fear conditioning test, and reduced short-term memory in novel object recognition test were found 4 weeks after rmTBI. Single-unit in vivo recordings showed increased neuronal activity in the mPFC after rmTBI, partially attributable to neuronal disinhibition from reduced inhibitory synaptic transmission, possibly secondary to impaired mitochondrial function. These findings help validate this rat rmTBI model as replicating clinical features, and point to impaired mitochondrial functions after injury as causing imbalanced synaptic transmission and consequent impaired long-term cognitive dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Feng
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Keguo Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Elizabeth Roth
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Dongman Chao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Christina M Mecca
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Quinn H Hogan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Christopher Pawela
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Wai-Meng Kwok
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Amadou K S Camara
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Bin Pan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.,Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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35
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Chen S, Tan Z, Xia W, Gomes CA, Zhang X, Zhou W, Liang S, Axmacher N, Wang L. Theta oscillations synchronize human medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala during fear learning. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/34/eabf4198. [PMID: 34407939 PMCID: PMC8373137 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf4198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that fear acquisition and expression rely on the coordinated activity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala and that theta oscillations support interregional communication within the fear network. However, it remains unclear whether these results can be generalized to fear learning in humans. We addressed this question using intracranial electroencephalography recordings in 13 patients with epilepsy during a fear conditioning paradigm. We observed increased power and inter-regional synchronization of amygdala and mPFC in theta (4 to 8 hertz) oscillations for conditioned stimulus (CS+) versus CS-. Analysis of information flow revealed that the dorsal mPFC (dmPFC) led amygdala activity in theta oscillations. Last, a computational model showed that trial-by-trial changes in amygdala theta oscillations predicted the model-based associability (i.e., learning rate). This study provides compelling evidence that theta oscillations within and between amygdala, ventral mPFC, and dmPFC constitute a general mechanism of fear learning across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zheng Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenran Xia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Carlos Alexandre Gomes
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Xilei Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Wenjing Zhou
- Epilepsy Center, Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Shuli Liang
- Functional Neurosurgery Department, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street 19, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Liang Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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36
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Chaaya N, Wang J, Jacques A, Beecher K, Chaaya M, Battle AR, Johnson LR, Chehrehasa F, Belmer A, Bartlett SE. Contextual Fear Memory Maintenance Changes Expression of pMAPK, BDNF and IBA-1 in the Pre-limbic Cortex in a Layer-Specific Manner. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:660199. [PMID: 34295224 PMCID: PMC8291085 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.660199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating and chronic fear-based disorder. Pavlovian fear conditioning protocols have long been utilised to manipulate and study these fear-based disorders. Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) is a particular Pavlovian conditioning procedure that pairs fear with a particular context. Studies on the neural mechanisms underlying the development of contextual fear memories have identified the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), or more specifically, the pre-limbic cortex (PL) of the mPFC as essential for the expression of contextual fear. Despite this, little research has explored the role of the PL in contextual fear memory maintenance or examined the role of neuronal mitogen-activated protein kinase (pMAPK; ERK 1/2), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and IBA-1 in microglia in the PL as a function of Pavlovian fear conditioning. The current study was designed to evaluate how the maintenance of two different long-term contextual fear memories leads to changes in the number of immune-positive cells for two well-known markers of neural activity (phosphorylation of MAPK and BDNF) and microglia (IBA-1). Therefore, the current experiment is designed to assess the number of immune-positive pMAPK and BDNF cells, microglial number, and morphology in the PL following CFC. Specifically, 2 weeks following conditioning, pMAPK, BDNF, and microglia number and morphology were evaluated using well-validated antibodies and immunohistochemistry (n = 12 rats per group). A standard CFC protocol applied to rats led to increases in pMAPK, BDNF expression and microglia number as compared to control conditions. Rats in the unpaired fear conditioning (UFC) procedure, despite having equivalent levels of fear to context, did not have any change in pMAPK, BDNF expression and microglia number in the PL compared to the control conditions. These data suggest that alterations in the expression of pMAPK, BDNF, and microglia in the PL can occur for up to 2 weeks following CFC. Together the data suggest that MAPK, BDNF, and microglia within the PL of the mPFC may play a role in contextual fear memory maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Chaaya
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Joshua Wang
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Angela Jacques
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Kate Beecher
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael Chaaya
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Andrew Raymond Battle
- Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Luke R Johnson
- Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, USU School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Fatemeh Chehrehasa
- Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Arnauld Belmer
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Selena E Bartlett
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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37
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Gilmartin MR, Ferrara NC. Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide in Learning and Memory. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:663418. [PMID: 34239418 PMCID: PMC8258392 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.663418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a highly conserved neuropeptide that regulates neuronal physiology and transcription through Gs/Gq-coupled receptors. Its actions within hypothalamic, limbic, and mnemonic systems underlie its roles in stress regulation, affective processing, neuroprotection, and cognition. Recently, elevated PACAP levels and genetic disruption of PAC1 receptor signaling in humans has been linked to maladaptive threat learning and pathological stress and fear in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PACAP is positioned to integrate stress and memory in PTSD for which memory of the traumatic experience is central to the disorder. However, PACAP's role in memory has received comparatively less attention than its role in stress. In this review, we consider the evidence for PACAP-PAC1 receptor signaling in learning and plasticity, discuss emerging data on sex differences in PACAP signaling, and raise key questions for further study toward elucidating the contribution of PACAP to adaptive and maladaptive fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole C Ferrara
- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
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38
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Dulka BN, Trask S, Helmstetter FJ. Age-Related Memory Impairment and Sex-Specific Alterations in Phosphorylation of the Rpt6 Proteasome Subunit and Polyubiquitination in the Basolateral Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:656944. [PMID: 33897408 PMCID: PMC8062735 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.656944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Aging is marked by an accumulation of damaged and modified brain proteins, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is important for cellular protein degradation. Recent work has established a critical role for the UPS in memory and synaptic plasticity, but the role of the UPS in age-related cognitive decline remains poorly understood. We trained young, middle-aged, and aged male and female rats using trace fear conditioning (TFC) to investigate the effects of age and sex on memory. We then measured markers of UPS-related protein degradation (phosphorylation of the Rpt6 proteasome regulatory subunit and K48-linked polyubiquitination) using western blots. We found that aged males, but not aged females, showed behavioral deficits at memory retrieval. Aged males also displayed reduced phosphorylation of the Rpt6 proteasome subunit and accumulation of K48 in the basolateral amygdala, while aged females displayed a similar pattern in the medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that markers of UPS function are differentially affected by age and sex in a brain region-dependent manner. Together these results provide an important step toward understanding the UPS and circuit-level differences in aging males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke N Dulka
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Sydney Trask
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Fred J Helmstetter
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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39
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tDCS-Augmented in vivo exposure therapy for specific fears: A randomized clinical trial. J Anxiety Disord 2021; 78:102344. [PMID: 33418483 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Exposure therapy is highly effective for anxiety-related disorders, but there is a need for enhancement. Recent trials of adjunctive neuromodulation have shown promise, warranting evaluation of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as an augmentation. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, contamination- and animal-phobic participants (N = 49) were randomized to active tDCS (1.7 mA, 20 min; n = 27), or sham tDCS (1.7 mA, 30 s; n = 22), followed by 30 min of in-vivo exposure. Active tDCS targeted excitation of the left mPFC and inhibition of the right dlPFC; polarity was counterbalanced for controls. We predicted tDCS would result in accelerated and better maintained gains, contingent on the subsequent in-session response, and baseline negative prognostic indicators. Consistent with predictions, tDCS promoted engagement and reductions in threat appraisals during exposure, and greater reductions in distress and threat appraisals through 1-month, although effects did not uniformly generalize. tDCS was most beneficial given high phobic severity, anxiety sensitivity, and a suboptimal early response. tDCS may promote engagement and response among individuals who are resistant or refractory to standard treatment. tDCS should be applied to more severe anxiety-related disorders, with parameters yoked to individual differences to improve outcomes in exposure-based interventions.
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40
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Prefrontal NMDA-receptor antagonism disrupts encoding or consolidation but not retrieval of incidental context learning. Behav Brain Res 2021; 405:113175. [PMID: 33596432 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The Context Preexposure Facilitation Effect (CPFE) is a variant of contextual fear conditioning in which learning about the context, acquiring a context-shock association, and retrieval of this association occur separately across three phases (context preexposure, immediate-shock training, and retention). We have shown that prefrontal inactivation or muscarinic-receptor antagonism prior to any phase disrupts retention test freezing during the CPFE in adolescent rats (Heroux et al., 2017; Robinson-Drummer et al., 2017). Furthermore, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is the only region in which robust learning-related expression of the immediate early genes c-Fos, Arc, Egr-1 and Npas4 is observed during immediate-shock training in the CPFE (Asok et al., 2013; Heroux et al., 2018; Schreiber et al., 2014). However, the role of prefrontal NMDA-receptor plasticity in supporting preexposure- and training-day processes of the CPFE is not known. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of intra-mPFC infusion of the NMDA-receptor antagonist MK-801 or saline vehicle prior to context preexposure (Experiment 1) or immediate-shock training (Experiment 2) in adolescent Long-Evans male and female rats. This infusion given prior to context preexposure but not training abolished retention test freezing, with no difference between MK-801-infused rats and non-associative controls preexposed to an alternative context (pooled across drug). These results demonstrate a role of prefrontal NMDA-receptor plasticity in the acquisition and/or consolidation of incidental context learning (i.e., encoded in the absence of reinforcement). In contrast, this plasticity is not required for context retrieval, or acquisition, expression, or consolidation of a context-shock association during immediate-shock training in the CPFE. These experiments add to a growing body of work implicating the mPFC in Pavlovian contextual fear conditioning processes in rodents.
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Impact of Acute and Persistent Excitation of Prelimbic Pyramidal Neurons on Motor Activity and Trace Fear Learning. J Neurosci 2021; 41:960-971. [PMID: 33402420 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2606-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug-induced neuroadaptations in the mPFC have been implicated in addictive behaviors. Repeated cocaine exposure has been shown to increase pyramidal neuron excitability in the prelimbic (PL) region of the mouse mPFC, an adaptation attributable to a suppression of G protein-gated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channel activity. After establishing that this neuroadaptation is not seen in adjacent GABA neurons, we used viral GIRK channel ablation and complementary chemogenetic approaches to selectively enhance PL pyramidal neuron excitability in adult mice, to evaluate the impact of this form of plasticity on PL-dependent behaviors. GIRK channel ablation decreased somatodendritic GABAB receptor-dependent signaling and rheobase in PL pyramidal neurons. This manipulation also enhanced the motor-stimulatory effect of cocaine but did not impact baseline activity or trace fear learning. In contrast, selective chemogenetic excitation of PL pyramidal neurons, or chemogenetic inhibition of PL GABA neurons, increased baseline and cocaine-induced activity and disrupted trace fear learning. These effects were mirrored in male mice by selective excitation of PL pyramidal neurons projecting to the VTA, but not NAc or BLA. Collectively, these data show that manipulations enhancing the excitability of PL pyramidal neurons, and specifically those projecting to the VTA, recapitulate behavioral hallmarks of repeated cocaine exposure in mice.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Prolonged exposure to drugs of abuse triggers neuroadaptations that promote core features of addiction. Understanding these neuroadaptations and their implications may suggest interventions capable of preventing or treating addiction. While previous work showed that repeated cocaine exposure increased the excitability of pyramidal neurons in the prelimbic cortex (PL), the behavioral implications of this neuroadaptation remained unclear. Here, we used neuron-specific manipulations to evaluate the impact of increased PL pyramidal neuron excitability on PL-dependent behaviors. Acute or persistent excitation of PL pyramidal neurons potentiated cocaine-induced motor activity and disrupted trace fear conditioning, effects replicated by selective excitation of the PL projection to the VTA. Our work suggests that hyperexcitability of this projection drives key behavioral hallmarks of addiction.
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Prefrontal α7nAChR Signaling Differentially Modulates Afferent Drive and Trace Fear Conditioning Behavior in Adolescent and Adult Rats. J Neurosci 2021; 41:1908-1916. [PMID: 33478990 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1941-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Increased level of kynurenic acid is thought to contribute to the development of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia through an α7nAChR-mediated mechanism in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, it remains unclear to what extent disruption of PFC α7nAChR signaling impacts afferent transmission and its modulation of behavior. Using male rats, we found that PFC infusion of methyllycaconitine (MLA; α7nAChR antagonist) shifts ventral hippocampal-induced local field potential (LFP) suppression to LFP facilitation, an effect only observed in adults. Hippocampal stimulation can also elicit a GluN2B-mediated LFP potentiation (when PFC GABAAR is blocked) that is insensitive to MLA. Conversely, PFC infusion of MLA diminished the gain of amygdalar transmission, which is already enabled by postnatal day (P)30. Behaviorally, the impact of prefrontal MLA on trace fear-conditioning and extinction was also age related. While freezing behavior during conditioning was reduced by MLA only in adults, it elicited opposite effects in adolescent and adult rats during extinction as revealed by the level of reduced and increased freezing response, respectively. We next asked whether the late-adolescent onset of α7nAChR modulation of hippocampal inputs contributes to the age-dependent effect of MLA during extinction. Data revealed that the increased freezing behavior elicited by MLA in adult rats could be driven by a dysregulation of the GluN2B transmission in the PFC. Collectively, these results indicate that distinct neural circuits are recruited during the extinction of trace fear memory in adolescents and adults, likely because of the late-adolescent maturation of the ventral hippocampal-PFC functional connectivity and its modulation by α7nAChR signaling.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Abnormal elevation of the astrocyte-derived metabolite kynurenic acid in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is thought to impair cognitive functions in schizophrenia through an α7nAChR-mediated mechanism. Here, we found that prefrontal α7nAChR signaling is recruited to control the gain of hippocampal and amygdalar afferent transmission in an input-specific, age-related manner during the adolescent transition to adulthood. Behaviorally, prefrontal α7nAChR modulation of trace fear memory was also age-related, likely because of the late-adolescent maturation of the ventral hippocampal pathway and its recruitment of PFC GABAergic transmission enabled by local α7nAChR signaling. Collectively, these results reveal that distinct α7nAChR-sensitive neural circuits contribute to regulate behavior responses in adolescents and adults, particularly those requiring proper integration of hippocampal and amygdalar inputs by the PFC.
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Raznahan A, Disteche CM. X-chromosome regulation and sex differences in brain anatomy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 120:28-47. [PMID: 33171144 PMCID: PMC7855816 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Humans show reproducible sex-differences in cognition and psychopathology that may be contributed to by influences of gonadal sex-steroids and/or sex-chromosomes on regional brain development. Gonadal sex-steroids are well known to play a major role in sexual differentiation of the vertebrate brain, but far less is known regarding the role of sex-chromosomes. Our review focuses on this latter issue by bridging together two literatures that have to date been largely disconnected. We first consider "bottom-up" genetic and molecular studies focused on sex-chromosome gene content and regulation. This literature nominates specific sex-chromosome genes that could drive developmental sex-differences by virtue of their sex-biased expression and their functions within the brain. We then consider the complementary "top down" view, from magnetic resonance imaging studies that map sex- and sex chromosome effects on regional brain anatomy, and link these maps to regional gene-expression within the brain. By connecting these top-down and bottom-up approaches, we emphasize the potential role of X-linked genes in driving sex-biased brain development and outline key goals for future work in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armin Raznahan
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, Human Genetics Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Christine M Disteche
- Department of Pathology and Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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Kaminska B, Caballero JP, Moorman DE. Integration of value and action in medial prefrontal neural systems. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2020; 158:57-82. [PMID: 33785156 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a key role in regulating cognition, emotion, and behavior. mPFC neurons are activated in diverse experimental paradigms, raising the questions of whether there are specific task elements or dimensions encoded by mPFC neurons, and whether these encoded parameters are selective to neurons in particular mPFC subregions or networks. Here, we consider the role of mPFC neurons in processing appetitive and aversive cues, outcomes, and related behaviors. mPFC neurons are strongly activated in tasks probing value and outcome-associated actions, but these responses vary across experimental paradigms. Can we identify specific categories of responses (e.g., positive or negative value), or do mPFC neurons exhibit response properties that are too heterogeneous/complex to cluster into distinct conceptual groups? Based on a review of relevant studies, we consider what has been done and what needs to be further explored in order to address these questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beata Kaminska
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Jessica P Caballero
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - David E Moorman
- Neuroscience and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States.
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Saul’skaya NB, Marchuk OE, Puzanova MA, Trofimova NA. Activation of Serotonin System in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex by Sound Signals of Danger. NEUROCHEM J+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s181971242004008x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Maneshi MM, Toth AB, Ishii T, Hori K, Tsujikawa S, Shum AK, Shrestha N, Yamashita M, Miller RJ, Radulovic J, Swanson GT, Prakriya M. Orai1 Channels Are Essential for Amplification of Glutamate-Evoked Ca 2+ Signals in Dendritic Spines to Regulate Working and Associative Memory. Cell Rep 2020; 33:108464. [PMID: 33264616 PMCID: PMC7832685 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Store-operated Orai1 calcium channels function as highly Ca2+-selective ion channels and are broadly expressed in many tissues including the central nervous system, but their contributions to cognitive processing are largely unknown. Here, we report that many measures of synaptic, cellular, and behavioral models of learning are markedly attenuated in mice lacking Orai1 in forebrain excitatory neurons. Results with focal glutamate uncaging in hippocampal neurons support an essential role of Orai1 channels in amplifying NMDA-receptor-induced dendritic Ca2+ transients that drive activity-dependent spine morphogenesis and long-term potentiation at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses. Consistent with these signaling roles, mice lacking Orai1 in pyramidal neurons (but not interneurons) exhibit striking deficits in working and associative memory tasks. These findings identify Orai1 channels as essential regulators of dendritic spine Ca2+ signaling, synaptic plasticity, and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mehdi Maneshi
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Anna B Toth
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Toshiyuki Ishii
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Kotaro Hori
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Shogo Tsujikawa
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Andrew K Shum
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Nisha Shrestha
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Megumi Yamashita
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Richard J Miller
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Jelena Radulovic
- Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Geoffrey T Swanson
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Murali Prakriya
- Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
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Leblanc H, Ramirez S. Linking Social Cognition to Learning and Memory. J Neurosci 2020; 40:8782-8798. [PMID: 33177112 PMCID: PMC7659449 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1280-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Many mammals have evolved to be social creatures. In humans, the ability to learn from others' experiences is essential to survival; and from an early age, individuals are surrounded by a social environment that helps them develop a variety of skills, such as walking, talking, and avoiding danger. Similarly, in rodents, behaviors, such as food preference, exploration of novel contexts, and social approach, can be learned through social interaction. Social encounters facilitate new learning and help modify preexisting memories throughout the lifespan of an organism. Moreover, social encounters can help buffer stress or the effects of negative memories, as well as extinguish maladaptive behaviors. Given the importance of such interactions, there has been increasing work studying social learning and applying its concepts in a wide range of fields, including psychotherapy and medical sociology. The process of social learning, including its neural and behavioral mechanisms, has also been a rapidly growing field of interest in neuroscience. However, the term "social learning" has been loosely applied to a variety of psychological phenomena, often without clear definition or delineations. Therefore, this review gives a definition for specific aspects of social learning, provides an overview of previous work at the circuit, systems, and behavioral levels, and finally, introduces new findings on the social modulation of learning. We contextualize such social processes in the brain both through the role of the hippocampus and its capacity to process "social engrams" as well as through the brainwide realization of social experiences. With the integration of new technologies, such as optogenetics, chemogenetics, and calcium imaging, manipulating social engrams will likely offer a novel therapeutic target to enhance the positive buffering effects of social experiences or to inhibit fear-inducing social stimuli in models of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heloise Leblanc
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 02118
| | - Steve Ramirez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
- Neurophotonics Center at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
- Center for Systems Neuroscience at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119
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Kirry AJ, Twining RC, Gilmartin MR. Prelimbic input to basolateral amygdala facilitates the acquisition of trace cued fear memory under weak training conditions. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 172:107249. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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MK-801 Exposure during Adolescence Elicits Enduring Disruption of Prefrontal E-I Balance and Its Control of Fear Extinction Behavior. J Neurosci 2020; 40:4881-4887. [PMID: 32430298 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0581-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how disruption of prefrontal cortex (PFC) maturation during adolescence is crucial to reveal which neural processes could contribute to the onset of psychiatric disorders that display frontal cortical deficits. Of particular interest is the gain of GABAergic function in the PFC during adolescence and its susceptibility to the impact of transient blockade of NMDA receptor function. Here we assessed whether exposure to MK-801 during adolescence in male rats triggers a state of excitatory-inhibitory imbalance in the PFC that limits its functional capacity to regulate behavior in adulthood. Recordings from PFC brain slices revealed that MK-801 exposure during adolescence preferentially reduces the presynaptic functionality of GABAergic activity over that of excitatory synapses. As a result, an imbalance of excitatory-inhibitory synaptic activity emerges in the PFC that correlates linearly with the GABAergic deficit. Notably, the data also suggest that the diminished prefrontal GABAergic function could arise from a deficit in the recruitment of fast-spiking interneurons by excitatory inputs during adolescence. At the behavioral level, MK-801 exposure during adolescence did not disrupt the acquisition of trace fear conditioning, but markedly increased the level of freezing response during extinction testing. Infusion of the GABAA receptor-positive allosteric modulator Indiplon into the PFC before extinction testing reduced the level of freezing response in MK-801-treated rats to control levels. Collectively, the results indicate NMDA receptor signaling during adolescence enables the gain of prefrontal GABAergic function, which is required for maintaining proper excitatory-inhibitory balance in the PFC and its control of behavioral responses.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A developmental disruption of prefrontal cortex maturation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders. Of particular interest is the susceptibility of the local GABAergic circuit to the impact of transient disruption of NMDA receptors. Here we found that NMDA receptor signaling is critical to enable the gain of prefrontal GABAergic transmission during adolescence for maintaining proper levels of excitatory-inhibitory balance in the PFC and its control of behavior.
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50
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Gutzeit VA, Ahuna K, Santos TL, Cunningham AM, Sadsad Rooney M, Muñoz Zamora A, Denny CA, Donaldson ZR. Optogenetic reactivation of prefrontal social neural ensembles mimics social buffering of fear. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:1068-1077. [PMID: 32035426 PMCID: PMC7162965 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0631-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Social buffering occurs when the presence of a companion attenuates the physiological and/or behavioral effects of a stressful or fear-provoking event. It represents a way in which social interactions can immediately and potently modulate behavior. As such, social buffering is one mechanism by which strong social support increases resilience to mental illness. Although the behavioral and neuroendocrine impacts of social buffering are well studied in multiple species, including humans, the neuronal underpinnings of this behavioral phenomenon remain largely unexplored. Previous work has shown that the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (IL-PFC) is important for processing social information and, in separate studies, for modulating fear and anxiety. Thus, we hypothesized that socially active cells within the IL-PFC may integrate social information to modulate fear responsivity. To test this hypothesis, we employed social buffering paradigms in male and female mice. Similar to prior studies in rats, we found that the presence of a cagemate reduced freezing in fear- and anxiety-provoking contexts. In accordance with previous work, we demonstrated that interaction with a novel or familiar conspecific induces activity in the IL-PFC as evidenced by increased immediate early gene (IEG) expression. We then utilized an activity-dependent tagging murine line, the ArcCreERT2 mice, to express channelrhodopsin (ChR2) in neurons active during the social encoding of a new cagemate. We found that optogenetic reactivation of these socially active neuronal ensembles phenocopied the effects of cagemate presence in male and female mice in learned and innate fear contexts without being inherently rewarding or altering locomotion. These data suggest that a social neural ensemble within the IL-PFC may contribute to social buffering of fear. These neurons may represent a novel therapeutic target for fear and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A. Gutzeit
- 000000041936877Xgrid.5386.8Neuroscience Graduate Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065 USA
| | - Kylia Ahuna
- 0000000096214564grid.266190.aDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Tabia L. Santos
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY 11549 USA
| | - Ashley M. Cunningham
- 0000 0001 0670 2351grid.59734.3cMt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | | | - Andrea Muñoz Zamora
- 0000000419368729grid.21729.3fDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), New York, NY 10032 USA ,0000 0000 8499 1112grid.413734.6Division of Systems Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI)/Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. (RFMH), New York, NY 10032 USA
| | - Christine A. Denny
- 0000000419368729grid.21729.3fDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), New York, NY 10032 USA ,0000 0000 8499 1112grid.413734.6Division of Systems Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI)/Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. (RFMH), New York, NY 10032 USA
| | - Zoe R. Donaldson
- 0000000096214564grid.266190.aDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA ,0000000096214564grid.266190.aDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
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