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Zhao L, Qu HL, Zhang Y, Wu X, Ji QX, Zhang Z, Li D. ZL006 mitigates anxiety-like behaviors induced by closed head injury through modulation of the neural circuit from the medial prefrontal cortex to amygdala. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae237. [PMID: 38850218 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae237] [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: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Closed head injury is a prevalent form of traumatic brain injury with poorly understood effects on cortical neural circuits. Given the emotional and behavioral impairments linked to closed head injury, it is vital to uncover brain functional deficits and their driving mechanisms. In this study, we employed a robust viral tracing technique to identify the alteration of the neural pathway connecting the medial prefrontal cortex to the basolateral amygdala, and we observed the disruptions in neuronal projections between the medial prefrontal cortex and the basolateral amygdala following closed head injury. Remarkably, our results highlight that ZL006, an inhibitor targeting PSD-95/nNOS interaction, stands out for its ability to selectively reverse these aberrations. Specifically, ZL006 effectively mitigates the disruptions in neuronal projections from the medial prefrontal cortex to basolateral amygdala induced by closed head injury. Furthermore, using chemogenetic approaches, we elucidate that activating the medial prefrontal cortex projections to the basolateral amygdala circuit produces anxiolytic effects, aligning with the therapeutic potential of ZL006. Additionally, ZL006 administration effectively mitigates astrocyte activation, leading to the restoration of medial prefrontal cortex glutamatergic neuron activity. Moreover, in the context of attenuating anxiety-like behaviors through ZL006 treatment, we observe a reduction in closed head injury-induced astrocyte engulfment, which may correlate with the observed decrease in dendritic spine density of medial prefrontal cortex glutamatergic neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Zhao
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shenyang Fifth People's Hospital, No. 188 Xingshun Street, Tiexi District, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Hui Ling Qu
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, NO. 83 Wenhua Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Xin Wu
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Qian Xin Ji
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Zhuo Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Dan Li
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, Liaoning Province, China
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Contreras CM, Gutiérrez-García AG. Prelimbic and infralimbic responsivity to amygdala input is modified by gonadal hormones in parallel to low anxiety-like behavior in ovariectomized rats. Behav Brain Res 2024; 459:114795. [PMID: 38048910 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114795] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Gonadal hormones may influence sexual activity by reducing anxiety. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortical regions comprise a loop that is related to fear, anxiety, and social behavior. In female ovariectomized rats, actions of estradiol, progesterone, and sequential estradiol and progesterone administration were explored in the open field test (OFT) and plus maze test (PMT) to evaluate signs of anxiety-like behavior. The three hormonal treatments reduced indicators of anxiety in the PMT but did not influence behavior in the OFT. In the same behaviorally tested rats under urethane anesthesia, single-unit extracellular recordings were obtained from the PL and IL during electrical stimulation of the BLA. The analysis of 250 ms peristimulus histograms showed that BLA stimulation produced two kinds of response. A small group of neurons increased their firing rate after BLA stimulation. Most neurons exhibited a reduction of spiking. Neurons that increased their firing rate after BLA stimulation did not show any difference with the hormonal treatments. In neurons that were inhibited by BLA stimulation, estradiol reduced the neuronal firing rate in the PL and IL, and progesterone alone and the sequential administration of estradiol followed by progesterone administration 24 h later (priming) increased the firing rate during the 240 ms before BLA stimulation. Analyses of responsivity of the PL and IL during electrical stimulation of the BLA indicated that estradiol, progesterone, and estradiol followed by progesterone administration 24 h later (priming) reduced inhibitory actions of the BLA on the PL but not IL. In the BLA-IL connection, progesterone exacerbated the inhibitory response. These findings indicate that anxiolytic actions of estradiol, progesterone, and estradiol followed by progesterone administration 24 h later (priming) correspond to lower BLA-PL responsivity. Actions of progesterone on BLA-IL responsivity appear to contribute to sexual activity by interacting with other forebrain structures that are also related to sexual receptivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Contreras
- Unidad Periférica-Xalapa, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
| | - Ana G Gutiérrez-García
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
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3
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Zhang K, Shen D, Huang S, Iqbal J, Huang G, Si J, Xue Y, Yang JL. The sexually divergent cFos activation map of fear extinction. Heliyon 2024; 10:e23748. [PMID: 38205315 PMCID: PMC10777019 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Exposure therapy is a common treatment for PTSD, but it has varying levels of efficacy depending on sex. In this study, we aimed to compare the sexual dimorphism in brain activation during the extinction of fear conditioning in male and female rats by detecting the c-fos levels in the whole brain. Methods Thirty-two rats (Male: n = 16; Female: n = 16) were randomly separated into the extinction group as well as the non-extinction group, and fear conditioning was followed by extinction and non-extinction, respectively. Subsequently, brain sections from the sacrificed animal were performed immunofluorescence and the collected data were analyzed by repeated two-way ANOVAs as well as Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Results Our findings showed that most brain areas activated during extinction were similar in both male and female rats, except for the reuniens thalamic nucleus and ventral hippocampi. Furthermore, we found differences in the correlation between c-fos activation levels and freezing behavior during extinction between male and female rats. Specifically, in male rats, c-fos activation in the anterior cingulate cortex was negatively correlated with the freezing level, while c-fos activation in the retrosplenial granular cortex was positively correlated with the freezing level; but in female rats did not exhibit any correlation between c-fos activation and freezing level. Finally, the functional connectivity analysis revealed differences in the neural networks involved in extinction learning between male and female rats. In male rats, the infralimbic cortex and insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and retrosplenial granular cortex, and dorsal dentate gyrus and dCA3 were strongly correlated after extinction. In female rats, prelimbic cortex and basolateral amygdala, insular cortex and dCA3, and anterior cingulate cortex and dCA1 were significantly correlated. Conclusion These results suggest divergent neural networks involved in extinction learning in male and female rats and provide a clue for improving the clinical treatment of exposure therapy based on the sexual difference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Zhang
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Dan Shen
- Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Dadao, Hongqi District, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, China
| | - Shihao Huang
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug Dependence Research, Peking University, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Javed Iqbal
- Shenzhen Kangning Hospital & Shenzhen Mental Health Center, No. 77 Zhenbi Road, Shenzhen, 518118, China
- Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Gengdi Huang
- Shenzhen Kangning Hospital & Shenzhen Mental Health Center, No. 77 Zhenbi Road, Shenzhen, 518118, China
- Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Jijian Si
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Yanxue Xue
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug Dependence Research, Peking University, 100191, Beijing, China
- Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Dadao, Hongqi District, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, China
| | - Jian-Li Yang
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
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Shen XY, Zhang J, Huang HZ, Li SD, Zhou L, Wu SP, Tang C, Huang X, Liu ZQ, Guo ZY, Li X, Man HY, Lu YM, Zhu LQ, Liu D. The interaction of Synapsin 2a and Synaptogyrin-3 regulates fear extinction in mice. J Clin Invest 2024; 134:e172802. [PMID: 38175724 PMCID: PMC10866652 DOI: 10.1172/jci172802] [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: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms behind a lack of efficient fear extinction in some individuals are unclear. Here, by employing a principal components analysis-based approach, we differentiated the mice into extinction-resistant and susceptible groups. We determined that elevated synapsin 2a (Syn2a) in the infralimbic cortex (IL) to basolateral amygdala (BLA) circuit disrupted presynaptic orchestration, leading to an excitatory/inhibitory imbalance in the BLA region and causing extinction resistance. Overexpression or silencing of Syn2a levels in IL neurons replicated or alleviated behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical phenotypes in resistant mice. We further identified that the proline-rich domain H in the C-terminus of Syn2a was indispensable for the interaction with synaptogyrin-3 (Syngr3) and demonstrated that disrupting this interaction restored extinction impairments. Molecular docking revealed that ritonavir, an FDA-approved HIV drug, could disrupt Syn2a-Syngr3 binding and rescue fear extinction behavior in Syn2a-elevated mice. In summary, the aberrant elevation of Syn2a expression and its interaction with Syngr3 at the presynaptic site were crucial in fear extinction resistance, suggesting a potential therapeutic avenue for related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi-Ya Shen
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - He-Zhou Huang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Shao-Dan Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ling Zhou
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Shi-Ping Wu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Cheng Tang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Xian Huang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Zi-Yuan Guo
- Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Xiang Li
- Department of Neurosurgery and
- Brain Research Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Heng-Ye Man
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - You-Ming Lu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ling-Qiang Zhu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Dan Liu
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
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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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LeDuke DO, Borio M, Miranda R, Tye KM. Anxiety and depression: A top-down, bottom-up model of circuit function. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1525:70-87. [PMID: 37129246 PMCID: PMC10695657 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
A functional interplay of bottom-up and top-down processing allows an individual to appropriately respond to the dynamic environment around them. These processing modalities can be represented as attractor states using a dynamical systems model of the brain. The transition probability to move from one attractor state to another is dependent on the stability, depth, neuromodulatory tone, and tonic changes in plasticity. However, how does the relationship between these states change in disease states, such as anxiety or depression? We describe bottom-up and top-down processing from Marr's computational-algorithmic-implementation perspective to understand depressive and anxious disease states. We illustrate examples of bottom-up processing as basolateral amygdala signaling and projections and top-down processing as medial prefrontal cortex internal signaling and projections. Understanding these internal processing dynamics can help us better model the multifaceted elements of anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deryn O. LeDuke
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Matilde Borio
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Raymundo Miranda
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Kay M. Tye
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
- Kavli Institute for the Brain and Mind, La Jolla, California, USA
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Poli A, Viglione A, Mazziotti R, Totaro V, Morea S, Melani R, Silingardi D, Putignano E, Berardi N, Pizzorusso T. Selective Disruption of Perineuronal Nets in Mice Lacking Crtl1 is Sufficient to Make Fear Memories Susceptible to Erasure. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:4105-4119. [PMID: 37022587 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03314-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
The ability to store, retrieve, and extinguish memories of adverse experiences is an essential skill for animals' survival. The cellular and molecular factors that underlie such processes are only partially known. Using chondroitinase ABC treatment targeting chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), previous studies showed that the maturation of the extracellular matrix makes fear memory resistant to deletion. Mice lacking the cartilage link protein Crtl1 (Crtl1-KO mice) display normal CSPG levels but impaired CSPG condensation in perineuronal nets (PNNs). Thus, we asked whether the presence of PNNs in the adult brain is responsible for the appearance of persistent fear memories by investigating fear extinction in Crtl1-KO mice. We found that mutant mice displayed fear memory erasure after an extinction protocol as revealed by analysis of freezing and pupil dynamics. Fear memory erasure did not depend on passive loss of retention; moreover, we demonstrated that, after extinction training, conditioned Crtl1-KO mice display no neural activation in the amygdala (Zif268 staining) in comparison to control animals. Taken together, our findings suggest that the aggregation of CSPGs into PNNs regulates the boundaries of the critical period for fear extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Poli
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore Via G, Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Aurelia Viglione
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore Via G, Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Raffaele Mazziotti
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Valentino Totaro
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore Via G, Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Silvia Morea
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Riccardo Melani
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Davide Silingardi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Elena Putignano
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Berardi
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Tommaso Pizzorusso
- BIO@SNS Lab, Scuola Normale Superiore Via G, Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
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Iglesias LP, Fernandes HB, de Miranda AS, Perez MM, Faccioli LH, Sorgi CA, Bertoglio LJ, Aguiar DC, Wotjak CT, Moreira FA. TRPV1 modulation of contextual fear memory depends on stimulus intensity and endocannabinoid signalling in the dorsal hippocampus. Neuropharmacology 2023; 224:109314. [PMID: 36336070 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1) channels have been implicated in the modulation of aversive responses. The endocannabinoid anandamide acts as an endogenous TRPV1 agonist, exerting opposite functions at TRPV1 and type-1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R). Here we tested the hypothesis that hippocampal TRPV1 modulates contextual fear memory retrieval and investigated the influence of the aversive stimulus intensity as well as the role of endocannabinoid signaling. Male C57BL/6J mice were tested for contextual fear memory after low-, moderate-, or high-intensity shock protocols. The selective TRPV1 blockers SB366791 (1-10 nmol) and 6-I-NC (2 nmol) were infused via intra-dorsal hippocampus before the retrieval test session. The local levels of endocannabinoids and Arc and Zif268 mRNAs, involved in synaptic plasticity and memory, were quantified. First, both TRPV1 blockers reduced memory retrieval in animals exposed to moderate or high (but not low) intensity training protocols. In the second series of results, the magnitude of the freezing responses positively correlated with the hippocampal anandamide levels; TRPV1 and CB1R were found co-localized in this brain region; and the CB1R antagonist, AM251, prevented the effects of SB366791. Thus, endocannabinoid signaling possibly mediates the effects of TRPV1 blockers. Finally, inhibition of memory retrieval by TRPV1 blockers increased Arc and Zif268 mRNAs and impaired fear memory reinstatement. In conclusion, the modulation of fear memories by dorsal hippocampal TRPV1 channels may depend on the aversive stimulus intensity and occur via anandamide/CB1 signaling. Moreover, TRPV1 blockers promote Arc and Zif268 transcription, with subsequent attenuation of aversive memory reinstatement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lia P Iglesias
- Graduate School in Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Heliana B Fernandes
- Department of Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Aline S de Miranda
- Department of Morphology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Malena M Perez
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Lucia H Faccioli
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Carlos A Sorgi
- Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Leandro J Bertoglio
- Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Daniele C Aguiar
- Graduate School in Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Carsten T Wotjak
- Central Nervous System Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach Riß, Germany
| | - Fabrício A Moreira
- Graduate School in Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Shan Q, Yu X, Tian Y. Reduction of excitatory synaptic transmission efficacy in the infralimbic prefrontal cortex potentially contributes to impairment of contextual fear memory extinction in aged mice. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2022; 78:930-937. [PMID: 35778266 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac137] [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: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Human beings are living longer than ever before and cognitive decline experienced by aged adults, such as compromise in cognitive flexibility, has been attracting more and more attention. One such example is the aging-related impairment of memory extinction. However, its underlying neural basis, especially the functional basis at the synapse level, is largely unknown. This study verifies that Pavlovian contextual fear memory extinction is impaired in aged mice. A large body of previous studies have shown that the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (ilPFC) plays a pivotal role in memory extinction. Correspondingly, this study reveals an aging-related reduction in the efficacy of excitatory synaptic transmission onto the ilPFC pyramidal neurons via electrophysiology recordings. This study further suggests that this reduced excitation potentially contributes to the aging-related impairment of contextual fear memory extinction: chemogenetically suppressing the activity of the ilPFC pyramidal neurons in young mice impairs contextual fear memory extinction, whereas chemogenetically compensating the reduced excitation of the ilPFC pyramidal neurons in aged mice restores contextual fear memory extinction. This study identifies a functional synaptic plasticity in the ilPFC pyramidal neurons that potentially contributes to the aging-related impairment of contextual fear memory extinction, which would potentially help to develop a therapy to treat related cognitive decline in aged human adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Shan
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Yu
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yao Tian
- Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
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10
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Differential age-dependent mechanisms of high-frequency stimulation-induced potentiation in the prefrontal cortex –basolateral amygdala pathway following fear extinction. Neuroscience 2022; 491:215-224. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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11
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Contreras CM, Gutiérrez-García AG. 2-Heptanone reduces inhibitory control of the amygdala over the prelimbic region in rats. Neurosci Lett 2021; 764:136201. [PMID: 34469712 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136201] [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: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Basolateral amygdala (BLA) nuclei and their reciprocal connections with prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are involved in the regulation of fear. 2-Heptanone is released in urine in stressed rats, and the olfactory detection of this odor produces immediate avoidance and alarm reactions and modifies neuronal activity in limbic connections in non-stressed rats. If 2-heptanone acts as a danger signal, then long-lasting actions would be expected. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the forced inhalation of 2-heptanone modifies the response capacity of the BLA-mPFC circuit in the long term (48 h). Single-unit extracellular recordings were obtained from the PL and IL during electrical stimulation of the BLA (square-wave pulses; 1 ms, 20 µA, 0.3 Hz, 110 stimuli over a total duration of 360 s) in three groups of Wistar rats: control group (no sensory stimulation), unpredictable auditory stimulation group, and 2-heptanone stimulation group. A brief-latency (1 ms), short-duration (5 ms) paucisynaptic response followed BLA stimulation and was unaffected by any sensorial stimulation. The paucisynaptic response was followed by a mostly inhibitory and long-lasting (>750 ms) afterdischarge in the control and auditory stimulation groups. In the 2-heptanone group, the inhibitory afterdischarge shifted to an excitatory afterdischarge after ∼250 ms in the PL and after ∼500 ms in the IL. Importantly, the rats that were included in this study were born in local housing facilities. Thus, these animals were never in contact with predators and instead in contact with only conspecifics. These results indicate that the forced inhalation of 2-heptanone is able to modify BLA-mPFC responsivity in the long term. 2-Heptanone decreases inhibitory control of the amygdala over mPFC activity. Disinhibition of the mPFC may lead to the adaptive expression of defensive behaviors, even in animals that are not in the presence of predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Contreras
- Unidad Periférica del Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Xalapa, Veracruz 91190, Mexico.
| | - Ana G Gutiérrez-García
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz 91190, Mexico
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12
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Baldi E, Costa A, Rani B, Passani MB, Blandina P, Romano A, Provensi G. Oxytocin and Fear Memory Extinction: Possible Implications for the Therapy of Fear Disorders? Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:10000. [PMID: 34576161 PMCID: PMC8467761 DOI: 10.3390/ijms221810000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Several psychiatric conditions such as phobias, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by pathological fear and anxiety. The main therapeutic approach used in the management of these disorders is exposure-based therapy, which is conceptually based upon fear extinction with the formation of a new safe memory association, allowing the reduction in behavioral conditioned fear responses. Nevertheless, this approach is only partially resolutive, since many patients have difficulty following the demanding and long process, and relapses are frequently observed over time. One strategy to improve the efficacy of the cognitive therapy is the combination with pharmacological agents. Therefore, the identification of compounds able to strengthen the formation and persistence of the inhibitory associations is a key goal. Recently, growing interest has been aroused by the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT), which has been shown to have anxiolytic effects. Furthermore, OXT receptors and binding sites have been found in the critical brain structures involved in fear extinction. In this review, the recent literature addressing the complex effects of OXT on fear extinction at preclinical and clinical levels is discussed. These studies suggest that the OXT roles in fear behavior are due to its local effects in several brain regions, most notably, distinct amygdaloid regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Baldi
- Section of Physiological Sciences, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy;
| | - Alessia Costa
- Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Oncology, Department of Health Sciences (DSS), University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy; (A.C.); (B.R.); (M.B.P.)
| | - Barbara Rani
- Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Oncology, Department of Health Sciences (DSS), University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy; (A.C.); (B.R.); (M.B.P.)
| | - Maria Beatrice Passani
- Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Oncology, Department of Health Sciences (DSS), University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy; (A.C.); (B.R.); (M.B.P.)
| | - Patrizio Blandina
- Section of Pharmacology of Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy;
| | - Adele Romano
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology ‘V. Erspamer’, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Gustavo Provensi
- Section of Pharmacology of Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy;
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13
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Shallcross J, Wu L, Wilkinson CS, Knackstedt LA, Schwendt M. Increased mGlu5 mRNA expression in BLA glutamate neurons facilitates resilience to the long-term effects of a single predator scent stress exposure. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2279-2293. [PMID: 34175993 PMCID: PMC10416208 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02326-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in a subset of individuals exposed to a trauma with core features being increased anxiety and impaired fear extinction. To model the heterogeneity of PTSD behavioral responses, we exposed male Sprague-Dawley rats to predator scent stress once for 10 min and then assessed anxiety-like behavior 7 days later using the elevated plus maze and acoustic startle response. Rats displaying anxiety-like behavior in both tasks were classified as stress Susceptible, and rats exhibiting behavior no different from un-exposed Controls were classified as stress Resilient. In Resilient rats, we previously found increased mRNA expression of mGlu5 in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) and CB1 in the amygdala. Here, we performed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the subregion and cell-type-specific expression of these genes in Resilient rats 3 weeks after TMT exposure. Resilient rats displayed increased mGlu5 mRNA expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the infralimbic and prelimbic regions of the PFC and increased BLA CB1 mRNA. These increases were limited to glutamatergic cells. To test the necessity of mGlu5 for attenuating TMT-conditioned contextual fear 3 weeks after TMT conditioning, intra-BLA infusions of the mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator MTEP were administered prior to context re-exposure. In TMT-exposed Resilient rats, but not Controls, MTEP increased freezing on the day of administration, which extinguished over two additional un-drugged sessions. These results suggest that increased mGlu5 expression in BLA glutamate neurons contributes to the behavioral flexibility observed in stress-Resilient animals by facilitating a capacity for extinguishing contextual fear associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Shallcross
- Psychology Department, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Florida, 114 Psychology Building, 945 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2250, USA
| | - Lizhen Wu
- Psychology Department, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Florida, 114 Psychology Building, 945 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2250, USA
| | - Courtney S Wilkinson
- Psychology Department, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Florida, 114 Psychology Building, 945 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2250, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education (CARE), University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
| | - Lori A Knackstedt
- Psychology Department, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Florida, 114 Psychology Building, 945 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2250, USA
- Center for Addiction Research and Education (CARE), University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
| | - Marek Schwendt
- Psychology Department, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, University of Florida, 114 Psychology Building, 945 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611-2250, USA.
- Center for Addiction Research and Education (CARE), University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
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14
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Han DH, Park P, Choi DI, Bliss TVP, Kaang BK. The essence of the engram: Cellular or synaptic? Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 125:122-135. [PMID: 34103208 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Memory is composed of various phases including cellular consolidation, systems consolidation, reconsolidation, and extinction. In the last few years it has been shown that simple association memories can be encoded by a subset of the neuronal population called engram cells. Activity of these cells is necessary and sufficient for the recall of association memory. However, it is unclear which molecular mechanisms allow cellular engrams to encode the diverse phases of memory. Further research is needed to examine the possibility that it is the synapses between engram cells (the synaptic engram) that constitute the memory. In this review we summarize recent findings on cellular engrams with a focus on different phases of memory, and discuss the distinct molecular mechanism required for cellular and synaptic engrams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dae Hee Han
- School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Pojeong Park
- School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Il Choi
- School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Tim V P Bliss
- Group leader emeritus, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, Somers Town, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Bong-Kiun Kaang
- School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
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15
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Jing XY, Wang Y, Zou HW, Li ZL, Liu YJ, Li LF. mGlu2/3 receptor in the prelimbic cortex is implicated in stress resilience and vulnerability in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 906:174231. [PMID: 34090896 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Resilience, referring to "achieving a positive outcome in the face of adversity", is a common phenomenon in daily life. Elucidating the mechanisms of stress resilience is instrumental to developing more effective treatments for stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu2/3 and mGlu5) within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) have been recently recognized as promising therapeutic targets for rapid-acting antidepressant treatment. In this study, we assessed the functional roles of the mGlu2/3 and mGlu5 within different subregions of the mPFC in modulating stress resilience and vulnerability by using chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) paradigms in mice. Our results showed that approximately 51.6% of the subjects exhibited depression- or anxiety-like behaviors after exposure to CSDS. When a susceptible mouse was confronted with an attacker, c-Fos expression in the prelimbic cortex (PrL) subregion of the mPFC substantially increased. Compared with the resilient and control groups, the expression of mGlu2/3 was elevated in the PrL of the susceptible group. The expression of mGlu5 showed no significant difference among the three groups in the whole mPFC. Finally, we found that the social avoidance symptoms of the susceptible mice were rapidly relieved by intra-PrL administration of LY341495-an mGluR2/3 antagonists. The above results indicate that mGluR2/3 within the PrL may play an important regulatory role in stress-related psychiatric disorders. Our results are meaningful, as they expand our understanding of stress resilience and vulnerability which may open an avenue to develop novel, personalized approaches to mitigate depression and promote stress resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Yuan Jing
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Yan Wang
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Hua-Wei Zou
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Zi-Lin Li
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Ying-Juan Liu
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China.
| | - Lai-Fu Li
- College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal Univerity, Nanyang, 473061, China.
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Basolateral Amygdala but Not Medial Prefrontal Cortex Contributes to Chronic Fluoxetine Treatments for PTSD Symptoms in Mice. Behav Neurol 2020; 2020:8875087. [PMID: 33299494 PMCID: PMC7710423 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8875087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Do chronic fluoxetine treatments reduced footshock-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, including fear and comorbid depression, in the situational reminder phase? Moreover, are the subareas of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), including the cingulate cortex 1 (Cg1), prelimbic cortex (PrL), infralimbic cortex (IL), and basolateral amygdala (BLA), involved in the fluoxetine amelioration of PTSD symptoms? These two crucial issues were addressed in the present study. All mice were injected with chronic fluoxetine or normal saline treatments for the adaptation (14 days), footshock fear conditioning (1 day), and situational reminder (3 days) phases. After adaptation, the mice were subjected to footshock (2 mA, 10 seconds) or nonfootshock and stayed 2 min in a footshock box for 2 min for fear conditioning. Later, they were placed in the footshock box for 2 min in the situational reminder phase. In the final session of the situational reminder phase, a forced swimming test (FST) and immunohistochemical staining were conducted. The results indicated that footshock induced fear and comorbid depression. Meanwhile, chronic fluoxetine treatments reduced fear and depression behaviors. The Cg1, PrL, IL, and BLA were seemingly to increase c-Fos expression after footshock-induced PTSD symptoms in the situational reminder phase. The fluoxetine treatments reduced only the BLA's c-Fos expression. The findings suggest that BLA contributes to the fluoxetine amelioration of PTSD symptoms; however, the mPFC, including the Cg1, PrL, and IL, did not mediate PTSD symptoms' amelioration stemming from fluoxetine. The present data might help us to further understand the neural mechanism of fluoxetine treatments in PTSD symptoms.
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17
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Mattera A, Pagani M, Baldassarre G. A Computational Model Integrating Multiple Phenomena on Cued Fear Conditioning, Extinction, and Reinstatement. Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:569108. [PMID: 33132856 PMCID: PMC7550679 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.569108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement are fundamental learning processes of animal adaptation, also strongly involved in human pathologies such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and dependencies. Cued fear conditioning, extinction, restatement, and systematic manipulations of the underlying brain amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex, represent key experimental paradigms to study such processes. Numerous empirical studies have revealed several aspects and the neural systems and plasticity underlying them, but at the moment we lack a comprehensive view. Here we propose a computational model based on firing rate leaky units that contributes to such integration by accounting for 25 different experiments on fear conditioning, extinction, and restatement, on the basis of a single neural architecture having a structure and plasticity grounded in known brain biology. This allows the model to furnish three novel contributions to understand these open issues: (a) the functioning of the central and lateral amygdala system supporting conditioning; (b) the role played by the endocannabinoids system in within- and between-session extinction; (c) the formation of three important types of neurons underlying fear processing, namely fear, extinction, and persistent neurons. The model integration of the results on fear conditioning goes substantially beyond what was done in previous models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Mattera
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Pagani
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluca Baldassarre
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
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18
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Tsai AC, Huang ACW, Yu YH, Kuo CS, Hsu CC, Lim YS, Shyu BC. A Wireless Magnetic Resonance Device for Optogenetic Applications in an Animal Model. SENSORS 2020; 20:s20205869. [PMID: 33081369 PMCID: PMC7590226 DOI: 10.3390/s20205869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The currents of optical stimulation devices with tethered or untethered systems have various disadvantages, including optical fiber breakage, disrupted animal movements, heavy batteries carried on heads, and high-frequency electromagnetic impacts. Our novel wireless remote control was developed to address these issues. The novel wireless device uses a magnetic resonance technique to modify the deficits of the conventional magnetic induction or radio-frequency power sources. The present device emits a strong and steady electromagnetic power. It is cheaper than previous versions, and the receiver coil on its head is very light (≦ 1 g). For the present wireless remote-controlled device, the electromagnetic field's range (i.e., +5 cm and -5 cm of the outside coil) is larger than the range for the magnetic induction and radio-frequency power sources. The present device controls animals' behavior by the electromagnetic field's effective range via photostimulation. The novel wireless remote-controlled device with a magnetic resonance technique can be applied in many behavioral tasks in mice and rats. To avoid the adverse effects of high radio frequency and to extend the electromagnetic field's range, this novel technique serves as a helpful tool to modulate the neuronal activity of target neurons in specific brain areas for optogenetic experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur C. Tsai
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (A.C.T.); (C.-S.K.); (C.-C.H.)
| | - Andrew Chih Wei Huang
- Department of Psychology, Fo Guang University, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan; (A.C.W.H.); (Y.H.Y.); (Y.S.L.)
| | - Ying Hao Yu
- Department of Psychology, Fo Guang University, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan; (A.C.W.H.); (Y.H.Y.); (Y.S.L.)
| | - Chii-Shyang Kuo
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (A.C.T.); (C.-S.K.); (C.-C.H.)
| | - Chih-Chan Hsu
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (A.C.T.); (C.-S.K.); (C.-C.H.)
| | - Yeou San Lim
- Department of Psychology, Fo Guang University, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan; (A.C.W.H.); (Y.H.Y.); (Y.S.L.)
| | - Bai Chuang Shyu
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 1529, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-2-2652-3915; Fax: +886-2-2782-9224
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19
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Lo MC, Younk R, Widge AS. Paired Electrical Pulse Trains for Controlling Connectivity in Emotion-Related Brain Circuitry. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2020; 28:2721-2730. [PMID: 33048668 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2020.3030714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Neurostimulation therapies for psychiatric disorders often have limited clinical efficacy. The limited efficacy might arise from a mismatch between therapy and disease mechanisms. Mental disorders are believed to arise from communication breakdown in distributed brain circuits, and thus altering connectivity between brain regions might be an effective way to restore normal brain communication. Synchronized neural oscillations (coherence) and synaptic strength are two common measures of brain connectivity. In this work, we developed an electrical stimulation method for altering narrow-frequency-band (theta, 5-8 Hz) coherence and synaptic strength. We tested this method in a circuit between infralimbic cortex (IL) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), which is broadly implicated in fear regulation. 6 Hz pulse trains were delivered into IL and BLA with various inter-train lags. These paired trains induced long-lasting synaptic strength change and a brief coherence enhancement in the IL-BLA circuit. This enhancement was specific to the "top-down" (IL-to-BLA) direction, and only occurred when the IL and BLA pulse trains had a relative lag of 180° (83 ms). Since the IL-BLA connection is known to be highly relevant to fear regulation, this method provides a tool to study the relationship between brain connectivity and fear behaviors. Further, it may be a new approach to study the relative roles of synaptic strength and oscillatory synchrony in brain network communication.
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Extinction Learning as a Potential Mechanism Linking High Vagal Tone with Lower PTSD Symptoms among Abused Youth. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 47:659-670. [PMID: 30112595 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-018-0464-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Childhood abuse is a potent risk factor for psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has shown high resting vagal tone, a measure of parasympathetic nervous system function, protects abused youth from developing internalizing psychopathology, but potential mechanisms explaining this effect are unknown. We explored fear extinction learning as a possible mechanism underlying the protective effect of vagal tone on PTSD symptoms among abused youth. We measured resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance responses (SCR) during a fear conditioning and extinction task in youth with variability in abuse exposure (N = 94; aged 6-18 years). High RSA predicted lower PTSD symptoms and enhanced extinction learning among abused youths. In a moderated-mediation model, extinction learning mediated the association of abuse with PTSD symptoms only among youth with high RSA. These findings highlight extinction learning as a possible mechanism linking high vagal tone to decreased risk for PTSD symptoms among abused youth.
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Ferrara NC, Mrackova E, Loh MK, Padival M, Rosenkranz JA. Fear Learning Enhances Prefrontal Cortical Suppression of Auditory Thalamic Inputs to the Amygdala in Adults, but Not Adolescents. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21083008. [PMID: 32344598 PMCID: PMC7215292 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21083008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is characterized by increased susceptibility to the development of fear- and anxiety-related disorders. Adolescents also show elevated fear responding and aversive learning that is resistant to behavioral interventions, which may be related to alterations in the circuitry supporting fear learning. These features are linked to ongoing adolescent development of medial prefrontal cortical (PFC) inputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) that regulate neural activity and contribute to the refinement of fear responses. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the extent of PFC inhibition of the BLA following fear learning is greater in adults than in adolescents, using anesthetized in vivo recordings to measure local field potentials (LFPs) evoked by stimulation of PFC or auditory thalamic (MgN) inputs to BLA. We found that BLA LFPs evoked by stimulation of MgN inputs were enhanced in adults following fear conditioning. Fear conditioning also led to reduced summation of BLA LFPs evoked in response to PFC train stimulation, and increased the capacity of PFC inhibition of MgN inputs in adults. These data suggest that fear conditioning recruits additional inhibitory capacity by PFC inputs to BLA in adults, but that this capacity is weaker in adolescents. These results provide insight into how the development of PFC inputs may relate to age differences in memory retention and persistence following aversive learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C. Ferrara
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Eliska Mrackova
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Maxine K. Loh
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Mallika Padival
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - J. Amiel Rosenkranz
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
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22
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Ito W, Fusco B, Morozov A. Disinhibition-assisted long-term potentiation in the prefrontal-amygdala pathway via suppression of somatostatin-expressing interneurons. NEUROPHOTONICS 2020; 7:015007. [PMID: 32090134 PMCID: PMC7019182 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.7.1.015007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Significance: Natural brain adaptations often involve changes in synaptic strength. The artificial manipulations can help investigate the role of synaptic strength in a specific brain circuit not only in various physiological phenomena like correlated neuronal firing and oscillations but also in behaviors. High- and low-frequency stimulation at presynaptic sites has been used widely to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression. This approach is effective in many brain areas but not in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) because the robust local GABAergic tone inside BLA restricts synaptic plasticity. Aim: We aimed at identifying the subclass of GABAergic neurons that gate LTP in the BLA afferents from the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). Approach: Chemogenetic or optogenetic suppression of specific GABAergic neurons in BLA was combined with high-frequency stimulation of the BLA afferents as a method for LTP induction. Results: Chemogenetic suppression of somatostatin-positive interneurons (Sst-INs) enabled the ex vivo LTP by high-frequency stimulation of the afferent but the suppression of parvalbumin-positive interneurons (PV-INs) did not. Moreover, optogenetic suppression of Sst-INs with Arch also enabled LTP of the dmPFC-BLA synapses, both ex vivo and in vivo. Conclusions: These findings reveal that Sst-INs but not PV-INs gate LTP in the dmPFC-BLA pathway and provide a method for artificial synaptic facilitation in BLA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Ito
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, United States
| | - Brendon Fusco
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, United States
| | - Alexei Morozov
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia, United States
- Virginia Tech, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia, United States
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23
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Hu J, Wang Z, Feng X, Long C, Schiller D. Post-retrieval oxytocin facilitates next day extinction of threat memory in humans. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:293-301. [PMID: 30370450 PMCID: PMC6374199 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5074-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Memories can return to a labile state and become amenable to modification by pharmacological and behavioral manipulations after retrieval. This process may reduce the impact of aversive memories and provide a promising therapeutic technique for the treatment of anxiety disorders. A growing body of evidence suggests that the mammalian neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) plays a role in the regulation of emotional memories in animals. However, the effects of OT on threat memory in humans remain largely unknown. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the effects of OT administration following threat memory retrieval on subsequent memory expression in human participants. METHODS In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subject design, 61 healthy human individuals completed a 3-day experiment. All the participants underwent threat conditioning on day 1. On day 2, the participants were randomized to receive an intranasal dose of OT (40 IU) or placebo after memory retrieval, or an intranasal dose of OT (40 IU) without retrieval. On day 3, the participants were tested for extinction and reinstatement. RESULTS On day 3, all groups showed equivalent stimulus discrimination during the early phase of extinction. However, the group that received OT following a memory reminder showed a greater decline in stimulus discrimination by the late phase of extinction relative to the two other groups. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that OT did not block reconsolidation to prevent the return of threat memory but rather interacted with post-retrieval processes to facilitate next day extinction. The study provides novel preliminary evidence for the role of OT in human threat memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingchu Hu
- School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,School of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zijie Wang
- School of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyi Feng
- School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Long
- School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Daniela Schiller
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. .,Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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24
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Goode TD, Maren S. Common neurocircuitry mediating drug and fear relapse in preclinical models. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:415-437. [PMID: 30255379 PMCID: PMC6373193 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5024-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Comorbidity of anxiety disorders, stressor- and trauma-related disorders, and substance use disorders is extremely common. Moreover, therapies that reduce pathological fear and anxiety on the one hand, and drug-seeking on the other, often prove short-lived and are susceptible to relapse. Considerable advances have been made in the study of the neurobiology of both aversive and appetitive extinction, and this work reveals shared neural circuits that contribute to both the suppression and relapse of conditioned responses associated with trauma or drug use. OBJECTIVES The goal of this review is to identify common neural circuits and mechanisms underlying relapse across domains of addiction biology and aversive learning in preclinical animal models. We focus primarily on neural circuits engaged during the expression of relapse. KEY FINDINGS After extinction, brain circuits involving the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus come to regulate the expression of conditioned responses by the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and nucleus accumbens. During relapse, hippocampal projections to the prefrontal cortex inhibit the retrieval of extinction memories resulting in a loss of inhibitory control over fear- and drug-associated conditional responding. CONCLUSIONS The overlapping brain systems for both fear and drug memories may explain the co-occurrence of fear and drug-seeking behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis D Goode
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA.
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25
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Selleck RA, Zhang W, Mercier HD, Padival M, Rosenkranz JA. Limited prefrontal cortical regulation over the basolateral amygdala in adolescent rats. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17171. [PMID: 30464293 PMCID: PMC6249319 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35649-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive regulation of emotion develops from childhood into adulthood. This occurs in parallel with maturation of prefrontal cortical (PFC) regulation over the amygdala. The cellular substrates for this regulation may include PFC activation of inhibitory GABAergic elements in the amygdala. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PFC regulation over basolateral amygdala area (BLA) in vivo is immature in adolescence, and if this is due to immaturity of GABAergic elements or PFC excitatory inputs. Using in vivo extracellular electrophysiological recordings from anesthetized male rats we found that in vivo summation of PFC inputs to the BLA was less regulated by GABAergic inhibition in adolescents (postnatal day 39) than adults (postnatal day 72-75). In addition, stimulation of either prelimbic or infralimbic PFC evokes weaker inhibition over basal (BA) and lateral (LAT) nuclei of the BLA in adolescents. This was dictated by both weak recruitment of inhibition in LAT and weak excitatory effects of PFC in BA. The current results may contribute to differences in adolescent cognitive regulation of emotion. These findings identify specific elements that undergo adolescent maturation and may therefore be sensitive to environmental disruptions that increase risk for psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A. Selleck
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Hannah D. Mercier
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Mallika Padival
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - J. Amiel Rosenkranz
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
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26
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Oh KS, Kim EJ, Ha JW, Woo HY, Kwon MJ, Shin DW, Shin YC, Lim SW. The Relationship between Plasma Oxytocin Levels and Social Anxiety Symptoms. Psychiatry Investig 2018; 15:1079-1086. [PMID: 30301300 PMCID: PMC6258994 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2018.08.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The pathophysiology of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is not yet well understood, but previous research has suggested that oxytocin is associated with social behavior and may play a role in human anxiety states and anxiety-related traits. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between social anxiety symptoms and plasma oxytocin levels. METHODS Twenty-three male patients with SAD and 28 healthy male controls participated in this study. All participants were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify associations between plasma oxytocin levels and SAD. RESULTS In multiple regression models, after controlling for age and years of education, we found that higher oxytocin levels were significantly associated with higher total LSAS scores (R2 =0.157, coefficient=0.145, 95% CI=-0.0005-0.291, p=0.051) and fear subscale scores (R2 =0.134, coefficient=0.083, 95% CI=0.007-0.159, p=0.034) in the SAD group. CONCLUSION In this study, increased plasma oxytocin levels were associated with higher social anxiety symptoms among SAD patients, but not among controls. This might be because among SAD patients, higher oxytocin (OT) secretion is an insufficient compensatory attempt to reduce social anxiety symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang-Seob Oh
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Kim
- Workplace Mental Health Institute, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ju-Won Ha
- Yonsei Forest Mental Health Clinic, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Yeon Woo
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Jung Kwon
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong-Won Shin
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Chul Shin
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Workplace Mental Health Institute, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Won Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Workplace Mental Health Institute, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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27
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Khazen T, Shrivastava K, Jada R, Hatoum OA, Maroun M. Different mechanisms underlie stress-induced changes in plasticity and metaplasticity in the prefrontal cortex of juvenile and adult animals. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 154:5-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Revised: 02/01/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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28
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Saha R, Shrivastava K, Jing L, Schayek R, Maroun M, Kriebel M, Volkmer H, Richter-Levin G. Perturbation of GABAergic Synapses at the Axon Initial Segment of Basolateral Amygdala Induces Trans-regional Metaplasticity at the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2017; 28:395-410. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rinki Saha
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | | | - Liang Jing
- The Institute for the Study of Affective Neuroscience, University of Haif, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Rachel Schayek
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Mouna Maroun
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Martin Kriebel
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tübingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Hansjürgen Volkmer
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tübingen, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Gal Richter-Levin
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
- The Institute for the Study of Affective Neuroscience, University of Haif, Haifa 31905, Israel
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29
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Freezing response-independent facilitation of fear extinction memory in the prefrontal cortex. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5363. [PMID: 28706238 PMCID: PMC5509670 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04335-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The infralimbic cortex (IL) is known to facilitate the formation of extinction memory through reciprocal interactions with the amygdala, which produces fear responses such as freezing. Thus, whether presynaptic input from the amygdala and post-synaptic output of IL neurons are functionally dissociated in extinction memory formation remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that photostimulation of IL inputs from BLA did not change freezing responses to conditioned stimuli (CS) during training, but did facilitate extinction memory, measured as a reduction in freezing responses to the CS 1 day later. On the other hand, photostimulation of somata of IL neurons induced an immediate reduction in freezing to CS, but this did not affect extinction memory tested the next day. These results provide in vivo evidence for IL-dependent facilitation of extinction memory without post-synaptic modulation of freezing circuits.
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30
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Oxytocin in the amygdala and not the prefrontal cortex enhances fear and impairs extinction in the juvenile rat. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 141:179-188. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Revised: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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31
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Schayek R, Maroun M. Dissociation in the effects of stress and D1 receptors activation on basolateral amygdalar LTP in juvenile and adult animals. Neuropharmacology 2017; 113:511-518. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Revised: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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32
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Saha R, Knapp S, Chakraborty D, Horovitz O, Albrecht A, Kriebel M, Kaphzan H, Ehrlich I, Volkmer H, Richter-Levin G. GABAergic Synapses at the Axon Initial Segment of Basolateral Amygdala Projection Neurons Modulate Fear Extinction. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:473-484. [PMID: 27634356 PMCID: PMC5399240 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory synaptic transmission in the amygdala has a pivotal role in fear learning and its extinction. However, the local circuits formed by GABAergic inhibitory interneurons within the amygdala and their detailed function in shaping these behaviors are not well understood. Here we used lentiviral-mediated knockdown of the cell adhesion molecule neurofascin in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to specifically remove inhibitory synapses at the axon initial segment (AIS) of BLA projection neurons. Quantitative analysis of GABAergic synapse markers and measurement of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents in BLA projection neurons after neurofascin knockdown ex vivo confirmed the loss of GABAergic input. We then studied the impact of this manipulation on anxiety-like behavior and auditory cued fear conditioning and its extinction as BLA related behavioral paradigms, as well as on long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ventral subiculum-BLA pathway in vivo. BLA knockdown of neurofascin impaired ventral subiculum-BLA-LTP. While this manipulation did not affect anxiety-like behavior and fear memory acquisition and consolidation, it specifically impaired extinction. Our findings indicate that modification of inhibitory synapses at the AIS of BLA projection neurons is sufficient to selectively impair extinction behavior. A better understanding of the role of distinct GABAergic synapses may provide novel and more specific targets for therapeutic interventions in extinction-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rinki Saha
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Stephanie Knapp
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,Graduate School for Neural and Behavioral Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Omer Horovitz
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Anne Albrecht
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel,The Institute for the Study of Affective Neuroscience, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Martin Kriebel
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Hanoch Kaphzan
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ingrid Ehrlich
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany,Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hansjürgen Volkmer
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Germany
| | - Gal Richter-Levin
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel,Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel,The Institute for the Study of Affective Neuroscience, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel,Sagol Department of Neurobiology, University of Haifa, Abba Khoushy Avenue 199, Haifa 31905, Israel, Tel: +972 48240962, Fax: +972 48288578, E-mail:
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33
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Childs JE, DeLeon J, Nickel E, Kroener S. Vagus nerve stimulation reduces cocaine seeking and alters plasticity in the extinction network. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 24:35-42. [PMID: 27980074 PMCID: PMC5159656 DOI: 10.1101/lm.043539.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Drugs of abuse cause changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and associated regions that impair inhibitory control over drug-seeking. Breaking the contingencies between drug-associated cues and the delivery of the reward during extinction learning reduces rates of relapse. Here we used vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to induce targeted synaptic plasticity to facilitate extinction of appetitive behaviors and to reduce relapse. Rats self-administered cocaine and were given VNS during extinction. Relapse to drug-seeking was assessed in a cued reinstatement session. We used immunohistochemistry to measure changes in the expression of the phosphorylated transcription factor cAMP response-element binding protein (pCREB) in the PFC and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), which regulate cue learning and extinction. In vivo recordings of evoked field potentials measured drug- and VNS-induced changes in metaplasticity in the pathway from the PFC to the BLA. VNS-treated rats showed improved rates of extinction and reduced reinstatement. Following reinstatement, pCREB levels were reduced in the IL and BLA of VNS-treated rats. Evoked responses in the BLA were greatly reduced in VNS-treated rats, and these rats were also resistant to the induction of LTD. Taken together, these results show that VNS facilitates extinction and reduces reinstatement. Changes in the pathway between the PFC and the amygdala may contribute to these beneficial effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica E Childs
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
| | - Jaime DeLeon
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
| | - Emily Nickel
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
| | - Sven Kroener
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA
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34
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Moench KM, Maroun M, Kavushansky A, Wellman C. Alterations in neuronal morphology in infralimbic cortex predict resistance to fear extinction following acute stress. Neurobiol Stress 2016; 3:23-33. [PMID: 26844245 PMCID: PMC4730795 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 11/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction in corticolimbic circuits that mediate the extinction of learned fear responses is thought to underlie the perseveration of fear in stress-related psychopathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic stress produces dendritic hypertrophy in basolateral amygdala (BLA) and dendritic hypotrophy in medial prefrontal cortex, whereas acute stress leads to hypotrophy in both BLA and prelimbic cortex. Additionally, both chronic and acute stress impair extinction retrieval. Here, we examined the effects of a single elevated platform stress on extinction learning and dendritic morphology in infralimbic cortex, a region considered to be critical for extinction. Acute stress produced resistance to extinction, as well as dendritic retraction in infralimbic cortex. Spine density on apical and basilar terminal branches was unaffected by stress. However, animals that underwent conditioning and extinction had decreased spine density on apical terminal branches. Thus, whereas dendritic morphology in infralimbic cortex appears to be particularly sensitive to stress, changes in spines may more sensitively reflect learning. Further, in stressed rats that underwent conditioning and extinction, the level of extinction learning was correlated with spine densities, in that rats with poorer extinction retrieval had more immature spines and fewer thin spines than rats with better extinction retrieval, suggesting that stress may have impaired learning-related spine plasticity. These results may have implications for understanding the role of medial prefrontal cortex in learning deficits associated with stress-related pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M. Moench
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, and Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Mouna Maroun
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Alexandra Kavushansky
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Cara Wellman
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, and Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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35
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Smith IM, Pang KCH, Servatius RJ, Jiao X, Beck KD. Paired-housing selectively facilitates within-session extinction of avoidance behavior, and increases c-Fos expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, in anxiety vulnerable Wistar-Kyoto rats. Physiol Behav 2016; 164:198-206. [PMID: 27235339 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The perseveration of avoidance behavior, even in the absence of once threatening stimuli, is a key feature of anxiety and related psychiatric conditions. This phenomenon can be observed in the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat which, in comparison to outbred controls, demonstrates impaired extinction of avoidance behavior. Also characteristic of the WKY rat is abnormalities of the neurocircuitry and neuroplasticity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). One means of reducing physiological responses to anxiety, and conditioned fear, in social species is the presence of a conspecific animal. The current study investigates whether or not pair-housed WKY rats would show facilitated extinction of avoidance in comparison to individual-housed WKY rats, and whether or not pair-housing influences mPFC activation during lever-press avoidance. METHODS Male WKY rats were assigned to individual-housed and pair-housed conditions. Rats were trained in lever-press avoidance. Each session of lever-press avoidance consisted of 20 trials, where pressing a lever in response to a warning tone prevented foot-shocks. Rats received 12 acquisition sessions over 4weeks; followed by 6 extinction sessions over 2weeks, where foot-shocks ceased to be delivered. Brains were harvested 90min after trials 1 and 10 of extinction sessions 1 and 6, and mPFC sections underwent c-Fos staining as a measure of activation. RESULTS Pair-housed rats showed facilitated lever-press avoidance extinction rates, but the main cause for this overall difference was a selective facilitation of within-session extinction. Similar to individual-housed rats, pair-housed rats continued to avoid during trial 1 of extinction even when the avoidance responding had been significantly reduced by the end of the previous session. Pair-housed rats sacrificed on trial 1 showed greater c-Fos expression in the anterior cingulate cortex and prelimbic cortex subregions of the mPFC compared individual-housed rats sacrificed on trial 1. CONCLUSION This data shows pair-housing to facilitate the extinction of avoidance, and to influence activity of the mPFC, in WKY rats. Despite this environmental manipulation, the pair-housed WKY rats continued to show avoidance responding on trial 1 of extinction sessions. This demonstrates that within-session extinction can be dissociated from between-session extinction-resistance in WKY rats. Furthermore, it suggests the individual-housing of WKY rats selectively slows within-session extinction, possibly by reducing neuronal activity of the mPFC during the testing situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian M Smith
- Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States; Veterans Biomedical Research Institute, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States
| | - Kevin C H Pang
- Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, & Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
| | - Richard J Servatius
- Research Service, Syracuse VA Medical Center, Department of Veteran's Affairs, Syracuse, NY, 13210, United States; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, & Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
| | - Xilu Jiao
- Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States; Veterans Biomedical Research Institute, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States
| | - Kevin D Beck
- Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ 07018, United States; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, & Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
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36
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Oxytocin and Memory of Emotional Stimuli: Some Dance to Remember, Some Dance to Forget. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 79:203-12. [PMID: 26300273 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2015] [Revised: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
An ever-growing body of evidence suggests that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin plays a central role in the regulation of mammalian social behavior and relationships. Yet, mammalian social interactions are extremely complex, involving both approach and avoidance behaviors toward specific individuals. While in the past oxytocin was conceived merely as a prosocial molecule that nonselectively facilitated affiliative emotions and behavior, it is now recognized that oxytocin plays a role in a wide range of social relationships, some of which involve negative emotions such as fear, aggression, and envy and lead to avoidance behavior. However, the way by which a single molecule such as oxytocin contributes to contrasting emotions and opposite behaviors is yet to be discovered. Here, we discuss the role of oxytocin in the modulation of emotional memories in rodents, focusing on two paradigms: social recognition and fear conditioning, representing approach and avoidance behaviors, respectively. We review recent pioneering studies that address the complex effects of oxytocin in a mechanistic approach, using genetic animal models and brain region-specific manipulations of oxytocin activity. These studies suggest that the multiple roles of oxytocin in social and fear behavior are due to its local effects in various brain areas, most notably distinct regions of the amygdala. Finally, we propose a model explaining some of the contradictory effects of oxytocin as products of the balance between two networks in the amygdala that are controlled by the medial prefrontal cortex.
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Dysfunction in amygdala-prefrontal plasticity and extinction-resistant avoidance: A model for anxiety disorder vulnerability. Exp Neurol 2015; 275 Pt 1:59-68. [PMID: 26546833 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2015.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2015] [Revised: 10/17/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Individuals exhibiting an anxiety disorder are believed to possess an innate vulnerability that makes them susceptible to the disorder. Anxiety disorders are also associated with abnormalities in the interconnected brain regions of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, the link between anxiety vulnerability and amygdala-PFC dysfunction is currently unclear. Accordingly, the present study sought to determine if innate dysfunction within the amygdala to PFC projection underlies the susceptibility to develop anxiety-like behavior, using an anxiety vulnerable rodent model. The inbred Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat was used to model vulnerability, as this strain naturally expresses extinction-resistant avoidance; a behavior that models the symptom of avoidance present in anxiety disorders. Synaptic plasticity was assessed within the projection from the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) to the prelimbic cortical subdivision of the PFC in WKY and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. While WKY rats exhibited normal paired-pulse plasticity, they did not maintain long-term potentiation (LTP) as SD rats. Thus, impaired plasticity within the BLA-PL cortex projection may contribute to extinction resistant avoidance of WKY, as lesions of the PL cortex in SD rats impaired extinction of avoidance similar to WKY rats. Treatment with d-cycloserine to reverse the impaired LTP in WKY rats was unsuccessful. The lack of LTP in WKY rats was associated with a significant reduction of NMDA receptors containing NR2A subunits in the PL cortex. Thus, dysfunction in amygdala-PFC plasticity is innate in anxiety vulnerable rats and may promote extinction-resistant avoidance by disrupting communication between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
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Song C, Ehlers VL, Moyer JR. Trace Fear Conditioning Differentially Modulates Intrinsic Excitability of Medial Prefrontal Cortex-Basolateral Complex of Amygdala Projection Neurons in Infralimbic and Prelimbic Cortices. J Neurosci 2015; 35:13511-24. [PMID: 26424895 PMCID: PMC4588614 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2329-15.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal activity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for the formation of trace fear memory, yet the cellular mechanisms underlying these memories remain unclear. One possibility involves the modulation of intrinsic excitability within mPFC neurons that project to the basolateral complex of amygdala (BLA). The current study used a combination of retrograde labeling and in vitro whole-cell patch-clamp recordings to examine the effect of trace fear conditioning on the intrinsic excitability of layer 5 mPFC-BLA projection neurons in adult rats. Trace fear conditioning significantly enhanced the intrinsic excitability of regular spiking infralimbic (IL) projection neurons, as evidenced by an increase in the number of action potentials after current injection. These changes were also associated with a reduction in spike threshold and an increase in h current. In contrast, trace fear conditioning reduced the excitability of regular spiking prelimbic (PL) projection neurons, through a learning-related decrease of input resistance. Interestingly, the amount of conditioned freezing was (1) positively correlated with excitability of IL-BLA projection neurons after conditioning and (2) negatively correlated with excitability of PL-BLA projection neurons after extinction. Trace fear conditioning also significantly enhanced the excitability of burst spiking PL-BLA projection neurons. In both regions, conditioning-induced plasticity was learning specific (observed in conditioned but not in pseudoconditioned rats), flexible (reversed by extinction), and transient (lasted <10 d). Together, these data suggest that intrinsic plasticity within mPFC-BLA projection neurons occurs in a subregion- and cell-type-specific manner during acquisition, consolidation, and extinction of trace fear conditioning. Significance statement: Frontal lobe-related function is vital for a variety of important behaviors, some of which decline during aging. This study involves a novel combination of electrophysiological recordings from fluorescently labeled mPFC-to-amygdala projection neurons in rats with acquisition and extinction of trace fear conditioning to determine how specific neurons change during behavior. This is the first study to demonstrate that trace fear conditioning significantly alters the intrinsic excitability of mPFC-to-amygdala projection neurons in a subregion- and cell-type-specific manner, which is also transient and reversed by extinction. These data are of broad interest to the neuroscientific community, and the results will inspire additional studies investigating the cellular mechanisms underlying circuit-specific changes within the brain as a result of associative learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - James R Moyer
- Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
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Eckstein M, Becker B, Scheele D, Scholz C, Preckel K, Schlaepfer TE, Grinevich V, Kendrick KM, Maier W, Hurlemann R. Oxytocin facilitates the extinction of conditioned fear in humans. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 78:194-202. [PMID: 25542304 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Revised: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current neurocircuitry models of anxiety disorders posit a lack of inhibitory tone in the amygdala during acquisition of Pavlovian fear responses and deficient encoding of extinction responses in amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuits. Competition between these two responses often results in a return of fear, limiting control over anxiety. However, one hypothesis holds that a pharmacologic strategy aimed at reducing amygdala activity while simultaneously augmenting medial prefrontal cortex function could facilitate the extinction of conditioned fear. METHODS Key among the endogenous inhibitors of amygdala activity in response to social fear signals is the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin. To address the question whether oxytocin can strengthen Pavlovian extinction beyond its role in controlling social fear, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment with 62 healthy male participants in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled design. Specifically, subjects were exposed to a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm before receiving an intranasal dose (24 IU) of synthetic oxytocin or placebo. RESULTS Oxytocin, when administered intranasally after Pavlovian fear conditioning, was found to increase electrodermal responses and prefrontal cortex signals to conditioned fear in the early phase of extinction and to enhance the decline of skin conductance responses in the late phase of extinction. Oxytocin also evoked an unspecific inhibition of amygdalar responses in both phases. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our findings identify oxytocin as a differentially acting modulator of neural hubs involved in Pavlovian extinction. This specific profile of oxytocin action may open up new avenues for enhancing extinction-based therapies for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Eckstein
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Dirk Scheele
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Claudia Scholz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Katrin Preckel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Thomas E Schlaepfer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Departments of Psychiatry and Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Keith M Kendrick
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science & Technology, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Wolfgang Maier
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany
| | - René Hurlemann
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.; Division of Medical Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany..
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Schayek R, Maroun M. Differences in stress-induced changes in extinction and prefrontal plasticity in postweanling and adult animals. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 78:159-66. [PMID: 25434484 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Revised: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Postweaning is a critical developmental stage during which the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) undergoes major changes and the brain is vulnerable to the effects of stress. Surprisingly, the engagement of the mPFC in extinction of fear was reported to be identical in postweanling (PW) and adult animals. Here, we examined whether the effect of stress on extinction and mPFC plasticity would be similar in PW and adult animals. METHODS PW and adult animals were fear conditioned and exposed to the elevated platform stress paradigm, and extinction and long-term potentiation were examined. The dependency of stress-induced modulation of extinction and plasticity on N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors was examined as well. RESULTS We show that exposure to stress is associated with reduction of fear and enhanced induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in PW pups, in contrast to its effects in adult animals. Furthermore, we report opposite effects in the occlusion of LTP following the enhanced or impaired extinction in the two age groups and that the reversal of the effects of stress is independent of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation in PW animals. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that qualitatively different mechanisms control the modulatory effects of stress on extinction and plasticity in postweanling pups compared with adult rats. Our results point to significant differences between young and adult brains, which may have potential implications for the treatment of anxiety and stress disorders across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Schayek
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa Israel
| | - Mouna Maroun
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa Israel..
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Hitora-Imamura N, Miura Y, Teshirogi C, Ikegaya Y, Matsuki N, Nomura H. Prefrontal dopamine regulates fear reinstatement through the downregulation of extinction circuits. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26226637 PMCID: PMC4547090 DOI: 10.7554/elife.08274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Prevention of relapses is a major challenge in treating anxiety disorders. Fear reinstatement can cause relapse in spite of successful fear reduction through extinction-based exposure therapy. By utilising a contextual fear-conditioning task in mice, we found that reinstatement was accompanied by decreased c-Fos expression in the infralimbic cortex (IL) with reduction of synaptic input and enhanced c-Fos expression in the medial subdivision of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeM). Moreover, we found that IL dopamine plays a key role in reinstatement. A reinstatement-inducing reminder shock induced c-Fos expression in the IL-projecting dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area, and the blocking of IL D1 signalling prevented reduction of synaptic input, CeM c-Fos expression, and fear reinstatement. These findings demonstrate that a dopamine-dependent inactivation of extinction circuits underlies fear reinstatement and may explain the comorbidity of substance use disorders and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natsuko Hitora-Imamura
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuki Miura
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chie Teshirogi
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuji Ikegaya
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Norio Matsuki
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nomura
- Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Muhie S, Gautam A, Meyerhoff J, Chakraborty N, Hammamieh R, Jett M. Brain transcriptome profiles in mouse model simulating features of post-traumatic stress disorder. Mol Brain 2015; 8:14. [PMID: 25888136 PMCID: PMC4359441 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-015-0104-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 02/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Social-stress mouse model, based on the resident-intruder paradigm was used to simulate features of human post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The model involved exposure of an intruder (subject) mouse to a resident aggressor mouse followed by exposure to trauma reminders with rest periods. C57BL/6 mice exposed to SJL aggressor mice exhibited behaviors suggested as PTSD-in-mouse phenotypes: intermittent freezing, reduced locomotion, avoidance of the aggressor-associated cue and apparent startled jumping. Brain tissues (amygdala, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, septal region, corpus striatum and ventral striatum) from subject (aggressor exposed: Agg-E) and control C57BL/6 mice were collected at one, 10 and 42 days post aggressor exposure sessions. Transcripts in these brain regions were assayed using Agilent’s mouse genome-wide arrays. Results Pathways and biological processes associated with differentially regulated genes were mainly those thought to be involved in fear-related behavioral responses and neuronal signaling. Expression-based assessments of activation patterns showed increased activations of pathways related to anxiety disorders (hyperactivity and fear responses), impaired cognition, mood disorders, circadian rhythm disruption, and impaired territorial and aggressive behaviors. In amygdala, activations of these pathways were more pronounced at earlier time-points, with some attenuation after longer rest periods. In hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex, activation patterns were observed at later time points. Signaling pathways associated with PTSD-comorbid conditions, such as diabetes, metabolic disorder, inflammation and cardiac infarction, were also significantly enriched. In contrast, signaling processes related to neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity were inhibited. Conclusions Our data suggests activations of behavioral responses associated with anxiety disorders as well as inhibition of neuronal signaling pathways important for neurogenesis, cognition and extinction of fear memory. These pathways along with comorbid-related signaling pathways indicate the pervasive and multisystem effects of aggressor exposure in mice, potentially mirroring the pathologic conditions of PTSD patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13041-015-0104-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seid Muhie
- Advanced Biomedical Computing Center, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA. .,Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
| | - Aarti Gautam
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
| | - James Meyerhoff
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
| | - Nabarun Chakraborty
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
| | - Rasha Hammamieh
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
| | - Marti Jett
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702-5010, USA.
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Peña DF, Childs JE, Willett S, Vital A, McIntyre CK, Kroener S. Vagus nerve stimulation enhances extinction of conditioned fear and modulates plasticity in the pathway from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to the amygdala. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:327. [PMID: 25278857 PMCID: PMC4166996 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 09/02/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Fearful experiences can produce long-lasting and debilitating memories. Extinction of the fear response requires consolidation of new memories that compete with fearful associations. Subjects with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show impaired extinction of conditioned fear, which is associated with decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) control over amygdala activity. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) enhances memory consolidation in both rats and humans, and pairing VNS with exposure to conditioned cues enhances the consolidation of extinction learning in rats. Here we investigated whether pairing VNS with extinction learning facilitates plasticity between the infralimbic (IL) medial prefrontal cortex and the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA). Rats were trained on an auditory fear conditioning task, which was followed by a retention test and 1 day of extinction training. Vagus nerve stimulation or sham-stimulation was administered concurrently with exposure to the fear-conditioned stimulus and retention of fear conditioning was tested again 24 h later. Vagus nerve stimulation-treated rats demonstrated a significant reduction in freezing after a single extinction training session similar to animals that received 5× the number of extinction pairings. To study plasticity in the IL-BLA pathway, we recorded evoked field potentials (EFPs) in the BLA in anesthetized animals 24 h after retention testing. Brief burst stimulation in the IL produced LTD in the BLA field response in fear-conditioned and sham-treated animals. In contrast, the same stimulation resulted in potentiation of the IL-BLA pathway in the VNS-treated group. The present findings suggest that VNS promotes plasticity in the IL-BLA pathway to facilitate extinction of conditioned fear responses (CFRs).
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Affiliation(s)
- David Frausto Peña
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Jessica E Childs
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Shawn Willett
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Analicia Vital
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Christa K McIntyre
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Sven Kroener
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
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Cruz E, López AV, Porter JT. Spontaneous recovery of fear reverses extinction-induced excitability of infralimbic neurons. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103596. [PMID: 25089624 PMCID: PMC4138022 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In rodents, the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex plays a key role in the recall of fear extinction. Previously we showed that fear conditioning decreases the intrinsic excitability of IL neurons, and that fear extinction reverses the depressed excitability. In the current study, we examined the time course of the extinction-induced changes in adolescent rats. Immediately after extinction, IL neurons continued to show depressed excitability. However 4 hours after extinction, IL neurons showed an increase in evoked spikes that correlated with a reduced fast afterhyperpolarizing potential. This suggests that acquisition of fear extinction induces an increase in spike firing 4 hours later, during the consolidation of extinction. We also examined IL excitability in a group of rats that showed spontaneous recovery of fear 17 days after extinction (SR group). Similar to neurons after fear conditioning, IL neurons from the SR group showed depressed intrinsic excitability compared to neurons 4 hours after extinction, suggesting that extinction-induced enhancement in intrinsic excitability decreases with time reverting back to a depressed state. These results suggest that plasticity in IL contributes to the spontaneous recovery of fear and preventing this depression of IL excitability could prolong fear extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Cruz
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - Ana V. López
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - James T. Porter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- * E-mail:
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Bukalo O, Pinard CR, Holmes A. Mechanisms to medicines: elucidating neural and molecular substrates of fear extinction to identify novel treatments for anxiety disorders. Br J Pharmacol 2014; 171:4690-718. [PMID: 24835117 DOI: 10.1111/bph.12779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 04/28/2014] [Accepted: 05/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The burden of anxiety disorders is growing, but the efficacy of available anxiolytic treatments remains inadequate. Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders focuses on identifying and modifying maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving, and has a testable analogue in rodents in the form of fear extinction. A large preclinical literature has amassed in recent years describing the neural and molecular basis of fear extinction in rodents. In this review, we discuss how this work is being harnessed to foster translational research on anxiety disorders and facilitate the search for new anxiolytic treatments. We begin by summarizing the anatomical and functional connectivity of a medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-amygdala circuit that subserves fear extinction, including new insights from optogenetics. We then cover some of the approaches that have been taken to model impaired fear extinction and associated impairments with mPFC-amygdala dysfunction. The principal goal of the review is to evaluate evidence that various neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems mediate fear extinction by modulating the mPFC-amygdala circuitry. To that end, we describe studies that have tested how fear extinction is impaired or facilitated by pharmacological manipulations of dopamine, noradrenaline, 5-HT, GABA, glutamate, neuropeptides, endocannabinoids and various other systems, which either directly target the mPFC-amygdala circuit, or produce behavioural effects that are coincident with functional changes in the circuit. We conclude that there are good grounds to be optimistic that the progress in defining the molecular substrates of mPFC-amygdala circuit function can be effectively leveraged to identify plausible candidates for extinction-promoting therapies for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olena Bukalo
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Hübner C, Bosch D, Gall A, Lüthi A, Ehrlich I. Ex vivo dissection of optogenetically activated mPFC and hippocampal inputs to neurons in the basolateral amygdala: implications for fear and emotional memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:64. [PMID: 24634648 PMCID: PMC3943336 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Many lines of evidence suggest that a reciprocally interconnected network comprising the amygdala, ventral hippocampus (vHC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) participates in different aspects of the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear responses and fear behavior. This could at least in part be mediated by direct connections from mPFC or vHC to amygdala to control amygdala activity and output. However, currently the interactions between mPFC and vHC afferents and their specific targets in the amygdala are still poorly understood. Here, we use an ex-vivo optogenetic approach to dissect synaptic properties of inputs from mPFC and vHC to defined neuronal populations in the basal amygdala (BA), the area that we identify as a major target of these projections. We find that BA principal neurons (PNs) and local BA interneurons (INs) receive monosynaptic excitatory inputs from mPFC and vHC. In addition, both these inputs also recruit GABAergic feedforward inhibition in a substantial fraction of PNs, in some neurons this also comprises a slow GABAB-component. Amongst the innervated PNs we identify neurons that project back to subregions of the mPFC, indicating a loop between neurons in mPFC and BA, and a pathway from vHC to mPFC via BA. Interestingly, mPFC inputs also recruit feedforward inhibition in a fraction of INs, suggesting that these inputs can activate dis-inhibitory circuits in the BA. A general feature of both mPFC and vHC inputs to local INs is that excitatory inputs display faster rise and decay kinetics than in PNs, which would enable temporally precise signaling. However, mPFC and vHC inputs to both PNs and INs differ in their presynaptic release properties, in that vHC inputs are more depressing. In summary, our data describe novel wiring, and features of synaptic connections from mPFC and vHC to amygdala that could help to interpret functions of these interconnected brain areas at the network level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cora Hübner
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany ; Graduate School of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, IMPRS Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Bosch
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Andrea Gall
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Lüthi
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ingrid Ehrlich
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
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Cho JH, Deisseroth K, Bolshakov VY. Synaptic encoding of fear extinction in mPFC-amygdala circuits. Neuron 2013; 80:1491-507. [PMID: 24290204 PMCID: PMC3872173 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 250] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Retrieval of fear extinction memory is associated with increased firing of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). It is unknown, however, how extinction learning-induced changes in mPFC activity are relayed to target structures in the amygdala, resulting in diminished fear responses. Here, we show that fear extinction decreases the efficacy of excitatory synaptic transmission in projections from the mPFC to the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA), whereas inhibitory responses are not altered. In contrast, synaptic strength at direct mPFC inputs to intercalated neurons remains unchanged after extinction. Moreover, priming stimulation of mPFC projections induced heterosynaptic inhibition in auditory cortical inputs to the BLA. These synaptic mechanisms could contribute to the encoding of extinction memory by diminishing the ability of projections from the mPFC to drive BLA activity while retaining the ability of intercalated neurons to inhibit the output nuclei of the amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Hyeong Cho
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Vadim Y Bolshakov
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
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48
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Oxytocinergic manipulations in corticolimbic circuit differentially affect fear acquisition and extinction. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38:2184-95. [PMID: 24034713 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2012] [Revised: 04/06/2013] [Accepted: 04/08/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The oxytocinergic system promotes social behavior and reduces anxiety. The significant roles and functional interactions of the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in the regulation of fear provide a unique experimental setting to examine the effects of oxytocin on extinction of fear. In this study we manipulated the oxytocin system at different time points in either the infralimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex (IL-mPFC), the basolateral amygadala (BLA) or in the central amygdala (CeA). Manipulations of the oxytocin following retrieval of fear in the IL-mPFC resulted in facilitation of subsequent extinction. In contrast, in the BLA, manipulating the oxytocinergic system after the retrieval of fear was associated with contrasting effects; whereas the microinjection of exogenous synthetic oxytocin was associated with impaired extinction, the microinfusion of WAY-267474 facilitated extinction. In contrast, intra-BLA microinfusion of the selective agonist TGOT did not affect freezing. Oxytocin manipulations in the CeA had no effect on subsequent extinction. Contrasting effects were also found when the drugs were injected before conditioning. Whereas oxytocin manipulations in the BLA enhanced fear and impaired extinction, in the CeA the microinfusion of the selective agonists (WAY-267474 and TGOT), but not synthetic oxytocin, resulted in reduced freezing levels. These results show that in the rat, the oxytocinergic system differentially regulated fear and extinction in region and temporal-dependent manners and further join data to show that contrary to the prevailing belief that oxytocin is solely involved in reducing fear, oxytocin can also act as an enhancer of fear responses.
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Courtin J, Karalis N, Gonzalez-Campo C, Wurtz H, Herry C. Persistence of amygdala gamma oscillations during extinction learning predicts spontaneous fear recovery. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 113:82-9. [PMID: 24091205 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Revised: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 09/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Extinction of auditory fear conditioning induces a temporary inhibition of conditioned fear responses that can spontaneously reappear with the passage of time. Several lines of evidence indicate that extinction learning relies on the recruitment of specific neuronal populations within the basolateral amygdala. In contrast, post-extinction spontaneous fear recovery is thought to result from deficits in the consolidation of extinction memory within prefrontal neuronal circuits. Interestingly, recent data indicates that the strength of gamma oscillations in the basolateral amygdala during auditory fear conditioning correlates with retrieval of conditioned fear responses. In the present manuscript we evaluated the hypothesis that post-extinction spontaneous fear recovery might depend on the maintenance of gamma oscillations within the basolateral amygdala by using single unit and local field potential recordings in behaving mice. Our results indicate that gamma oscillations in the basolateral amygdala were enhanced following fear conditioning, whereas during extinction learning gamma profiles were more heterogeneous despite similar extinction learning rates. Remarkably, variations in the strength of gamma power within the basolateral amygdala between early and late stages of extinction linearly predicted the level of post-extinction spontaneous fear recovery. These data suggest that maintenance of gamma oscillations in the basolateral amygdala during extinction learning is a strong predictive factor of long term spontaneous fear recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Courtin
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France
| | - N Karalis
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France
| | - C Gonzalez-Campo
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France
| | - H Wurtz
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France
| | - C Herry
- INSERM, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France; Univ. Bordeaux, Neurocentre Magendie, U862, 146 Rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux, France.
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Rossato JI, Radiske A, Kohler CA, Gonzalez C, Bevilaqua LR, Medina JH, Cammarota M. Consolidation of object recognition memory requires simultaneous activation of dopamine D1/D5 receptors in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex but not in the hippocampus. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2013; 106:66-70. [PMID: 23891712 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Revised: 06/26/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system includes the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and its projections to the amygdala (AMY), the hippocampus (HIP) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), among others. Object recognition (OR) long-term memory (LTM) processing requires dopaminergic activity but, although some of the brain regions mentioned above are necessary for OR LTM consolidation, their possible dopamine-mediated interplay remains to be analyzed. Using adult male Wistar rats, we found that posttraining microinjection of the dopamine D1/D5 receptor antagonist SCH23390 in mPFC or AMY, but not in HIP, impaired OR LTM. The dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole had no effect on retention. VTA inactivation also hindered OR LTM, and even though this effect was unaffected by co-infusion of the dopamine D1/D5 receptor agonist SKF38393 in HIP, mPFC or AMY alone, it was reversed by simultaneous activation of D1/D5 receptors in the last two regions. Our results demonstrate that the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system is indeed essential for OR LTM consolidation and suggest that the role played by some of its components during this process is much more complex than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine I Rossato
- Memory Research Laboratory, Brain Institute (ICe), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN 59056-450, Brazil; Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Biomedical Research Institute, Porto Alegre, RS 90610-000, Brazil
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