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Basu A, Yang JH, Yu A, Glaeser-Khan S, Rondeau JA, Feng J, Krystal JH, Li Y, Kaye AP. Frontal Norepinephrine Represents a Threat Prediction Error Under Uncertainty. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 96:256-267. [PMID: 38316333 PMCID: PMC11269024 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To adapt to threats in the environment, animals must predict them and engage in defensive behavior. While the representation of a prediction error signal for reward has been linked to dopamine, a neuromodulatory prediction error for aversive learning has not been identified. METHODS We measured and manipulated norepinephrine release during threat learning using optogenetics and a novel fluorescent norepinephrine sensor. RESULTS We found that norepinephrine response to conditioned stimuli reflects aversive memory strength. When delays between auditory stimuli and footshock are introduced, norepinephrine acts as a prediction error signal. However, temporal difference prediction errors do not fully explain norepinephrine dynamics. To explain noradrenergic signaling, we used an updated reinforcement learning model with uncertainty about time and found that it explained norepinephrine dynamics across learning and variations in temporal and auditory task structure. CONCLUSIONS Norepinephrine thus combines cognitive and affective information into a predictive signal and links time with the anticipation of danger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aakash Basu
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jen-Hau Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Abigail Yu
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Jocelyne A Rondeau
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jiesi Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - John H Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Clinical Neuroscience Division, Veterans Administration National Center for PTSD, West Haven, Connecticut
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China; Peking University-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Alfred P Kaye
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Clinical Neuroscience Division, Veterans Administration National Center for PTSD, West Haven, Connecticut; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
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Yu WL, Zhang Z, Zamponi GW. Spared nerve injury leads to reduced activity of neurons projecting from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to the locus coeruleus. Mol Brain 2024; 17:46. [PMID: 39049098 PMCID: PMC11267953 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-024-01121-6] [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: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) serves as a central hub for descending pain modulation. It receives upstream projections from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC), and projects downstream to the locus coeruleus (LC) and the rostroventral medulla (RVM). While much research has focused on upstream circuits and the LC-RVM connection, less is known about the PAG-LC circuit and its involvement in neuropathic pain. Here we examined the intrinsic electrophysiological properties of vlPAG-LC projecting neurons in Sham and spared nerve injury (SNI) operated mice. Injection of the retrotracer Cholera Toxin Subunit B (CTB-488) into the LC allowed the identification of LC-projecting neurons in the vlPAG. Electrophysiological recordings from CTB-488 positive cells revealed that both GABAergic and glutamatergic cells that project to the LC exhibited reduced intrinsic excitability after peripheral nerve injury. By contrast, CTB-488 negative cells did not exhibit alterations in firing properties after SNI surgery. An SNI-induced reduction of LC projecting cells was confirmed with c-fos labeling. Hence, SNI induces plasticity changes in the vlPAG that are consistent with a reduction in the descending modulation of pain signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wing Lam Yu
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cuming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive, Calgary, T2N4N1, Canada
| | - Zizhen Zhang
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cuming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive, Calgary, T2N4N1, Canada
| | - Gerald W Zamponi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cuming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive, Calgary, T2N4N1, Canada.
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3
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Harding EK, Zhang Z, Canet-Pons J, Stokes-Heck S, Trang T, Zamponi GW. Expression of GAD2 in excitatory neurons projecting from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to the locus coeruleus. iScience 2024; 27:109972. [PMID: 38868198 PMCID: PMC11166693 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) functionally projects to diverse brain regions, including the locus coeruleus (LC). Excitatory projections from the vlPAG to the LC are well described, while few studies have indicated the possibility of inhibitory projections. Here, we quantified the relative proportion of excitatory and inhibitory vlPAG-LC projections in male and female mice, and found an unexpected overlapping population of neurons expressing both GAD2 and VGLUT2. Combined in vitro optogenetic stimulation and electrophysiology of LC neurons revealed that vlPAG neurons expressing channelrhodopsin-2 under the GAD2 promoter release both GABA and glutamate. Subsequent experiments identified a population of GAD2+/VGLUT2+ vlPAG neurons exclusively releasing glutamate onto LC neurons. Altogether, we demonstrate that ∼25% of vlPAG-LC projections are inhibitory, and that there is a significant GAD2 expressing population of glutamatergic projections. Our findings have broad implications for the utility of GAD2-Cre lines within midbrain and brainstem regions, and especially within the PAG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika K. Harding
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Zizhen Zhang
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Julia Canet-Pons
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sierra Stokes-Heck
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Tuan Trang
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Gerald W. Zamponi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
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Ahlbrand R, Wilson A, Woller P, Sachdeva Y, Lai J, Davis N, Wiggins J, Sah R. Sex-specific threat responding and neuronal engagement in carbon dioxide associated fear and extinction: Noradrenergic involvement in female mice. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 30:100617. [PMID: 38433995 PMCID: PMC10907837 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Difficulty in appropriately responding to threats is a key feature of psychiatric disorders, especially fear-related conditions such as panic disorder (PD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most prior work on threat and fear regulation involves exposure to external threatful cues. However, fear can also be triggered by aversive, within-the-body, sensations. This interoceptive signaling of fear is highly relevant to PD and PTSD but is not well understood, especially in the context of sex. Using female and male mice, the current study investigated fear-associated spontaneous and conditioned behaviors to carbon dioxide (CO2) inhalation, a potent interoceptive threat that induces fear and panic. We also investigated whether behavioral sensitivity to CO2 is associated with delayed PTSD-relevant behaviors. CO2 evoked heterogenous freezing behaviors in both male and female animals. However, active, rearing behavior was significantly reduced in CO2-exposed male but not female mice. Interestingly, behavioral sensitivity to CO2 was associated with compromised fear extinction, independent of sex. However, in comparison to CO2-exposed males, females elicited less freezing and higher rearing during extinction suggesting an engagement of active versus passive defensive coping. Persistent neuronal activation marker ΔFosB immuno-mapping revealed attenuated engagement of infralimbic-prefrontal areas in both sexes but higher activation of brain stem locus coeruleus (LC) area in females. Inter-regional co-activation mapping revealed sex-independent disruptions in the infralimbic-amygdala associations but altered LC associations only in CO2-exposed female mice. Lastly, dopamine β hydroxylase positive (DβH + ve) noradrenergic neuronal cell counts in the LC correlated with freezing and rearing behaviors during CO2 inhalation and extinction only in female but not male mice. Collectively, these data provide evidence for higher active defensive responding to interoceptive threat CO2-associated fear in females that may stem from increased recruitment of the brainstem noradrenergic system. Our findings reveal distinct contributory mechanisms that may promote sex differences in fear and panic associated pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Ahlbrand
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, USA
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Allison Wilson
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - Patrick Woller
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - Yuv Sachdeva
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - Jayden Lai
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - Nikki Davis
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - James Wiggins
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, University of Cincinnati, USA
| | - Renu Sah
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, University of Cincinnati, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, USA
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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5
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Grella SL, Donaldson TN. Contextual memory engrams, and the neuromodulatory influence of the locus coeruleus. Front Mol Neurosci 2024; 17:1342622. [PMID: 38375501 PMCID: PMC10875109 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1342622] [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: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Here, we review the basis of contextual memory at a conceptual and cellular level. We begin with an overview of the philosophical foundations of traversing space, followed by theories covering the material bases of contextual representations in the hippocampus (engrams), exploring functional characteristics of the cells and subfields within. Next, we explore various methodological approaches for investigating contextual memory engrams, emphasizing plasticity mechanisms. This leads us to discuss the role of neuromodulatory inputs in governing these dynamic changes. We then outline a recent hypothesis involving noradrenergic and dopaminergic projections from the locus coeruleus (LC) to different subregions of the hippocampus, in sculpting contextual representations, giving a brief description of the neuroanatomical and physiological properties of the LC. Finally, we examine how activity in the LC influences contextual memory processes through synaptic plasticity mechanisms to alter hippocampal engrams. Overall, we find that phasic activation of the LC plays an important role in promoting new learning and altering mnemonic processes at the behavioral and cellular level through the neuromodulatory influence of NE/DA in the hippocampus. These findings may provide insight into mechanisms of hippocampal remapping and memory updating, memory processes that are potentially dysregulated in certain psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L. Grella
- MNEME Lab, Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Tia N. Donaldson
- Systems Neuroscience and Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
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Brosens N, Lesuis SL, Rao-Ruiz P, van den Oever MC, Krugers HJ. Shaping Memories Via Stress: A Synaptic Engram Perspective. Biol Psychiatry 2023:S0006-3223(23)01720-1. [PMID: 37977215 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Stress modulates the activity of various memory systems and can thereby guide behavioral interaction with the environment in an adaptive or maladaptive manner. At the cellular level, a large body of evidence indicates that (nor)adrenaline and glucocorticoid release induced by acute stress exposure affects synapse function and synaptic plasticity, which are critical substrates for learning and memory. Recent evidence suggests that memories are supported in the brain by sparsely distributed neurons within networks, termed engram cell ensembles. While the physiological and molecular effects of stress on the synapse are increasingly well characterized, how these synaptic modifications shape the multiscale dynamics of engram cell ensembles is still poorly understood. In this review, we discuss and integrate recent information on how acute stress affects synapse function and how this may alter engram cell ensembles and their synaptic connectivity to shape memory strength and memory precision. We provide a mechanistic framework of a synaptic engram under stress and put forward outstanding questions that address knowledge gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie stress-induced memory modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niek Brosens
- Brain Plasticity Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Sylvie L Lesuis
- Brain Plasticity Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Cellular and Cognitive Neuroscience group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Priyanka Rao-Ruiz
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Michel C van den Oever
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Harm J Krugers
- Brain Plasticity Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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7
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Tanguay E, Bouchard SJ, Lévesque M, De Koninck P, Breton-Provencher V. Shining light on the noradrenergic system. NEUROPHOTONICS 2023; 10:044406. [PMID: 37766924 PMCID: PMC10519836 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.10.4.044406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of research on the noradrenergic system, our understanding of its impact on brain function and behavior remains incomplete. Traditional recording techniques are challenging to implement for investigating in vivo noradrenergic activity, due to the relatively small size and the position in the brain of the locus coeruleus (LC), the primary location for noradrenergic neurons. However, recent advances in optical and fluorescent methods have enabled researchers to study the LC more effectively. Use of genetically encoded calcium indicators to image the activity of noradrenergic neurons and biosensors that monitor noradrenaline release with fluorescence can be an indispensable tool for studying noradrenergic activity. In this review, we examine how these methods are being applied to record the noradrenergic system in the rodent brain during behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martin Lévesque
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- Université Laval, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Paul De Koninck
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- Université Laval, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Vincent Breton-Provencher
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
- Université Laval, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
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Quintas C, Gonçalves J, Queiroz G. Involvement of P2Y 1, P2Y 6, A 1 and A 2A Receptors in the Purinergic Inhibition of NMDA-Evoked Noradrenaline Release in the Rat Brain Cortex. Cells 2023; 12:1690. [PMID: 37443726 PMCID: PMC10341078 DOI: 10.3390/cells12131690] [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: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In the cerebral cortex, glutamate activates NMDA receptors (NMDARs), localized in noradrenergic neurons, inducing noradrenaline release that may have a permissive effect on glutamatergic transmission, and therefore, on the modulation of long-term plasticity. ATP is co-released with noradrenaline, and with its metabolites (ADP and adenosine) is involved in the purinergic modulation of electrically-evoked noradrenaline release. However, it is not known if noradrenaline release evoked by activation of NMDARs is also under purinergic modulation. The present study aimed to investigate and to characterize the purinergic modulation of noradrenaline release evoked by NMDARs. Stimulation of rat cortical slices with 30 µM NMDA increased noradrenaline release, which was inhibited by ATP upon metabolization into ADP and adenosine and by the selective agonists of A1 and A2A receptors, CPA and CGS2680, respectively. It was also inhibited by UTP and UDP, which are mainly released under pathophysiological situations. Characterization of the effects mediated by these compounds indicated the involvement of P2Y1, P2Y6, A1 and A2A receptors. It is concluded that, in the rat brain cortex, NMDA-evoked noradrenaline release is modulated by several purinergic receptors that may represent a relevant mechanism to regulate the permissive effect of noradrenaline on NMDA-induced neuroplasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jorge Gonçalves
- Mechanistic Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy Unit, UCIBIO-i4HB, Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Drug Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; (C.Q.); (G.Q.)
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Bouras NN, Mack NR, Gao WJ. Prefrontal modulation of anxiety through a lens of noradrenergic signaling. Front Syst Neurosci 2023; 17:1173326. [PMID: 37139472 PMCID: PMC10149815 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1173326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common class of mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million individuals annually. Anxiety is an adaptive response to a stressful or unpredictable life event. Though evolutionarily thought to aid in survival, excess intensity or duration of anxiogenic response can lead to a plethora of adverse symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. A wealth of data has implicated the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in the regulation of anxiety. Norepinephrine (NE) is a crucial neuromodulator of arousal and vigilance believed to be responsible for many of the symptoms of anxiety disorders. NE is synthesized in the locus coeruleus (LC), which sends major noradrenergic inputs to the mPFC. Given the unique properties of LC-mPFC connections and the heterogeneous subpopulation of prefrontal neurons known to be involved in regulating anxiety-like behaviors, NE likely modulates PFC function in a cell-type and circuit-specific manner. In working memory and stress response, NE follows an inverted-U model, where an overly high or low release of NE is associated with sub-optimal neural functioning. In contrast, based on current literature review of the individual contributions of NE and the PFC in anxiety disorders, we propose a model of NE level- and adrenergic receptor-dependent, circuit-specific NE-PFC modulation of anxiety disorders. Further, the advent of new techniques to measure NE in the PFC with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution will significantly help us understand how NE modulates PFC function in anxiety disorders.
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