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Mark JI, Riddle J, Gangwani R, Huang B, Fröhlich F, Cassidy JM. Cross-Frequency Coupling as a Biomarker for Early Stroke Recovery. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2024; 38:506-517. [PMID: 38842027 PMCID: PMC11179969 DOI: 10.1177/15459683241257523] [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: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The application of neuroimaging-based biomarkers in stroke has enriched our understanding of post-stroke recovery mechanisms, including alterations in functional connectivity based on synchronous oscillatory activity across various cortical regions. Phase-amplitude coupling, a type of cross-frequency coupling, may provide additional mechanistic insight. OBJECTIVE To determine how the phase of prefrontal cortex delta (1-3 Hz) oscillatory activity mediates the amplitude of motor cortex beta (13-20 Hz) oscillations in individual's early post-stroke. METHODS Participants admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility completed resting and task-based EEG recordings and motor assessments around the time of admission and discharge along with structural neuroimaging. Unimpaired controls completed EEG procedures during a single visit. Mixed-effects linear models were performed to assess within- and between-group differences in delta-beta prefrontomotor coupling. Associations between coupling and motor status and injury were also determined. RESULTS Thirty individuals with stroke and 17 unimpaired controls participated. Coupling was greater during task versus rest conditions for all participants. Though coupling during affected extremity task performance decreased during hospitalization, coupling remained elevated at discharge compared to controls. Greater baseline coupling was associated with better motor status at admission and discharge and positively related to motor recovery. Coupling demonstrated both positive and negative associations with injury involving measures of lesion volume and overlap injury to anterior thalamic radiation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This work highlights the utility of prefrontomotor cross-frequency coupling as a potential motor status and recovery biomarker in stroke. The frequency- and region-specific neurocircuitry featured in this work may also facilitate novel treatment strategies in stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper I. Mark
- Human Movement Science Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Justin Riddle
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Rachana Gangwani
- Human Movement Science Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin Huang
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Flavio Fröhlich
- Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jessica M. Cassidy
- Department of Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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2
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Cheung H, Yu TZ, Yi X, Wu YJ, Wang Q, Gu X, Xu M, Cai M, Wen W, Li XN, Liu YX, Sun Y, Zheng J, Xu TL, Luo Y, Zhang MZ, Li WG. An ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine in thalamic nucleus reuniens undermines fear extinction via intermediation of hippocamposeptal circuits. Commun Biol 2024; 7:728. [PMID: 38877285 PMCID: PMC11178775 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06417-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Benzodiazepines, commonly used for anxiolytics, hinder conditioned fear extinction, and the underlying circuit mechanisms are unclear. Utilizing remimazolam, an ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine, here we reveal its impact on the thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) and interconnected hippocamposeptal circuits during fear extinction. Systemic or RE-specific administration of remimazolam impedes fear extinction by reducing RE activation through A type GABA receptors. Remimazolam enhances long-range GABAergic inhibition from lateral septum (LS) to RE, underlying the compromised fear extinction. RE projects to ventral hippocampus (vHPC), which in turn sends projections characterized by feed-forward inhibition to the GABAergic neurons of the LS. This is coupled with long-range GABAergic projections from the LS to RE, collectively constituting an overall positive feedback circuit construct that promotes fear extinction. RE-specific remimazolam negates the facilitation of fear extinction by disrupting this circuit. Thus, remimazolam in RE disrupts fear extinction caused by hippocamposeptal intermediation, offering mechanistic insights for the dilemma of combining anxiolytics with extinction-based exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoiyin Cheung
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
- Department of Anesthesiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Tong-Zhou Yu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xin Yi
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yan-Jiao Wu
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Xue Gu
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Miao Xu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Meihua Cai
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Wen Wen
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Xin-Ni Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ying-Xiao Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ying Sun
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Jijian Zheng
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Tian-Le Xu
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
- Songjiang Hospital and Songjiang Research Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emotions and Affective Disorders, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 201600, China
| | - Yan Luo
- Department of Anesthesiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China.
| | - Ma-Zhong Zhang
- Center for Brain Science, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China.
| | - Wei-Guang Li
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China.
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Institute for Translational Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and Ministry of Education Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory for Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, China.
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3
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Abbaspoor S, Hoffman KL. Circuit dynamics of superficial and deep CA1 pyramidal cells and inhibitory cells in freely-moving macaques. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.06.570369. [PMID: 38106053 PMCID: PMC10723348 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.06.570369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Diverse neuron classes in hippocampal CA1 have been identified through the heterogeneity of their cellular/molecular composition. How these classes relate to hippocampal function and the network dynamics that support cognition in primates remains unclear. Here we report inhibitory functional cell groups in CA1 of freely-moving macaques whose diverse response profiles to network states and each other suggest distinct and specific roles in the functional microcircuit of CA1. In addition, pyramidal cells that were segregated into superficial and deep layers differed in firing rate, burstiness, and sharp-wave ripple-associated firing. They also showed strata-specific spike-timing interactions with inhibitory cell groups, suggestive of segregated neural populations. Furthermore, ensemble recordings revealed that cell assemblies were preferentially organized according to these strata. These results suggest sublayer-specific circuit organization in hippocampal CA1 of the freely-moving macaques that may underlie its role in cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Abbaspoor
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - K L Hoffman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
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4
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Panzer E, Boch L, Cosquer B, Grgurina I, Boutillier AL, de Vasconcelos AP, Stephan A, Cassel JC. Disconnecting prefrontal cortical neurons from the ventral midline thalamus: Loss of specificity due to progressive neural toxicity of an AAV-Cre in the rat thalamus. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 405:110080. [PMID: 38369027 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110080] [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: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The thalamic reuniens (Re) and rhomboid (Rh) nuclei are bidirectionally connected with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (Hip). Fiber-sparing N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions of the ReRh disrupt cognitive functions, including persistence of certain memories. Because such lesions irremediably damage neurons interconnecting the ReRh with the mPFC and the Hip, it is impossible to know if one or both pathways contribute to memory persistence. Addressing such an issue requires selective, pathway-restricted and direction-specific disconnections. NEW METHOD A recent method associates a retrograde adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing Cre recombinase with an anterograde AAV expressing a Cre-dependent caspase, making such disconnection feasible by caspase-triggered apoptosis when both constructs meet intracellularly. We injected an AAVrg-Cre-GFP into the ReRh and an AAV5-taCasp into the mPFC. As expected, part of mPFC neurons died, but massive neurotoxicity of the AAVrg-Cre-GFP was found in ReRh, contrasting with normal density of DAPI staining. Other stainings demonstrated increasing density of reactive astrocytes and microglia in the neurodegeneration site. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Reducing the viral titer (by a 4-fold dilution) and injection volume (to half) attenuated toxicity substantially, still with evidence for partial disconnection between mPFC and ReRh. CONCLUSIONS There is an imperative need to verify potential collateral damage inherent in this type of approach, which is likely to distort interpretation of experimental data. Therefore, controls allowing to distinguish collateral phenotypic effects from those linked to the desired disconnection is essential. It is also crucial to know for how long neurons expressing the Cre-GFP protein remain operational post-infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Panzer
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Laurine Boch
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Brigitte Cosquer
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Iris Grgurina
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Anne-Laurence Boutillier
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Aline Stephan
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France.
| | - Jean-Christophe Cassel
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, Strasbourg F-67000, France.
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5
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Lundqvist M, Miller EK, Nordmark J, Liljefors J, Herman P. Beta: bursts of cognition. Trends Cogn Sci 2024:S1364-6613(24)00077-9. [PMID: 38658218 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.03.010] [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: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Beta oscillations are linked to the control of goal-directed processing of sensory information and the timing of motor output. Recent evidence demonstrates they are not sustained but organized into intermittent high-power bursts mediating timely functional inhibition. This implies there is a considerable moment-to-moment variation in the neural dynamics supporting cognition. Beta bursts thus offer new opportunities for studying how sensory inputs are selectively processed, reshaped by inhibitory cognitive operations and ultimately result in motor actions. Recent method advances reveal diversity in beta bursts that provide deeper insights into their function and the underlying neural circuit activity motifs. We propose that brain-wide, spatiotemporal patterns of beta bursting reflect various cognitive operations and that their dynamics reveal nonlinear aspects of cortical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Lundqvist
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden; The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Earl K Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jonatan Nordmark
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Johan Liljefors
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Pawel Herman
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Digital Futures, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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6
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Yadav N, Toader A, Rajasethupathy P. Beyond hippocampus: Thalamic and prefrontal contributions to an evolving memory. Neuron 2024; 112:1045-1059. [PMID: 38272026 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The hippocampus has long been at the center of memory research, and rightfully so. However, with emerging technological capabilities, we can increasingly appreciate memory as a more dynamic and brain-wide process. In this perspective, our goal is to begin developing models to understand the gradual evolution, reorganization, and stabilization of memories across the brain after their initial formation in the hippocampus. By synthesizing studies across the rodent and human literature, we suggest that as memory representations initially form in hippocampus, parallel traces emerge in frontal cortex that cue memory recall, and as they mature, with sustained support initially from limbic then diencephalic then cortical circuits, they become progressively independent of hippocampus and dependent on a mature cortical representation. A key feature of this model is that, as time progresses, memory representations are passed on to distinct circuits with progressively longer time constants, providing the opportunity to filter, forget, update, or reorganize memories in the process of committing to long-term storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nakul Yadav
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew Toader
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Priya Rajasethupathy
- Laboratory of Neural Dynamics & Cognition, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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7
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Chen Z, Han Y, Ma Z, Wang X, Xu S, Tang Y, Vyssotski AL, Si B, Zhan Y. A prefrontal-thalamic circuit encodes social information for social recognition. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1036. [PMID: 38310109 PMCID: PMC10838311 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45376-y] [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: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Social recognition encompasses encoding social information and distinguishing unfamiliar from familiar individuals to form social relationships. Although the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to play a role in social behavior, how identity information is processed and by which route it is communicated in the brain remains unclear. Here we report that a ventral midline thalamic area, nucleus reuniens (Re) that has reciprocal connections with the mPFC, is critical for social recognition in male mice. In vivo single-unit recordings and decoding analysis reveal that neural populations in both mPFC and Re represent different social stimuli, however, mPFC coding capacity is stronger. We demonstrate that chemogenetic inhibitions of Re impair the mPFC-Re neural synchronization and the mPFC social coding. Projection pathway-specific inhibitions by optogenetics reveal that the reciprocal connectivity between the mPFC and the Re is necessary for social recognition. These results reveal an mPFC-thalamic circuit for social information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihao Chen
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yechao Han
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zheng Ma
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xinnian Wang
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Surui Xu
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yong Tang
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Alexei L Vyssotski
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bailu Si
- School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Zhan
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
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8
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Plas SL, Tuna T, Bayer H, Juliano VAL, Sweck SO, Arellano Perez AD, Hassell JE, Maren S. Neural circuits for the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1352797. [PMID: 38370858 PMCID: PMC10869525 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1352797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The regulation of fear memories is critical for adaptive behaviors and dysregulation of these processes is implicated in trauma- and stress-related disorders. Treatments for these disorders include pharmacological interventions as well as exposure-based therapies, which rely upon extinction learning. Considerable attention has been directed toward elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying fear and extinction learning. In this review, we will discuss historic discoveries and emerging evidence on the neural mechanisms of the adaptive regulation of fear and extinction memories. We will focus on neural circuits regulating the acquisition and extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning in rodent models, particularly the role of the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the contextual control of extinguished fear memories. We will also consider new work revealing an important role for the thalamic nucleus reuniens in the modulation of prefrontal-hippocampal interactions in extinction learning and memory. Finally, we will explore the effects of stress on this circuit and the clinical implications of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L. Plas
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Tuğçe Tuna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Hugo Bayer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Vitor A. L. Juliano
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Samantha O. Sweck
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Angel D. Arellano Perez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - James E. Hassell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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9
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Ratigan HC, Krishnan S, Smith S, Sheffield MEJ. A thalamic-hippocampal CA1 signal for contextual fear memory suppression, extinction, and discrimination. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6758. [PMID: 37875465 PMCID: PMC10598272 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42429-6] [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: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The adaptive regulation of fear memories is a crucial neural function that prevents inappropriate fear expression. Fear memories can be acquired through contextual fear conditioning (CFC) which relies on the hippocampus. The thalamic nucleus reuniens (NR) is necessary to extinguish contextual fear and innervates hippocampal CA1. However, the role of the NR-CA1 pathway in contextual fear is unknown. We developed a head-restrained virtual reality CFC paradigm, and demonstrate that mice can acquire and extinguish context-dependent fear responses. We found that inhibiting the NR-CA1 pathway following CFC lengthens the duration of fearful freezing epochs, increases fear generalization, and delays fear extinction. Using in vivo imaging, we recorded NR-axons innervating CA1 and found that NR-axons become tuned to fearful freezing following CFC. We conclude that the NR-CA1 pathway actively suppresses fear by disrupting contextual fear memory retrieval in CA1 during fearful freezing behavior, a process that also reduces fear generalization and accelerates extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather C Ratigan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
| | - Seetha Krishnan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
| | - Shai Smith
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
- Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA
| | - Mark E J Sheffield
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA.
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA.
- Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60615, USA.
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10
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Kuang J, Kafetzopoulos V, Deth R, Kocsis B. Dopamine D4 Receptor Agonist Drastically Increases Delta Activity in the Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens: Potential Role in Communication between Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15289. [PMID: 37894968 PMCID: PMC10607171 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015289] [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: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Network oscillations are essential for all cognitive functions. Oscillatory deficits are well established in psychiatric diseases and are recapitulated in animal models. They are significantly and specifically affected by pharmacological interventions using psychoactive compounds. Dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) activation was shown to enhance gamma rhythm in freely moving rats and to specifically affect slow delta and theta oscillations in the urethane-anesthetized rat model. The goal of this study was to test the effect of D4R activation on slow network oscillations at delta and theta frequencies during wake states, potentially supporting enhanced functional connectivity during dopamine-induced attention and cognitive processing. Network activity was recorded in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC) and nucleus reuniens (RE) in control conditions and after injecting the D4R agonist A-412997 (3 and 5 mg/kg; systemic administration). We found that A-412997 elicited a lasting (~40 min) wake state and drastically enhanced narrow-band delta oscillations in the PFC and RE in a dose-dependent manner. It also preferentially enhanced delta synchrony over theta coupling within the PFC-RE-HC circuit, strongly strengthening PFC-RE coupling. Thus, our findings indicate that the D4R may contribute to cognitive processes, at least in part, through acting on wake delta oscillations and that the RE, providing an essential link between the PFC and HC, plays a prominent role in this mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Kuang
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
| | - V. Kafetzopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Richard Deth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA;
| | - B. Kocsis
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
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Totty MS, Tuna T, Ramanathan KR, Jin J, Peters SE, Maren S. Thalamic nucleus reuniens coordinates prefrontal-hippocampal synchrony to suppress extinguished fear. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6565. [PMID: 37848425 PMCID: PMC10582091 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42315-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic events result in vivid and enduring fear memories. Suppressing the retrieval of these memories is central to behavioral therapies for pathological fear. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HPC) have been implicated in retrieval suppression, but how mPFC-HPC activity is coordinated during extinction retrieval is unclear. Here we show that after extinction training, coherent theta oscillations (6-9 Hz) in the HPC and mPFC are correlated with the suppression of conditioned freezing in male and female rats. Inactivation of the nucleus reuniens (RE), a thalamic hub interconnecting the mPFC and HPC, reduces extinction-related Fos expression in both the mPFC and HPC, dampens mPFC-HPC theta coherence, and impairs extinction retrieval. Conversely, theta-paced optogenetic stimulation of RE augments fear suppression and reduces relapse of extinguished fear. Collectively, these results demonstrate a role for RE in coordinating mPFC-HPC interactions to suppress fear memories after extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Totty
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Tuğçe Tuna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Karthik R Ramanathan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Jingji Jin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Shaun E Peters
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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de Mooij-van Malsen JG, Röhrdanz N, Buschhoff AS, Schiffelholz T, Sigurdsson T, Wulff P. Task-specific oscillatory synchronization of prefrontal cortex, nucleus reuniens, and hippocampus during working memory. iScience 2023; 26:107532. [PMID: 37636046 PMCID: PMC10450413 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory requires maintenance of and executive control over task-relevant information on a timescale of seconds. Spatial working memory depends on interactions between hippocampus, for the representation of space, and prefrontal cortex, for executive control. A monosynaptic hippocampal projection to the prefrontal cortex has been proposed to serve this interaction. However, connectivity and inactivation experiments indicate a critical role of the nucleus reuniens in hippocampal-prefrontal communication. We have investigated the dynamics of oscillatory coherence throughout the prefrontal-hippocampal-reuniens network in a touchscreen-based working memory task. We found that coherence at distinct frequencies evolved depending on phase and difficulty of the task. During choice, the reuniens did not participate in enhanced prefrontal-hippocampal theta but in gamma coherence. Strikingly, the reuniens was strongly embedded in performance-related increases in beta coherence, suggesting the execution of top-down control. In addition, we show that during working memory maintenance the prefrontal-hippocampal-reuniens network displays performance-related delay activity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Niels Röhrdanz
- Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Schiffelholz
- Center of Integrative Psychiatry, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Torfi Sigurdsson
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Neuroscience Center, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Peer Wulff
- Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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