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Mack NR, Bouras NN, Gao WJ. Prefrontal Regulation of Social Behavior and Related Deficits: Insights From Rodent Studies. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 96:85-94. [PMID: 38490368 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is well known as the executive center of the brain, combining internal states and goals to execute purposeful behavior, including social actions. With the advancement of tools for monitoring and manipulating neural activity in rodents, substantial progress has been made in understanding the specific cell types and neural circuits within the PFC that are essential for processing social cues and influencing social behaviors. Furthermore, combining these tools with translationally relevant behavioral paradigms has also provided novel insights into the PFC neural mechanisms that may contribute to social deficits in various psychiatric disorders. This review highlights findings from the past decade that have shed light on the PFC cell types and neural circuits that support social information processing and distinct aspects of social behavior, including social interactions, social memory, and social dominance. We also explore how the PFC contributes to social deficits in rodents induced by social isolation, social fear conditioning, and social status loss. These studies provide evidence that the PFC uses both overlapping and unique neural mechanisms to support distinct components of social cognition. Furthermore, specific PFC neural mechanisms drive social deficits induced by different contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy R Mack
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
| | - Nadia N Bouras
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Wen-Jun Gao
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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2
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Shemesh Y, Benjamin A, Shoshani-Haye K, Yizhar O, Chen A. Studying dominance and aggression requires ethologically relevant paradigms. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 86:102879. [PMID: 38692167 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102879] [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: 12/24/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Although aggression is associated with several psychiatric disorders, there is no effective treatment nor a rigorous definition for "pathological aggression". Mice make a valuable model for studying aggression. They have a dynamic social structure that depends on the habitat and includes reciprocal interactions between the mice's aggression levels, social dominance hierarchy (SDH), and resource allocation. Nevertheless, the classical behavioral tests for territorial aggression and SDH in mice are reductive and have limited ethological and translational relevance. Recent work has explored the use of semi-natural environments to simultaneously study dominance-related behaviors, resource allocation, and aggressive behavior. Semi-natural setups allow experimental control of the environment combined with manipulations of neural activity. We argue that these setups can help bridge the translational gap in aggression research toward discovering neuronal mechanisms underlying maladaptive aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yair Shemesh
- Department of Brain Sciences and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Asaf Benjamin
- Department of Brain Sciences and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. https://twitter.com/AsafBenj
| | - Keren Shoshani-Haye
- Department of Brain Sciences and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Ofer Yizhar
- Department of Brain Sciences and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. https://twitter.com/OferYizhar
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Brain Sciences and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
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Xu P, Park G, Sun X, Ge Q, Jin Z, Lai CH, Liu X, Liu Q, Simha R, Zeng C, Du J, Lu H. Different emotional states engage distinct descending pathways from the prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.28.596238. [PMID: 38853906 PMCID: PMC11160632 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.28.596238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Emotion regulation, essential for adaptive behavior, depends on the brain's capacity to process a range of emotions. Current research has largely focused on individual emotional circuits without fully exploring how their interaction influences physiological responses or understanding the neural mechanisms that differentiate emotional valence. Using in vivo calcium imaging, electrophysiology, and optogenetics, we examined neural circuit dynamics in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), targeting two key areas: the basal lateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Our results demonstrate distinct activation patterns in the mPFC→BLA and mPFC→NAc pathways in response to social stimuli, indicating a mechanism for discriminating emotions: increased mPFC→BLA activity signals anxiety, while heightened mPFC→NAc responses are linked to exploration. Additionally, chronic emotional states amplify activity in these pathways-positivity enhances mPFC→NAc, while negativity boosts mPFC→BLA. This study sheds light on the nuanced neural circuitry involved in emotion regulation, revealing the pivotal roles of mPFC projections in emotional processing. Identifying these specific circuits engaged by varied emotional states advances our understanding of emotional regulation's biological underpinnings and highlights potential targets for addressing emotional dysregulation in psychiatric conditions. Significance statement While existing circuitry studies have underscored the significance of emotional circuits, the majority of research has concentrated on individual circuits. The assessment of whether and how the balance among multiple circuits influences overall physiological outcomes is often overlooked. This study delves into the neural underpinnings of emotion regulation, focusing on how positive and negative valences are discriminated and managed. By examining the specific pathways from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to key emotional centers-the basal lateral amygdala (BLA) for negative valence and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) for positive one-we uncovered a novel dual-balanced neural circuit mechanism that enables this essential aspect of human cognition.
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Zheng J, Baimoukhametova D, Lebel C, Bains JS, Kurrasch DM. Hypothalamic vasopressin sex differentiation is observed by embryonic day 15 in mice and is disrupted by the xenoestrogen bisphenol A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313207121. [PMID: 38753512 PMCID: PMC11126957 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313207121] [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: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Arginine vasopressin (AVP) neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular region (AVPPVN) mediate sex-biased social behaviors across most species, including mammals. In mice, neural sex differences are thought to be established during a critical window around birth ( embryonic (E) day 18 to postnatal (P) day 2) whereby circulating testosterone from the fetal testis is converted to estrogen in sex-dimorphic brain regions. Here, we found that AVPPVN neurons are sexually dimorphic by E15.5, prior to this critical window, and that gestational bisphenol A (BPA) exposure permanently masculinized female AVPPVN neuronal numbers, projections, and electrophysiological properties, causing them to display male-like phenotypes into adulthood. Moreover, we showed that nearly twice as many neurons that became AVP+ by P0 were born at E11 in males and BPA-exposed females compared to control females, suggesting that AVPPVN neuronal masculinization occurs between E11 and P0. We further narrowed this sensitive period to around the timing of neurogenesis by demonstrating that exogenous estrogen exposure from E14.5 to E15.5 masculinized female AVPPVN neuronal numbers, whereas a pan-estrogen receptor antagonist exposed from E13.5 to E15.5 blocked masculinization of males. Finally, we showed that restricting BPA exposure to E7.5-E15.5 caused adult females to display increased social dominance over control females, consistent with an acquisition of male-like behaviors. Our study reveals an E11.5 to E15.5 window of estrogen sensitivity impacting AVPPVN sex differentiation, which is impacted by prenatal BPA exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zheng
- Department of Medical Genetics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Dinara Baimoukhametova
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Catherine Lebel
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Jaideep S. Bains
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Deborah M. Kurrasch
- Department of Medical Genetics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CalgaryT2N 1N4, Canada
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Grammer J, Valles R, Bowles A, Zelikowsky M. SAUSI: a novel assay for measuring social anxiety and motivation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.13.594023. [PMID: 38798428 PMCID: PMC11118329 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.13.594023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders, though the underlying neurobiology is poorly understood. Progress in understanding the etiology of social anxiety has been hindered by the lack of comprehensive tools to assess social anxiety in model systems. Here, we created a new behavioral task - Selective Access to Unrestricted Social Interaction (SAUSI), which combines elements of social motivation, hesitancy, decision-making, and free interaction to enable the wholistic assessment of social anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Using this novel assay, we found that social isolation-induced social anxiety-like behaviors in female mice are largely driven by increases in social fear, social hesitancy, and altered ultrasonic vocalizations. Deep learning analyses were able to computationally identify a unique behavioral footprint underlying the state produced by social isolation, demonstrating the compatibility of modern computational approaches with SAUSI. Finally, we compared the results of SAUSI to traditionally social assays including the 3-chamber sociability assay and the resident intruder task. This revealed that behavioral changes induced by isolation were highly context dependent, and that while fragments of social anxiety measured in SAUSI were replicable across other tasks, a wholistic assessment was not obtainable from these alternative assays. Our findings debut a novel task for the behavioral toolbox - one which overcomes limitations of previous assays, allowing for both social choice as well as free interaction, and offers a new approach for assessing social anxiety in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Grammer
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, United States
| | - Rene Valles
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, United States
| | - Alexis Bowles
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, United States
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Parvin Z, Jaafari Suha A, Afarinesh MR, Hosseinmardi N, Janahmadi M, Behzadi G. Social hierarchy differentially influences the anxiety-like behaviors and dendritic spine density in prefrontal cortex and limbic areas in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2024; 469:115043. [PMID: 38729219 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115043] [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: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 04/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Social hierarchy is a fundamental feature of social organization that can influence brain and emotional processing regarding social ranks. Several areas, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the hippocampus, and the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA), are recognized to be involved in the regulation of emotional processing. However, its delicate structural correlates in brain regions are poorly understood. To address this issue, social hierarchy in home-caged sibling Wistar rats (three male rats/cage) was determined by employing a social confrontation tube test (postnatal weeks 9-12). Then, locomotor activity and anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated using an open-field test (OFT) and elevated plus-maze (EPM) at 13 weeks of age. The rapid Golgi impregnation method was conducted to quantify the spine density of the first secondary branch of the primary dendrite in 20 µm length. The results indicated that dominant rats had significantly higher anxiety-like behaviors compared to subordinates, as was evident by lower open-arm entries and time spent in the EPM and lower entries and time spent in the center of OFT. The spine density analysis revealed a significantly higher number of spines in subordinates compared to the dominant rats in dmPFC pyramidal neurons and the apical and basal dendrites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. However, the spine density of pyramidal-like neurons in the BLA was higher in dominant rats. Our findings suggest that dominant social rank is associated with higher anxiety and differential density of the dendritic spine in the prefrontal cortex and limbic regions of the brain in male rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeinab Parvin
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Jaafari Suha
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Narges Hosseinmardi
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahyar Janahmadi
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Gila Behzadi
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Chen WJ, Chen H, Li ZM, Huang WY, Wu JL. Acetylcholine muscarinic M1 receptors in the rodent prefrontal cortex modulate cognitive abilities to establish social hierarchy. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:974-982. [PMID: 38135842 PMCID: PMC11039707 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01785-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
In most social species, the attainment of social dominance is strongly affected by personality traits. Dominant individuals show better cognitive abilities, however, whether an individual's cognition can determine its social status has remained inconclusive. We found that mice show better cognitive abilities tend to possess a higher social rank after cohousing. The dynamic release of acetylcholine (ACh) in the prelimbic cortex (PL) is correlated with mouse dominance behavior. ACh enhanced the excitability of the PL neurons via acetylcholine muscarinic M1 receptors (M1). Inhibition of M1 impaired mice cognitive performance and induced losing in social competition. Mice with M1 deficiency in the PL performed worse on cognitive behavioral tests, and exhibited lower status when re-grouped with others. Elevating ACh level in the PL of subordinate mice induced winning. These results provide direct evidence for the involvement of M1 in social hierarchy and suggest that social rank can be tuned by altering cognition through cholinergic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Jun Chen
- Medical Research and Experimental Center, Meizhou People's Hospital, Meizhou, 514031, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technological Research Center of Clinical Molecular Diagnosis and Antibody Drugs, Meizhou, 514031, China
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Zi-Ming Li
- Department of Neurobiology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Wei-Yuan Huang
- Orthopedic Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, 524001, China.
| | - Jian-Lin Wu
- Medical Research and Experimental Center, Meizhou People's Hospital, Meizhou, 514031, China.
- Guangdong Engineering Technological Research Center of Clinical Molecular Diagnosis and Antibody Drugs, Meizhou, 514031, China.
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González-Madrid E, Rangel-Ramírez MA, Opazo MC, Méndez L, Bohmwald K, Bueno SM, González PA, Kalergis AM, Riedel CA. Gestational hypothyroxinemia induces ASD-like phenotypes in behavior, proinflammatory markers, and glutamatergic protein expression in mouse offspring of both sexes. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 15:1381180. [PMID: 38752179 PMCID: PMC11094302 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1381180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has significantly risen in the past three decades, prompting researchers to explore the potential contributions of environmental factors during pregnancy to ASD development. One such factor of interest is gestational hypothyroxinemia (HTX), a frequent condition in pregnancy associated with cognitive impairments in the offspring. While retrospective human studies have linked gestational HTX to autistic traits, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of ASD-like phenotypes remain poorly understood. This study used a mouse model of gestational HTX to evaluate ASD-like phenotypes in the offspring. Methods To induce gestational HTX, pregnant mice were treated with 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (MMI), a thyroid hormones synthesis inhibitor, in the tap-drinking water from embryonic days (E) 10 to E14. A separate group received MMI along with a daily subcutaneous injection of T4, while the control group received regular tap water during the entire pregnancy. Female and male offspring underwent assessments for repetitive, anxious, and social behaviors from postnatal day (P) 55 to P64. On P65, mice were euthanized for the evaluation of ASD-related inflammatory markers in blood, spleen, and specific brain regions. Additionally, the expression of glutamatergic proteins (NLGN3 and HOMER1) was analyzed in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Results The HTX-offspring exhibited anxious-like behavior, a subordinate state, and impaired social interactions. Subsequently, both female and male HTX-offspring displayed elevated proinflammatory cytokines in blood, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, and TNF-α, while only males showed reduced levels of IL-10. The spleen of HTX-offspring of both sexes showed increased Th17/Treg ratio and M1-like macrophages. In the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of male HTX-offspring, elevated levels of IL-17A and reduced IL-10 were observed, accompanied by increased expression of hippocampal NLGN3 and HOMER1. All these observations were compared to those observed in the Control-offspring. Notably, the supplementation with T4 during the MMI treatment prevents the development of the observed phenotypes. Correlation analysis revealed an association between maternal T4 levels and specific ASD-like outcomes. Discussion This study validates human observations, demonstrating for the first time that gestational HTX induces ASD-like phenotypes in the offspring, highlighting the need of monitoring thyroid function during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique González-Madrid
- Laboratorio de Endocrino-inmunología, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ma. Andreina Rangel-Ramírez
- Laboratorio de Endocrino-inmunología, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - María C. Opazo
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad de las Américas, Santiago, Chile
| | - Luis Méndez
- Laboratorio de Endocrino-inmunología, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Karen Bohmwald
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Susan M. Bueno
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pablo A. González
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alexis M. Kalergis
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Endocrinología, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Claudia A. Riedel
- Laboratorio de Endocrino-inmunología, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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Deloulme JC, Leclercq M, Deschaux O, Flore G, Capellano L, Tocco C, Braz BY, Studer M, Lahrech H. Structural interhemispheric connectivity defects in mouse models of BBSOAS: Insights from high spatial resolution 3D white matter tractography. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 193:106455. [PMID: 38408685 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) tract formation and axonal pathfinding are major processes in brain development allowing to establish precise connections between targeted structures. Disruptions in axon pathfinding and connectivity impairments will lead to neural circuitry abnormalities, often associated with various neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Among several neuroimaging methodologies, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that has the advantage of visualizing in 3D the WM tractography of the whole brain non-invasively. DTI is particularly valuable in unpinning structural tract connectivity defects of neural networks in NDDs. In this study, we used 3D DTI to unveil brain-specific tract defects in two mouse models lacking the Nr2f1 gene, which mutations in patients have been proven to cause an emerging NDD, called Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy (BBSOAS). We aimed to investigate the impact of the lack of cortical Nr2f1 function on WM morphometry and tract microstructure quantifications. We found in both mutant mice partial loss of fibers and severe misrouting of the two major cortical commissural tracts, the corpus callosum, and the anterior commissure, as well as the two major hippocampal efferent tracts, the post-commissural fornix, and the ventral hippocampal commissure. DTI tract malformations were supported by 2D histology, 3D fluorescent imaging, and behavioral analyses. We propose that these interhemispheric connectivity impairments are consistent in explaining some cognitive defects described in BBSOAS patients, particularly altered information processing between the two brain hemispheres. Finally, our results highlight 3DDTI as a relevant neuroimaging modality that can provide appropriate morphometric biomarkers for further diagnosis of BBSOAS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Olivier Deschaux
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France
| | - Gemma Flore
- Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "Adriano Buzzati Traverso", CNR, Napoli, Italy
| | - Laetitia Capellano
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Chiara Tocco
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France
| | - Barbara Yael Braz
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institute Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Michèle Studer
- University Côte d'Azur (UCA), CNRS, Inserm, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Nice, France.
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10
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Wang L, Huang N, Cai Q, Guo S, Ai H. Differences in physiology and behavior between male winner and loser mice in the tube test. Behav Processes 2024; 216:105013. [PMID: 38460912 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105013] [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: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Social hierarchy is a crucial element for survival, reproduction, fitness, and the maintenance of a stable social group in social animals. This study aimed to investigate the physiological indicators, nociception, unfamiliar female mice preference, spatial learning memory, and contextual fear memory of male mice with different social status in the same cage. Our findings revealed significant differences in the trunk temperature and contextual fear memory between winner and loser mice. However, there were no major discrepancies in body weight, random and fasting blood glucose levels, whisker number, frontal and perianal temperature, spleen size, mechanical and thermal pain thresholds, preference for unfamiliar female mice, and spatial memory. In conclusion, social status can affect mice in multiple ways, and, therefore, its influence should be considered when conducting studies using these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Wang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Nan Huang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qian Cai
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Siyuan Guo
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Heng Ai
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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Tang Y, Yin HY, Illes P. Prefrontocortical Astrocytes Regulate Dominance Hierarchy in Male Mice. Neurosci Bull 2024; 40:415-417. [PMID: 37926791 PMCID: PMC10912057 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01148-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yong Tang
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
- International Joint Research Center on Purinergic Signaling, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
| | - Hai-Yan Yin
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China
| | - Peter Illes
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, China.
- Rudolf Boehm Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Leipzig, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.
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12
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Choi TY, Jeon H, Jeong S, Kim EJ, Kim J, Jeong YH, Kang B, Choi M, Koo JW. Distinct prefrontal projection activity and transcriptional state conversely orchestrate social competition and hierarchy. Neuron 2024; 112:611-627.e8. [PMID: 38086372 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.11.012] [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: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Social animals compete for limited resources, resulting in a social hierarchy. Although different neuronal subpopulations in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which has been mechanistically implicated in social dominance behavior, encode distinct social competition behaviors, their identities and associated molecular underpinnings have not yet been identified. In this study, we found that mPFC neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (mPFC-NAc) encode social winning behavior, whereas mPFC neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area (mPFC-VTA) encode social losing behavior. High-throughput single-cell transcriptomic analysis and projection-specific genetic manipulation revealed that the expression level of POU domain, class 3, transcription factor 1 (Pou3f1) in mPFC-VTA neurons controls social hierarchy. Optogenetic activation of mPFC-VTA neurons increases Pou3f1 expression and lowers social rank. Together, these data demonstrate that discrete activity and gene expression in separate mPFC projections oppositely orchestrate social competition and hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae-Yong Choi
- Emotion, Cognition and Behavior Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyoungseok Jeon
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Sejin Jeong
- Emotion, Cognition and Behavior Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea; Department of Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Eum Ji Kim
- Emotion, Cognition and Behavior Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeongseop Kim
- Emotion, Cognition and Behavior Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea; Department of Brain Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu 41988, Republic of Korea
| | - Yun Ha Jeong
- Neurodegenerative Disease Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Byungsoo Kang
- Sysoft R&D Center, Daegu 41065, Republic of Korea; Neurovascular Unit Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Murim Choi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
| | - Ja Wook Koo
- Emotion, Cognition and Behavior Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu 41062, Republic of Korea; Department of Brain Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu 41988, Republic of Korea.
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13
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Zhuang Y, Li C, Zhao F, Yan Y, Pan H, Zhan J, Behnisch T. E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Uhrf2 Knockout Reveals a Critical Role in Social Behavior and Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1543. [PMID: 38338822 PMCID: PMC10855348 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031543] [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: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The hippocampal formation, particularly the CA2 subregion, is critical for social memory formation and memory processing, relying on synaptic plasticity-a fundamental mechanism by which synapses strengthen. Given the role of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in various nervous system processes, including learning and memory, we were particularly interested in exploring the involvement of RING-type ubiquitin E3 ligases, such as UHRF2 (NIRF), in social behavior and synaptic plasticity. Our results revealed altered social behavior in mice with systemic Uhrf2 knockout, including changes in nest building, tube dominance, and the three-chamber social novelty test. In Uhrf2 knockout mice, the entorhinal cortex-CA2 circuit showed significant reductions in synaptic plasticity during paired-pulse facilitation and long-term potentiation, while the inability to evoke synaptic plasticity in the Schaffer-collateral CA2 synapses remained unaffected. These changes in synaptic plasticity correlated with significant changes in gene expression including genes related to vesicle trafficking and transcriptional regulation. The effects of Uhrf2 knockout on synaptic plasticity and the observed gene expression changes highlight UHRF2 as a regulator of learning and memory processes at both the cellular and systemic levels. Targeting E3 ubiquitin ligases, such as UHRF2, may hold therapeutic potential for memory-related disorders, warranting further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinghan Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Chuhan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Fang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hongjie Pan
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jianmin Zhan
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Thomas Behnisch
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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14
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Lopez K, Baker MR, Toth M. Single cell transcriptomic representation of social dominance in prefrontal cortex and the influence of preweaning maternal and postweaning social environment. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2206. [PMID: 38272981 PMCID: PMC10810822 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52200-6] [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: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Social dominance encompasses winning dyadic contests and gaining priority access to resources and reproduction. Dominance is influenced by environmental factors, particularly during early postnatal life and adolescence. A disinhibitory medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) microcircuit has been implicated in the expression of dominance in the "tube test" social competition paradigm in mice, but the neuroplasticity underlying dominance is not known. We previously reported that male pups raised by physically active (wheel-running, as opposed to sedentary) dams exhibit tube test dominance and increased reproductive fitness, and here we show that social isolation from weaning also increases dominance. By using single cell transcriptomics, we tested if increased dominance in these models is associated with a specific transcriptional profile in one or more cell-types in the mPFC. The preweaning maternal effect, but not postweaning social isolation, caused gene expression changes in pyramidal neurons. However, both the effect of maternal exercise and social isolation induced the coordinated downregulation of synaptic channel, receptor, and adhesion genes in parvalbumin positive (PV) interneurons, suggesting that development of dominance is accompanied by impaired PV interneuron-mediated inhibition of pyramidal cells. This study may help understand environmentally induced transcriptional plasticity in the PFC and its relationship to tube test dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Lopez
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Madelyn R Baker
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Miklos Toth
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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15
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Fulenwider HD, Zhang Y, Ryabinin AE. Characterization of social hierarchy formation and maintenance in same-sex, group-housed male and female C57BL/6 J mice. Horm Behav 2024; 157:105452. [PMID: 37977023 PMCID: PMC10841988 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105452] [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: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Social hierarchies are a prevalent feature of all animal groups, and an individual's rank within the group can significantly affect their overall health, typically at the greatest expense of the lowest-ranked individuals, or omegas. These subjects have been shown to exhibit various stress-related phenotypes, such as increased hypothalamic-pituitary axis activity and increased amygdalar corticotropin-releasing factor levels compared to higher-ranked subjects. However, these findings have been primarily characterized in males and in models requiring exhibition of severe aggression. The goals of the current study, therefore, were to characterize the formation and maintenance of social hierarchies using the tube test and palatable liquid competition in same-sex groups of male and female C57BL/6 J mice. We also aimed to examine the effects of tube test-determined social rank on plasma and hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin levels, peptides with established roles in social behaviors and the stress response. Lastly, we assessed the effects of environmental enrichment and length of testing on the measures outlined above. Overall, we demonstrated that males and females develop social hierarchies and that these hierarchies can be determined using the tube test. While we were unable to establish a consistent connection between peptide levels and social rank, we observed transient changes in these peptides reflecting complex interactions between social rank, sex, environment, and length of testing. We also found that many male and female omegas began to exhibit passive coping behavior after repeated tube test losses, demonstrating the potential of this assay to serve as a model of chronic, mild psychosocial stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah D Fulenwider
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Yangmiao Zhang
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Andrey E Ryabinin
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
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16
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Zhai X, Ai L, Chen D, Zhou D, Han Y, Ji R, Hu M, Wang Q, Zhang M, Wang Y, Zhang C, Yang JX, Hu A, Liu H, Cao JL, Zhang H. Multiple integrated social stress induces depressive-like behavioral and neural adaptations in female C57BL/6J mice. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 190:106374. [PMID: 38097092 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106374] [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: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite women representing most of those affected by major depression, preclinical studies have focused almost exclusively on male subjects, partially due to a lack of ideal animal paradigms. As the persistent need regarding the sex balance of neuroscience research and female-specific pathology of mental disorders surges, the establishment of natural etiology-based and systematically validated animal paradigms for depression with female subjects becomes an urgent scientific problem. This study aims to establish, characterize, and validate a "Multiple Integrated Social Stress (MISS)" model of depression in female C57BL/6J mice by manipulating and integrating daily social stressors that females are experiencing. Female C57BL/6J mice randomly experienced social competition failure in tube test, modified vicarious social defeat stress, unescapable overcrowding stress followed by social isolation on each day, for ten consecutive days. Compared with their controls, female MISS mice exhibited a relatively decreased preference for social interaction and sucrose, along with increased immobility in the tail suspension test, which could last for at least one month. These MISS mice also exhibited increased levels of blood serum corticosterone, interleukin-6 L and 1β. In the pharmacological experiment, MISS-induced dysfunctions in social interaction, sucrose preference, and tail suspension tests were amended by systematically administrating a single dose of sub-anesthetic ketamine, a rapid-onset antidepressant. Compared with controls, MISS females exhibited decreased c-Fos activation in their anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens and some other depression-related brain regions. Furthermore, 24 h after the last exposure to the paradigm, MISS mice demonstrated a decreased center zone time in the open field test and decreased open arm time in the elevated plus-maze test, indicating anxiety-like behavioral phenotypes. Interestingly, MISS mice developed an excessive nesting ability, suggesting a likely behavioral phenotype of obsessive-compulsive disorder. These data showed that the MISS paradigm was sufficient to generate pathological profiles in female mice to mimic core symptoms, serum biochemistry and neural adaptations of depression in clinical patients. The present study offers a multiple integrated natural etiology-based animal model tool for studying female stress susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Zhai
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Lin Ai
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Dandan Chen
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Dongyu Zhou
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Yi Han
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Ran Ji
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Mengfan Hu
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Qing Wang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Moruo Zhang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Yuxin Wang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Chunyan Zhang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Jun-Xia Yang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China
| | - Ankang Hu
- Laboratory Animal Center of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, PR China
| | - He Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology & Clinical Research Center for Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou 313003, China; The Affiliated Huzhou Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Huzhou 313003, China; The Fifth School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Huzhou 313003, China; The Affiliated Central Hospital, Huzhou University, Huzhou 313003, China.
| | - Jun-Li Cao
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Department of Anesthesiology, the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China.
| | - Hongxing Zhang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application Technology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, China.
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17
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Spiteri Douglas R, Hartley MR, Yang JR, Franklin TB. Differential expression of Hdac2 in male and female mice of differing social status. Physiol Behav 2024; 273:114406. [PMID: 37949308 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114406] [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: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Mice naturally form social hierarchies, and their experiences as subordinate or dominant mice inform future behavioural strategies. To better understand the neural bases of social dominance, we investigated hippocampal gene and protein expression of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), an epigenetic regulator that decreases expression of synaptic plasticity genes and reduces excitatory synaptic function. Hdac2 in hippocampus was associated with social status. The gene for a closely related histone deacetylase (Hdac1), and HDAC2 protein expression, were not associated with social rank in hippocampus. These findings suggest that Hdac2 expression in hippocampus is distinctly linked with social status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renée Spiteri Douglas
- The Social Lab, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Mackenzie R Hartley
- The Social Lab, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - J Renee Yang
- The Social Lab, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Tamara B Franklin
- The Social Lab, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Halifax, NS, Canada.
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18
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Song BL, Zhou J, Jiang Y, Li LF, Liu YJ. Dopamine D2 receptor within the intermediate region of the lateral septum modulate social hierarchy in male mice. Neuropharmacology 2023; 241:109735. [PMID: 37788799 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109735] [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: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
The dopamine (DA) system has long been involved in social hierarchies; however, the specific mechanisms have not been elucidated. The lateral septum (LS) is a limbic brain structure that regulates various emotional, motivational, and social behaviors. DA receptors are abundantly expressed in the LS, modulating its functions. In this study, we evaluated the functions of DA receptors within different subregions of the LS in social dominance using a confrontation tube test in male mice. The results showed that mice living in social groups formed linear dominance hierarchies after a few days of cohousing, and the subordinates showed increased anxiety. Fos expressions was elevated in the entire LS after a confrontation tube test in the subordinates. However, DA neurons were more activated in the dominates within the ventral tegmental area and the dorsal raphe nucleus. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction results showed that D2 receptor (D2R) within the intermediate region of the LS (LSi) were elevated in the subordinate. In the following pharmacological studies, we found simultaneous D2R activation in the dominants and D2R inhibition in the subordinates switched the original dominant-subordinate relationship. The aforementioned results suggested that D2R within the LSi plays an important role in social dominance in male mice. These findings improve our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the social hierarchy, which is closely related to our social life and happiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bai-Lin Song
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Yi Jiang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Lai-Fu Li
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China.
| | - Ying-Juan Liu
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China.
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19
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Mehra S, Ahsan AU, Sharma M, Budhwar M, Chopra M. Gestational Fisetin Exerts Neuroprotection by Regulating Mitochondria-Directed Canonical Wnt Signaling, BBB Integrity, and Apoptosis in Prenatal VPA-Induced Rodent Model of Autism. Mol Neurobiol 2023:10.1007/s12035-023-03826-6. [PMID: 38048031 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03826-6] [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: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Embryonic valproic acid (VPA) has been considered a potential risk factor for autism. Majority of studies indicated that targeting autism-associated alterations in VPA-induced autistic model could be promising in defining and designing therapeutics for autism. Numerous investigations in this field investigated the role of canonical Wnt signaling cascade in regulating the pathophysiology of autism. The impaired blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and mitochondrial dysfunction are some key implied features of the autistic brain. So, the current study was conducted to target canonical Wnt signaling pathway with a natural polyphenolic modulator cum antioxidant namely fisetin. A single dose of intraperitoneal VPA sodium salt (400 mg/kg) at gestational day 12.5 induced developmental delays, social behaviour impairments (tube dominance test), and anxiety-like behaviour (sucrose preference test) similar to autism. VPA induced mitochondrial damage and over-activated the canonical Wnt signaling which further increased the blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, apoptosis, and neuronal damage. Our findings revealed that oral administration of 10 mg/kg gestational fisetin (GD 13-till parturition) improved social and anxiety-like behaviour by modulating the ROS-regulated mitochondrial-canonical Wnt signaling. Moreover, fisetin controls BBB permeability, apoptosis, and neuronal damage in autism model proving its neuroprotective efficacy. Collectively, our findings revealed that fisetin-evoked modulation of the Wnt signaling cascade successfully relieved the associated symptoms of autism along with developmental delays in the model and indicates its potential as a bioceutical against autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sweety Mehra
- Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Aitizaz Ul Ahsan
- Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Madhu Sharma
- Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Muskan Budhwar
- Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India
| | - Mani Chopra
- Cell and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India.
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20
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Li LF, Li ZL, Song BL, Jiang Y, Wang Y, Zou HW, Yao LG, Liu YJ. Dopamine D2 receptors in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex modulate social hierarchy in male mice. Curr Zool 2023; 69:682-693. [PMID: 37876636 PMCID: PMC10591156 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Social hierarchy greatly influences behavior and health. Both human and animal studies have signaled the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as specifically related to social hierarchy. Dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs) and D2 receptors (D2Rs) are abundantly expressed in the mPFC, modulating its functions. However, it is unclear how DR-expressing neurons in the mPFC regulate social hierarchy. Here, using a confrontation tube test, we found that most adult C57BL/6J male mice could establish a linear social rank after 1 week of cohabitation. Lower rank individuals showed social anxiety together with decreased serum testosterone levels. D2R expression was significantly downregulated in the dorsal part of mPFC (dmPFC) in lower rank individuals, whereas D1R expression showed no significant difference among the rank groups in the whole mPFC. Virus knockdown of D2Rs in the dmPFC led to mice being particularly prone to lose the contests in the confrontation tube test. Finally, simultaneous D2R activation in the subordinates and D2R inhibition in the dominants in a pair switched their dominant-subordinate relationship. The above results indicate that D2Rs in the dmPFC play an important role in social dominance. Our findings provide novel insights into the divergent functions of prefrontal D1Rs and D2Rs in social dominance, which may contribute to ameliorating social dysfunctions along with abnormal social hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lai-Fu Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Insect Biology in Funiu Mountain, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Insect Biology, College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Zi-Lin Li
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Bai-Lin Song
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Yi Jiang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Hua-Wei Zou
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Lun-Guang Yao
- Henan Key Laboratory of Insect Biology in Funiu Mountain, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Insect Biology, College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
| | - Ying-Juan Liu
- Henan Key Laboratory of Insect Biology in Funiu Mountain, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Insect Biology, College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
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21
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Kos A, Lopez JP, Bordes J, de Donno C, Dine J, Brivio E, Karamihalev S, Luecken MD, Almeida-Correa S, Gasperoni S, Dick A, Miranda L, Büttner M, Stoffel R, Flachskamm C, Theis FJ, Schmidt MV, Chen A. Early life adversity shapes social subordination and cell type-specific transcriptomic patterning in the ventral hippocampus. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj3793. [PMID: 38039370 PMCID: PMC10691768 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Adverse events in early life can modulate the response to additional stressors later in life and increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders. The underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects remain unclear. Here, we uncover that early life adversity (ELA) in mice leads to social subordination. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we identified cell type-specific changes in the transcriptional state of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the ventral hippocampus of ELA mice after exposure to acute social stress in adulthood. These findings were reflected by an alteration in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission induced by ELA in response to acute social stress. Finally, enhancing the inhibitory network function through transient diazepam treatment during an early developmental sensitive period reversed the ELA-induced social subordination. Collectively, this study significantly advances our understanding of the molecular, physiological, and behavioral alterations induced by ELA, uncovering a previously unknown cell type-specific vulnerability to ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aron Kos
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Juan Pablo Lopez
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Joeri Bordes
- Research Group Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Carlo de Donno
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Mathematics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Julien Dine
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Elena Brivio
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Munich, Germany
| | - Stoyo Karamihalev
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Munich, Germany
| | - Malte D. Luecken
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Lung Health and Immunity, Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Serena Gasperoni
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alec Dick
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Lucas Miranda
- International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Munich, Germany
- Department of Statistical Genetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Maren Büttner
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Mathematics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Rainer Stoffel
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Cornelia Flachskamm
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Fabian J. Theis
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Mathematics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Mathias V. Schmidt
- Research Group Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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22
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Michelson NJ, Bolaños F, Bolaños LA, Balbi M, LeDue JM, Murphy TH. Meso-Py: Dual Brain Cortical Calcium Imaging in Mice during Head-Fixed Social Stimulus Presentation. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0096-23.2023. [PMID: 38053472 PMCID: PMC10731520 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0096-23.2023] [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: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a cost-effective, compact foot-print, and open-source Raspberry Pi-based widefield imaging system. The compact nature allows the system to be used for close-proximity dual-brain cortical mesoscale functional-imaging to simultaneously observe activity in two head-fixed animals in a staged social touch-like interaction. We provide all schematics, code, and protocols for a rail system where head-fixed mice are brought together to a distance where the macrovibrissae of each mouse make contact. Cortical neuronal functional signals (GCaMP6s; genetically encoded Ca2+ sensor) were recorded from both mice simultaneously before, during, and after the social contact period. When the mice were together, we observed bouts of mutual whisking and cross-mouse correlated cortical activity across the cortex. Correlations were not observed in trial-shuffled mouse pairs, suggesting that correlated activity was specific to individual interactions. Whisking-related cortical signals were observed during the period where mice were together (closest contact). The effects of social stimulus presentation extend outside of regions associated with mutual touch and have global synchronizing effects on cortical activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Michelson
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Federico Bolaños
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Luis A Bolaños
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Matilde Balbi
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Jeffrey M LeDue
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Timothy H Murphy
- Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
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23
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Cui H, Zhao S, Hong G. Wireless deep-brain neuromodulation using photovoltaics in the second near-infrared spectrum. DEVICE 2023; 1:100113. [PMID: 37990694 PMCID: PMC10659575 DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2023.100113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Conventional electrical neuromodulation techniques are constrained by the need for invasive implants in neural tissues, whereas methods using optogenetic are subjected to genetic alterations and hampered by the poor tissue penetration of visible light. Photovoltaic neuromodulation using light from the second near-infrared (NIR-II) spectrum, which minimizes scattering and enhances tissue penetration, shows promise as an alternative to existing neuromodulation technologies. NIR-II light has been used in deep-tissue imaging and in deep-brain photothermal neuromodulation via nanotransducers. This Perspective will provide an overview for the underpinning mechanisms of photovoltaic neuromodulation and identify avenues for future research in materials science and bioengineering that can further advance NIR-II photovoltaic neuromodulation methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Cui
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Su Zhao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Guosong Hong
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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24
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Jiang Y, Zhou J, Song BL, Wang Y, Zhang DL, Zhang ZT, Li LF, Liu YJ. 5-HT1A receptor in the central amygdala and 5-HT2A receptor in the basolateral amygdala are involved in social hierarchy in male mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2023; 957:176027. [PMID: 37659688 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2023.176027] [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: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
Most social animals self-organize into dominance hierarchies that strongly influence their behavior and health. The serotonin (5-HT) system is believed to play an important role in the formation of social hierarchy. 5-HT receptors are abundantly expressed in the amygdala, which is considered as the central node for the perception and learning of social hierarchy. In this study, we assessed the functions of various 5-HT receptor subtypes related to social rank determination in different subregions of the amygdala using the confrontation tube test in mice. We revealed that most adult C57BL/6 J male mice exhibited a linear social rank after a few days of cohousing. The tube test ranks were slightly related to anxiety-like behavioral performance. After the tube test, the amygdala and 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus were activated in lower-rank individuals. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that despite the high expression of 5-HT1A receptor mRNA in the central amygdala (CeA), 5-HT2A receptor mRNA expression was downregulated in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in higher-rank individuals. The dominant-subordinate relationship between mouse pairs could be switched via pharmacological modulation of these receptors in CeA and BLA, suggesting that these expression changes are essential for establishing social ranks. Our findings provide novel insights into the divergent functions of 5-HT receptors in the amygdala related to social hierarchy, which is closely related to our health and welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jiang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Bai-Lin Song
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Dong-Lin Zhang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Zheng-Tian Zhang
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China
| | - Lai-Fu Li
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China.
| | - Ying-Juan Liu
- Research Center of Henan Provincial Agricultural Biomass Resource Engineering and Technology, College of Life Science and Agriculture, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China.
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25
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Rebik A, Broshevitskaya N, Kuzhuget S, Aleksandrov P, Abbasova K, Zaichenko M, Midzyanovskaya I. Audiogenic Seizures and Social Deficits: No Aggravation Found in Krushinsky-Molodkina Rats. Biomedicines 2023; 11:2566. [PMID: 37761007 PMCID: PMC10526393 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11092566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Epilepsy or epileptic syndromes affect more than 70 million people, often comorbid with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Seizures are concerned as a factor for social regression in ASD. A stepwise experimental approach to this problem requires an animal model to provoke seizures and monitor subsequent behavior. We used rats of the Krushinsky-Molodkina (KM) strain as a validated inbred genetic model for human temporal lobe epilepsy, with recently described social deficiency and hypolocomotion. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures in KM rats are sound-triggered, thus being controlled events in drug-naïve animals. We studied whether seizure experience would aggravate contact deficits in these animals. Locomotor and contact parameters were registered in "the elevated plus maze", "socially enriched open field", and "social novelty/social preference tests" before and after sound-provoked seizures. The triple seizure provocations minimally affected the contact behavior. The lack of social drive in KM rats was not accompanied by a submissive phenotype, as tested in "the tube dominance test", but featured with a poor contact repertoire. Here, we confirmed our previous findings on social deficits in KM rats. The contact deficiency was dissociated from hypolocomotion and anxiety and did not correlate with seizure experience. It was established that experience of rare, generalized tonic-clonic convulsions did not lead to an impending regress in contact motivation, as seen in an animal model of genetic epilepsy and comorbid social deficiency. One of the oldest animal models for epilepsy has a translational potential to study mechanisms of social behavioral deficits in future neurophysiological and pharmacological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiya Rebik
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.R.); (M.Z.)
| | - Nadezda Broshevitskaya
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.R.); (M.Z.)
| | - Syldys Kuzhuget
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia (K.A.)
| | - Pavel Aleksandrov
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.R.); (M.Z.)
| | - Kenul Abbasova
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia (K.A.)
| | - Maria Zaichenko
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.R.); (M.Z.)
| | - Inna Midzyanovskaya
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117485 Moscow, Russia; (A.R.); (M.Z.)
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26
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Noh K, Cho WH, Lee BH, Kim DW, Kim YS, Park K, Hwang M, Barcelon E, Cho YK, Lee CJ, Yoon BE, Choi SY, Park HY, Jun SB, Lee SJ. Cortical astrocytes modulate dominance behavior in male mice by regulating synaptic excitatory and inhibitory balance. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1541-1554. [PMID: 37563296 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01406-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Social hierarchy is established as an outcome of individual social behaviors, such as dominance behavior during long-term interactions with others. Astrocytes are implicated in optimizing the balance between excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) neuronal activity, which may influence social behavior. However, the contribution of astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex to dominance behavior is unclear. Here we show that dorsomedial prefrontal cortical (dmPFC) astrocytes modulate E/I balance and dominance behavior in adult male mice using in vivo fiber photometry and two-photon microscopy. Optogenetic and chemogenetic activation or inhibition of dmPFC astrocytes show that astrocytes bidirectionally control male mouse dominance behavior, affecting social rank. Dominant and subordinate male mice present distinct prefrontal synaptic E/I balance, regulated by astrocyte activity. Mechanistically, we show that dmPFC astrocytes control cortical E/I balance by simultaneously enhancing presynaptic-excitatory and reducing postsynaptic-inhibitory transmission via astrocyte-derived glutamate and ATP release, respectively. Our findings show how dmPFC astrocyte-neuron communication can be involved in the establishment of social hierarchy in adult male mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungchul Noh
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Woo-Hyun Cho
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung Hun Lee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Wook Kim
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoo Sung Kim
- Department of Molecular Biology, Dankook University, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
| | - Keebum Park
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Minkyu Hwang
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ellane Barcelon
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon Kyung Cho
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - C Justin Lee
- Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Bo-Eun Yoon
- Department of Molecular Biology, Dankook University, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Young Choi
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Yoon Park
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sang Beom Jun
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Graduate Program in Smart Factory, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Joong Lee
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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27
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Ghosal S, Gebara E, Ramos-Fernández E, Chioino A, Grosse J, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Zanoletti O, Schneider B, Zorzano A, Astori S, Sandi C. Mitofusin-2 in nucleus accumbens D2-MSNs regulates social dominance and neuronal function. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112776. [PMID: 37440411 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112776] [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: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a brain hub regulating motivated behaviors, including social competitiveness. Mitochondrial function in the NAc links anxiety with social competitiveness, and the mitochondrial fusion protein mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in NAc neurons regulates anxiety-related behaviors. However, it remains unexplored whether accumbal Mfn2 levels also affect social behavior and whether Mfn2 actions in the emotional and social domain are driven by distinct cell types. Here, we found that subordinate-prone highly anxious rats show decreased accumbal Mfn2 levels and that Mfn2 overexpression promotes dominant behavior. In mice, selective Mfn2 downregulation in NAc dopamine D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) induced social subordination, accompanied by decreased accumbal mitochondrial functions and decreased excitability in D2-MSNs. Instead, D1-MSN-targeted Mfn2 downregulation affected competitive ability only transiently and likely because of an increase in anxiety-like behaviors. Our results assign dissociable cell-type specific roles to Mfn2 in the NAc in modulating social dominance and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriparna Ghosal
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Elias Gebara
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eva Ramos-Fernández
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Chioino
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jocelyn Grosse
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Guillot de Suduiraut
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olivia Zanoletti
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bernard Schneider
- Bertarelli Platform for Gene Therapy, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Antonio Zorzano
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Simone Astori
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Carmen Sandi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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28
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Dou M, Li M, Zheng Z, Chen Q, Wu Y, Wang J, Shan H, Wang F, Dai X, Li Y, Yang Z, Tan G, Luo F, Chen L, Shi YS, Wu JW, Luo XJ, Asadollahpour Nanaei H, Niyazbekova Z, Zhang G, Wang W, Zhao S, Zheng W, Wang X, Jiang Y. A missense mutation in RRM1 contributes to animal tameness. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf4068. [PMID: 37352351 PMCID: PMC10289655 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
The increased tameness to reduce avoidance of human in wild animals has been long proposed as the key step of animal domestication. The tameness is a complex behavior trait and largely determined by genetic factors. However, the underlying genetic mutations remain vague and how they influence the animal behaviors is yet to be explored. Behavior tests of a wild-domestic hybrid goat population indicate the locus under strongest artificial selection during domestication may exert a huge effect on the flight distance. Within this locus, only one missense mutation RRM1I241V which was present in the early domestic goat ~6500 years ago. Genome editing of RRM1I241V in mice showed increased tameness and sociability and reduced anxiety. These behavioral changes induced by RRM1I241V were modulated by the alternation of activity of glutamatergic synapse and some other synapse-related pathways. This study established a link between RRM1I241V and tameness, demonstrating that the complex behavioral change can be achieved by mutations under strong selection during animal domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingle Dou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz, 78457, Germany
| | - Zhuqing Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education and College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China
| | - Qiuming Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China
| | - Yongji Wu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Jinxin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Huiquan Shan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Xuelei Dai
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Yunjia Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Zhirui Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Guanghui Tan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Funong Luo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Lei Chen
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China
| | - Yun Stone Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210032, China
| | - Jiang Wei Wu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Xiong-Jian Luo
- Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650204, China
| | - Hojjat Asadollahpour Nanaei
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, 1983969412, Iran
| | - Zhannur Niyazbekova
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Guojie Zhang
- Centre for Evolutionary and Organismal Biology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310000, China
| | - Wen Wang
- School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China
| | - Shanting Zhao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Wenxin Zheng
- Xinjiang Academy of Animal Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China
| | - Xihong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shannxi, 712100, China
- Key Laboratory of Livestock Biology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
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Wang H, Kwan AC. Competitive and cooperative games for probing the neural basis of social decision-making in animals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105158. [PMID: 37019249 PMCID: PMC10175234 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
In a social environment, it is essential for animals to consider the behavior of others when making decisions. To quantitatively assess such social decisions, games offer unique advantages. Games may have competitive and cooperative components, modeling situations with antagonistic and shared objectives between players. Games can be analyzed by mathematical frameworks, including game theory and reinforcement learning, such that an animal's choice behavior can be compared against the optimal strategy. However, so far games have been underappreciated in neuroscience research, particularly for rodent studies. In this review, we survey the varieties of competitive and cooperative games that have been tested, contrasting strategies employed by non-human primates and birds with rodents. We provide examples of how games can be used to uncover neural mechanisms and explore species-specific behavioral differences. We assess critically the limitations of current paradigms and propose improvements. Together, the synthesis of current literature highlights the advantages of using games to probe the neural basis of social decisions for neuroscience studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongli Wang
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Alex C Kwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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30
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Jing P, Shan Q. Exogenous oxytocin microinjection into the nucleus accumbens shell attenuates social dominance in group-housed male mice. Physiol Behav 2023:114253. [PMID: 37270150 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a part of the brain's limbic system, is involved in a variety of brain functions, including reward motivation and social hierarchy. Here, the study investigated the effect of intra-NAc different subregions microinjections of oxytocin on social hierarchy regulation. The hierarchical ranking of group-housed male mice in laboratory settings was determined through the tube test, and a new reliable and robust behavior assay-the mate competition test-was proposed. The mice were randomly divided into two groups, and the bilateral guide cannula was implanted into the shell and core of the NAc, respectively. After social dominance stabilized, changes in social hierarchy were determined through the tube test, warm spot, and mate competition tests. Intra-NAc shell microinjections of oxytocin (0.5 μg/site), but not the core (0.5 μg/site), significantly reduced the social dominance of mice. In addition, oxytocin microinjection into both the shell and core of the NAc significantly increased locomotor ability without affecting anxious behaviors. These findings are tremendously important in understanding the functions of the NAc subregions for social dominance and are more likely to indicate the potential of an oxytocin therapeutic strategy for psychiatric disorders and social impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengbo Jing
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, 515041, China
| | - Qiang Shan
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, 515041, China.
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31
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Su F, Wang Y, Wei M, Wang C, Wang S, Yang L, Li J, Yuan P, Luo DG, Zhang C. Noninvasive Tracking of Every Individual in Unmarked Mouse Groups Using Multi-Camera Fusion and Deep Learning. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:893-910. [PMID: 36571715 PMCID: PMC10264345 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00988-6] [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: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate and efficient methods for identifying and tracking each animal in a group are needed to study complex behaviors and social interactions. Traditional tracking methods (e.g., marking each animal with dye or surgically implanting microchips) can be invasive and may have an impact on the social behavior being measured. To overcome these shortcomings, video-based methods for tracking unmarked animals, such as fruit flies and zebrafish, have been developed. However, tracking individual mice in a group remains a challenging problem because of their flexible body and complicated interaction patterns. In this study, we report the development of a multi-object tracker for mice that uses the Faster region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) deep learning algorithm with geometric transformations in combination with multi-camera/multi-image fusion technology. The system successfully tracked every individual in groups of unmarked mice and was applied to investigate chasing behavior. The proposed system constitutes a step forward in the noninvasive tracking of individual mice engaged in social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Su
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China
- State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, 210000, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yangzhen Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Mengping Wei
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China
| | - Chong Wang
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Shaoli Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Institute of Life Sciences, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lei Yang
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China
| | - Jianmin Li
- Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the State Key Laboratory of Intelligence Technology and Systems, Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Peijiang Yuan
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Dong-Gen Luo
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Chen Zhang
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, 210000, China.
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32
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Bordes J, Miranda L, Müller-Myhsok B, Schmidt MV. Advancing social behavioral neuroscience by integrating ethology and comparative psychology methods through machine learning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105243. [PMID: 37225062 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Social behavior is naturally occurring in vertebrate species, which holds a strong evolutionary component and is crucial for the normal development and survival of individuals throughout life. Behavioral neuroscience has seen different influential methods for social behavioral phenotyping. The ethological research approach has extensively investigated social behavior in natural habitats, while the comparative psychology approach was developed utilizing standardized and univariate social behavioral tests. The development of advanced and precise tracking tools, together with post-tracking analysis packages, has recently enabled a novel behavioral phenotyping method, that includes the strengths of both approaches. The implementation of such methods will be beneficial for fundamental social behavioral research but will also enable an increased understanding of the influences of many different factors that can influence social behavior, such as stress exposure. Furthermore, future research will increase the number of data modalities, such as sensory, physiological, and neuronal activity data, and will thereby significantly enhance our understanding of the biological basis of social behavior and guide intervention strategies for behavioral abnormalities in psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joeri Bordes
- Research Group Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Lucas Miranda
- Research Group Statistical Genetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Bertram Müller-Myhsok
- Research Group Statistical Genetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Mathias V Schmidt
- Research Group Neurobiology of Stress Resilience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
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33
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Yang R, Huang BY, Wang YN, Meng Q, Guo Y, Wang S, Yin XY, Feng H, Gong M, Wang S, Niu CY, Shi Y, Shi HS. Excision of mesenteric lymph nodes alters gut microbiota and impairs social dominance in adult mice. Brain Behav 2023:e3053. [PMID: 37157948 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) are central in immune anatomy. MLNs are associated with the composition of gut microbiota, affecting the central system and immune system. Gut microbiota was found to differ among individuals of different social hierarchies. Nowadays, excision of MLNs is more frequently involved in gastrointestinal surgery; however, the potential side effects of excision of MLNs on social dominance are still unknown. METHODS MLNs were removed from male mice (7-8 weeks old). Four weeks after MLN removal, social dominance test was performed to investigate social dominance; hippocampal and serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were investigated; and histopathology was used to evaluate local inflammation of the ileum. The composition of the gut microbiota was then examined to understand the possible mechanism, and finally intraperitoneal injection of IL-10 was used to validate the effect of IL-10 on social dominance. RESULTS There was a decrease in social dominance in the operation group compared to the control group, as well as a decrease in serum and hippocampal IL-10 levels, but no difference in serum and hippocampal IL-1β and TNF-α levels, and no local inflammation of the ileum after MLN removal. 16S rRNA sequencing analysis showed that the relative abundance of the class Clostridia was decreased in the operation group. This decrease was positively associated with serum IL-10 levels. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection of IL-10 in a subset of mice increased social dominance. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggested that MLNs contributed to maintaining social dominance, which might be associated with reduced IL-10 and the imbalance of specific flora in gut microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Yang
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Bo-Ya Huang
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yu-Ning Wang
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Qian Meng
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yi Guo
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Shuang Wang
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Xue-Yong Yin
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Hao Feng
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Miao Gong
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Experimental Center for Teaching, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Sheng Wang
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Chun-Yu Niu
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Yun Shi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Hai-Shui Shi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medical and Health Science, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Hebei Key laboratory of Neurophysiology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- Research Unit of Digestive Tract Microecosystem Pharmacology and Toxicology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
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34
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Fetcho RN, Hall BS, Estrin DJ, Walsh AP, Schuette PJ, Kaminsky J, Singh A, Roshgodal J, Bavley CC, Nadkarni V, Antigua S, Huynh TN, Grosenick L, Carthy C, Komer L, Adhikari A, Lee FS, Rajadhyaksha AM, Liston C. Regulation of social interaction in mice by a frontostriatal circuit modulated by established hierarchical relationships. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2487. [PMID: 37120443 PMCID: PMC10148889 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37460-6] [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: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social hierarchies exert a powerful influence on behavior, but the neurobiological mechanisms that detect and regulate hierarchical interactions are not well understood, especially at the level of neural circuits. Here, we use fiber photometry and chemogenetic tools to record and manipulate the activity of nucleus accumbens-projecting cells in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC-NAcSh) during tube test social competitions. We show that vmPFC-NAcSh projections signal learned hierarchical relationships, and are selectively recruited by subordinate mice when they initiate effortful social dominance behavior during encounters with a dominant competitor from an established hierarchy. After repeated bouts of social defeat stress, this circuit is preferentially activated during social interactions initiated by stress resilient individuals, and plays a necessary role in supporting social approach behavior in subordinated mice. These results define a necessary role for vmPFC-NAcSh cells in the adaptive regulation of social interaction behavior based on prior hierarchical interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N Fetcho
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, New York, NY, USA
| | - Baila S Hall
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - David J Estrin
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alexander P Walsh
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Peter J Schuette
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jesse Kaminsky
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ashna Singh
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jacob Roshgodal
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charlotte C Bavley
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Viraj Nadkarni
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Susan Antigua
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thu N Huynh
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Logan Grosenick
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Camille Carthy
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren Komer
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Avishek Adhikari
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Francis S Lee
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anjali M Rajadhyaksha
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Conor Liston
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, New York, NY, USA.
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35
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Smith-Osborne L, Duong A, Resendez A, Palme R, Fadok JP. Female dominance hierarchies influence responses to psychosocial stressors. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1535-1549.e5. [PMID: 37003262 PMCID: PMC10321215 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.020] [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: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Social species form dominance hierarchies to ensure survival and promote reproductive success. Traditionally studied in males, rodent hierarchies are considered despotic, and dominant social rank results from a history of winning agonistic encounters. By contrast, female hierarchies are thought to be less despotic, and rank is conferred by intrinsic traits. Both social buffering and elevated social status confer resilience to depression, anxiety, and other consequences of chronic stress. Here, we investigate whether female social hierarchies and individual traits related to social rank likewise influence stress resilience. We observe the formation of dyadic female hierarchies under varying conditions of ambient light and circadian phase and subject mice to two forms of chronic psychosocial stress: social isolation or social instability. We find that stable female hierarchies emerge rapidly in dyads. Individual behavioral and endocrinological traits are characteristic of rank, some of which are circadian phase dependent. Further, female social rank is predicted by behavior and stress status prior to social introduction. Other behavioral characteristics suggest that rank is motivation-based, indicating that female rank identity serves an evolutionarily relevant purpose. Rank is associated with alterations in behavior in response to social instability stress and prolonged social isolation, but the different forms of stress produce disparate rank responses in endocrine status. Histological examination of c-Fos protein expression identified brain regions that respond to social novelty or social reunion following chronic isolation in a rank-specific manner. Collectively, female rank is linked to neurobiology, and hierarchies exert context-specific influence upon stress outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Smith-Osborne
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA 70433, USA.
| | - Anh Duong
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Neuroscience Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
| | - Alexis Resendez
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
| | - Rupert Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jonathan P Fadok
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
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36
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Kietzman HW, Gourley SL. How social information impacts action in rodents and humans: the role of the prefrontal cortex and its connections. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105075. [PMID: 36736847 PMCID: PMC10026261 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105075] [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: 09/04/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Day-to-day choices often involve social information and can be influenced by prior social experience. When making a decision in a social context, a subject might need to: 1) recognize the other individual or individuals, 2) infer their intentions and emotions, and 3) weigh the values of all outcomes, social and non-social, prior to selecting an action. These elements of social information processing all rely, to some extent, on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Patients with neuropsychiatric disorders often have disruptions in prefrontal cortical function, likely contributing to deficits in social reasoning and decision making. To better understand these deficits, researchers have turned to rodents, which have revealed prefrontal cortical mechanisms for contending with the complex information processing demands inherent to making decisions in social contexts. Here, we first review literature regarding social decision making, and the information processing underlying it, in humans and patient populations. We then turn to research in rodents, discussing current procedures for studying social decision making, and underlying neural correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry W Kietzman
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Rd. NE, Atlanta GA 30329, USA.
| | - Shannon L Gourley
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, USA; Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Rd. NE, Atlanta GA 30329, USA; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, USA.
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37
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Wang Z, Li Q, Kolls BJ, Mace B, Yu S, Li X, Liu W, Chaparro E, Shen Y, Dang L, Del Águila Á, Bernstock JD, Johnson KR, Yao J, Wetsel WC, Moore SD, Turner DA, Yang W. Sustained overexpression of spliced X-box-binding protein-1 in neurons leads to spontaneous seizures and sudden death in mice. Commun Biol 2023; 6:252. [PMID: 36894627 PMCID: PMC9998612 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04594-8] [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: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The underlying etiologies of seizures are highly heterogeneous and remain incompletely understood. While studying the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways in the brain, we unexpectedly discovered that transgenic mice (XBP1s-TG) expressing spliced X-box-binding protein-1 (Xbp1s), a key effector of UPR signaling, in forebrain excitatory neurons, rapidly develop neurologic deficits, most notably recurrent spontaneous seizures. This seizure phenotype begins around 8 days after Xbp1s transgene expression is induced in XBP1s-TG mice, and by approximately 14 days post induction, the seizures evolve into status epilepticus with nearly continuous seizure activity followed by sudden death. Animal death is likely due to severe seizures because the anticonvulsant valproic acid could significantly prolong the lives of XBP1s-TG mice. Mechanistically, our gene profiling analysis indicates that compared to control mice, XBP1s-TG mice exhibit 591 differentially regulated genes (mostly upregulated) in the brain, including several GABAA receptor genes that are notably downregulated. Finally, whole-cell patch clamp analysis reveals a significant reduction in both spontaneous and tonic GABAergic inhibitory responses in Xbp1s-expressing neurons. Taken together, our findings unravel a link between XBP1s signaling and seizure occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoran Wang
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Qiang Li
- Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Brad J Kolls
- Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Brian Mace
- Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Shu Yu
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xuan Li
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Eduardo Chaparro
- Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Yuntian Shen
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lihong Dang
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ángela Del Águila
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Joshua D Bernstock
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NINDS/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kory R Johnson
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NINDS/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Junjie Yao
- Department of Bioengineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - William C Wetsel
- Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Departments of Neurobiology and Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Scott D Moore
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Dennis A Turner
- Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurobiology and Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Wei Yang
- Multidisciplinary Brain Protection Program, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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Zilkha N, Chuartzman SG, Sofer Y, Pen Y, Cum M, Mayo A, Alon U, Kimchi T. Sex-dependent control of pheromones on social organization within groups of wild house mice. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1407-1420.e4. [PMID: 36917976 PMCID: PMC10132349 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.039] [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: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Dominance hierarchy is a fundamental social phenomenon in a wide range of mammalian species, critically affecting fitness and health. Here, we investigate the role of pheromone signals in the control of social hierarchies and individual personalities within groups of wild mice. For this purpose, we combine high-throughput behavioral phenotyping with computational tools in freely interacting groups of wild house mice, males and females, in an automated, semi-natural system. We show that wild mice form dominance hierarchies in both sexes but use sex-specific strategies, displaying distinct male-typical and female-typical behavioral personalities that were also associated with social ranking. Genetic disabling of VNO-mediated pheromone detection generated opposite behavioral effects within groups, enhancing social interactions in males and reducing them in females. Behavioral personalities in the mutated mice displayed mixtures of male-typical and female-typical behaviors, thus blurring sex differences. In addition, rank-associated personalities were abolished despite the fact that both sexes of mutant mice formed stable hierarchies. These findings suggest that group organization is governed by pheromone-mediated sex-specific neural circuits and pave the way to investigate the mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism in dominance hierarchies under naturalistic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noga Zilkha
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Yizhak Sofer
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yefim Pen
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Meghan Cum
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Avi Mayo
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Uri Alon
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Tali Kimchi
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel.
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Yin YY, Lai ZK, Yan JZ, Wei QQ, Wang B, Zhang LM, Li YF. The interaction between social hierarchy and depression/anxiety: Involvement of glutamatergic pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Neurobiol Stress 2023; 24:100536. [PMID: 37057073 PMCID: PMC10085780 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social hierarchy greatly impacts physical and mental health, but the relationship between social hierarchy and depression/anxiety and the underlying neural mechanism remain unclear. The present study used the tube test to determine the social hierarchy status of mice and then performed several behavioral tests to evaluate depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors. Electrophysiological techniques were used to record the firing activities of glutamatergic pyramidal neurons and local field potentials in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The results suggested that the mice in each cage (4 per cage) established a stable social hierarchy after 2 weeks. Subordinate mice displayed significantly fewer pushing and advancing behaviors, and more retreat behaviors compared with dominant mice. Furthermore, subordinate mice had significantly more immobility durations in the TST, but significantly fewer distances, entries, and time into the center in the OFT, as well as significantly less percent of distances, entries, and time into the open arms in the EPMT, compared with dominant mice, which indicated that subordinate mice displayed depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. In addition, chronic restraint stress (CRS) significantly induced depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in mice and altered social dominance behaviors in the tube test. CRS mice displayed significantly fewer pushing and advancing behaviors, and more retreat behaviors compared with control mice. Furthermore, low social rank and CRS significantly decreased the firing of pyramidal neurons and γ-oscillation activity in the mPFC. Taken together, the present study revealed an inverse relationship between social hierarchy and depression/anxiety, and the neural basis underlying this association might be the excitability of pyramidal neurons and γ oscillation in the mPFC. These findings established an important foundation for a depression/anxiety model based on social hierarchy and provided a new avenue for the development of therapies for stress-related mood disorders.
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40
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Neural mechanism underlying depressive-like state associated with social status loss. Cell 2023; 186:560-576.e17. [PMID: 36693374 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Downward social mobility is a well-known mental risk factor for depression, but its neural mechanism remains elusive. Here, by forcing mice to lose against their subordinates in a non-violent social contest, we lower their social ranks stably and induce depressive-like behaviors. These rank-decline-associated depressive-like behaviors can be reversed by regaining social status. In vivo fiber photometry and single-unit electrophysiological recording show that forced loss, but not natural loss, generates negative reward prediction error (RPE). Through the lateral hypothalamus, the RPE strongly activates the brain's anti-reward center, the lateral habenula (LHb). LHb activation inhibits the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that controls social competitiveness and reinforces retreats in contests. These results reveal the core neural mechanisms mutually promoting social status loss and depressive behaviors. The intertwined neuronal signaling controlling mPFC and LHb activities provides a mechanistic foundation for the crosstalk between social mobility and psychological disorder, unveiling a promising target for intervention.
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Singer KE, McGlone ED, Collins SM, Wallen TE, Morris MC, Schuster RM, England LG, Robson MJ, Goodman MD. Propranolol Reduces p-tau Accumulation and Improves Behavior Outcomes in a Polytrauma Murine Model. J Surg Res 2023; 282:183-190. [PMID: 36308901 DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2022.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to neurocognitive decline, in part due to phosphorylated tau (p-tau). Whether p-tau accumulation worsens in the setting of polytrauma remains unknown. Propranolol has shown clinical benefit in head injuries; however, the underlying mechanism is also unknown. We hypothesize that hemorrhagic shock would worsen p-tau accumulation but that propranolol would improve functional outcomes on behavioral studies. METHODS A murine polytrauma model was developed to examine the accumulation of p-tau and whether it can be mitigated by early administration of propranolol. TBI was induced using a weight-drop model and hemorrhagic shock was achieved via controlled hemorrhage for 1 h. Mice were given intraperitoneal propranolol 4 mg/kg or saline control. The animals underwent behavioral testing at 30 d postinjury and were sacrificed for cerebral histological analysis. These studies were completed in male and female mice. RESULTS TBI alone led to increased p-tau generation compared to sham on both immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence (P < 0.05). The addition of hemorrhage led to greater accumulation of p-tau in the hippocampus (P < 0.007). In male mice, p-tau accumulation decreased with propranolol administration for both polytrauma and TBI alone (P < 0.0001). Male mice treated with propranolol also outperformed saline-control mice on the hippocampal-dependent behavioral assessment (P = 0.0013). These results were not replicated in female mice; the addition of hemorrhage did not increase p-tau accumulation and propranolol did not demonstrate a therapeutic effect. CONCLUSIONS Polytrauma including TBI generates high levels of hippocampal p-tau, but propranolol may help prevent this accumulation to improve both neuropathological and functional outcomes in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen E Singer
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Emily D McGlone
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Sean M Collins
- James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Taylor E Wallen
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Mackenzie C Morris
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Rebecca M Schuster
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Lisa G England
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Matthew J Robson
- James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Michael D Goodman
- Department of General Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Bae HJ, Bae HJ, Kim JY, Park K, Yang X, Jung SY, Park SJ, Kim DH, Shin CY, Ryu JH. The effect of lansoprazole on MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2023; 120:110646. [PMID: 36191804 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110646] [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: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
As a heterogeneous disorder, schizophrenia is known to be associated with neuroinflammation. A recent study showed that several cytokines are higher in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenia patients. Lansoprazole, a proton pump inhibitor used for treating erosive esophagitis, has been reported to reduce INF-γ-induced neurotoxicity and decrease inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. These findings persuaded us to examine whether lansoprazole ameliorates schizophrenia-like symptoms. The schizophrenia mouse model was induced by the acute administration of MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist. Sensorimotor gating, Barnes maze, and social novelty preference tests were conducted to evaluate schizophrenia-like behaviors. We found that lansoprazole (0.3, 1, or 3 mg/kg) ameliorated sensorimotor gating deficits, spatial learning, and social deficits caused by MK-801 treatment (0.2 mg/kg). The catalepsy test, balance beam test, and rotarod test were performed to reveal the adverse effects of lansoprazole on motor coordination. The behavioral results indicated that lansoprazole did not result in any motor function deficits. Moreover, lansoprazole decreased inflammatory cytokines including IL-6 and TNF-α only in the cortex, but not in the hippocampus. Collectively, these results suggest that lansoprazole could be a potential candidate for treating schizophrenia patients who suffer from sensorimotor gating deficits or social disability without any motor-related adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyo Jeoung Bae
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Ho Jung Bae
- School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Youn Kim
- Department of Integrated Drug Development and Natural Products, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Keontae Park
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Xingquan Yang
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Seo Yun Jung
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - Se Jin Park
- School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Hyun Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Chan Young Shin
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Hoon Ryu
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea; Department of Oriental Pharmaceutical Science College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
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Alaghband Y, Klein PM, Kramár EA, Cranston MN, Perry BC, Shelerud LM, Kane AE, Doan NL, Ru N, Acharya MM, Wood MA, Sinclair DA, Dickstein DL, Soltesz I, Limoli CL, Baulch JE. Galactic cosmic radiation exposure causes multifaceted neurocognitive impairments. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:29. [PMID: 36607431 PMCID: PMC9823026 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04666-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Technological advancements have facilitated the implementation of realistic, terrestrial-based complex 33-beam galactic cosmic radiation simulations (GCR Sim) to now probe central nervous system functionality. This work expands considerably on prior, simplified GCR simulations, yielding new insights into responses of male and female mice exposed to 40-50 cGy acute or chronic radiations relevant to deep space travel. Results of the object in updated location task suggested that exposure to acute or chronic GCR Sim induced persistent impairments in hippocampus-dependent memory formation and reconsolidation in female mice that did not manifest robustly in irradiated male mice. Interestingly, irradiated male mice, but not females, were impaired in novel object recognition and chronically irradiated males exhibited increased aggressive behavior on the tube dominance test. Electrophysiology studies used to evaluate synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal CA1 region revealed significant reductions in long-term potentiation after each irradiation paradigm in both sexes. Interestingly, network-level disruptions did not translate to altered intrinsic electrophysiological properties of CA1 pyramidal cells, whereas acute exposures caused modest drops in excitatory synaptic signaling in males. Ultrastructural analyses of CA1 synapses found smaller postsynaptic densities in larger spines of chronically exposed mice compared to controls and acutely exposed mice. Myelination was also affected by GCR Sim with acutely exposed mice exhibiting an increase in the percent of myelinated axons; however, the myelin sheathes on small calibur (< 0.3 mm) and larger (> 0.5 mm) axons were thinner when compared to controls. Present findings might have been predicted based on previous studies using single and mixed beam exposures and provide further evidence that space-relevant radiation exposures disrupt critical cognitive processes and underlying neuronal network-level plasticity, albeit not to the extent that might have been previously predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasaman Alaghband
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Peter M Klein
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Eniko A Kramár
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, 92697-2695, USA
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, 92697-2695, USA
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Michael N Cranston
- Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Bayley C Perry
- Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Lukas M Shelerud
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 0211, USA
| | - Alice E Kane
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 0211, USA
| | - Ngoc-Lien Doan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Ning Ru
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Munjal M Acharya
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Marcelo A Wood
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, 92697-2695, USA
| | - David A Sinclair
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 0211, USA
| | - Dara L Dickstein
- Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Ivan Soltesz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Charles L Limoli
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA
| | - Janet E Baulch
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Sciences I, University of California Irvine, Room B-146D, Irvine, CA, 92697-2695, USA.
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Minakova E, Mikati MO, Madasu MK, Conway SM, Baldwin JW, Swift RG, McCullough KB, Dougherty JD, Maloney SE, Al-Hasani R. Perinatal oxycodone exposure causes long-term sex-dependent changes in weight trajectory and sensory processing in adult mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:3859-3873. [PMID: 36269379 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06257-8] [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: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE In utero opioid exposure is associated with lower weight and a neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) at birth, along with longer-term adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes and mood disorders. While NOWS is sometimes treated with continued opioids, clinical studies have not addressed if long-term neurobehavioral outcomes are worsened with continued postnatal exposure to opioids. In addition, pre-clinical studies comparing in utero only opioid exposure to continued post-natal opioid administration for withdrawal mitigation are lacking. OBJECTIVES Here, we sought to understand the impact of continued postnatal opioid exposure on long term behavioral consequences. METHODS We implemented a rodent perinatal opioid exposure model of oxycodone (Oxy) exposure that included Oxy exposure until birth (short Oxy) and continued postnatal opioid exposure (long Oxy) spanning gestation through birth and lactation. RESULTS Short Oxy exposure was associated with a sex-specific increase in weight gain trajectory in adult male mice. Long Oxy exposure caused an increased weight gain trajectory in adult males and alterations in nociceptive processing in females. Importantly, there was no evidence of long-term social behavioral deficits, anxiety, hyperactivity, or memory deficits following short or long Oxy exposure. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that offspring with prolonged opioid exposure experienced some long-term sequelae compared to pups with opioid cessation at birth. These results highlight the potential long-term consequences of opioid administration as a mitigation strategy for clinical NOWS symptomology and suggest alternatives should be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Minakova
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Marwa O Mikati
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110-1093, USA.,Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Washington University Pain Management Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Manish K Madasu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Washington University Pain Management Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Sineadh M Conway
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Washington University Pain Management Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Justin W Baldwin
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Raylynn G Swift
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110-1093, USA.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Katherine B McCullough
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110-1093, USA.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Joseph D Dougherty
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110-1093, USA.,Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Susan E Maloney
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110-1093, USA. .,Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Ream Al-Hasani
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. .,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. .,Washington University Pain Management Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. .,Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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Willmore L, Cameron C, Yang J, Witten IB, Falkner AL. Behavioural and dopaminergic signatures of resilience. Nature 2022; 611:124-132. [PMID: 36261520 PMCID: PMC10026178 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05328-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Chronic stress can have lasting adverse consequences in some individuals, yet others are resilient to the same stressor1,2. Susceptible and resilient individuals exhibit differences in the intrinsic properties of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons after the stressful experience is over3-8. However, the causal links between DA, behaviour during stress and individual differences in resilience are unknown. Here we recorded behaviour in mice simultaneously with DA neuron activity in projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) (which signals reward9-12) and the tail striatum (TS) (which signals threat13-16) during social defeat. Supervised and unsupervised behavioural quantification revealed that during stress, resilient and susceptible mice use different behavioural strategies and have distinct activity patterns in DA terminals in the NAc (but not the TS). Neurally, resilient mice have greater activity near the aggressor, including at the onset of fighting back. Conversely, susceptible mice have greater activity at the offset of attacks and onset of fleeing. We also performed optogenetic stimulation of NAc-projecting DA neurons in open loop (randomly timed) during defeat or timed to specific behaviours using real-time behavioural classification. Both open-loop and fighting-back-timed activation promoted resilience and reorganized behaviour during defeat towards resilience-associated patterns. Together, these data provide a link between DA neural activity, resilience and resilience-associated behaviour during the experience of stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay Willmore
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Courtney Cameron
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - John Yang
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Ilana B Witten
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - Annegret L Falkner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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Social Hierarchy Dictates Intestinal Radiation Injury in a Gut Microbiota-Dependent Manner. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113189. [PMID: 36361976 PMCID: PMC9659279 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113189] [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: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social hierarchy governs the physiological and biochemical behaviors of animals. Intestinal radiation injuries are common complications connected with radiotherapy. However, it remains unclear whether social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal toxicity. Dominant mice exhibited more serious intestinal toxicity following total abdominal irradiation compared with their subordinate counterparts, as judged by higher inflammatory status and lower epithelial integrity. Radiation-elicited changes in gut microbiota varied between dominant and subordinate mice, being more overt in mice of higher status. Deletion of gut microbes by using an antibiotic cocktail or restructuring of the gut microecology of dominant mice by using fecal microbiome from their subordinate companions erased the difference in radiogenic intestinal injuries. Lactobacillus murinus and Akkermansia muciniphila were both found to be potential probiotics for use against radiation toxicity in mouse models without social hierarchy. However, only Akkermansia muciniphila showed stable colonization in the digestive tracts of dominant mice, and significantly mitigated their intestinal radiation injuries. Our findings demonstrate that social hierarchy impacts the development of radiation-induced intestinal injuries, in a manner dependent on gut microbiota. The results also suggest that the gut microhabitats of hosts determine the colonization and efficacy of foreign probiotics. Thus, screening suitable microbial preparations based on the gut microecology of patients might be necessary in clinical application.
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Ma X, Li L, Li Z, Huang Z, Yang Y, Liu P, Guo D, Li Y, Wu T, Luo R, Xu J, Ye W, Jiang B, Shi L. eEF2 in the prefrontal cortex promotes excitatory synaptic transmission and social novelty behavior. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e54543. [PMID: 35993189 PMCID: PMC9535807 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202154543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of mRNA translation is essential for brain development and function. Translation elongation factor eEF2 acts as a molecular hub orchestrating various synaptic signals to protein synthesis control and participates in hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions. However, whether eEF2 regulates other behaviors in different brain regions has been unknown. Here, we construct a line of Eef2 heterozygous (HET) mice, which show a reduction in eEF2 and protein synthesis mainly in excitatory neurons of the prefrontal cortex. The mice also show lower spine density, reduced excitability, and AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission in pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). While HET mice exhibit normal learning and memory, they show defective social behavior and elevated anxiety. Knockdown of Eef2 in excitatory neurons of the mPFC specifically is sufficient to impair social novelty preference. Either chemogenetic activation of excitatory neurons in the mPFC or mPFC local infusion of the AMPAR potentiator PF-4778574 corrects the social novelty deficit of HET mice. Collectively, we identify a novel role for eEF2 in promoting prefrontal AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission underlying social novelty behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyue Ma
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Liuren Li
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Ziming Li
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of MedicineSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Zhengyi Huang
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Yaorong Yang
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Peng Liu
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Daji Guo
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Clinical Neuroscience InstituteThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Yueyao Li
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Tianying Wu
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Ruixiang Luo
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Junyu Xu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Rehabilitation of the Children's HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Wen‐Cai Ye
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Center for Bioactive Natural Molecules and Innovative Drugs Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Bin Jiang
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of MedicineSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Lei Shi
- JNU‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Neuroscience and Innovative Drug Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Center for Bioactive Natural Molecules and Innovative Drugs Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research, College of PharmacyJinan UniversityGuangzhouChina
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Dubljević O, Ković V, Pavković Ž, Mitić M, Pešić V. The Influence of Unlimited Sucrose Intake on Body Weight and Behavior-Findings from a Mouse Model. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12101332. [PMID: 36291265 PMCID: PMC9599889 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12101332] [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: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A potential relationship between unrestricted sucrose intake (USI), overweight, and emotional/behavioral control has not been well documented. We examined the influence of USI and having less sweetness than expected on body weight (BW), motor/exploratory, anxiety-like, and social dominant behavior in adult C57BL/6J male mice. Animals had free access to water (group 1) or 32% sucrose and water (sucrose groups 2–5) for 10 days. Then, group 2 remained with 32% sucrose while groups 3–5 were subjected to the downshift (24 h access to 4%, 8%, or 16% sucrose). All experimental groups were weighed and tested in the novel-open arena (NA), elevated plus maze (EPM), and tube tests to assess BW, motor/exploratory, anxiety-like, and social dominance behavior, respectively. USI did not influence animals’ BW but produced hyperactivity and anxiolytic-like behavior, which was evident in EPM but not in NA; the outcomes of the downshift were comparable. USI did not influence successes/wins in the tube test but altered emotions that drive the winning, favoring a less anxious behavioral phenotype; this was not evident in the downshifted groups. Observed findings suggest that USI promotes sensation-seeking and motivates dominance, without changing BW, while blunted emotional base of social dominance might be an early mark of the downshift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Dubljević
- Department of Neurobiology, Institute for Biological Research ‘‘Siniša Stanković’’—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vanja Ković
- Laboratory for Neurocognition and Applied Cognition, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Željko Pavković
- Department of Neurobiology, Institute for Biological Research ‘‘Siniša Stanković’’—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Miloš Mitić
- Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, ‘‘VINČA’’ Institute of Nuclear Sciences—National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vesna Pešić
- Department of Neurobiology, Institute for Biological Research ‘‘Siniša Stanković’’—National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
- Correspondence:
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Ca2+ imaging of self and other in medial prefrontal cortex during social dominance interactions in a tube test. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2107942119. [PMID: 35881809 PMCID: PMC9353509 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107942119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of social dominance interactions between animals offers a window onto the decision-making involved in establishing dominance hierarchies and an opportunity to examine changes in social behavior observed in certain neurogenetic disorders. Competitive social interactions, such as in the widely used tube test, reflect this decision-making. Previous studies have focused on the different patterns of behavior seen in the dominant and submissive animal, neural correlates of effortful behavior believed to mediate the outcome of such encounters, and interbrain correlations of neural activity. Using a rigorous mutual information criterion, we now report that neural responses recorded with endoscopic calcium imaging in the prelimbic zone of the medial prefrontal cortex show unique correlations to specific dominance-related behaviors. Interanimal analyses revealed cell/behavior correlations that are primarily with an animal's own behavior or with the other animal's behavior, or the coincident behavior of both animals (such as pushing by one and resisting by the other). The comparison of unique and coincident cells helps to disentangle cell firing that reflects an animal's own or the other's specific behavior from situations reflecting conjoint action. These correlates point to a more cognitive rather than a solely behavioral dimension of social interactions that needs to be considered in the design of neurobiological studies of social behavior. These could prove useful in studies of disorders affecting social recognition and social engagement, and the treatment of disorders of social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Puścian
- Nencki-EMBL Partnership for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders – BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteur 3 Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewelina Knapska
- Nencki-EMBL Partnership for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders – BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteur 3 Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
- Corresponding author
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