1
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Hur J, Tillman RM, Kim HC, Didier P, Anderson AS, Islam S, Stockbridge MD, De Los Reyes A, DeYoung KA, Smith JF, Shackman AJ. Adolescent social anxiety is associated with diminished discrimination of anticipated threat and safety in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.30.564701. [PMID: 38853920 PMCID: PMC11160578 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.30.564701] [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
Social anxiety-which typically emerges in adolescence-lies on a continuum and, when extreme, can be devastating. Socially anxious individuals are prone to heightened fear, anxiety, and the avoidance of contexts associated with potential social scrutiny. Yet most neuroimaging research has focused on acute social threat. Much less attention has been devoted to understanding the neural systems recruited during the uncertain anticipation of potential encounters with social threat. Here we used a novel fMRI paradigm to probe the neural circuitry engaged during the anticipation and acute presentation of threatening faces and voices in a racially diverse sample of 66 adolescents selectively recruited to encompass a range of social anxiety and enriched for clinically significant levels of distress and impairment. Results demonstrated that adolescents with more severe social anxiety symptoms experience heightened distress when anticipating encounters with social threat, and reduced discrimination of uncertain social threat and safety in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), a key division of the central extended amygdala (EAc). Although the EAc-including the BST and central nucleus of the amygdala-was robustly engaged by the acute presentation of threatening faces and voices, the degree of EAc engagement was unrelated to the severity of social anxiety. Together, these observations provide a neurobiologically grounded framework for conceptualizing adolescent social anxiety and set the stage for the kinds of prospective-longitudinal and mechanistic research that will be necessary to determine causation and, ultimately, to develop improved interventions for this often-debilitating illness.
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2
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Roland AV, Harry Chao TH, Hon OJ, Machinski SN, Sides TR, Lee SI, Ian Shih YY, Kash TL. Acute and chronic alcohol modulation of extended amygdala calcium dynamics. Alcohol 2024; 116:53-64. [PMID: 38423261 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2024.02.004] [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: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
The central amygdala (CeA) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are reciprocally connected nodes of the extended amygdala thought to play an important role in alcohol consumption. Studies of immediate-early genes indicate that BNST and CeA are acutely activated following alcohol drinking and may signal alcohol reward in nondependent drinkers, while stress signaling in the extended amygdala following chronic alcohol exposure drives increased drinking via negative reinforcement. However, the temporal dynamics of neuronal activation in these regions during drinking behavior are poorly understood. In this study, we used fiber photometry and the genetically encoded calcium sensor GCaMP6s to assess acute changes in neuronal activity during alcohol consumption in BNST and CeA before and after a chronic drinking paradigm. Activity was examined in the pan-neuronal population and separately in dynorphinergic neurons. BNST and CeA showed increased pan-neuronal activity during acute consumption of alcohol and other fluid tastants of positive and negative valence, as well as highly palatable chow. Responses were greatest during initial consummatory bouts and decreased in amplitude with repeated consumption of the same tastant, suggesting modulation by stimulus novelty. Dynorphin neurons showed similar consumption-associated calcium increases in both regions. Following three weeks of continuous alcohol access (CA), calcium increases in dynorphin neurons during drinking were maintained, but pan-neuronal activity and BNST-CeA coherence were altered in a sex-specific manner. These results indicate that BNST and CeA, and dynorphin neurons specifically, are engaged during drinking behavior, and activity dynamics are influenced by stimulus novelty and chronic alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison V Roland
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tzu-Hao Harry Chao
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Olivia J Hon
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Samantha N Machinski
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tori R Sides
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sophia I Lee
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Yen-Yu Ian Shih
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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3
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Kim HC, Kaplan CM, Islam S, Anderson AS, Piper ME, Bradford DE, Curtin JJ, DeYoung KA, Smith JF, Fox AS, Shackman AJ. Acute nicotine abstinence amplifies subjective withdrawal symptoms and threat-evoked fear and anxiety, but not extended amygdala reactivity. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288544. [PMID: 37471317 PMCID: PMC10358993 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Tobacco smoking imposes a staggering burden on public health, underscoring the urgency of developing a deeper understanding of the processes that maintain addiction. Clinical and experience-sampling data highlight the importance of anxious withdrawal symptoms, but the underlying neurobiology has remained elusive. Mechanistic work in animals implicates the central extended amygdala (EAc)-including the central nucleus of the amygdala and the neighboring bed nucleus of the stria terminalis-but the translational relevance of these discoveries remains unexplored. Here we leveraged a randomized trial design, well-established threat-anticipation paradigm, and multidimensional battery of assessments to understand the consequences of 24-hour nicotine abstinence. The threat-anticipation paradigm had the expected consequences, amplifying subjective distress and arousal, and recruiting the canonical threat-anticipation network. Abstinence increased smoking urges and withdrawal symptoms, and potentiated threat-evoked distress, but had negligible consequences for EAc threat reactivity, raising questions about the translational relevance of prominent animal and human models of addiction. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing nicotine abstinence and withdrawal, with implications for basic, translational, and clinical science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyung Cho Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Claire M Kaplan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Allegra S Anderson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Megan E Piper
- Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention and Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Daniel E Bradford
- School of Psychological Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - John J Curtin
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Kathryn A DeYoung
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jason F Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
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4
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Flook EA, Feola B, Benningfield MM, Silveri MM, Winder DG, Blackford JU. Alterations in BNST Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in Early Abstinence from Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Alcohol 2023; 58:298-307. [PMID: 36847484 PMCID: PMC10168710 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agad006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Maintaining abstinence from alcohol use disorder (AUD) is extremely challenging, partially due to increased symptoms of anxiety and stress that trigger relapse. Rodent models of AUD have identified that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) contributes to symptoms of anxiety-like behavior and drug-seeking during abstinence. In humans, however, the BNST's role in abstinence remains poorly understood. The aims of this study were to assess BNST network intrinsic functional connectivity in individuals during abstinence from AUD compared to healthy controls and examine associations between BNST intrinsic functional connectivity, anxiety and alcohol use severity during abstinence. METHODS The study included resting state fMRI scans from participants aged 21-40 years: 20 participants with AUD in abstinence and 20 healthy controls. Analyses were restricted to five pre-selected brain regions with known BNST structural connections. Linear mixed models were used to test for group differences, with sex as a fixed factor given previously shown sex differences. RESULTS BNST-hypothalamus intrinsic connectivity was lower in the abstinent group relative to the control group. There were also pronounced sex differences in both the group and individual analyses; many of the findings were specific to men. Within the abstinent group, anxiety was positively associated with BNST-amygdala and BNST-hypothalamus connectivity, and men, not women, showed a negative relationship between alcohol use severity and BNST-hypothalamus connectivity. CONCLUSIONS Understanding differences in connectivity during abstinence may help explain the clinically observed anxiety and depression symptoms during abstinence and may inform the development of individualized treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Flook
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1161 21st Ave S # D3300, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, 2215 Garland Ave, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Brandee Feola
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1601 23rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
| | - Margaret M Benningfield
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1161 21st Ave S # D3300, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, 2215 Garland Ave, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1601 23rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
| | - Marisa M Silveri
- Neurodevelopmental Laboratory on Addictions and Mental Health, Brain Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Danny G Winder
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, 2215 Garland Ave, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, 2215 Garland Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, 465 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Jennifer Urbano Blackford
- Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, 2215 Garland Ave, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1601 23rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
- Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 6902 Pine Street, Omaha, NE 68106, USA
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5
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Iwanaga J, He P, Fukino K, Hur MS, Kim HJ, Han A, Watanabe K, Ibaragi S, Kitagawa N, Tubbs RS. What is a superior labial frenulum? An anatomical and histological study. Clin Anat 2023; 36:161-169. [PMID: 36336971 DOI: 10.1002/ca.23973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Anatomy of the superior labial frenulum (SLF), at first glance, seems to be well established. However, existing studies on the SLF lack description of the incisivus labii superioris (ILS), which cannot be ignored when discussing the SLF. We believe that thorough understanding of the SLF necessitates the anatomical knowledge of the ILS. This study aimed to elucidate the anatomical relationship between the orbicularis oris (OO), ILS, and SLF. A total of 20 formalin fixed human cadaveric specimens were used for gross anatomical and/or histological observation. For histological observation, all specimens were stained with Masson-trichrome. The SLF was a mucosal fold between the gingival mucosa and alveolar mucosa with connective tissue deep to it. The connective tissue attached to the alveolar bone in the junction between the right and left ILS. Skeletal muscle fibers other than orbicularis oris was found in one specimen, which were considered the ILS. During a frenulectomy, removal of the connective tissue bundle is required to prevent recurrence of the high SLF insertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe Iwanaga
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Dental and Oral Medical Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.,Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Puhan He
- Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Keiko Fukino
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mi-Sun Hur
- Department of Anatomy, Daegu Catholic University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Hee-Jin Kim
- Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Human Identification Research Institute, BK21 FOUR Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Aya Han
- Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.,Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Koichi Watanabe
- Division of Gross and Clinical Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Soichiro Ibaragi
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
| | - Norio Kitagawa
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - R Shane Tubbs
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Neurology, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George's University, Grenada, West Indies.,Department of Structural & Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery and Ochsner Neuroscience Institute, Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.,University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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6
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Borrego MB, Chan AE, Ozburn AR. Regulation of alcohol drinking by ventral striatum and extended amygdala circuitry. Neuropharmacology 2022; 212:109074. [PMID: 35487273 PMCID: PMC9677601 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is a complex psychiatric disorder that can be modeled in rodents using a number of drinking paradigms. Drinking-in-the-dark (DID) is widely used to model the binge/intoxication stage of addiction, and chronic intermittent ethanol vapor procedures (CIE) are used to induce dependence and model withdrawal/negative affect induced escalation of drinking. We discuss experiments showing the ventral striatum (vStr) and extended amygdala (EA) are engaged in response to ethanol in rodents through c-Fos/Fos immunoreactivity studies. We also discuss experiments in rodents that span a wide variety of techniques where the function of vStr and EA structures are changed following DID or CIE, and the role of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems studies in these ethanol-related outcomes. We note where signaling systems converge across regions and paradigms and where there are still gaps in the literature. Dynorphin/κ-opioid receptor (KOR) signaling, as well as corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)/CRF receptor signaling were found to be important regulators of drinking behaviors across brain regions and drinking paradigms. Future research will require that females and a variety of rodent strains are used in preclinical experiments in order to strengthen the generalizability of findings and improve the likelihood of success for testing potential therapeutics in human laboratory studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marissa B Borrego
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA; VA Portland Health Care System, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Amy E Chan
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA; VA Portland Health Care System, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Angela R Ozburn
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA; VA Portland Health Care System, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.
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7
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Hur J, Kuhn M, Grogans SE, Anderson AS, Islam S, Kim HC, Tillman RM, Fox AS, Smith JF, DeYoung KA, Shackman AJ. Anxiety-Related Frontocortical Activity Is Associated With Dampened Stressor Reactivity in the Real World. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:906-924. [PMID: 35657777 PMCID: PMC9343891 DOI: 10.1177/09567976211056635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative affect is a fundamental dimension of human emotion. When extreme, it contributes to a variety of adverse outcomes, from physical and mental illness to divorce and premature death. Mechanistic work in animals and neuroimaging research in humans and monkeys have begun to reveal the broad contours of the neural circuits governing negative affect, but the relevance of these discoveries to everyday distress remains incompletely understood. Here, we used a combination of approaches-including neuroimaging assays of threat anticipation and emotional-face perception and more than 10,000 momentary assessments of emotional experience-to demonstrate that individuals who showed greater activation in a cingulo-opercular circuit during an anxiety-eliciting laboratory paradigm experienced lower levels of stressor-dependent distress in their daily lives (ns = 202-208 university students). Extended amygdala activation was not significantly related to momentary negative affect. These observations provide a framework for understanding the neurobiology of negative affect in the laboratory and in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei
University
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety
and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard
University
| | | | | | - Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology,
University of Pennsylvania
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Department of Psychology,
University of Maryland
- Neuroscience and Cognitive
Science Program, University of Maryland
| | | | - Andrew S. Fox
- Department of Psychology,
University of California, Davis
- California National Primate
Research Center, University of California, Davis
| | | | | | - Alexander J. Shackman
- Department of Psychology,
University of Maryland
- Neuroscience and Cognitive
Science Program, University of Maryland
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center,
University of Maryland, College Park
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8
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Berry SC, Lawrence AD, Lancaster TM, Casella C, Aggleton JP, Postans M. Subiculum - BNST Structural Connectivity in Humans and Macaques. Neuroimage 2022; 253:119096. [PMID: 35304264 PMCID: PMC9227740 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive tract-tracing studies in rodents implicate a direct connection between the subiculum and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) as a key component of neural pathways mediating hippocampal regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. A clear characterisation of the connections linking the subiculum and BNST in humans and non-human primates is lacking. To address this, we first delineated the projections from the subiculum to the BNST using anterograde tracers injected into macaque monkeys, revealing evidence for a monosynaptic subiculum-BNST projection involving the fornix. Second, we used in vivo diffusion MRI tractography in macaques and humans to demonstrate substantial subiculum complex connectivity to the BNST in both species. This connection was primarily carried by the fornix, with additional connectivity via the amygdala, consistent with rodent anatomy. Third, utilising the twin-based nature of our human sample, we found that microstructural properties of these tracts were moderately heritable (h2 ∼ 0.5). In a final analysis, we found no evidence of any significant association between subiculum complex-BNST tract microstructure and indices of perceived stress/dispositional negativity and alcohol use, derived from principal component analysis decomposition of self-report data. Our findings address a key translational gap in our knowledge of the neurocircuitry regulating stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C Berry
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Andrew D Lawrence
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Chiara Casella
- Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - John P Aggleton
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Mark Postans
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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9
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Krishnan HR, Zhang H, Chen Y, Bohnsack JP, Shieh AW, Kusumo H, Drnevich J, Liu C, Grayson DR, Maienschein-Cline M, Pandey SC. Unraveling the epigenomic and transcriptomic interplay during alcohol-induced anxiolysis. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4624-4632. [PMID: 36089615 PMCID: PMC9734037 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01732-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Positive effects of alcohol drinking such as anxiolysis and euphoria appear to be a crucial factor in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the mechanisms that lead from chromatin reorganization to transcriptomic changes after acute ethanol exposure remain unknown. Here, we used Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin followed by high throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) and RNA-seq to investigate epigenomic and transcriptomic changes that underlie anxiolytic effects of acute ethanol using an animal model. Analysis of ATAC-seq data revealed an overall open or permissive chromatin state that was associated with transcriptomic changes in the amygdala after acute ethanol exposure. We identified a candidate gene, Hif3a (Hypoxia-inducible factor 3, alpha subunit), that had 'open' chromatin regions (ATAC-seq peaks), associated with significantly increased active epigenetic histone acetylation marks and decreased DNA methylation at these regions. The mRNA levels of Hif3a were increased by acute ethanol exposure, but decreased in the amygdala during withdrawal after chronic ethanol exposure. Knockdown of Hif3a expression in the central nucleus of amygdala attenuated acute ethanol-induced increases in Hif3a mRNA levels and blocked anxiolysis in rats. These data indicate that chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic signatures in the amygdala after acute ethanol exposure underlie anxiolysis and possibly prime the chromatin for the development of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harish R. Krishnan
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.280892.90000 0004 0419 4711Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Huaibo Zhang
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.280892.90000 0004 0419 4711Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Ying Chen
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - John Peyton Bohnsack
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Annie W. Shieh
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.411023.50000 0000 9159 4457Present Address: Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210 USA
| | - Handojo Kusumo
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.280892.90000 0004 0419 4711Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Jenny Drnevich
- grid.35403.310000 0004 1936 9991High-Performance Biological Computing, Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 USA
| | - Chunyu Liu
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.411023.50000 0000 9159 4457Present Address: Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210 USA
| | - Dennis R. Grayson
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Mark Maienschein-Cline
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Research Informatics Core, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
| | - Subhash C. Pandey
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612 USA ,grid.280892.90000 0004 0419 4711Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 USA
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10
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Berry SC, Wise RG, Lawrence AD, Lancaster TM. Extended-amygdala intrinsic functional connectivity networks: A population study. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:1594-1616. [PMID: 33314443 PMCID: PMC7978137 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pre-clinical and human neuroimaging research implicates the extended-amygdala (ExtA) (including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis [BST] and central nucleus of the amygdala [CeA]) in networks mediating negative emotional states associated with stress and substance-use behaviours. The extent to which individual ExtA structures form a functionally integrated unit is controversial. We utilised a large sample (n > 1,000 healthy young adult humans) to compare the intrinsic functional connectivity networks (ICNs) of the BST and CeA using task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the Human Connectome Project. We assessed whether inter-individual differences within these ICNs were related to two principal components representing negative disposition and alcohol use. Building on recent primate evidence, we tested whether within BST-CeA intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) was heritable and further examined co-heritability with our principal components. We demonstrate the BST and CeA to have discrete, but largely overlapping ICNs similar to previous findings. We found no evidence that within BST-CeA iFC was heritable; however, post hoc analyses found significant BST iFC heritability with the broader superficial and centromedial amygdala regions. There were no significant correlations or co-heritability associations with our principal components either across the ICNs or for specific BST-Amygdala iFC. Possible differences in phenotype associations across task-free, task-based, and clinical fMRI are discussed, along with suggestions for more causal investigative paradigms that make use of the now well-established ExtA ICNs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C. Berry
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Richard G. Wise
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences"G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti‐PescaraChietiItaly
| | - Andrew D. Lawrence
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
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11
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Hur J, Smith JF, DeYoung KA, Anderson AS, Kuang J, Kim HC, Tillman RM, Kuhn M, Fox AS, Shackman AJ. Anxiety and the Neurobiology of Temporally Uncertain Threat Anticipation. J Neurosci 2020; 40:7949-7964. [PMID: 32958570 PMCID: PMC7548695 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0704-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
When extreme, anxiety-a state of distress and arousal prototypically evoked by uncertain danger-can be debilitating. Uncertain anticipation is a shared feature of situations that elicit signs and symptoms of anxiety across psychiatric disorders, species, and assays. Despite the profound significance of anxiety for human health and wellbeing, the neurobiology of uncertain-threat anticipation remains unsettled. Leveraging a paradigm adapted from animal research and optimized for fMRI signal decomposition, we examined the neural circuits engaged during the anticipation of temporally uncertain and certain threat in 99 men and women. Results revealed that the neural systems recruited by uncertain and certain threat anticipation are anatomically colocalized in frontocortical regions, extended amygdala, and periaqueductal gray. Comparison of the threat conditions demonstrated that this circuitry can be fractionated, with frontocortical regions showing relatively stronger engagement during the anticipation of uncertain threat, and the extended amygdala showing the reverse pattern. Although there is widespread agreement that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsal amygdala-the two major subdivisions of the extended amygdala-play a critical role in orchestrating adaptive responses to potential danger, their precise contributions to human anxiety have remained contentious. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these regions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat anticipation. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing anxiety and fear, for understanding the functional neuroanatomy of threat anticipation in humans, and for accelerating the development of more effective intervention strategies for pathological anxiety.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anxiety-an emotion prototypically associated with the anticipation of uncertain harm-has profound significance for public health, yet the underlying neurobiology remains unclear. Leveraging a novel neuroimaging paradigm in a relatively large sample, we identify a core circuit responsive to both uncertain and certain threat anticipation, and show that this circuitry can be fractionated into subdivisions with a bias for one kind of threat or the other. The extended amygdala occupies center stage in neuropsychiatric models of anxiety, but its functional architecture has remained contentious. Here we demonstrate that its major subdivisions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat. Collectively, these observations indicate the need to revise how we think about the neurobiology of anxiety and fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Allegra S Anderson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Jinyi Kuang
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
| | | | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
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12
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Hamilton KR, Smith JF, Gonçalves SF, Nketia JA, Tasheuras ON, Yoon M, Rubia K, Chirles TJ, Lejuez CW, Shackman AJ. Striatal bases of temporal discounting in early adolescents. Neuropsychologia 2020; 144:107492. [PMID: 32437762 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Steeper rates of temporal discounting-the degree to which smaller-sooner (SS) rewards are preferred over larger-later (LL) ones-have been associated with impulsive and ill-advised behaviors in adolescence. Yet, the underlying neural systems remain poorly understood. Here we used a well-established temporal discounting paradigm and functional MRI (fMRI) to examine engagement of the striatum-including the caudate, putamen, and ventral striatum (VS)-in early adolescence (13-15 years; N = 27). Analyses provided evidence of enhanced activity in the caudate and VS during impulsive choice. Exploratory analyses revealed that trait impulsivity was associated with heightened putamen activity during impulsive choices. A more nuanced pattern was evident in the cortex, with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mirroring the putamen and posterior parietal cortex showing the reverse association. Taken together, these observations provide an important first glimpse at the distributed neural systems underlying economic choice and trait-like individual differences in impulsivity in the early years of adolescence, setting the stage for prospective-longitudinal and intervention research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Mark Yoon
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Carl W Lejuez
- Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
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13
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Nandrino JL, El Haj M. The grey future: Overgenerality of emotional future thinking in alcohol-use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend 2019; 205:107659. [PMID: 31704381 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While previous research has highlighted the overgenerality of future thinking in alcohol-use disorders (AUD), the emotional characteristics of future thinking were not taken into account. We therefore evaluated the ability to retrieve episodic (i.e., events that happened at a particular place and time and lasted for a day or less) emotional future events in AUD. METHODS We invited 36 participants with AUD and 40 control participants to imagine positive, negative and neutral future scenarios and analyzed these scenarios regarding their episodic characteristics (i.e., the ability of participants to imagine future events situated in time and space enriched with phenomenological details). RESULTS Analysis demonstrated lower episodic positive, negative and neutral future thinking in participants with AUD than in control participants. Participants with AUD also demonstrated lower episodic positive and negative future thinking compared to episodic neutral future thinking. Interestingly, high depression scores were associated with overgenerality of neutral, positive, and negative future thinking in AUD participants. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate overgenerality of both positive and negative future thinking in AUD. This overgenerality may represent an avoidance strategy in which individuals with AUD may try to avoid the hopelessness and/or conflicts that may be activated when constructing future scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Louis Nandrino
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Mohamad El Haj
- Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL - EA 4638), F-44000, Nantes, France; Unité de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier de Tourcoing, Tourcoing, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
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14
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Hur J, Stockbridge MD, Fox AS, Shackman AJ. Dispositional negativity, cognition, and anxiety disorders: An integrative translational neuroscience framework. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 247:375-436. [PMID: 31196442 PMCID: PMC6578598 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
When extreme, anxiety can become debilitating. Anxiety disorders, which often first emerge early in development, are common and challenging to treat, yet the underlying mechanisms have only recently begun to come into focus. Here, we review new insights into the nature and biological bases of dispositional negativity, a fundamental dimension of childhood temperament and adult personality and a prominent risk factor for the development of pediatric and adult anxiety disorders. Converging lines of epidemiological, neurobiological, and mechanistic evidence suggest that dispositional negativity increases the likelihood of psychopathology via specific neurocognitive mechanisms, including attentional biases to threat and deficits in executive control. Collectively, these observations provide an integrative translational framework for understanding the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders in adults and youth and set the stage for developing improved intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
| | | | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States; Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
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15
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Abstract
Emotions play a central role in human experience. Over time, methods for manipulating emotion have become increasingly refined and techniques for making sense of the underlying neurobiology have become ever more powerful and precise, enabling new insights into the organization of emotions in the brain. Yet recent years have witnessed a remarkably vigorous debate about the nature and origins of emotion, with leading scientists raising compelling concerns about the canon of facts and principles that has inspired and guided the field for the past quarter century. Here, we consider ways in which recent neuroimaging research informs this dialogue. By focusing attention on the most important outstanding questions about the nature of emotion and the architecture of the emotional brain, we hope to stimulate the kinds of work that will be required to move the field forward. Addressing these questions is critical, not just for understanding the mind, but also for elucidating the root causes of many of its disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA; Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA.
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA; Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
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