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Marrero K, Aruljothi K, Delgadillo C, Kabbara S, Swatch L, Zagha E. Goal-Directed Learning is Multidimensional and Accompanied by Diverse and Widespread Changes in Neocortical Signaling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.02.13.528412. [PMID: 36824924 PMCID: PMC9948952 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.13.528412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
New tasks are often learned in stages with each stage reflecting a different learning challenge. Accordingly, each learning stage is likely mediated by distinct neuronal processes. And yet, most rodent studies of the neuronal correlates of goal-directed learning focus on individual outcome measures and individual brain regions. Here, we longitudinally studied mice from naïve to expert performance in a head-fixed, operant conditioning whisker discrimination task. In addition to tracking the primary behavioral outcome of stimulus discrimination, we tracked and compared an array of object-based and temporal-based behavioral measures. These behavioral analyses identify multiple, partially overlapping learning stages in this task, consistent with initial response implementation, early stimulus-response generalization, and late response inhibition. To begin to understand the neuronal foundations of these learning processes, we performed widefield Ca2+ imaging of dorsal neocortex throughout learning and correlated behavioral measures with neuronal activity. We found distinct and widespread correlations between neocortical activation patterns and various behavioral measures. For example, improvements in sensory discrimination correlated with target stimulus evoked activations of licking-related cortices along with distractor stimulus evoked global cortical suppression. Our study reveals multidimensional learning for a simple goal-directed learning task and generates hypotheses for the neuronal modulations underlying these various learning processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krista Marrero
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
| | - Krithiga Aruljothi
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
| | - Christian Delgadillo
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
| | - Sarah Kabbara
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
| | - Lovleen Swatch
- College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
| | - Edward Zagha
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside 900 University Avenue, Riverside CA 92521 USA
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2
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Nepomoceno EB, Rodrigues S, de Melo KS, Ferreira TL, Freestone D, Caetano MS. Insular and prelimbic cortices control behavioral accuracy and precision in a temporal decision-making task in rats. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114961. [PMID: 38494127 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114961] [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: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
The anterior insular cortex (AIC) comprises a region of sensory integration. It appears to detect salient events in order to guide goal-directed behavior, code tracking errors, and estimate the passage of time. Temporal processing in the AIC may be instantiated by the integration of representations of interoception. Projections between the AIC and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) - found both in rats and humans - also suggest a possible role for these structures in the integration of autonomic responses during ongoing behavior. Few studies, however, have investigated the role of AIC and mPFC in decision-making and time estimation tasks. Moreover, their findings are not consistent, so the relationship between temporal decision-making and those areas remains unclear. The present study employed bilateral inactivations to explore the role of AIC and prelimbic cortex (PL) in rats during a temporal decision-making task. In this task, two levers are available simultaneously (but only one is active), one predicting reinforcement after a short, and the other after a long-fixed interval. Optimal performance requires a switch from the short to the long lever after the short-fixed interval elapsed and no reinforcement was delivered. Switch behavior from the short to the long lever was dependent on AIC and PL. During AIC inactivation, switch latencies became more variable, while during PL inactivation switch latencies became both more variable and less accurate. These findings point to a dissociation between AIC and PL in temporal decision-making, suggesting that the AIC is important for temporal precision, and PL is important for both temporal accuracy and precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estela B Nepomoceno
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Brazil; Neuropsychology laboratory, Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul (USCS), Brazil.
| | - Samanta Rodrigues
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Brazil; Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil
| | - Katia S de Melo
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Brazil
| | - Tatiana L Ferreira
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Brazil
| | | | - Marcelo S Caetano
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia sobre Comportamento, Cognição e Ensino (INCT-ECCE), Brazil
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3
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Weber MA, Kerr G, Thangavel R, Conlon MM, Gumusoglu SB, Gupta K, Abdelmotilib HA, Halhouli O, Zhang Q, Geerling JC, Narayanan NS, Aldridge GM. Alpha-Synuclein Pre-Formed Fibrils Injected into Prefrontal Cortex Primarily Spread to Cortical and Subcortical Structures. JOURNAL OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE 2024; 14:81-94. [PMID: 38189765 PMCID: PMC10836574 DOI: 10.3233/jpd-230129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are characterized by diffuse spread of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) throughout the brain. Patients with PDD and DLB have a neuropsychological pattern of deficits that include executive dysfunction, such as abnormalities in planning, timing, working memory, and behavioral flexibility. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a major role in normal executive function and often develops α-syn aggregates in DLB and PDD. OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term behavioral and cognitive consequences of α-syn pathology in the cortex and characterize pathological spread of α-syn. METHODS We injected human α-syn pre-formed fibrils into the PFC of wild-type male mice. We then assessed the behavioral and cognitive effects between 12- and 21-months post-injection and characterized the spread of pathological α-syn in cortical, subcortical, and brainstem regions. RESULTS We report that PFC PFFs: 1) induced α-syn aggregation in multiple cortical and subcortical regions with sparse aggregation in midbrain and brainstem nuclei; 2) did not affect interval timing or spatial learning acquisition but did mildly alter behavioral flexibility as measured by intraday reversal learning; and 3) increased open field exploration. CONCLUSIONS This model of cortical-dominant pathology aids in our understanding of how local α-syn aggregation might impact some symptoms in PDD and DLB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Weber
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Gemma Kerr
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Ramasamy Thangavel
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mackenzie M. Conlon
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Serena B. Gumusoglu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Kalpana Gupta
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Hisham A. Abdelmotilib
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Oday Halhouli
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Joel C. Geerling
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nandakumar S. Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Georgina M. Aldridge
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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4
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Tichelaar JG, Sayalı C, Helmich RC, Cools R. Impulse control disorder in Parkinson's disease is associated with abnormal frontal value signalling. Brain 2023; 146:3676-3689. [PMID: 37192341 PMCID: PMC10473575 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopaminergic medication is well established to boost reward- versus punishment-based learning in Parkinson's disease. However, there is tremendous variability in dopaminergic medication effects across different individuals, with some patients exhibiting much greater cognitive sensitivity to medication than others. We aimed to unravel the mechanisms underlying this individual variability in a large heterogeneous sample of early-stage patients with Parkinson's disease as a function of comorbid neuropsychiatric symptomatology, in particular impulse control disorders and depression. One hundred and ninety-nine patients with Parkinson's disease (138 ON medication and 61 OFF medication) and 59 healthy controls were scanned with functional MRI while they performed an established probabilistic instrumental learning task. Reinforcement learning model-based analyses revealed medication group differences in learning from gains versus losses, but only in patients with impulse control disorders. Furthermore, expected-value related brain signalling in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was increased in patients with impulse control disorders ON medication compared with those OFF medication, while striatal reward prediction error signalling remained unaltered. These data substantiate the hypothesis that dopamine's effects on reinforcement learning in Parkinson's disease vary with individual differences in comorbid impulse control disorder and suggest they reflect deficient computation of value in medial frontal cortex, rather than deficient reward prediction error signalling in striatum. See Michael Browning (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad248) for a scientific commentary on this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorryt G Tichelaar
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, 6525EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ceyda Sayalı
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Rick C Helmich
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, 6525EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, 6525EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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5
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Weber MA, Sivakumar K, Tabakovic EE, Oya M, Aldridge GM, Zhang Q, Simmering JE, Narayanan NS. Glycolysis-enhancing α 1-adrenergic antagonists modify cognitive symptoms related to Parkinson's disease. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2023; 9:32. [PMID: 36864060 PMCID: PMC9981768 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00477-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Terazosin is an α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist that enhances glycolysis and increases cellular ATP by binding to the enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1). Recent work has shown that terazosin is protective against motor dysfunction in rodent models of Parkinson's disease (PD) and is associated with slowed motor symptom progression in PD patients. However, PD is also characterized by profound cognitive symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that terazosin protects against cognitive symptoms associated with PD. We report two main results. First, in rodents with ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine depletion modeling aspects of PD-related cognitive dysfunction, we found that terazosin preserved cognitive function. Second, we found that after matching for demographics, comorbidities, and disease duration, PD patients newly started on terazosin, alfuzosin, or doxazosin had a lower hazard of being diagnosed with dementia compared to tamsulosin, an α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist that does not enhance glycolysis. Together, these findings suggest that in addition to slowing motor symptom progression, glycolysis-enhancing drugs protect against cognitive symptoms of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Weber
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
| | - Kartik Sivakumar
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Ervina E Tabakovic
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mayu Oya
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Georgina M Aldridge
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jacob E Simmering
- Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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6
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Mikhael JG, Gershman SJ. Impulsivity and risk-seeking as Bayesian inference under dopaminergic control. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:465-476. [PMID: 34376813 PMCID: PMC8674258 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01125-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Bayesian models successfully account for several of dopamine (DA)'s effects on contextual calibration in interval timing and reward estimation. In these models, tonic levels of DA control the precision of stimulus encoding, which is weighed against contextual information when making decisions. When DA levels are high, the animal relies more heavily on the (highly precise) stimulus encoding, whereas when DA levels are low, the context affects decisions more strongly. Here, we extend this idea to intertemporal choice and probability discounting tasks. In intertemporal choice tasks, agents must choose between a small reward delivered soon and a large reward delivered later, whereas in probability discounting tasks, agents must choose between a small reward that is always delivered and a large reward that may be omitted with some probability. Beginning with the principle that animals will seek to maximize their reward rates, we show that the Bayesian model predicts a number of curious empirical findings in both tasks. First, the model predicts that higher DA levels should normally promote selection of the larger/later option, which is often taken to imply that DA decreases 'impulsivity,' and promote selection of the large/risky option, often taken to imply that DA increases 'risk-seeking.' However, if the temporal precision is sufficiently decreased, higher DA levels should have the opposite effect-promoting selection of the smaller/sooner option (higher impulsivity) and the small/safe option (lower risk-seeking). Second, high enough levels of DA can result in preference reversals. Third, selectively decreasing the temporal precision, without manipulating DA, should promote selection of the larger/later and large/risky options. Fourth, when a different post-reward delay is associated with each option, animals will not learn the option-delay contingencies, but this learning can be salvaged when the post-reward delays are made more salient. Finally, the Bayesian model predicts correlations among behavioral phenotypes: Animals that are better timers will also appear less impulsive.
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Affiliation(s)
- John G. Mikhael
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XProgram in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMD-PhD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Samuel J. Gershman
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA ,grid.116068.80000 0001 2341 2786Center for Brains, Minds and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA USA
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7
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Krashia P, Spoleti E, D'Amelio M. The VTA dopaminergic system as diagnostic and therapeutical target for Alzheimer's disease. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:1039725. [PMID: 36325523 PMCID: PMC9618946 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1039725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) occur in nearly all patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Most frequently they appear since the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage preceding clinical AD, and have a prognostic importance. Unfortunately, these symptoms also worsen the daily functioning of patients, increase caregiver stress and accelerate the disease progression from MCI to AD. Apathy and depression are the most common of these NPS, and much attention has been given in recent years to understand the biological mechanisms related to their appearance in AD. Although for many decades these symptoms have been known to be related to abnormalities of the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area (VTA), a direct association between deficits in the VTA and NPS in AD has never been investigated. Fortunately, this scenario is changing since recent studies using preclinical models of AD, and clinical studies in MCI and AD patients demonstrated a number of functional, structural and metabolic alterations affecting the VTA dopaminergic neurons and their mesocorticolimbic targets. These findings appear early, since the MCI stage, and seem to correlate with the appearance of NPS. Here, we provide an overview of the recent evidence directly linking the dopaminergic VTA with NPS in AD and propose a setting in which the precocious identification of dopaminergic deficits can be a helpful biomarker for early diagnosis. In this scenario, treatments of patients with dopaminergic drugs might slow down the disease progression and delay the impairment of daily living activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paraskevi Krashia
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Spoleti
- Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Marcello D'Amelio
- Department of Experimental Neurosciences, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
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8
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Zhang Q, Abdelmotilib H, Larson T, Keomanivong C, Conlon M, Aldridge GM, Narayanan NS. Cortical alpha-synuclein preformed fibrils do not affect interval timing in mice. Neurosci Lett 2021; 765:136273. [PMID: 34601038 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
One hallmark feature of Parkinson's disease (PD) is Lewy body pathology associated with misfolded alpha-synuclein. Previous studies have shown that striatal injection of alpha-synuclein preformed fibrils (PFF) can induce misfolding and aggregation of native alpha-synuclein in a prion-like manner, leading to cell death and motor dysfunction in mouse models. Here, we tested whether alpha-synuclein PFFs injected into the medial prefrontal cortex results in deficits in interval timing, a cognitive task which is disrupted in human PD patients and in rodent models of PD. We injected PFF or monomers of human alpha-synuclein into the medial prefrontal cortex of mice pre-injected with adeno-associated virus (AAV) coding for overexpression of human alpha-synuclein or control protein. Despite notable medial prefrontal cortical synucleinopathy, we did not observe consistent deficits in fixed-interval timing. These results suggest that cortical alpha-synuclein does not reliably disrupt fixed-interval timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
| | - Hisham Abdelmotilib
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Travis Larson
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Cameron Keomanivong
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Mackenzie Conlon
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Georgina M Aldridge
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
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Carmichael K, Sullivan B, Lopez E, Sun L, Cai H. Diverse midbrain dopaminergic neuron subtypes and implications for complex clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease. AGEING AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES 2021; 1. [PMID: 34532720 PMCID: PMC8442626 DOI: 10.20517/and.2021.07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD), the most common degenerative movement disorder, is clinically manifested with various motor and non-motor symptoms. Degeneration of midbrain substantia nigra pas compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons (DANs) is generally attributed to the motor syndrome. The underlying neuronal mechanisms of non-motor syndrome are largely unexplored. Besides SNc, midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) DANs also produce and release dopamine and modulate movement, reward, motivation, and memory. Degeneration of VTA DANs also occurs in postmortem brains of PD patients, implying an involvement of VTA DANs in PD-associated non-motor symptoms. However, it remains to be established that there is a distinct segregation of different SNc and VTA DAN subtypes in regulating different motor and non-motor functions, and that different DAN subpopulations are differentially affected by normal ageing or PD. Traditionally, the distinction among different DAN subtypes was mainly based on the location of cell bodies and axon terminals. With the recent advance of single cell RNA sequencing technology, DANs can be readily classified based on unique gene expression profiles. A combination of specific anatomic and molecular markers shows great promise to facilitate the identification of DAN subpopulations corresponding to different behavior modules under normal and disease conditions. In this review, we first summarize the recent progress in characterizing genetically, anatomically, and functionally diverse midbrain DAN subtypes. Then, we provide perspectives on how the preclinical research on the connectivity and functionality of DAN subpopulations improves our current understanding of cell-type and circuit specific mechanisms of the disease, which could be critically informative for designing new mechanistic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Carmichael
- Transgenic Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.,The Graduate Partnership Program of NIH and Brown University, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Breanna Sullivan
- Transgenic Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Elena Lopez
- Transgenic Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Lixin Sun
- Transgenic Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Huaibin Cai
- Transgenic Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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10
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Timing and Intertemporal Choice Behavior in the Valproic Acid Rat Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:2414-2429. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05129-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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11
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Oleson EB, Hamilton LR, Gomez DM. Cannabinoid Modulation of Dopamine Release During Motivation, Periodic Reinforcement, Exploratory Behavior, Habit Formation, and Attention. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2021; 13:660218. [PMID: 34177546 PMCID: PMC8222827 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2021.660218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Motivational and attentional processes energize action sequences to facilitate evolutionary competition and promote behavioral fitness. Decades of neuropharmacology, electrophysiology and electrochemistry research indicate that the mesocorticolimbic DA pathway modulates both motivation and attention. More recently, it was realized that mesocorticolimbic DA function is tightly regulated by the brain's endocannabinoid system and greatly influenced by exogenous cannabinoids-which have been harnessed by humanity for medicinal, ritualistic, and recreational uses for 12,000 years. Exogenous cannabinoids, like the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, produce their effects by acting at binding sites for naturally occurring endocannabinoids. The brain's endocannabinoid system consists of two G-protein coupled receptors, endogenous lipid ligands for these receptor targets, and several synthetic and metabolic enzymes involved in their production and degradation. Emerging evidence indicates that the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol is necessary to observe concurrent increases in DA release and motivated behavior. And the historical pharmacology literature indicates a role for cannabinoid signaling in both motivational and attentional processes. While both types of behaviors have been scrutinized under manipulation by either DA or cannabinoid agents, there is considerably less insight into prospective interactions between these two important signaling systems. This review attempts to summate the relevance of cannabinoid modulation of DA release during operant tasks designed to investigate either motivational or attentional control of behavior. We first describe how cannabinoids influence DA release and goal-directed action under a variety of reinforcement contingencies. Then we consider the role that endocannabinoids might play in switching an animal's motivation from a goal-directed action to the search for an alternative outcome, in addition to the formation of long-term habits. Finally, dissociable features of attentional behavior using both the 5-choice serial reaction time task and the attentional set-shifting task are discussed along with their distinct influences by DA and cannabinoids. We end with discussing potential targets for further research regarding DA-cannabinoid interactions within key substrates involved in motivation and attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik B. Oleson
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Lindsey R. Hamilton
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Devan M. Gomez
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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12
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Ikarashi M, Tanimoto H. Drosophila acquires seconds-scale rhythmic behavior. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:238112. [PMID: 33795422 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242443] [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: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Detection of the temporal structure of stimuli is crucial for prediction. While perception of interval timing is relevant for immediate behavioral adaptations, it has scarcely been investigated, especially in invertebrates. Here, we examined whether the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, can acquire rhythmic behavior in the range of seconds. To this end, we developed a novel temporal conditioning paradigm utilizing repeated electric shocks. Combined automatic behavioral annotation and time-frequency analysis revealed that behavioral rhythms continued after cessation of the shocks. Furthermore, we found that aging impaired interval timing. This study thus not only demonstrates the ability of insects to acquire behavioral rhythms of a few seconds, but highlights a life-course decline of temporal coordination, which is also common in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayoshi Ikarashi
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
| | - Hiromu Tanimoto
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
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13
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Santiago AN, Makowicz EA, Du M, Aoki C. Food Restriction Engages Prefrontal Corticostriatal Cells and Local Microcircuitry to Drive the Decision to Run versus Conserve Energy. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2868-2885. [PMID: 33497440 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Food restriction (FR) evokes running, which may promote adaptive foraging in times of food scarcity, but can become lethal if energy expenditure exceeds caloric availability. Here, we demonstrate that chemogenetic activation of either the general medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pyramidal cell population, or the subpopulation projecting to dorsal striatum (DS) drives running specifically during hours preceding limited food availability, and not during ad libitum food availability. Conversely, suppression of mPFC pyramidal cells generally, or targeting mPFC-to-DS cells, reduced wheel running specifically during FR and not during ad libitum food access. Post mortem c-Fos analysis and electron microscopy of mPFC layer 5 revealed distinguishing characteristics of mPFC-to-DS cells, when compared to neighboring non-DS-projecting pyramidal cells: 1) greater recruitment of GABAergic activity and 2) less axo-somatic GABAergic innervation. Together, these attributes position the mPFC-to-DS subset of pyramidal cells to dominate mPFC excitatory outflow, particularly during FR, revealing a specific and causal role for mPFC-to-DS control of the decision to run during food scarcity. Individual differences in GABAergic activity correlate with running response to further support this interpretation. FR enhancement of PFC-to-DS activity may influence neural circuits both in studies using FR to motivate animal behavior and in human conditions hallmarked by FR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne N Santiago
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Emily A Makowicz
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington place, New York, NY 10003, USA.,Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Muzi Du
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington place, New York, NY 10003, USA.,Langone Neuroscience Institute, New York University, 435 East 30th St, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Chiye Aoki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington place, New York, NY 10003, USA.,New York University Shanghai, 1555 Century Ave, Pudong, Shanghai 200122, China
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14
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Shikano Y, Ikegaya Y, Sasaki T. Minute-encoding neurons in hippocampal-striatal circuits. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1438-1449.e6. [PMID: 33545048 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Animals process temporal information in an ever-changing environment, but the neuronal mechanisms of this process, especially on timescales longer than seconds, remain unresolved. Here, we designed a hippocampus-dependent task in which rats prospectively increased their reward-seeking behavior over a duration of minutes. During this timing behavior, hippocampal and striatal neurons represented successive time points on the order of minutes by gradually changing their firing rates and transiently increasing their firing rates at specific time points. These minute-encoding patterns progressively developed as the rats learned a time-reward relationship, and the patterns underwent flexible scaling in parallel with timing behavior. These observations suggest a neuronal basis in the hippocampal-striatal circuits that enables temporal processing and formation of episodic memory on a timescale of minutes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Shikano
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yuji Ikegaya
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Center for Information and Neural Networks, 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Takuya Sasaki
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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15
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Shields AK, Suarez M, Wakabayashi KT, Bass CE. Activation of VTA GABA neurons disrupts reward seeking by altering temporal processing. Behav Brain Res 2021; 410:113292. [PMID: 33836166 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The role of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine in reward, cue processing, and interval timing is well characterized. Using a combinatorial viral approach to target activating DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs, hM3D) to GABAergic neurons in the VTA of male rats, we previously showed that activation disrupts responding to reward-predictive cues. Here we explored how VTA GABA neurons influence the perception of time in two fixed interval (FI) tasks, one where the reward or interval is not paired with predictive cues (Non-Cued FI), and another where the start of the FI is signaled by a constant tone that continues until the rewarded response is emitted (Cued FI). Under vehicle conditions in both tasks, responding was characterized by "scalloping" over the 30 s FI, in which responding increased towards the end of the FI. However, when VTA GABA neurons were activated in the Non-Cued FI, the time between the end of the 30 s interval and when the rats made a reinforced response increased. Additionally, post-reinforcement pauses and overall session length increased. In the Cued FI task, VTA GABA activation produced erratic responding, with a decrease in earned rewards. Thus, while both tasks were disrupted by VTA GABA activation, responding that is constrained by a cue was more sensitive to this manipulation, possibly due to convergent effects on timing and cue processing. Together these results demonstrate that VTA GABA activity disrupts the perception of interval timing, particularly when the timing is set by cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea K Shields
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14214, United States
| | - Mauricio Suarez
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14214, United States; Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14203, United States
| | - Ken T Wakabayashi
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1220 T. Street, Lincoln, NE, 68588, United States
| | - Caroline E Bass
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14214, United States; Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14203, United States.
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16
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Mikhael JG, Lai L, Gershman SJ. Rational inattention and tonic dopamine. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008659. [PMID: 33760806 PMCID: PMC7990190 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Slow-timescale (tonic) changes in dopamine (DA) contribute to a wide variety of processes in reinforcement learning, interval timing, and other domains. Furthermore, changes in tonic DA exert distinct effects depending on when they occur (e.g., during learning vs. performance) and what task the subject is performing (e.g., operant vs. classical conditioning). Two influential theories of tonic DA-the average reward theory and the Bayesian theory in which DA controls precision-have each been successful at explaining a subset of empirical findings. But how the same DA signal performs two seemingly distinct functions without creating crosstalk is not well understood. Here we reconcile the two theories under the unifying framework of 'rational inattention,' which (1) conceptually links average reward and precision, (2) outlines how DA manipulations affect this relationship, and in so doing, (3) captures new empirical phenomena. In brief, rational inattention asserts that agents can increase their precision in a task (and thus improve their performance) by paying a cognitive cost. Crucially, whether this cost is worth paying depends on average reward availability, reported by DA. The monotonic relationship between average reward and precision means that the DA signal contains the information necessary to retrieve the precision. When this information is needed after the task is performed, as presumed by Bayesian inference, acute manipulations of DA will bias behavior in predictable ways. We show how this framework reconciles a remarkably large collection of experimental findings. In reinforcement learning, the rational inattention framework predicts that learning from positive and negative feedback should be enhanced in high and low DA states, respectively, and that DA should tip the exploration-exploitation balance toward exploitation. In interval timing, this framework predicts that DA should increase the speed of the internal clock and decrease the extent of interference by other temporal stimuli during temporal reproduction (the central tendency effect). Finally, rational inattention makes the new predictions that these effects should be critically dependent on the controllability of rewards, that post-reward delays in intertemporal choice tasks should be underestimated, and that average reward manipulations should affect the speed of the clock-thus capturing empirical findings that are unexplained by either theory alone. Our results suggest that a common computational repertoire may underlie the seemingly heterogeneous roles of DA.
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Affiliation(s)
- John G. Mikhael
- Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- MD-PhD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Lucy Lai
- Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Samuel J. Gershman
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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17
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Everett TJ, Gomez DM, Hamilton LR, Oleson EB. Endocannabinoid modulation of dopamine release during reward seeking, interval timing, and avoidance. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 104:110031. [PMID: 32663486 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are neuromodulators that influence a wide range of neural systems and behaviors. In the current review, we describe our recent research showing how eCBs, particularly 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), concurrently shape mesolimbic dopamine (DA) release and associated behavior. We will restrict our discussion by emphasizing three distinct behaviors: reward seeking, interval timing, and active avoidance. During reward seeking we find that 2-AG is necessary to observe cue-evoked DA release events that are thought to represent the value of a rewarding outcome. We then describe data showing that 2-AG modulates unique patterns of DA release and behavior observed under conditions of periodic reinforcement. These data are discussed within the context of interval timing and adjunctive behavior. eCB modulation of DA release is also implicated in defensive behavior, including the avoidance of harm. As in reward seeking, our data suggest that the concentration of DA that is evoked by a warning signal can represent the value of an avoidance outcome. And, disrupting eCB signaling concomitantly reduces the concentration of the avoidance value signal and active avoidance. Disruptions in reward seeking, interval timing, and defensive behavior are commonly observed in a variety of movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's and Huntington's disease) and disorders of motivation (e.g., addiction). We believe our data on eCB-DA interactions have implications for the development of novel pharmacotherapies to treat these disorders. Thus, we conclude by discussing how eCB pharmacology might be harnessed to treat disorders of movement and motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Devan M Gomez
- Psychology Department, University of Colorado Denver, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, USA
| | | | - Erik B Oleson
- Psychology Department, University of Colorado Denver, USA; Integrative Biology Department, University of Colorado Denver, USA.
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18
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Kamada T, Hata T. Striatal dopamine D1 receptors control motivation to respond, but not interval timing, during the timing task. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 28:24-29. [PMID: 33323499 PMCID: PMC7747650 DOI: 10.1101/lm.052266.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine plays a critical role in behavioral tasks requiring interval timing (time perception in a seconds-to-minutes range). Although some studies demonstrate the role of dopamine receptors as a controller of the speed of the internal clock, other studies demonstrate their role as a controller of motivation. Both D1 dopamine receptors (D1DRs) and D2 dopamine receptors (D2DRs) within the dorsal striatum may play a role in interval timing because the dorsal striatum contains rich D1DRs and D2DRs. However, relative to D2DRs, the precise role of D1DRs within the dorsal striatum in interval timing is unclear. To address this issue, rats were trained on the peak-interval 20-sec procedure, and D1DR antagonist SCH23390 was infused into the bilateral dorsocentral striatum before behavioral sessions. Our results showed that the D1DR blockade drastically reduced the maximum response rate and increased the time to start responses with no effects on the time to terminate responses. These findings suggest that the D1DRs within the dorsal striatum are required for motivation to respond, but not for modulation of the internal clock speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taisuke Kamada
- Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University, Tatara-Miyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan.,Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, Tatara-Miyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan
| | - Toshimichi Hata
- Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, Tatara-Miyakodani, Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan
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19
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Zhang Q, Weber MA, Narayanan NS. Medial prefrontal cortex and the temporal control of action. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2020; 158:421-441. [PMID: 33785154 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Across species, the medial prefrontal cortex guides actions in time. This process can be studied using behavioral paradigms such as simple reaction-time and interval-timing tasks. Temporal control of action can be influenced by prefrontal neurotransmitters such as dopamine and acetylcholine and is highly relevant to human diseases such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We review evidence that across species, medial prefrontal lesions impair the temporal control of action. We then consider neurophysiological correlates in humans, primates, and rodents that might encode temporal processing and relate to cognitive-control mechanisms. These data have informed brain-stimulation studies in rodents and humans that can compensate for timing deficits. This line of work illuminates basic mechanisms of temporal control of action in the medial prefrontal cortex, which underlies a range of high-level cognitive processing and could contribute to new biomarkers and therapies for human brain diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Matthew A Weber
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
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20
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Emmons E, Tunes-Chiuffa G, Choi J, Bruce RA, Weber MA, Kim Y, Narayanan NS. Temporal Learning Among Prefrontal and Striatal Ensembles. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa058. [PMID: 34296121 PMCID: PMC8152894 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioral flexibility requires the prefrontal cortex and striatum, but it is unclear if these structures play similar or distinct roles in adapting to novel circumstances. Here, we investigate neuronal ensembles in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) during one form of behavioral flexibility: learning a new temporal interval. We studied corticostriatal neuronal activity as rodents trained to respond after a 12-s fixed interval (FI12) learned to respond at a shorter 3-s fixed interval (FI3). On FI12 trials, we found that a key form of temporal processing—time-related ramping activity—decreased in the MFC but did not change in the DMS as animals learned to respond at a shorter interval. However, while MFC and DMS ramping was stable with successive days of two-interval performance, temporal decoding by DMS ensembles improved on FI3 trials. Finally, when comparing FI12 versus FI3 trials, we found that more DMS neurons than MFC neurons exhibited differential interval-related activity early in two-interval performance. These data suggest that the MFC and DMS play distinct roles during temporal learning and provide insight into corticostriatal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Emmons
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
| | | | - Jeeyu Choi
- School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea
| | - R Austin Bruce
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Matthew A Weber
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Youngcho Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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21
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Kim YC, Narayanan NS. Prefrontal D1 Dopamine-Receptor Neurons and Delta Resonance in Interval Timing. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:2051-2060. [PMID: 29897417 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Considerable evidence has shown that prefrontal neurons expressing D1-type dopamine receptors (D1DRs) are critical for working memory, flexibility, and timing. This line of work predicts that frontal neurons expressing D1DRs mediate cognitive processing. During timing tasks, one form this cognitive processing might take is time-dependent ramping activity-monotonic changes in firing rate over time. Thus, we hypothesized the prefrontal D1DR+ neurons would strongly exhibit time-dependent ramping during interval timing. We tested this idea using an interval-timing task in which we used optogenetics to tag D1DR+ neurons in the mouse medial frontal cortex (MFC). While 23% of MFC D1DR+ neurons exhibited ramping, this was significantly less than untagged MFC neurons. By contrast, MFC D1DR+ neurons had strong delta-frequency (1-4 Hz) coherence with other MFC ramping neurons. This coherence was phase-locked to cue onset and was strongest early in the interval. To test the significance of these interactions, we optogenetically stimulated MFC D1DR+ neurons early versus late in the interval. We found that 2-Hz stimulation early in the interval was particularly effective in rescuing timing-related behavioral performance deficits in dopamine-depleted animals. These findings provide insight into MFC networks and have relevance for disorders such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young-Cho Kim
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.,Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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22
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Chen K, Vincis R, Fontanini A. Disruption of Cortical Dopaminergic Modulation Impairs Preparatory Activity and Delays Licking Initiation. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:1802-1815. [PMID: 30721984 PMCID: PMC6418393 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 12/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction of motor cortices is thought to contribute to motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). However, little is known on the link between cortical dopaminergic loss, abnormalities in motor cortex neural activity and motor deficits. We address the role of dopamine in modulating motor cortical activity by focusing on the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) of mice performing a cued-licking task. We first demonstrate licking deficits and concurrent alterations of spiking activity in ALM of head-fixed mice with unilateral depletion of dopaminergic neurons (i.e., mice injected with 6-OHDA into the medial forebrain bundle). Hemilesioned mice displayed delayed licking initiation, shorter duration of licking bouts, and lateral deviation of tongue protrusions. In parallel with these motor deficits, we observed a reduction in the prevalence of cue responsive neurons and altered preparatory activity. Acute and local blockade of D1 receptors in ALM recapitulated some of the key behavioral and neural deficits observed in hemilesioned mice. Altogether, our data show a direct relationship between cortical D1 receptor modulation, cue-evoked, and preparatory activity in ALM, and licking initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Roberto Vincis
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.,Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Alfredo Fontanini
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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23
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Medial Nucleus Accumbens Projections to the Ventral Tegmental Area Control Food Consumption. J Neurosci 2020; 40:4727-4738. [PMID: 32354856 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3054-18.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Decades of research have shown that the NAc is a critical region influencing addiction, mood, and food consumption through its effects on reinforcement learning, motivation, and hedonic experience. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that inhibition of the NAc shell induces voracious feeding, leading to the hypothesis that the inhibitory projections that emerge from the NAc normally act to restrict feeding. While much of this work has focused on projections to the lateral hypothalamus, the role of NAc projections to the VTA in the control food intake has been largely unexplored. Using a retrograde viral labeling technique and real-time monitoring of neural activity with fiber photometry, we find that medial NAc shell projections to the VTA (mNAc→VTA) are inhibited during food-seeking and food consumption in male mice. We also demonstrate that this circuit bidirectionally controls feeding: optogenetic activation of NAc projections to the VTA inhibits food-seeking and food intake (in both sexes), while optogenetic inhibition of this circuit potentiates food-seeking behavior. Additionally, we show that activity of the NAc to VTA pathway is necessary for adaptive inhibition of food intake in response to external cues. These data provide new insight into NAc control over feeding in mice, and contribute to an emerging literature elucidating the role of inhibitory midbrain feedback within the mesolimbic circuit.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The medial NAc has long been known to control consummatory behavior, with particular focus on accumbens projections to the lateral hypothalamus. Conversely, NAc projections to the VTA have mainly been studied in the context of drug reward. We show that NAc projections to the VTA bidirectionally control food intake, consistent with a permissive role in feeding. Additionally, we show that this circuit is normally inactivated during consumption and food-seeking. Together, these findings elucidate how mesolimbic circuits control food consumption.
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24
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Gür E, Duyan YA, Arkan S, Karson A, Balcı F. Interval timing deficits and their neurobiological correlates in aging mice. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 90:33-42. [PMID: 32220513 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Age-related neurobiological and cognitive alterations suggest that interval timing (as a related function) is also altered in aging, which can, in turn, disrupt timing-dependent functions. We investigated alterations in interval timing with aging and accompanying neurobiological changes. We tested 4-6, 10-12, and 18-20 month-old mice on the dual peak interval procedure. Results revealed a specific deficit in the termination of timed responses (stop-times). The decision processes contributed more to timing variability (vs. clock/memory process) in the aged mice. We observed age-dependent reductions in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA and SNc, cholinergic neurons in the medial septum/diagonal band (MS/DB) complex, and density of dopaminergic axon terminals in the DLS/DMS. Negative correlations were found between the number of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA and stop times, and the number of cholinergic neurons in MS/DB complex and the acquisition of stop times. Our results point at age-dependent changes in the decisional components of interval timing and the role of dopaminergic and cholinergic functions in these behavioral alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezgi Gür
- Timing and Decision-Making Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Yalçın Akın Duyan
- Timing and Decision-Making Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Sertan Arkan
- Timing and Decision-Making Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey; Kocaeli University, Physiology Department, Umuttepe Campus, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Ayşe Karson
- Kocaeli University, Physiology Department, Umuttepe Campus, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Fuat Balcı
- Timing and Decision-Making Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
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25
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Emmons EB, Kennedy M, Kim Y, Narayanan NS. Corticostriatal stimulation compensates for medial frontal inactivation during interval timing. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14371. [PMID: 31591426 PMCID: PMC6779764 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50975-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Prefrontal dysfunction is a common feature of brain diseases such as schizophrenia and contributes to deficits in executive functions, including working memory, attention, flexibility, inhibitory control, and timing of behaviors. Currently, few interventions improve prefrontal function. Here, we tested whether stimulating the axons of prefrontal neurons in the striatum could compensate for deficits in temporal processing related to prefrontal dysfunction. We used an interval-timing task that requires working memory for temporal rules and attention to the passage of time. Our previous work showed that inactivation of the medial frontal cortex (MFC) impairs interval timing and attenuates ramping activity, a key form of temporal processing in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). We found that 20-Hz optogenetic stimulation of MFC axon terminals increased curvature of time-response histograms and improved interval-timing behavior. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of terminals modulated time-related ramping of medium spiny neurons in the striatum. These data suggest that corticostriatal stimulation can compensate for deficits caused by MFC inactivation and they imply that frontostriatal projections are sufficient for controlling responses in time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric B Emmons
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Morgan Kennedy
- Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Youngcho Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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26
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Heskje J, Heslin K, De Corte BJ, Walsh KP, Kim Y, Han S, Carlson ES, Parker KL. Cerebellar D1DR-expressing neurons modulate the frontal cortex during timing tasks. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 170:107067. [PMID: 31404656 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Revised: 07/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Converging lines of evidence suggest that the cerebellum plays an integral role in cognitive function through its interactions with association cortices like the medial frontal cortex (MFC). It is unknown precisely how the cerebellum influences the frontal cortex and what type of information is reciprocally relayed between these two regions. A subset of neurons in the cerebellar dentate nuclei, or the homologous lateral cerebellar nuclei (LCN) in rodents, express D1 dopamine receptors (D1DRs) and may play a role in cognitive processes. We investigated how pharmacologically blocking LCN D1DRs influences performance in an interval timing task and impacts neuronal activity in the frontal cortex. Interval timing requires executive processes such as working memory, attention, and planning and is known to rely on both the frontal cortex and cerebellum. In our interval timing task, male rats indicated their estimates of the passage of a period of several seconds by making lever presses for a water reward. We have shown that a cue-evoked burst of low-frequency activity in the MFC initiates ramping activity (i.e., monotonic increases or decreases of firing rate over time) in single MFC neurons. These patterns of activity are associated with successful interval timing performance. Here we explored how blocking right LCN D1DRs with the D1DR antagonist SCH23390 influences timing performance and neural activity in the contralateral (left) MFC. Our results indicate that blocking LCN D1DRs impaired some measures of interval timing performance. Additionally, ramping activity of MFC single units was significantly attenuated. These data provide insight into how catecholamines in the LCN may drive MFC neuronal dynamics to influence cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonah Heskje
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Kelsey Heslin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Benjamin J De Corte
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Kyle P Walsh
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Youngcho Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Sangwoo Han
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
| | - Erik S Carlson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States; Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, Puget Sound Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Seattle, WA 98108, United States
| | - Krystal L Parker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States.
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Zhang Q, Jung D, Larson T, Kim Y, Narayanan NS. Scopolamine and Medial Frontal Stimulus-Processing during Interval Timing. Neuroscience 2019; 414:219-227. [PMID: 31299344 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) involve loss of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain. Here, we investigate how cholinergic dysfunction impacts the frontal cortex during interval timing, a process that can be impaired in PD and AD patients. Interval timing requires participants to estimate an interval of several seconds by making a motor response, and depends on the medial frontal cortex (MFC), which is richly innervated by basal forebrain cholinergic projections. Past work has shown that scopolamine, a muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist, reliably impairs interval timing. We tested the hypothesis that scopolamine would attenuate time-related ramping, a key form of temporal processing in the MFC. We recorded neuronal ensembles from eight mice during performance of a 12-s fixed-interval timing task, which was impaired by the administration of scopolamine. Consistent with past work, scopolamine impaired timing. To our surprise, we found that time-related ramping was unchanged, but stimulus-related activity was enhanced in the MFC. Principal component analyses revealed no consistent changes in time-related ramping components, but did reveal changes in higher components. Taken together, these data indicate that scopolamine changes stimulus processing rather than temporal processing in the MFC. These data could help understand how cholinergic dysfunction affects cortical circuits in diseases such as PD, DLB, and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States of America
| | - Dennis Jung
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States of America
| | - Travis Larson
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States of America
| | - Youngcho Kim
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States of America
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States of America.
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28
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Fernández-Lamo I, Delgado-García JM, Gruart A. When and Where Learning is Taking Place: Multisynaptic Changes in Strength During Different Behaviors Related to the Acquisition of an Operant Conditioning Task by Behaving Rats. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:1011-1023. [PMID: 28199479 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Although it is generally assumed that brain circuits are modified by new experiences, the question of which changes in synaptic efficacy take place in cortical and subcortical circuits across the learning process remains unanswered. Rats were trained in the acquisition of an operant conditioning in a Skinner box provided with light beams to detect animals' approaches to lever and feeder. Behaviors such as pressing the lever, eating, exploring, and grooming were also recorded. Animals were chronically implanted with stimulating and recording electrodes in hippocampal, prefrontal, and subcortical sites relevant to the task. Field synaptic potentials were evoked during the performance of the above-mentioned behaviors and before, during, and after the acquisition process. Afferent pathways to the hippocampus and the intrinsic hippocampal circuit were slightly modified in synaptic strength during the performance of those behaviors. In contrast, afferent and efferent circuits of the medial prefrontal cortex were significantly modified in synaptic strength across training sessions, mostly at the moment of the largest change in the learning curve. Performance of behaviors nondirectly related to the acquisition process (exploring, grooming) also evoked changes in synaptic strength across training. This study helps to understand when and where learning is being engraved in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Fernández-Lamo
- Division of Neurosciences, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | | | - Agnès Gruart
- Division of Neurosciences, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
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29
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Kelley R, Flouty O, Emmons EB, Kim Y, Kingyon J, Wessel JR, Oya H, Greenlee JD, Narayanan NS. A human prefrontal-subthalamic circuit for cognitive control. Brain 2019; 141:205-216. [PMID: 29190362 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awx300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The subthalamic nucleus is a key site controlling motor function in humans. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus can improve movements in patients with Parkinson's disease; however, for unclear reasons, it can also have cognitive effects. Here, we show that the human subthalamic nucleus is monosynaptically connected with cognitive brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex. Single neurons and field potentials in the subthalamic nucleus are modulated during cognitive processing and are coherent with 4-Hz oscillations in medial prefrontal cortex. These data predict that low-frequency deep brain stimulation may alleviate cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease patients. In line with this idea, we found that novel 4-Hz deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus improved cognitive performance. These data support a role for the human hyperdirect pathway in cognitive control, which could have relevance for brain-stimulation therapies aimed at cognitive symptoms of human brain disease.awx300media15660002226001.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Kelley
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.,Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Oliver Flouty
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Eric B Emmons
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Youngcho Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Johnathan Kingyon
- Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Jan R Wessel
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Hiroyuki Oya
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Jeremy D Greenlee
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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Chronic unpredictable stress promotes cell-specific plasticity in prefrontal cortex D1 and D2 pyramidal neurons. Neurobiol Stress 2019; 10:100152. [PMID: 30937357 PMCID: PMC6430618 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to unpredictable environmental stress is widely recognized as a major determinant for risk and severity in neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia, and PTSD. The ability of ostensibly unrelated disorders to give rise to seemingly similar psychiatric phenotypes highlights a need to identify circuit-level concepts that could unify diverse factors under a common pathophysiology. Although difficult to disentangle a causative effect of stress from other factors on medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction, a wealth of data from humans and rodents demonstrates that the PFC is a key target of stress. The present study sought to identify a model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) which induces affective behaviors in C57BL6J mice and once established, measure stress-related alterations in intrinsic excitability and synaptic regulation of mPFC layer 5/6 pyramidal neurons. Adult male mice received 2 weeks of 'less intense' stress or 2 or 4 weeks of 'more intense' CUS followed by sucrose preference for assessment of anhedonia, elevated plus maze for assessment of anxiety and forced swim test for assessment of depressive-like behaviors. Our findings indicate that more intense CUS exposure results in increased anhedonia, anxiety, and depressive behaviors, while the less intense stress results in no measured behavioral phenotypes. Once a behavioral model was established, mice were euthanized approximately 21 days post-stress for whole-cell patch clamp recordings from layer 5/6 pyramidal neurons in the prelimbic (PrL) and infralimbic (IL) cortices. No significant differences were initially observed in intrinsic cell excitability in either region. However, post-hoc analysis and subsequent confirmation using transgenic mice expressing tdtomato or eGFP under control of dopamine D1-or D2-type receptor showed that D1-expressing pyramidal neurons (D1-PYR) in the PrL exhibit reduced thresholds to fire an action potential (increased excitability) but impaired firing capacity at more depolarized potentials, whereas D2-expressing pyramidal neurons (D2-PYR) showed an overall reduction in excitability and spike firing frequency. Examination of synaptic transmission showed that D1-and D2-PYR exhibit differences in basal excitatory and inhibitory signaling under naïve conditions. In CUS mice, D1-PYR showed increased frequency of both miniature excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents, whereas D2-PYR only showed a reduction in excitatory currents. These findings demonstrate that D1-and D2-PYR subpopulations differentially undergo stress-induced intrinsic and synaptic plasticity that may have functional implications for stress-related pathology, and that these adaptations may reflect unique differences in basal properties regulating output of these cells.
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Locke TM, Soden ME, Miller SM, Hunker A, Knakal C, Licholai JA, Dhillon KS, Keene CD, Zweifel LS, Carlson ES. Dopamine D 1 Receptor-Positive Neurons in the Lateral Nucleus of the Cerebellum Contribute to Cognitive Behavior. Biol Psychiatry 2018; 84:401-412. [PMID: 29478701 PMCID: PMC6072628 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies in humans and nonhuman primates have identified a region of the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, or the lateral cerebellar nucleus (LCN) in rodents, activated during performance of cognitive tasks involving complex spatial and sequential planning. Whether such a subdivision exists in rodents is not known. Dopamine and its receptors, which are implicated in cognitive function, are present in the cerebellar nuclei, but their function is unknown. METHODS Using viral and genetic strategies in mice, we examined cellular phenotypes of dopamine D1 receptor-positive (D1R+) cells in the LCN with whole-cell patch clamp recordings, messenger RNA profiling, and immunohistochemistry to examine D1R expression in mouse LCN and human dentate nucleus of the cerebellum. We used chemogenetics to inhibit D1R+ neurons and examined behaviors including spatial navigation, social recognition memory, prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex, response inhibition, and working memory to test the necessity of these neurons in these behaviors. RESULTS We identified a population of D1R+ neurons that are localized to an anatomically distinct region of the LCN. We also observed D1R+ neurons in human dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, which suggests an evolutionarily conserved population of dopamine-receptive neurons in this region. The genetic, electrophysiological, and anatomical profile of mouse D1R neurons is consistent with a heterogeneous population of gamma-aminobutyric acidergic, and to a lesser extent glutamatergic, cell types. Selective inhibition of D1R+ LCN neurons impairs spatial navigation memory, response inhibition, working memory, and prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these data demonstrate a functional link between genetically distinct neurons in the LCN and cognitive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M. Locke
- University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | | | - Avery Hunker
- University of Washington, Department of Pharmacology
| | - Cerise Knakal
- University of Washington, Department of Pharmacology
| | | | - Karn S. Dhillon
- University of Washington, Department of Biological Chemistry
| | | | - Larry S. Zweifel
- University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,University of Washington, Department of Pharmacology
| | - Erik S. Carlson
- University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Correspondence: Erik Sean Carlson M.D., Ph.D. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences University of Washington 1959 NE Pacific Street, Box 356560 Seattle, WA, 98195-6560 Telephone: 612-387-7304 Fax: 206-543-9520
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Not All Predictions Are Equal: "What" and "When" Predictions Modulate Activity in Auditory Cortex through Different Mechanisms. J Neurosci 2018; 38:8680-8693. [PMID: 30143578 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0369-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 07/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Using predictions based on environmental regularities is fundamental for adaptive behavior. While it is widely accepted that predictions across different stimulus attributes (e.g., time and content) facilitate sensory processing, it is unknown whether predictions across these attributes rely on the same neural mechanism. Here, to elucidate the neural mechanisms of predictions, we combine invasive electrophysiological recordings (human electrocorticography in 4 females and 2 males) with computational modeling while manipulating predictions about content ("what") and time ("when"). We found that "when" predictions increased evoked activity over motor and prefrontal regions both at early (∼180 ms) and late (430-450 ms) latencies. "What" predictability, however, increased evoked activity only over prefrontal areas late in time (420-460 ms). Beyond these dissociable influences, we found that "what" and "when" predictability interactively modulated the amplitude of early (165 ms) evoked responses in the superior temporal gyrus. We modeled the observed neural responses using biophysically realistic neural mass models, to better understand whether "what" and "when" predictions tap into similar or different neurophysiological mechanisms. Our modeling results suggest that "what" and "when" predictability rely on complementary neural processes: "what" predictions increased short-term plasticity in auditory areas, whereas "when" predictability increased synaptic gain in motor areas. Thus, content and temporal predictions engage complementary neural mechanisms in different regions, suggesting domain-specific prediction signaling along the cortical hierarchy. Encoding predictions through different mechanisms may endow the brain with the flexibility to efficiently signal different sources of predictions, weight them by their reliability, and allow for their encoding without mutual interference.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Predictions of different stimulus features facilitate sensory processing. However, it is unclear whether predictions of different attributes rely on similar or different neural mechanisms. By combining invasive electrophysiological recordings of cortical activity with experimental manipulations of participants' predictions about content and time of acoustic events, we found that the two types of predictions had dissociable influences on cortical activity, both in terms of the regions involved and the timing of the observed effects. Further, our biophysical modeling analysis suggests that predictability of content and time rely on complementary neural processes: short-term plasticity in auditory areas and synaptic gain in motor areas, respectively. This suggests that predictions of different features are encoded with complementary neural mechanisms in different brain regions.
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Kim J, Kim D, Jung MW. Distinct Dynamics of Striatal and Prefrontal Neural Activity During Temporal Discrimination. Front Integr Neurosci 2018; 12:34. [PMID: 30150927 PMCID: PMC6099112 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2018.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The frontal cortex-basal ganglia circuit plays an important role in interval timing. We examined neuronal discharges in the dorsomedial and dorsolateral striatum (DMS and DLS) in rats performing a temporal categorization task and compared them with previously recorded neuronal activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). All three structures conveyed significant temporal information, but striatal neurons seldom showed the prolonged, full-interval spanning ramping activity frequently observed in the mPFC. Instead, the majority fired briefly during sample intervals. Also, the precision of neural time decoding became progressively worse with increasing time duration in the mPFC, but not in the striatum. With the caveat that mPFC and striatal units were recorded from different animals, our results suggest that the striatum and mPFC convey temporal information via distinct neural processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jieun Kim
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Dohoung Kim
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, South Korea.,Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Min Whan Jung
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, South Korea.,Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea
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34
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Bernosky-Smith KA, Qiu YY, Feja M, Lee YB, Loughlin B, Li JX, Bass CE. Ventral tegmental area D2 receptor knockdown enhances choice impulsivity in a delay-discounting task in rats. Behav Brain Res 2018; 341:129-134. [PMID: 29287910 PMCID: PMC5901913 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Impulsivity associated with abnormal dopamine (DA) function has been observed in several disorders, including addiction. Choice impulsivity is the preference for small, immediate rewards over larger rewards after a delay, caused by excessive discounting of future rewards. Addicts have abnormally high discount rates and prefer the smaller rewards sooner. While impulsivity has been inversely correlated with DA D2 receptor (D2R) availability in the midbrain and striatum, it is difficult to mechanistically link the two, due to the diverse neuroanatomical localization of D2Rs, which are found throughout the brain, in many types of neurons and neuronal subcompartments. To determine if ventral tegmental area (VTA) D2R hypofunction is linked to impulsivity, we knocked down D2 receptors from the VTA, using an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector that delivers short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) targeted against the D2R. The D2R knockdown is restricted to neurons whose cell bodies reside in the VTA, leaving postsynaptic D2Rs intact in the striatum, prefrontal cortex, and other mesocorticolimbic structures. Rats were trained in a delay-discounting task to assess impulsive choice until a stable discounting curve was obtained, and then received bilateral VTA infusions of the D2R shRNA or a scrambled control virus. Over the next six weeks, the discounting curve of the VTA D2R knockdown rats shifted to the left, indicating a preference for the smaller, immediate reward, whereas the curve for control rats remained stable and unchanged. Together these results demonstrate that a decrease in VTA D2Rs enhances choice impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A Bernosky-Smith
- D'Youville College, Department of Biology and Mathematics, 320 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201, USA
| | - Yan-Yan Qiu
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
| | - Malte Feja
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
| | - Yun Beom Lee
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
| | - Brian Loughlin
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
| | - Jun-Xu Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
| | - Caroline E Bass
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 102 Farber Hall, 3435 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
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Pilkiw M, Takehara-Nishiuchi K. Neural representations of time-linked memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 153:57-70. [PMID: 29614377 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Many cognitive processes, such as episodic memory and decision making, rely on the ability to form associations between two events that occur separately in time. The formation of such temporal associations depends on neural representations of three types of information: what has been presented (trace holding), what will follow (temporal expectation), and when the following event will occur (explicit timing). The present review seeks to link these representations with firing patterns of single neurons recorded while rodents and non-human primates associate stimuli, outcomes, and motor responses over time intervals. Across these studies, two distinct firing patterns were observed in the hippocampus, neocortex, and striatum: some neurons change firing rates during or shortly after the stimulus presentation and sustain the firing rate stably or sidlingly during the subsequent intervals (tonic firings). Other neurons transiently change firing rates during a specific moment within the time intervals (phasic firings), and as a group, they form a sequential firing pattern that covers the entire interval. Clever task designs used in some of these studies collectively provide evidence that both tonic and phasic firing responses represent trace holding, temporal expectation, and explicit timing. Subsequently, we applied machine-learning based classification approaches to the two firing patterns within the same dataset collected from rat medial prefrontal cortex during trace eyeblink conditioning. This quantitative analysis revealed that phasic-firing patterns showed greater selectivity for stimulus identity and temporal position than tonic-firing patterns. Our summary illuminates distributed neural representations of temporal association in the forebrain and generates several ideas for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryna Pilkiw
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G3, Canada
| | - Kaori Takehara-Nishiuchi
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G3, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G3, Canada; Neuroscience Program, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3G3, Canada.
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36
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Abstract
The striatum controls food-related actions and consumption and is linked to feeding disorders, including obesity and anorexia nervosa. Two populations of neurons project from the striatum: direct pathway medium spiny neurons and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons. The selective contribution of direct pathway medium spiny neurons and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons to food-related actions and consumption remains unknown. Here, we used in vivo electrophysiology and fiber photometry in mice (of both sexes) to record both spiking activity and pathway-specific calcium activity of dorsal striatal neurons during approach to and consumption of food pellets. While electrophysiology revealed complex task-related dynamics across neurons, population calcium was enhanced during approach and inhibited during consumption in both pathways. We also observed ramping changes in activity that preceded both pellet-directed actions and spontaneous movements. These signals were heterogeneous in the spiking units, with neurons exhibiting either increasing or decreasing ramps. In contrast, the population calcium signals were homogeneous, with both pathways having increasing ramps of activity for several seconds before actions were initiated. An analysis comparing population firing rates to population calcium signals also revealed stronger ramping dynamics in the calcium signals than in the spiking data. In a second experiment, we trained the mice to perform an action sequence to evaluate when the ramping signals terminated. We found that the ramping signals terminated at the beginning of the action sequence, suggesting they may reflect upcoming actions and not preconsumption activity. Plasticity of such mechanisms may underlie disorders that alter action selection, such as drug addiction or obesity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alterations in striatal function have been linked to pathological consumption in disorders, such as obesity and drug addiction. We recorded spiking and population calcium activity from the dorsal striatum during ad libitum feeding and an operant task that resulted in mice obtaining food pellets. Dorsal striatal neurons exhibited long ramps in activity that preceded actions by several seconds, and may reflect upcoming actions. Understanding how the striatum controls the preparation and generation of actions may lead to improved therapies for disorders, such as drug addiction or obesity.
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37
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Gray DL, Allen JA, Mente S, O'Connor RE, DeMarco GJ, Efremov I, Tierney P, Volfson D, Davoren J, Guilmette E, Salafia M, Kozak R, Ehlers MD. Impaired β-arrestin recruitment and reduced desensitization by non-catechol agonists of the D1 dopamine receptor. Nat Commun 2018; 9:674. [PMID: 29445200 PMCID: PMC5813016 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02776-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Selective activation of dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs) has been pursued for 40 years as a therapeutic strategy for neurologic and psychiatric diseases due to the fundamental role of D1Rs in motor function, reward processing, and cognition. All known D1R-selective agonists are catechols, which are rapidly metabolized and desensitize the D1R after prolonged exposure, reducing agonist response. As such, drug-like selective D1R agonists have remained elusive. Here we report a novel series of selective, potent non-catechol D1R agonists with promising in vivo pharmacokinetic properties. These ligands stimulate adenylyl cyclase signaling and are efficacious in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease after oral administration. They exhibit distinct binding to the D1R orthosteric site and a novel functional profile including minimal receptor desensitization, reduced recruitment of β-arrestin, and sustained in vivo efficacy. These results reveal a novel class of D1 agonists with favorable drug-like properties, and define the molecular basis for catechol-specific recruitment of β-arrestin to D1Rs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David L Gray
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - John A Allen
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA
| | - Scot Mente
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Rebecca E O'Connor
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Groton, CT, 06340, USA
| | - George J DeMarco
- Comparative Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ivan Efremov
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Patrick Tierney
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Dmitri Volfson
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Jennifer Davoren
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Edward Guilmette
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Michelle Salafia
- Medicine Design, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Groton, CT, 06340, USA
| | - Rouba Kozak
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Michael D Ehlers
- Internal Medicine, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Biogen, Inc., 225 Binney St., Cambridge, 02142, MA, USA.
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38
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Buchta WC, Mahler SV, Harlan B, Aston-Jones GS, Riegel AC. Dopamine terminals from the ventral tegmental area gate intrinsic inhibition in the prefrontal cortex. Physiol Rep 2017; 5:5/6/e13198. [PMID: 28325790 PMCID: PMC5371565 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.13198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Spike frequency adaptation (SFA or accommodation) and calcium‐activated potassium channels that underlie after‐hyperpolarization potentials (AHP) regulate repetitive firing of neurons. Precisely how neuromodulators such as dopamine from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) regulate SFA and AHP (together referred to as intrinsic inhibition) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) remains unclear. Using whole cell electrophysiology, we measured intrinsic inhibition in prelimbic (PL) layer 5 pyramidal cells of male adult rats. Results demonstrate that bath application of dopamine reduced intrinsic inhibition (EC50: 25.0 μmol/L). This dopamine action was facilitated by coapplication of cocaine (1 μmol/L), a blocker of dopamine reuptake. To evaluate VTA dopamine terminals in PFC slices, we transfected VTA dopamine cells of TH::Cre rats in vivo with Cre‐dependent AAVs to express channelrhodopsin‐2 (ChR2) or designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDS). In PFC slices from these animals, stimulation of VTA terminals with either blue light to activate ChR2 or bath application of clozapine‐N‐oxide (CNO) to activate Gq‐DREADDs produced a similar reduction in intrinsic inhibition in PL neurons. Electrophysiological recordings from cells expressing retrograde fluorescent tracers showed that this plasticity occurs in PL neurons projecting to the accumbens core. Collectively, these data highlight an ability of VTA terminals to gate intrinsic inhibition in the PFC, and under appropriate circumstances, enhance PL neuronal firing. These cellular actions of dopamine may be important for dopamine‐dependent behaviors involving cocaine and cue‐reward associations within cortical–striatal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- William C Buchta
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.,Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.,Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Benjamin Harlan
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.,Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Gary S Aston-Jones
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.,Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Arthur C Riegel
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina .,Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
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Emmons EB, De Corte BJ, Kim Y, Parker KL, Matell MS, Narayanan NS. Rodent Medial Frontal Control of Temporal Processing in the Dorsomedial Striatum. J Neurosci 2017; 37:8718-8733. [PMID: 28821670 PMCID: PMC5588464 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1376-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Revised: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although frontostriatal circuits are critical for the temporal control of action, how time is encoded in frontostriatal circuits is unknown. We recorded from frontal and striatal neurons while rats engaged in interval timing, an elementary cognitive function that engages both areas. We report four main results. First, "ramping" activity, a monotonic change in neuronal firing rate across time, is observed throughout frontostriatal ensembles. Second, frontostriatal activity scales across multiple intervals. Third, striatal ramping neurons are correlated with activity of the medial frontal cortex. Finally, interval timing and striatal ramping activity are disrupted when the medial frontal cortex is inactivated. Our results support the view that striatal neurons integrate medial frontal activity and are consistent with drift-diffusion models of interval timing. This principle elucidates temporal processing in frontostriatal circuits and provides insight into how the medial frontal cortex exerts top-down control of cognitive processing in the striatum.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to guide actions in time is essential to mammalian behavior from rodents to humans. The prefrontal cortex and striatum are critically involved in temporal processing and share extensive neuronal connections, yet it remains unclear how these structures represent time. We studied these two brain areas in rodents performing interval-timing tasks and found that time-dependent "ramping" activity, a monotonic increase or decrease in neuronal activity, was a key temporal signal. Furthermore, we found that striatal ramping activity was correlated with and dependent upon medial frontal activity. These results provide insight into information-processing principles in frontostriatal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Krystal L Parker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, and
| | - Matthew S Matell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085
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40
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Projection targets of medial frontal D1DR-expressing neurons. Neurosci Lett 2017; 655:166-171. [PMID: 28689051 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.06.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Prefrontal neurons expressing D1-type dopamine receptors (D1DRs) have been implicated in a variety of cognitive processes including working memory and timing. Although D1DRs are most strongly expressed on layer V/VI projection neurons, it is unknown which brain areas are specifically targeted by these projections. Here we selectively marked D1DR neurons using cre-loxP techniques with AAV carrying mCherry fluorescent protein, and traced projection targets of D1DR+ neurons in the mouse medial frontal cortex (MFC). We found relatively strong MFC D1DR+ projections to cortical areas as well as projections to basal ganglia and thalamic nuclei. We found relatively weaker MFC D1DR+ projections to the brainstem, hypothalamus, and other subcortical nuclei. These data intimate that MFC D1DR+ projections are well-positioned to powerfully influence cortical processing and have subcortical specificity. Thus MFC D1DR+ projection neurons may play a key role in tuning cortical networks during goal-directed behavior.
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41
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Cheng RK, Liao RM. Regional differences in dopamine receptor blockade affect timing impulsivity that is altered by d-amphetamine on differential reinforcement of low-rate responding (DRL) behavior in rats. Behav Brain Res 2017; 331:177-187. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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42
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Dallé E, Daniels WMU, Mabandla MV. Fluvoxamine maleate effects on dopamine signaling in the prefrontal cortex of stressed Parkinsonian rats: Implications for learning and memory. Brain Res Bull 2017; 132:75-81. [PMID: 28549887 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is also associated with cognitive impairment and reduced extrinsic supply of dopamine (DA) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In the present study, we looked at whether exposure to early life stress reduces DA and serotonin (5-HT) concentration in the PFC thus leading to enhanced cognitive impairment in a Parkinsonian rat model. Maternal separation was the stressor used to develop an animal model for early life stress that has chronic effects on brain and behavior. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with the antidepressant Fluvoxamine maleate (FM) prior to a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion to model motor deficits in rats. The Morris water maze (MWM) and the forelimb use asymmetry (cylinder) tests were used to assess learning and memory impairment and motor deficits respectively. Blood plasma was used to measure corticosterone concentration and prefrontal tissue was collected for lipid peroxidation, DA, and 5-HT analysis. Our results show that animals exposed to early life stress displayed learning and memory impairment as well as elevated basal plasma corticosterone concentration which were attenuated by treatment with FM. A 6-OHDA lesion effect was evidenced by impairment in the cylinder test as well as decreased DA and 5-HT concentration in the PFC. These effects were attenuated by FM treatment resulting in higher DA concentration in the PFC of treated animals than in non-treated animals. This study suggests that DA and 5-HT signaling in the PFC are responsive to FM and may reduce stress-induced cognitive impairment in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Dallé
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Willie M U Daniels
- School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Musa V Mabandla
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa.
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43
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Parker KL, Kim YC, Kelley RM, Nessler AJ, Chen KH, Muller-Ewald VA, Andreasen NC, Narayanan NS. Delta-frequency stimulation of cerebellar projections can compensate for schizophrenia-related medial frontal dysfunction. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22:647-655. [PMID: 28348382 PMCID: PMC5873945 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2016] [Revised: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia involves abnormalities in the medial frontal cortex that lead to cognitive deficits. Here we investigate a novel strategy to normalize medial frontal brain activity by stimulating cerebellar projections. We used an interval timing task to study elementary cognitive processing that requires both frontal and cerebellar networks that are disrupted in patients with schizophrenia. We report three novel findings. First, patients with schizophrenia had dysfunctional delta rhythms between 1-4 Hz in the medial frontal cortex. We explored cerebellar-frontal interactions in animal models and found that both frontal and cerebellar neurons were modulated during interval timing and had delta-frequency interactions. Finally, delta-frequency optogenetic stimulation of thalamic synaptic terminals of lateral cerebellar projection neurons rescued timing performance as well as medial frontal activity in a rodent model of schizophrenia-related frontal dysfunction. These data provide insight into how the cerebellum influences medial frontal networks and the role of the cerebellum in cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- K L Parker
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Y C Kim
- Department of Neurology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - R M Kelley
- Department of Neurology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - A J Nessler
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - K-H Chen
- Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - V A Muller-Ewald
- Department of Psychology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - N C Andreasen
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - N S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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44
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Kim YC, Miller A, Lins LCRF, Han SW, Keiser MS, Boudreau RL, Davidson BL, Narayanan NS. RNA Interference of Human α-Synuclein in Mouse. Front Neurol 2017; 8:13. [PMID: 28197125 PMCID: PMC5281542 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
α-Synuclein is postulated to play a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Aggregates of α-synuclein contribute to neurodegeneration and cell death in humans and in mouse models of PD. Here, we use virally mediated RNA interference to knockdown human α-synuclein in mice. We used an siRNA design algorithm to identify eight siRNA sequences with minimal off-targeting potential. One RNA-interference sequence (miSyn4) showed maximal protein knockdown potential in vitro. We then designed AAV vectors expressing miSyn4 and injected them into the mouse substantia nigra. miSyn4 was robustly expressed and did not detectably change dopamine neurons, glial proliferation, or mouse behavior. We then injected AAV2-miSyn4 into Thy1-hSNCA mice over expressing α-synuclein and found decreased human α-synuclein (hSNCA) in both midbrain and cortex. In separate mice, co-injection of AAV2-hSNCA and AAV2-miSyn4 demonstrated decreased hSNCA expression and rescue of hSNCA-mediated behavioral deficits. These data suggest that virally mediated RNA interference can knockdown hSNCA in vivo, which could be helpful for future therapies targeting human α-synuclein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young-Cho Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics , Iowa City, IA , USA
| | - Adam Miller
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA; Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Livia C R F Lins
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA; Department of Physiology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil
| | - Sang-Woo Han
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics , Iowa City, IA , USA
| | - Megan S Keiser
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia , Philadelphia, PA , USA
| | - Ryan L Boudreau
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics , Iowa City, IA , USA
| | - Beverly L Davidson
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA; Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
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45
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Kim YC, Han SW, Alberico SL, Ruggiero RN, De Corte B, Chen KH, Narayanan NS. Optogenetic Stimulation of Frontal D1 Neurons Compensates for Impaired Temporal Control of Action in Dopamine-Depleted Mice. Curr Biol 2016; 27:39-47. [PMID: 27989675 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Revised: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Disrupted mesocortical dopamine contributes to cognitive symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Past work has implicated medial frontal neurons expressing D1 dopamine receptors (D1DRs) in temporal processing. Here, we investigated whether these neurons can compensate for behavioral deficits resulting from midbrain dopamine dysfunction. We report three main results. First, both PD patients and mice with ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine depletion had attenuated delta activity (1-4 Hz) in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) during interval timing. Second, we found that optogenetically stimulating MFC D1DR neurons could increase ramping activity among MFC neurons. Finally, stimulating MFC D1DR neurons specifically at delta frequencies (2 Hz) compensated for deficits in temporal control of action caused by VTA dopamine depletion. Our results suggest that cortical networks can be targeted by frequency-specific brain stimulation to improve dopamine-dependent cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young-Cho Kim
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Sang-Woo Han
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Stephanie L Alberico
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Rafael N Ruggiero
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 03178-200, Brazil
| | - Benjamin De Corte
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Kuan-Hua Chen
- Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
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46
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Gueye AB, Trigo JM, Vemuri KV, Makriyannis A, Le Foll B. Effects of various cannabinoid ligands on choice behaviour in a rat model of gambling. Behav Pharmacol 2016; 27:258-69. [PMID: 26905189 PMCID: PMC4803149 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
It is estimated that 0.6-1% of the population in the USA and Canada fulfil the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. (DSM-5) criteria for gambling disorders (GD). To date, there are no approved pharmacological treatments for GD. The rat gambling task (rGT) is a recently developed rodent analogue of the Iowa gambling task in which rats are trained to associate four response holes with different magnitudes and probabilities of food pellet rewards and punishing time-out periods. Similar to healthy human volunteers, most rats adopt the optimal strategies (optimal group). However, a subset of animals show preference for the disadvantageous options (suboptimal group), mimicking the choice pattern of patients with GD. Here, we explored for the first time the effects of various cannabinoid ligands (WIN 55,212-2, AM 4113, AM 630 and URB 597) on the rGT. Administration of the cannabinoid agonist CB1/CB2 WIN 55,212-2 improved choice strategy and increased choice latency in the suboptimal group, but only increased perseverative behaviour, when punished, in the optimal group. Blockade of CB1 or CB2 receptors or inhibition of fatty-acid amide hydrolase did not affect rGT performance. These results suggest that stimulation of cannabinoid receptors could affect gambling choice behaviours differentially in some subgroups of subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliou B Gueye
- aTranslational Addiction Research Laboratory bAlcohol Research and Treatment Clinic, Addiction Medicine Services, Ambulatory Care and Structured Treatments cCampbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Departments of dFamily and Community Medicine ePharmacology fDepartment of Psychiatry, Division of Brain and Therapeutics gInstitute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada hDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Drug Discovery, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Amtul Z, Aziz AA. Microbial Proteins as Novel Industrial Biotechnology Hosts to Treat Epilepsy. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 54:8211-8224. [PMID: 27905012 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-0279-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Epilepsy is characterized by the hyperexcitability of various neuronal circuits that results due to the imbalance between glutamate-mediated excitation of voltage-gated cation channels and γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)-mediated inhibition of anion channels leading to aberrant, sporadic oscillations or fluctuations in neuronal electrical activity. Epilepsy with a risk of mortality and around 65 million sufferers of all ages all over the world is limited therapeutically with high rates of adverse reactions, lack of complete seizure control, and over 30% patients with refractory epilepsy. The only alternative to medicines is to identify and surgically remove the seizure foci in the brain or to abort the seizures just as they begin using an implanted cerebral electrode. However, these alternatives are unable to precisely aim aberrant neuronal circuits while leaving others unaltered. Epilepsy animal models also constitute the identical constraint. Thus, a better target-specific approach is needed to study and treat epilepsy. Unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii expresses a channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) sodium ion channel protein that controls the phototaxis movement of algae in response to blue light. Similarly, archaeon Natronomonas pharaonis (NpHR) expresses a monovalent Cl- channel protein halorhodopsin that responds to yellow light. These features of ChR2 and NpHR proteins can be used in optogenetic techniques to manipulate the bi-directional firing pattern of neuronal circuits in an attempt to better understand the pathophysiology of epileptic seizures as well as to discover novel potential drugs to treat epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zareen Amtul
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan.
| | - Amal A Aziz
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, Thames Valley District School Board, N6C 4W7, London, ON, Canada
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48
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COMT val158met moderation of dopaminergic drug effects on cognitive function: a critical review. THE PHARMACOGENOMICS JOURNAL 2016; 16:430-8. [PMID: 27241058 PMCID: PMC5028240 DOI: 10.1038/tpj.2016.43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The relationship between dopamine (DA) tone in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and PFC-dependent cognitive functions (for example, working memory, selective attention, executive function) may be described by an inverted-U-shaped function, in which both excessively high and low DA is associated with impairment. In the PFC, the COMT val158met single nucleotide polymorphism (rs4680) confers differences in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) efficacy and DA tone, and individuals homozygous for the val allele display significantly reduced cortical DA. Many studies have investigated whether val158met genotype moderates the effects of dopaminergic drugs on PFC-dependent cognitive functions. A review of 25 such studies suggests evidence for this pharmacogenetic effect is mixed for stimulants and COMT inhibitors, which have greater effects on D1 receptors, and strong for antipsychotics, which have greater effects on D2 receptors. Overall, COMT val158met genotype represents an enticing target for identifying individuals who are more likely to respond positively to dopaminergic drugs.
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49
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Tang Y, Ge J, Liu F, Wu P, Guo S, Liu Z, Wang Y, Wang Y, Ding Z, Wu J, Zuo C, Wang J. Cerebral Metabolic Differences Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152716. [PMID: 27064684 PMCID: PMC4827825 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To characterize cerebral glucose metabolism associated with different cognitive states in Parkinson’s disease (PD) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Methods Three groups of patients were recruited in this study including PD patients with dementia (PDD; n = 10), with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI; n = 20), and with no cognitive impairment (PD-NC; n = 30). The groups were matched for age, sex, education, disease duration, motor disability, levodopa equivalent dose and Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS) score. All subjects underwent a FDG-PET study. Maps of regional metabolism in the three groups were compared using statistical parametric mapping (SPM5). Results PD-MCI patients exhibited limited areas of hypometabolism in the frontal, temporal and parahippocampal gyrus compared with the PD-NC patients (p < 0.01). PDD patients had bilateral areas of hypometabolism in the frontal and posterior parietal-occipital lobes compared with PD-MCI patients (p < 0.01), and exhibited greater metabolic reductions in comparison with PD-NC patients (p < 0.01). Conclusions Compared with PD-NC patients, hypometabolism was much higher in the PDD patients than in PD-MCI patients, mainly in the posterior cortical areas. The result might suggest an association between posterior cortical hypometabolism and more severe cognitive impairment. PD-MCI might be important for early targeted therapeutic intervention and disease modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilin Tang
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Jingjie Ge
- PET center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 518 East Wuzhong Road, Shanghai, 200235, China
| | - Fengtao Liu
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Ping Wu
- PET center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 518 East Wuzhong Road, Shanghai, 200235, China
| | - Sisi Guo
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Zhenyang Liu
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Yixuan Wang
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Zhengtong Ding
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Jianjun Wu
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Chuantao Zuo
- PET center, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 518 East Wuzhong Road, Shanghai, 200235, China
- * E-mail: (JW); (CZ)
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan Universtiy, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
- * E-mail: (JW); (CZ)
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50
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Emmons EB, Ruggiero RN, Kelley RM, Parker KL, Narayanan NS. Corticostriatal Field Potentials Are Modulated at Delta and Theta Frequencies during Interval-Timing Task in Rodents. Front Psychol 2016; 7:459. [PMID: 27092091 PMCID: PMC4820903 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Organizing movements in time is a critical and highly conserved feature of mammalian behavior. Temporal control of action requires corticostriatal networks. We investigate these networks in rodents using a two-interval timing task while recording LFPs in medial frontal cortex (MFC) or dorsomedial striatum. Consistent with prior work, we found cue-triggered delta (1–4 Hz) and theta activity (4–8 Hz) primarily in rodent MFC. We observed delta activity across temporal intervals in MFC and dorsomedial striatum. Rewarded responses were associated with increased delta activity in MFC. Activity in theta bands in MFC and delta bands in the striatum was linked with the timing of responses. These data suggest both delta and theta activity in frontostriatal networks are modulated during interval timing and that activity in these bands may be involved in the temporal control of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric B Emmons
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Rafael N Ruggiero
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, The University of IowaIowa City, IA, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, University of São PauloSão Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ryan M Kelley
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Krystal L Parker
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nandakumar S Narayanan
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, The University of IowaIowa City, IA, USA; Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, Carver College of Medicine, The University of IowaIowa City, IA, USA
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