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Lass G, Li XF, Voliotis M, Wall E, de Burgh RA, Ivanova D, McIntyre C, Lin X, Colledge WH, Lightman SL, Tsaneva‐Atanasova K, O'Byrne KT. GnRH pulse generator frequency is modulated by kisspeptin and GABA-glutamate interactions in the posterodorsal medial amygdala in female mice. J Neuroendocrinol 2022; 34:e13207. [PMID: 36305576 PMCID: PMC10078155 DOI: 10.1111/jne.13207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Kisspeptin neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus generate gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulses, and act as critical initiators of functional gonadotrophin secretion and reproductive competency. However, kisspeptin in other brain regions, most notably the posterodorsal subnucleus of the medial amygdala (MePD), plays a significant modulatory role over the hypothalamic kisspeptin population; our recent studies using optogenetics have shown that low-frequency light stimulation of MePD kisspeptin results in increased luteinsing hormone pulse frequency. Nonetheless, the neurochemical pathways that underpin this regulatory function remain unknown. To study this, we have utilised an optofluid technology, precisely combining optogenetic stimulation with intra-nuclear pharmacological receptor antagonism, to investigate the neurotransmission involved in this circuitry. We have shown experimentally and verified using a mathematical model that functional neurotransmission of both GABA and glutamate is a requirement for effective modulation of the GnRH pulse generator by amygdala kisspeptin neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geffen Lass
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Xiao Feng Li
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Margaritis Voliotis
- Department of Mathematics and Living Systems Institute, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Ellen Wall
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
- Reproductive Physiology Group, Department of Physiology, Development and NeuroscienceUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Ross A. de Burgh
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Deyana Ivanova
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Caitlin McIntyre
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Xian‐Hua Lin
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
- The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of MedicineShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - William H. Colledge
- Reproductive Physiology Group, Department of Physiology, Development and NeuroscienceUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Stafford L. Lightman
- Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, The Dorothy Hodgkin BuildingUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Krasimira Tsaneva‐Atanasova
- Department of Mathematics and Living Systems Institute, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Kevin T. O'Byrne
- Department of Women and Children's Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
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2
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Immature excitatory neurons in the amygdala come of age during puberty. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 56:101133. [PMID: 35841648 PMCID: PMC9289873 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The human amygdala is critical for emotional learning, valence coding, and complex social interactions, all of which mature throughout childhood, puberty, and adolescence. Across these ages, the amygdala paralaminar nucleus (PL) undergoes significant structural changes including increased numbers of mature neurons. The PL contains a large population of immature excitatory neurons at birth, some of which may continue to be born from local progenitors. These progenitors disappear rapidly in infancy, but the immature neurons persist throughout childhood and adolescent ages, indicating that they develop on a protracted timeline. Many of these late-maturing neurons settle locally within the PL, though a small subset appear to migrate into neighboring amygdala subnuclei. Despite its prominent growth during postnatal life and possible contributions to multiple amygdala circuits, the function of the PL remains unknown. PL maturation occurs predominately during late childhood and into puberty when sex hormone levels change. Sex hormones can promote developmental processes such as neuron migration, dendritic outgrowth, and synaptic plasticity, which appear to be ongoing in late-maturing PL neurons. Collectively, we describe how the growth of late-maturing neurons occurs in the right time and place to be relevant for amygdala functions and neuropsychiatric conditions.
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3
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Gobbo DR, Pereira LDS, Ferreira JGP, de Castro Horta-Junior JA, Bittencourt JC, Sá SI. Effects of ovariectomy on the inputs from the medial nucleus of the amygdala to the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in young adult rats. Neurosci Lett 2021; 746:135657. [PMID: 33482312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
During puberty, sexual hormones induce crucial changes in neural circuit organization, leading to significant sexual dimorphism in adult behaviours. The ventrolateral division of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMHvl) is the major neural site controlling the receptive component of female sexual behaviour, which is dependent on ovarian hormones. The inputs to the VMHvl, originating from the medial nucleus of the amygdala (MeA), transmit essential information to trigger such behaviour. In this study, we investigated the projection pattern of the MeA to the VMHvl in ovariectomized rats at early puberty. Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and, upon reaching 90 days of age, were subjected to iontophoretic injections of the neuronal anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin into the MeA. Projections from the MeA to the VMHvl and to other structures included in the neural circuit responsible for female sexual behaviour were analysed in the Control and OVX groups. The results of the semi-quantitative analysis showed that peripubertal ovariectomy reduced the density of intra-amygdalar fibres. The stereological estimates, however, failed to find changes in the organization of the terminal fields of nerve fibres from the MeA to the VMHvl in the adult. The present data show that ovariectomized rats during the peripubertal phase did not undergo significant changes in MeA fibres reaching the VMHvl; however, they suggest a possible effect of ovariectomy on MeA connectivity under amygdalar subnuclei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Ribeiro Gobbo
- Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Laboratorio de Neuroanatomia Quimica, Departamento de Anatomia, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lais da Silva Pereira
- Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Laboratorio de Neuroanatomia Quimica, Departamento de Anatomia, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Jozélia Gomes Pacheco Ferreira
- Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Laboratorio de Neuroanatomia Quimica, Departamento de Anatomia, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Jackson Cioni Bittencourt
- Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Laboratorio de Neuroanatomia Quimica, Departamento de Anatomia, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Psicologia, Nucleo de Neurociências e Comportamento, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Susana Isabel Sá
- Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; CINTESIS, Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
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4
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Hasler G, Haynes M, Müller ST, Tuura R, Ritter C, Buchmann A. The Association Between Adolescent Residential Mobility and Adult Social Anxiety, BDNF and Amygdala-Orbitofrontal Functional Connectivity in Young Adults With Higher Education. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:561464. [PMID: 33408651 PMCID: PMC7779475 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.561464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Large-scale epidemiological studies demonstrate that house moves during adolescence lead to an increase in anxiety and stress-sensitivity that persists into adulthood. As such, it might be expected that moves during adolescence have strong negative and long-lasting effects on the brain. We hypothesized that moves during adolescence impair fear circuit maturation, as measured by the connectivity between amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Methods: We examined young adults with middle and high economic status recruited from the community using clinical interviews, self-report questionnaires, functional magnetic resonance imaging during an emotional faces task and during a 10 min rest phase, and serum BDNF serum concentration. Results: Out of 234 young adults, 164 did not move between ages 10 and 16 (i.e., moves with change of school), 50 moved once, and 20 moved twice or more than twice. We found relationships between adolescent moving frequency and social avoidance (pcorr = 0.012), right amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex connectivity (pcorr = 0.016) and low serum BDNF concentrations in young adulthood (pcorr = 0.012). Perceived social status of the mother partly mitigated the effects of moving on social avoidance and BDNF in adulthood. Conclusions: This study confirms previous reports on the negative and persistent effects of residential mobility during adolescence on mental health. It suggests that these effects are mediated by impairments in fear circuit maturation. Finally, it encourages research into protecting factors of moving during adolescents such as the perceived social status of the mother.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Hasler
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Unit of Psychiatry Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Melanie Haynes
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sabrina Theresia Müller
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Center for MR-Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ruth Tuura
- Center for MR-Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christopher Ritter
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Unit of Psychiatry Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.,Center for MR-Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Buchmann
- Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Unit of Psychiatry Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.,Center for MR-Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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5
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Disruptive effects of neonatal gonadectomy on adult sexual partner preference and brain dimorphism in male rats: partial restoration with pubertal testosterone. Behav Brain Res 2019; 374:112117. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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6
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Li XF, Adekunbi DA, Alobaid HM, Li S, Pilot M, Lightman SL, O'Byrne KT. Role of the posterodorsal medial amygdala in predator odour stress-induced puberty delay in female rats. J Neuroendocrinol 2019; 31:e12719. [PMID: 30963653 PMCID: PMC6563483 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Puberty onset is influenced by various factors, including psychosocial stress. The present study investigated cat-odour stress on puberty onset and oestrous cyclicity in rats. Female weanling rats were exposed to either soiled cat litter or fresh unused litter for 10 consecutive days. Following vaginal opening (VO), rats were smeared for 14 days to determine oestrous cyclicity. Anxiety-like behaviour was assessed using standard anxiety tests. Brains were collected to determine corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), CRF receptor 1 (CRF-R1) and CRF receptor 2 (CRF-R2) mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), as well as the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA) and the medial nucleus of the amygdala (MEA). Cat odour delayed VO and first oestrus, disrupted oestrous cycles and caused anxiogenic responses. Cat odour elicited increased CRF mRNA expression in the PVN but not in the CeA. CRF-R1 and CRF-R2 mRNA levels in the PVN and CeA were unaffected by cat odour; however, CRF-R1 mRNA levels were decreased in the MeA. The role of CRF signalling in the MeA, particularly its posterodorsal subnucleus (MePD), with respect to pubertal timing was directly examined by unilateral intra-MePD administration of CRF (0.2 nmol day-1 for 14 days) via an osmotic mini-pump from postnatal day 24 and was shown to delay VO and first oestrus. These data suggest that CRF signalling in the MePD may be associated with predator odour-induced puberty delay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Feng Li
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel A. Adekunbi
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Hussah M. Alobaid
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
- Zoology DepartmentCollege of ScienceKing Saud UniversityRiyadhSaudi Arabia
| | - Shengyun Li
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Michel Pilot
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Stafford L. Lightman
- Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and EndocrinologyUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Kevin T. O'Byrne
- Department of Women and Children's HealthFaculty of Life Sciences and MedicineKing's College LondonLondonUK
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7
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Zancan M, Cunha RSR, Schroeder F, Xavier LL, Rasia‐Filho AA. Remodeling of the number and structure of dendritic spines in the medial amygdala: From prepubertal sexual dimorphism to puberty and effect of sexual experience in male rats. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:1851-1865. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Zancan
- Department of Basic Sciences/PhysiologyFederal University of Health Sciences Porto Alegre Brazil
- Graduation Program in NeuroscienceFederal University of Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Rick Shandler R. Cunha
- Department of Basic Sciences/PhysiologyFederal University of Health Sciences Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Francielle Schroeder
- Laboratory of Tissue BiologyFaculty of BiosciencesPontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Léder L. Xavier
- Laboratory of Tissue BiologyFaculty of BiosciencesPontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Alberto A. Rasia‐Filho
- Department of Basic Sciences/PhysiologyFederal University of Health Sciences Porto Alegre Brazil
- Graduation Program in NeuroscienceFederal University of Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
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8
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Cao J, Willett JA, Dorris DM, Meitzen J. Sex Differences in Medium Spiny Neuron Excitability and Glutamatergic Synaptic Input: Heterogeneity Across Striatal Regions and Evidence for Estradiol-Dependent Sexual Differentiation. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2018; 9:173. [PMID: 29720962 PMCID: PMC5915472 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Steroid sex hormones and biological sex influence how the brain regulates motivated behavior, reward, and sensorimotor function in both normal and pathological contexts. Investigations into the underlying neural mechanisms have targeted the striatal brain regions, including the caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens core (AcbC), and shell. These brain regions are of particular interest to neuroendocrinologists given that they express membrane-associated but not nuclear estrogen receptors, and also the well-established role of the sex steroid hormone 17β-estradiol (estradiol) in modulating striatal dopamine systems. Indeed, output neurons of the striatum, the medium spiny neurons (MSNs), exhibit estradiol sensitivity and sex differences in electrophysiological properties. Here, we review sex differences in rat MSN glutamatergic synaptic input and intrinsic excitability across striatal regions, including evidence for estradiol-mediated sexual differentiation in the nucleus AcbC. In prepubertal animals, female MSNs in the caudate-putamen exhibit a greater intrinsic excitability relative to male MSNs, but no sex differences are detected in excitatory synaptic input. Alternatively, female MSNs in the nucleus AcbC exhibit increased excitatory synaptic input relative to male MSNs, but no sex differences in intrinsic excitability were detected. Increased excitatory synaptic input onto female MSNs in the nucleus AcbC is abolished after masculinizing estradiol or testosterone exposure during the neonatal critical period. No sex differences are detected in MSNs in prepubertal nucleus accumbens shell. Thus, despite possessing the same neuron type, striatal regions exhibit heterogeneity in sex differences in MSN electrophysiological properties, which likely contribute to the sex differences observed in striatal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyan Cao
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Jaime A. Willett
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Graduate Program in Physiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - David M. Dorris
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - John Meitzen
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- *Correspondence: John Meitzen,
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9
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Adekunbi DA, Li XF, Li S, Adegoke OA, Iranloye BO, Morakinyo AO, Lightman SL, Taylor PD, Poston L, O’Byrne KT. Role of amygdala kisspeptin in pubertal timing in female rats. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183596. [PMID: 28846730 PMCID: PMC5573137 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
To investigate the mechanism by which maternal obesity disrupts reproductive function in offspring, we examined Kiss1 expression in the hypothalamic arcuate (ARC) and anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nuclei, and posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePD) of pre-pubertal and young adult offspring. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a standard or energy-dense diet for six weeks prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Male and female offspring were weaned onto normal diet on postnatal day (pnd) 21. Brains were collected on pnd 30 or 100 for qRT-PCR to determine Kiss1 mRNA levels. Maternal obesity increased Kiss1 mRNA expression in the MePD of pre-pubertal male and female offspring, whereas Kiss1 expression was not affected in the ARC or AVPV at this age. Maternal obesity reduced Kiss1 expression in all three brain regions of 3 month old female offspring, but only in MePD of males. The role of MePD kisspeptin on puberty, estrous cyclicity and preovulatory LH surges was assessed directly in a separate group of post-weanling and young adult female rats exposed to a normal diet throughout their life course. Bilateral intra-MePD cannulae connected to osmotic mini-pumps for delivery of kisspeptin receptor antagonist (Peptide 234 for 14 days) were chronically implanted on pnd 21 or 100. Antagonism of MePD kisspeptin delayed puberty onset, disrupted estrous cyclicity and reduced the incidence of LH surges. These data show that the MePD plays a key role in pubertal timing and ovulation and that maternal obesity may act via amygdala kisspeptin signaling to influence reproductive function in the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A. Adekunbi
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Xiao Feng Li
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shengyun Li
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Olufeyi A. Adegoke
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Bolanle O. Iranloye
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Ayodele O. Morakinyo
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Stafford L. Lightman
- Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Paul D. Taylor
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lucilla Poston
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin T. O’Byrne
- Division of Women’s Health, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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10
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McCormick CM, Cameron NM, Thompson MA, Cumming MJ, Hodges TE, Langett M. The sexual preference of female rats is influenced by males' adolescent social stress history and social status. Horm Behav 2017; 89:30-37. [PMID: 27956227 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Revised: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing development of brain systems for social behaviour renders these systems susceptible to the influence of stressors in adolescence. We previously found that adult male rats that underwent social instability stress (SS) in mid-adolescence had decreased sexual performance compared with control males (CTL). Here, we test the hypotheses that SS in adolescence decreases the "attractiveness" of male rats as sexual partners compared with CTL rats and that dominance status is a protective factor against the effects of SS. The main prediction was that females would spend more time with CTL males than SS males, and that this bias would be greater for submissive than for dominant rats. Among dominant pairs (n=16), females preferred SS males, spending more time with and visiting more often SS than CTL males (each pair tested 5×), and SS males had shorter latencies to ejaculation, shorter inter-ejaculation intervals, and made more ejaculations compared with CTL males. Among submissive pairs (n=16), females spent more time with, visited more often, and displayed more paracopulatory behaviour with CTL than with SS males, and differences in sexual performance between SS and CTL males were modest and in the opposite direction from that in dominant pairs. The heightened motivation of SS males relative to CTL males for natural rewards may have attenuated differences in sexual performance in a paced mating context. In sum, the experience of stress in adolescence leads to long-lasting changes in males that are perceptible to females, are moderated by social status, and influence sexual behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl M McCormick
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, Canada; Centre for Neuroscience, Brock University, Canada.
| | - Nicole M Cameron
- Department of Psychology and Center for Developmental and Behavioral Neuroscience, Binghamton University, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Marissa Langett
- Department of Psychology and Center for Developmental and Behavioral Neuroscience, Binghamton University, Canada
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11
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Romeo RD. The impact of stress on the structure of the adolescent brain: Implications for adolescent mental health. Brain Res 2017; 1654:185-191. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2015] [Revised: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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12
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Social Isolation During Postweaning Development Causes Hypoactivity of Neurons in the Medial Nucleus of the Male Rat Amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:1929-40. [PMID: 26677945 PMCID: PMC4869062 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Children exposed to neglect or social deprivation are at heightened risk for psychiatric disorders and abnormal social patterns as adults. There is also evidence that prepubertal neglect in children causes abnormal metabolic activity in several brain regions, including the amygdala area. The medial nucleus of the amygdala (MeA) is a key region for performance of social behaviors and still undergoes maturation during the periadolescent period. As such, the normal development of this region may be disrupted by social deprivation. In rodents, postweaning social isolation causes a range of deficits in sexual and agonistic behaviors that normally rely on the posterior MeA (MeAp). However, little is known about the effects of social isolation on the function of MeA neurons. In this study, we tested whether postweaning social isolation caused abnormal activity of MeA neurons. We found that postweaning social isolation caused a decrease of in vivo firing activity of MeAp neurons, and reduced drive from excitatory afferents. In vitro electrophysiological studies found that postweaning social isolation caused a presynaptic impairment of excitatory input to the dorsal MeAp, but a progressive postsynaptic reduction of membrane excitability in the ventral MeAp. These results demonstrate discrete, subnucleus-specific effects of social deprivation on the physiology of MeAp neurons. This pathophysiology may contribute to the disruption of social behavior after developmental social deprivation, and may be a novel target to facilitate the treatment of social disorders.
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13
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Sisk CL. Hormone-dependent adolescent organization of socio-sexual behaviors in mammals. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2016; 38:63-8. [PMID: 26963894 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2016.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The adolescent transition from childhood to adulthood requires both reproductive and behavioral maturation as individuals acquire the ability to procreate. Gonadal steroid hormones are key players in the maturation of behaviors required for reproductive success. Beyond activating behavior in adulthood, testicular and ovarian hormones organize the adolescent brain and program adult-typical and sex-typical expression of sociosexual behaviors. Testicular hormones organize sexual and agonistic behaviors, including social proficiency-the ability to adapt behavior as a function of social experience. Ovarian hormones organize behaviors related to energy balance and maternal care. These sex differences in the behaviors that are programmed by gonadal hormones during adolescence suggest that evolution has selected for hormone-dependent sex-specific organization of behaviors that optimize reproductive fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl L Sisk
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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14
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Maleki N, Bernstein C, Napadow V, Field A. Migraine and Puberty: Potential Susceptible Brain Sites. Semin Pediatr Neurol 2016; 23:53-9. [PMID: 27017023 DOI: 10.1016/j.spen.2016.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Puberty is a sensitive and critical period for brain development. The relationship between developmental processes in the brain during puberty and the onset of migraine disease in relation to the potential sites of susceptibility in the brain remains largely unknown. There are few data on how such processes interact with each other in influencing the migraine onset during puberty or even later in adulthood. Focusing on the migraine brain during pubertal development may provide us with a "window of opportunity" both to better understand the mechanisms of the disease and, also more importantly, to effectively intervene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasim Maleki
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Department of Anesthesia, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
| | - Carolyn Bernstein
- Department of Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA; Department of Anesthesiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Alison Field
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Heath, MA
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15
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Li XF, Hu MH, Hanley BP, Lin YS, Poston L, Lightman SL, O'Byrne KT. The Posterodorsal Medial Amygdala Regulates the Timing of Puberty Onset in Female Rats. Endocrinology 2015; 156:3725-36. [PMID: 26252061 PMCID: PMC4588820 DOI: 10.1210/en.2015-1366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Obesity is the major risk factor for early puberty, but emerging evidence indicates other factors including psychosocial stress. One key brain region notable for its role in controlling calorie intake, stress, and behavior is the amygdala. Early studies involving amygdala lesions that included the medial nucleus advanced puberty in rats. More recently it was shown that a critical site for lesion-induced hyperphagia and obesity is the posterodorsal subnucleus of the medial amygdala (MePD), which may explain the advancement of puberty. Glutamatergic activity also increases in the MePD during puberty without a corresponding γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic change, suggesting an overall activation of this brain region. In the present study, we report that neurotoxic lesioning of the MePD advances puberty and increases weight gain in female rats fed a normal diet. However, MePD lesioned rats fed a 25% nonnutritive bulk diet also showed the dramatic advancement of puberty but without the increase in body weight. In both dietary groups, MePD lesions resulted in an increase in socialization and a decrease in play fighting behavior. Chronic GABAA receptor antagonism in the MePD from postnatal day 21 for 14 days also advanced puberty, increased socialization, and decreased play fighting without altering body weight, whereas glutamate receptor antagonism delayed puberty and decreased socialization without affecting play fighting. In conclusion, our results suggest the MePD regulates the timing of puberty via a novel mechanism independent of change in body weight and caloric intake. MePD glutamatergic systems advance the timing of puberty whereas local GABAergic activation results in a delay.
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Affiliation(s)
- X F Li
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - M H Hu
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - B P Hanley
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - Y S Lin
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - L Poston
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - S L Lightman
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
| | - K T O'Byrne
- Division of Women's Health (X.F.L., M.H.L., B.P.H., Y.S.L., L.P., K.T.O.), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; and Henry Wellcome Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology (S.L.L.), University of Bristol, Bristol BS1 3NY, United Kingdom
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16
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Job MO, Cooke BM. PSA-NCAM in the posterodorsal medial amygdala is necessary for the pubertal emergence of attraction to female odors in male hamsters. Horm Behav 2015; 75:91-9. [PMID: 26335887 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2015] [Revised: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/22/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
During puberty, attention turns away from same-sex socialization to focus on the opposite sex. How the brain mediates this change in perception and motivation is unknown. Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) virtually disappears from most of the central nervous system after embryogenesis, but it remains elevated in discrete regions of the adult brain. One such brain area is the posterodorsal subnucleus of the medial amygdala (MePD). The MePD has been implicated in male sexual attraction, measured here as the preference to investigate female odors. We hypothesize that PSA-NCAM gates hormone-dependent plasticity necessary for the emergence of males' attraction to females. To evaluate this idea, we first measured PSA-NCAM levels across puberty in several brain regions, and identified when female odor preference normally emerges in male Syrian hamsters. We found that MePD PSA-NCAM staining peaks shortly before the surge of pubertal androgen and the emergence of preference. To test the necessity of PSA-NCAM for female odor preference, we infused endo-neuraminidase-N into the MePD to deplete it of PSAs before female odor preference normally appears. This blocked female odor preference, which suggests that PSA-NCAM facilitates behaviorally relevant, hormone-driven plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin O Job
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Bradley M Cooke
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
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17
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Bergan JF. Neural Computation and Neuromodulation Underlying Social Behavior. Integr Comp Biol 2015; 55:268-80. [PMID: 26089436 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behaviors are as diverse as the animals that employ them, with some behaviors, like affiliation and aggression, expressed in nearly all social species. Whether discussing a "family" of beavers or a "murder" of crows, the elaborate language we use to describe social animals immediately hints at patterns of behavior typical of each species. Neuroscience has now revealed a core network of regions of the brain that are essential for the production of social behavior. Like the behaviors themselves, neuromodulation and hormonal changes regulate the underlying neural circuits on timescales ranging from momentary events to an animal's lifetime. Dynamic and heavily interconnected social circuits provide a distinct challenge for developing a mechanistic understanding of social behavior. However, advances in neuroscience continue to generate an explanation of social behavior based on the electrical activity and synaptic connections of neurons embedded in defined neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Bergan
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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18
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Dorris DM, Cao J, Willett JA, Hauser CA, Meitzen J. Intrinsic excitability varies by sex in prepubertal striatal medium spiny neurons. J Neurophysiol 2014; 113:720-9. [PMID: 25376786 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00687.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in neuron electrophysiological properties were traditionally associated with brain regions directly involved in reproduction in adult, postpubertal animals. There is growing acknowledgement that sex differences can exist in other developmental periods and brain regions as well. This includes the dorsal striatum (caudate/putamen), which shows robust sex differences in gene expression, neuromodulator action (including dopamine and 17β-estradiol), and relevant sensorimotor behaviors and pathologies such as the responsiveness to drugs of abuse. Here we examine whether these sex differences extend to striatal neuron electrophysiology. We test the hypothesis that passive and active medium spiny neuron (MSN) electrophysiological properties in prepubertal rat dorsal striatum differ by sex. We made whole cell recordings from male and females MSNs from acute brain slices. The slope of the evoked firing rate to current injection curve was increased in MSNs recorded from females compared with males. The initial action potential firing rate was increased in MSNs recorded from females compared with males. Action potential after-hyperpolarization peak was decreased, and threshold was hyperpolarized in MSNs recorded from females compared with males. No sex differences in passive electrophysiological properties or miniature excitatory synaptic currents were detected. These findings indicate that MSN excitability is increased in prepubertal females compared with males, providing a new mechanism that potentially contributes to generating sex differences in striatal-mediated processes. Broadly, these findings demonstrate that sex differences in neuron electrophysiological properties can exist prepuberty in brain regions not directly related to reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Dorris
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
| | - Jinyan Cao
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
| | - Jaime A Willett
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; Graduate Program in Physiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
| | - Caitlin A Hauser
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
| | - John Meitzen
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; Center for Human Health and the Environment, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; and Grass Laboratory, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
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19
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Ferri SL, Hildebrand PF, Way SE, Flanagan-Cato LM. Estradiol regulates markers of synaptic plasticity in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus and amygdala of female rats. Horm Behav 2014; 66:409-20. [PMID: 24995468 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2014] [Revised: 06/17/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Ovarian hormones act in multiple brain regions to modulate specific behaviors and emotional states. For example, ovarian hormones promote female sexual receptivity in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMH) and modulate anxiety in the amygdala. Hormone-induced changes within the VMH include structural modifications, such as changes in dendritic spines, dendrite length and the number of synapses. In some situations, dendrite remodeling requires actin polymerization, which depends on phospho-deactivation of the enzyme cofilin, or the ionotropic AMPA-type glutamate receptors, especially the GluA1 and GluA2 subunits. The present experiments used immunohistochemistry to test the hypothesis that ovarian hormone-induced neural plasticity in the VMH and amygdala involves the regulation of phospho-cofilin, GluA1 and GluA2. These proteins were assessed acutely after estradiol administration (0.5, 1.0 and 4.0h), as well as three days after hormone treatment. Both brain regions displayed rapid (4.0h or less) and transient estradiol-induced increases in the level of phospho-cofilin. At the behaviorally relevant time point of three days, differential changes in AMPA receptor subunits were observed. Using Golgi impregnation, the effect of estradiol on amygdala dendrites was examined. Three days after estradiol treatment, an increase in the length of dendrites in the central nucleus of the amygdala was observed. Thus, estradiol initiates structural changes in dendrites in both the VMH and amygdala associated with an early phospho-deactivation of cofilin, followed by dynamic, brain region-specific changes in AMPA receptor composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Ferri
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Peter F Hildebrand
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Samantha E Way
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Loretta M Flanagan-Cato
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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20
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Johnson RT, Breedlove SM, Jordan CL. Androgen receptors mediate masculinization of astrocytes in the rat posterodorsal medial amygdala during puberty. J Comp Neurol 2013; 521:2298-309. [PMID: 23239016 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2012] [Revised: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 12/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Astrocytes in the posterodorsal portion of the medial amygdala (MePD) are sexually dimorphic in adult rats: males have more astrocytes in the right MePD and more elaborate processes in the left MePD than do females. Functional androgen receptors (ARs) are required for masculinization of MePD astrocytes, as these measures are demasculinized in adult males carrying the testicular feminization mutation (Tfm) of the AR gene, which renders AR dysfunctional. We now report that the number of astrocytes is already sexually dimorphic in the right MePD of juvenile 25-day-old (P25) rats. Because Tfm males have as many astrocytes as wild-type males at this age, this prepubertal sexual dimorphism is independent of ARs. After P25, astrocyte number increases in the MePD of all groups, but activation of ARs augments this increase in the right MePD, where more astrocytes are added in males than in Tfm males. Consequently, by adulthood, females and Tfm males have equivalent numbers of astrocytes in the right MePD. Sexual dimorphism in astrocyte arbor complexity in the left MePD arises after P25, and is entirely AR-dependent. Thus, masculinization of MePD astrocytes is a result of both AR-independent processes before the juvenile period and AR-dependent processes afterward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T Johnson
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1101, USA.
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21
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Green MR, McCormick CM. Effects of stressors in adolescence on learning and memory in rodent models. Horm Behav 2013; 64:364-79. [PMID: 23998678 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2012] [Revised: 09/04/2012] [Accepted: 09/23/2012] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Puberty and Adolescence". Learning and memory is affected by a myriad of factors, including exposure to stressors and the corresponding rise in circulating glucocorticoids. Nevertheless, the effects of stressors depend on the sex, species, the type of stressor used, the duration of exposure, as well as the developmental time-point in which stressors are experienced. Effects of stress in adolescence, however, have received less attention than other developmental periods. In adolescence, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and brain regions involved in learning and memory, which also richly express corticosteroid receptors, are continuing to develop, and thus the effects of stress exposures would be expected to differ from those in adulthood. We conclude from a review of the available literature in animal models that hippocampal function is particularly sensitive to adolescent stressors, and the effects tend to be most evident several weeks after the exposure, suggesting stressors alter the developmental trajectory of the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Green
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave., St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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22
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Duportets L, Maria A, Vitecek S, Gadenne C, Debernard S. Steroid hormone signaling is involved in the age-dependent behavioral response to sex pheromone in the adult male moth Agrotis ipsilon. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2013; 186:58-66. [PMID: 23474331 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2012] [Revised: 02/19/2013] [Accepted: 02/20/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In most animals, including insects, male reproduction depends on the detection and processing of female-produced sex pheromones. In the male moth, Agrotis ipsilon, both behavioral response and neuronal sensitivity in the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL), to female sex pheromone are age- and hormone-dependent. In many animal species, steroids are known to act at the brain level to modulate the responsiveness to sexually relevant chemical cues. We aimed to address the hypothesis that the steroidal system and in particular 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), the main insect steroid hormone, might also be involved in this olfactory plasticity. Therefore, we first cloned the nuclear ecdysteroid receptor EcR (AipsEcR) and its partner Ultraspiracle (AipsUSP) of A. ipsilon, the expression of which increased concomitantly with age in ALs. Injection of 20E into young sexually immature males led to an increase in both responsiveness to sex pheromone and amount of AipsEcR and AipsUSP in their ALs. Conversely, the behavioral response decreased in older, sexually mature males after injection of cucurbitacin B (CurB), an antagonist of the 20E/EcR/USP complex. Also, the amount of AipsEcR and AipsUSP significantly declined after treatment with CurB. These results suggest that 20E is involved in the expression of sexual behavior via the EcR/USP signaling pathway, probably acting on central pheromone processing in A. ipsilon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Line Duportets
- UMR 1272, UPMC-INRA, Physiologie de l'Insecte: Signalisation et Communication, Université Paris VI, Bâtiment A, 7 quai Saint Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
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23
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Ho A, Villacis AJ, Svirsky SE, Foilb AR, Romeo RD. The pubertal-related decline in cellular proliferation and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of male rats is independent of the pubertal rise in gonadal hormones. Dev Neurobiol 2013; 72:743-52. [PMID: 21990242 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Pubertal development is marked by significant decreases in cellular proliferation and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation. Although it is unclear what mediates these developmental changes in the dentate gyrus, gonadal hormones have been implicated in modulating many neurobiological processes during puberty and various parameters of neurogenesis in adulthood. Thus, it is possible that the gradual and sustained increase in gonadal hormones experienced during puberty plays a role in these changes in neurogenesis. In this experiments, we first quantified cellular proliferation and neurogenesis using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and doublecortin (DCX) immunohistochemistry, respectively, in the dentate gyrus of prepubertal (30 d), midpubertal (45 d), and adult (90 d) male rats. We found the decline in BrdU and DCX cell numbers throughout these ages was coincident with increases in their plasma testosterone levels. We next tested whether exposure to the pubertal rise in gonadal hormones was necessary for this decrease in hippocampal neurogenesis to occur. Thus, we examined cellular proliferation and neurogenesis in intact 30 day (prepubertal) and 60-day-old (late-pubertal) rats, as well as 60-day-old rats that had previously been gonadectomized or sham-gonadectomized at 30 days of age. Although we again found the expected decline in BrdU and DCX cell numbers between 30 and 60 days of age in the intact groups, there were no differences among the 60-day-old animals, regardless of gonadal status. These data indicate that the pubertal-related decline in hippocampal cellular proliferation and neurogenesis is independent of the pubertal change in gonadal hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Ho
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
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A role for the prefrontal cortex in heroin-seeking after forced abstinence by adult male rats but not adolescents. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:446-54. [PMID: 23072838 PMCID: PMC3547195 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Adolescent drug abuse is hypothesized to increase the risk of drug addiction. Yet male rats that self-administer heroin as adolescents show attenuated drug-seeking after abstinence, compared with adults. Here we explore a role for neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in age-dependent heroin-seeking. Adolescent (35-day-old at start; adolescent-onset) and adult (86-day-old at start) male rats acquired lever-pressing maintained by heroin using a fixed ratio one reinforcement schedule (0.05 and 0.025 mg/kg per infusion). Following 12 days of forced abstinence, rats were tested for heroin-seeking over 1 h by measuring the number of lever presses on the active lever. Unbiased stereology was then used to estimate the number of Fos-ir(+) and Fos-ir(-) neurons in prelimbic and infralimbic mPFC. As before, adolescents and adults self-administered similar amounts of heroin, but subsequent heroin-seeking was attenuated in the younger rats. Similarly, the adolescent-onset group failed to show significant neural activation in the prelimbic or infralimbic mPFC during the heroin-seeking test, whereas the adult-onset heroin self-administration group showed two to six times more Fos-ir(+) neurons than their saline counterparts in both mPFC subregions. Finally, the overall number of neurons in the infralimbic cortex was greater in rats from the adolescent-onset groups than adults. The mPFC may thus have a key role in some age-dependent effects of heroin self-administration.
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25
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Weathington JM, Arnold AR, Cooke BM. Juvenile social subjugation induces a sex-specific pattern of anxiety and depression-like behaviors in adult rats. Horm Behav 2012; 61:91-9. [PMID: 22134008 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2011] [Revised: 10/14/2011] [Accepted: 10/30/2011] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Child abuse is the most significant environmental risk factor for the development of mood disorders, which occur twice as frequently in women as in men. To determine whether juvenile social subjugation (JSS) of rats induces mood disorder-like symptoms, we exposed 28 day-old male and female rats to daily aggressive acts from aggressive male residents. Each rat received pins, kicks, and dominance postures from the resident for 10 min per day for 10 days. When the rats were adults, we tested their anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. In addition, we measured circulating basal and stress-evoked corticosterone (CORT) levels, and weighed the adrenal glands. Although the amount of JSS was indistinguishable between males and females, females were nonetheless more severely affected by the experience. Subjugated females became immobile more quickly during forced swim tests, and made fewer investigatory approaches during the social interaction test than control females. Juvenile social subjugation increased closed arm time in the elevated plus maze of males and females, but the effect of social subjugation was greater in females. Finally, stress-evoked CORT levels were significantly higher, and adrenal gland weights were significantly heavier, in subjugated females relative to their controls and to subjugated males. Our results demonstrate that JSS increases depression- and anxiety-like behaviors and sensitizes the stress response system in a sex-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill M Weathington
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, 100 Piedmont Avenue, SE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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