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Shih CC, Chang CH. Activation of the basolateral or the central amygdala dampened the incentive motivation for food reward on high fixed-ratio schedules. Behav Brain Res 2023; 455:114682. [PMID: 37742807 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala plays crucial roles in emotional processing, motivated behaviors, and stress responses. It receives sensory information and modulates fear- and anxiety-related behaviors. Neuronal activations are induced in the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) when exposing to acute stress, leading to increased alertness and proper behavioral adaptation. Previous studies have shown that animals displayed a decrease in appetitive motivated behaviors under stress conditions. However, whether the hyperactive amygdala is responsible for the decrease in appetitive motivated behaviors remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of BLA or CeA activation in effort-based motivated behavior. We pharmacologically activated the BLA or the CeA with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) before the lever-pressing for food reward test on different fixed-ratio (FR) schedules (FR1, FR16, or FR32) in male Long-Evans rats. Our data showed that activation of either the BLA or the CeA with NMDA (0.05 μg in 0.5 μl per site) decreased the lever-pressing behavior on higher FR schedules of FR16 and FR32, but not on the FR1 test. Importantly, locomotor activity and free-feeding food intake were intact under amygdala activation, suggesting that the decrease in lever-pressing behavior was not due to motor disablement or decreased appetite. These results suggested that activation of the BLA or the CeA negatively impaired the effort-based motivated behavior that the animals were less willing to work for food reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Chia Shih
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Hui Chang
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
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Lai CW, Chang CH. Pharmacological activation of the amygdala, but not single prolonged footshock-induced acute stress, interferes with cue-induced motivation toward food rewards in rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1252868. [PMID: 37781505 PMCID: PMC10538645 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1252868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In the face of threats, animals adapt their behaviors to cope with the situation. Under such circumstances, irrelevant behaviors are usually suppressed. In this study, we examined whether food-seeking motivation would decrease under activation of the amygdala, an important nucleus in the regulation of stress response in the central nervous system, or after a physical acute stress session. In Experiment 1, we pharmacologically activated the basolateral nucleus (BLA) or the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) before a cue-induced reinstatement test in rats. Our results showed that activation of the BLA or the CeA abolished cue-induced motivation toward food rewards, while locomotor activity and free food intake were not affected. In Experiments 2 and 3, we further assessed anxiety and despair levels, as well as cue-induced reinstatement, after a single prolonged footshock-induced acute stress in rats. Behaviorally, acute stress did not affect anxiety level, despair level, or cue-induced motivation toward food rewards. Physiologically, there was no difference in cellular activities of the amygdala immediately after acute stress. To conclude, our results suggested that pharmacological activation of the amygdala decreased cue-induced motivation toward food reward. However, physiological acute stress did not immediately interfere with the negative emotions, motivation, or amygdala activities of the animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-Wen Lai
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chun-hui Chang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Brain Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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Ying Y, Gong L, Tao X, Ding J, Chen N, Yao Y, Liu J, Chen C, Zhu T, Jiang P. Genetic Knockout of TRPM2 Increases Neuronal Excitability of Hippocampal Neurons by Inhibiting Kv7 Channel in Epilepsy. Mol Neurobiol 2022; 59:6918-6933. [PMID: 36053438 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-022-02993-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease that makes serious cognitive and motor retardation. Ion channels affect the occurrence of epilepsy in various ways, but the mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Transient receptor potential melastain2 (TRPM2) ion channel is a non-selective cationic channel that can permeate Ca2+ and critical for epilepsy. Here, TRPM2 gene knockout mice were used to generate a chronic kindling epilepsy model by PTZ administration in mice. We found that TRPM2 knockout mice were more susceptible to epilepsy than WT mice. Furthermore, the neuronal excitability in the hippocampal CA1 region of TRPM2 knockout mice was significantly increased. Compared with WT group, there were no significant differences in the input resistance and after hyperpolarization of CA1 neurons in TRPM2 knockout mice. Firing adaptation rate of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons of TRPM2 knockout mice was lower than that of WT mice. We also found that activation of Kv7 channel by retigabine reduced the firing frequency of action potential in the hippocampal pyramidal neurons of TRPM2 knockout mice. However, inhibiting Kv7 channel increased the firing frequency of action potential in hippocampal pyramidal neurons of WT mice. The data suggest that activation of Kv7 channel can effectively reduce epileptic seizures in TRPM2 knockout mice. We conclude that genetic knockout of TRPM2 in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons may increase neuronal excitability by inhibiting Kv7 channel, affecting the susceptibility to epilepsy. These findings may provide a potential therapeutic target for epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingchao Ying
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lifen Gong
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaohan Tao
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Junchao Ding
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Pediatrics, Yiwu Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Yiwu, China
| | - Nannan Chen
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yinping Yao
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Pediatrics, Shaoxing People's Hospital, Shaoxing, China
| | - Jiajing Liu
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tao Zhu
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Peifang Jiang
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.
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