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Alves J, Paula Bosquetti Dos Santos A, Dos Santos Vieira A, Paula Rodrigues Martini A, Merscher Sobreira de Lima R, Ângelo Smaniotto T, Oliveira de Moraes R, Ferreira Gomes R, Conde de Albite Acerbi G, Z B de Assis E, Lampert C, Dalmaz C, de Sá Couto Pereira N. Coping with the experience of frustration throughout life: Sex- and age-specific effects of early life stress on the susceptibility to reward devaluation. Neuroscience 2024:S0306-4522(24)00277-X. [PMID: 38960089 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Early life stress may lead to lifelong impairments in psychophysiological functions, including emotional and reward systems. Unpredicted decrease in reward magnitude generates a negative emotional state (frustration) that may be involved with susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. We evaluated in adolescents and adult rats of both sexes whether maternal separation (MS) alters the ability to cope with an unexpected reduction of reward later in life. Litters of Wistar rats were divided into controls (non handled - NH) or subjected to MS. Animals were trained to find sugary cereal pellets; later the amount was reduced. Increased latency to reach the reward-associated area indicates higher inability to regulate frustration. The dorsal hippocampus (dHC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) were evaluated for protein levels of NMDA receptor subunits (GluN2A/GluN2B), synaptophysin, PSD95, SNAP-25 and CRF1. We found that adult MS males had greater vulnerability to reward reduction, together with decreased GluN2A and increased GluN2B immunocontent in the dHC. MS females and adolescents did not differ from controls. We concluded that MS enhances the response to frustration in males. The change in the ratio of GluN2A and GluN2B subunits in dHC could be related to a stronger, more difficult to update, memory of the aversive experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joelma Alves
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Bosquetti Dos Santos
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Aline Dos Santos Vieira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Rodrigues Martini
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Randriely Merscher Sobreira de Lima
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Thiago Ângelo Smaniotto
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rafael Oliveira de Moraes
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Roger Ferreira Gomes
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Giulia Conde de Albite Acerbi
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Z B de Assis
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carine Lampert
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carla Dalmaz
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Natividade de Sá Couto Pereira
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
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Takahashi A. Toward understanding the neural mechanisms involved in early life stress-induced aggression: A Highlight for "Maternal separation early in life induces excessive activity of the central amygdala related to abnormal aggression". J Neurochem 2024; 168:957-960. [PMID: 38413201 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Early life stress, such as childhood abuse and neglect, is one of the major risk factors for the development of antisocial behavior. In rat models, repeated maternal separation (MS) stress, in which the pups are separated from the dams for a few hours each day during the first 2-3 weeks of life, increases aggressive behavior in adult males. This Editorial highlights an article in the current issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry that demonstrates the involvement of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in the escalation of aggressive behavior in the MS model. The authors show that MS rats exhibit higher c-Fos expression in the CeA during an aggressive encounter compared to non-isolated control rats. Unexpectedly, other amygdala subnuclei did not show differential activation between MS and control groups. Using optogenetics, they provide direct evidence that activation of CeA neurons increases intermale aggressive behavior and that bilateral CeA activation shifts behavioral patterns toward more qualitatively intense aggressive behavior than unilateral CeA activation. These findings highlight the important role of the CeA in the development of abnormal aggression and indicate that this region may be an important therapeutic target for human aggression induced by early life stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aki Takahashi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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Irie K, Ohta KI, Ujihara H, Araki C, Honda K, Suzuki S, Warita K, Otabi H, Kumei H, Nakamura S, Koyano K, Miki T, Kusaka T. An enriched environment ameliorates the reduction of parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex caused by maternal separation early in life. Front Neurosci 2024; 17:1308368. [PMID: 38292903 PMCID: PMC10825025 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1308368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Early child maltreatment, such as child abuse and neglect, is well known to affect the development of social skills. However, the mechanisms by which such an adverse environment interrupts the development of social skills remain unelucidated. Identifying the period and brain regions that are susceptible to adverse environments can lead to appropriate developmental care later in life. We recently reported an excitatory/inhibitory imbalance and low activity during social behavior in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the maternal separation (MS) animal model of early life neglect after maturation. Based on these results, in the present study, we investigated how MS disturbs factors related to excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the mPFC until the critical period of mPFC development. Additionally, we evaluated whether the effects of MS could be recovered in an enriched environment after MS exposure. Rat pups were separated from their dams on postnatal days (PDs) 2-20 (twice daily, 3 h each) and compared with the mother-reared control (MRC) group. Gene expression analysis revealed that various factors related to excitatory and inhibitory neurons were transiently disturbed in the mPFC during MS. A similar tendency was found in the sensory cortex; however, decreased parvalbumin (PV) expression persisted until PD 35 only in the mPFC. Moreover, the number of PV+ interneurons decreased in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) on PD 35 in the MS group. Additionally, perineural net formation surrounding PV+ interneurons, which is an indicator of maturity and critical period closure, was unchanged, indicating that the decreased PV+ interneurons were not simply attributable to developmental delay. This reduction of PV+ interneurons improved to the level observed in the MRC group by the enriched environment from PD 21 after the MS period. These results suggest that an early adverse environment disturbs the development of the mPFC but that these abnormalities allow room for recovery depending on the subsequent environment. Considering that PV+ interneurons in the mPFC play an important role in social skills such as empathy, an early rearing environment is likely a very important factor in the subsequent acquisition of social skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanako Irie
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Ken-ichi Ohta
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Hidetoshi Ujihara
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Chihiro Araki
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Kodai Honda
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Shingo Suzuki
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Katsuhiko Warita
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
| | - Hikari Otabi
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Haruki Kumei
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Shinji Nakamura
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Kosuke Koyano
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Takanori Miki
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
| | - Takashi Kusaka
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
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