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Mao RT, Guo SQ, Zhang G, Li YD, Xu JP, Wang HY, Fu P, Liu CP, Wu SQ, Chen P, Mei YS, Jin QC, Liu CY, Zhang YCF, Ding XY, Liu WJ, Romanova EV, Zhou HB, Cropper EC, Checco JW, Sweedler JV, Jing J. Two C-terminal isoforms of Aplysia tachykinin-related peptide receptors exhibit phosphorylation-dependent and phosphorylation-independent desensitization mechanisms. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107556. [PMID: 39002683 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Diversity, a hallmark of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, partly stems from alternative splicing of a single gene generating more than one isoform for a receptor. Additionally, receptor responses to ligands can be attenuated by desensitization upon prolonged or repeated ligand exposure. Both phenomena have been demonstrated and exemplified by the deuterostome tachykinin signaling system, although the role of phosphorylation in desensitization remains a subject of debate. Here, we describe the signaling system for tachykinin-related peptides (TKRPs) in a protostome, mollusk Aplysia. We cloned the Aplysia TKRP precursor, which encodes three TKRPs (apTKRP-1, apTKRP-2a, and apTKRP-2b) containing the FXGXR-amide motif. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed predominant expression of TKRP mRNA and peptide in the cerebral ganglia. TKRPs and their posttranslational modifications were observed in extracts of central nervous system ganglia using mass spectrometry. We identified two Aplysia TKRP receptors (apTKRPRs), named apTKRPR-A and apTKRPR-B. These receptors are two isoforms generated through alternative splicing of the same gene and differ only in their intracellular C termini. Structure-activity relationship analysis of apTKRP-2b revealed that both C-terminal amidation and conserved residues of the ligand are critical for receptor activation. C-terminal truncates and mutants of apTKRPRs suggested that there is a C-terminal phosphorylation-independent desensitization for both receptors. Moreover, apTKRPR-B also exhibits phosphorylation-dependent desensitization through the phosphorylation of C-terminal Ser/Thr residues. This comprehensive characterization of the Aplysia TKRP signaling system underscores the evolutionary conservation of the TKRP and TK signaling systems, while highlighting the intricacies of receptor regulation through alternative splicing and differential desensitization mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui-Ting Mao
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Ya-Dong Li
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ju-Ping Xu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Fu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cui-Ping Liu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shao-Qian Wu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Chen
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Shuo Mei
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qing-Chun Jin
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cheng-Yi Liu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan-Chu-Fei Zhang
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Elena V Romanova
- Department of Chemistry and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Hai-Bo Zhou
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Elizabeth C Cropper
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - James W Checco
- Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; The Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication (NCIBC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jonathan V Sweedler
- Department of Chemistry and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Jian Jing
- Department of Neurology and Medical Psychology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China; Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
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Norekian TP, Moroz LL. The distribution and evolutionary dynamics of dopaminergic neurons in molluscs. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.26.600886. [PMID: 38979169 PMCID: PMC11230423 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.26.600886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Dopamine is one of the most versatile neurotransmitters in invertebrates. It's distribution and plethora of functions is likely coupled to feeding ecology, especially in Euthyneura (the largest clade of molluscs), which presents the broadest spectrum of environmental adaptations. Still, the analyses of dopamine-mediated signaling were dominated by studies of grazers. Here, we characterize the distribution of dopaminergic neurons in representatives of two distinct ecological groups: the sea angel - obligate predatory pelagic mollusc Clione limacina (Pteropoda, Gymnosomata) and its prey - the sea devil Limacina helicina (Pteropoda, Thecosomata) as well as the plankton eater Melibe leonina (Nudipleura, Nudibranchia). By using tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity (TH-ir) as a reporter, we showed that the dopaminergic system is moderately conservative among euthyneurans. Across all studied species, small numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the central ganglia contrast to significant diversification of TH-ir neurons in the peripheral nervous system, primarily representing sensory-like cells, which predominantly concentrated in the chemotactic areas and projecting afferent axons to the central nervous system. Combined with α-tubulin immunoreactivity, this study illuminates the unprecedented complexity of peripheral neural systems in gastropod molluscs, with lineage-specific diversification of sensory and modulatory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leonid L. Moroz
- Whitney Laboratory, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, USA
- Departments of Neuroscience and McKnight Brain Institute, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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Hurwitz I, Tam S, Jing J, Chiel HJ, Susswein AJ. Repeated stimulation of feeding mechanoafferents in Aplysia generates responses consistent with the release of food. Learn Mem 2024; 31:a053880. [PMID: 38950976 PMCID: PMC11261209 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053880.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
How does repeated stimulation of mechanoafferents affect feeding motor neurons? Monosynaptic connections from a mechanoafferent population in the Aplysia buccal ganglia to five motor followers with different functions were examined during repeated stimulus trains. The mechanoafferents produced both fast and slow synaptic outputs, which could be excitatory or inhibitory. In contrast, other Aplysia mechanoafferents produce only fast excitation on their followers. In addition, patterns of synaptic connections were different to the different motor followers. Some followers received both fast excitation and fast inhibition, whereas others received exclusively fast excitation. All followers showed strong decreases in fast postsynaptic potential (PSP) amplitude within a stimulus train. Fast and slow synaptic connections were of net opposite signs in some followers but not in others. For one follower, synaptic contacts were not uniform from all subareas of the mechanoafferent cluster. Differences in properties of the buccal ganglia mechanoafferents and other Aplysia mechanoafferents may arise because the buccal ganglia neurons innervate the interior of the feeding apparatus, rather than an external surface, and connect to motor neurons for muscles with different motor functions. Fast connection patterns suggest that these synapses may be activated when food slips, biasing the musculature to release food. The largest slow inhibitory synaptic PSPs may contribute to a delay in the onset of the next behavior. Additional functions are also possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Hurwitz
- Gonda (Goldschmied) Brain Res Center and Goodman Faculty of Life Science, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Shlomit Tam
- Gonda (Goldschmied) Brain Res Center and Goodman Faculty of Life Science, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, School Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Jiangsu 210023, China
| | - Hillel J Chiel
- Departments of Biology, Neurosciences, and Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080, USA
| | - Abraham J Susswein
- Gonda (Goldschmied) Brain Res Center and Goodman Faculty of Life Science, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
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Norekian T, Liu Y, Gribkova ED, Cui J, Gillette R. A peripheral subepithelial network for chemotactile processing in the predatory sea slug Pleurobranchaea californica. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296872. [PMID: 38329975 PMCID: PMC10852322 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Many soft-bodied animals have extensive peripheral nervous systems (PNS) with significant sensory roles. One such, the sea slug Pleurobranchaea californica, uses PNS computations in its chemotactile oral veil (OV) in prey tracking, averaging olfactory stimuli across the OV to target likely source direction, or "stimulus place". This suggests a peripheral subepithelial network (SeN) interconnecting sensory sites to compute the directional average. We pursued anatomy and connectivity of previously described ciliated putative sensory cells on OV papillae. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed paddle-shaped cilia in clusters. Anti-tubulin and phalloidin staining showed connections to branching nervelets and muscle fibers for contraction and expansion of papillae. Ciliary cell processes could not be traced into nerves, consistent with sensory transmission to CNS via secondary afferents. Anti-tyrosine hydroxylase-stained ciliated cells in clusters and revealed an at least partially dopaminergic subepithelial network interconnecting clusters near and distant, connections consistent with PNS averaging of multiple stimulated loci. Other, unidentified, SeN neurotransmitters are likely. Confirming chemotactile functions, perfusible suction electrodes recorded ciliary spiking excited by both mechanical and appetitive chemical stimuli. Stimuli induced sensory nerve spiking like that encoding stimulus place. Sensory nerve spikes and cilia cluster spikes were not identifiable as generated by the same neurons. Ciliary clusters likely drive the sensory nerve spikes via SeN, mediating appetitive and stimulus place codes to CNS. These observations may facilitate future analyses of the PNS in odor discrimination and memory, and also suggest such SeNs as potential evolutionary precursors of CNS place-coding circuitry in the segmented, skeletonized protostomes and deuterostomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tigran Norekian
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Biosciences, University of Florida, St. Augustine, Florida, United States of America
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Friday Harbor, Washington, United States of America
| | - Yichen Liu
- Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Ekaterina D. Gribkova
- Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jilai Cui
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Rhanor Gillette
- Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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Neveu CL, Smolen P, Baxter DA, Byrne JH. Voltage- and Calcium-Gated Membrane Currents Tune the Plateau Potential Properties of Multiple Neuron Types. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7601-7615. [PMID: 37699717 PMCID: PMC10634553 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0789-23.2023] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Many neurons exhibit regular firing that is limited to the duration and intensity of depolarizing stimuli. However, some neurons exhibit all-or-nothing plateau potentials that, once elicited, can lead to prolonged activity that is independent of stimulus intensity or duration. To better understand this diversity of information processing, we compared the voltage-gated and Ca2+-gated currents of three identified neurons from hermaphroditic Aplysia californica Two of these neurons, B51 and B64, generated plateau potentials and a third neuron, B8, exhibited regular firing and was incapable of generating a plateau potential. With the exception of the Ca2+-gated potassium current (I KCa), all three neuron types expressed a similar array of outward and inward currents, but with distinct voltage-dependent properties for each neuron type. Inhibiting voltage-gated Ca2+ channels with Ni+ prolonged the plateau potential, indicating I KCa is important for plateau potential termination. In contrast, inhibiting persistent Na+ (I NaP) blocked plateau potentials, empirically and in simulations. Surprisingly, the properties and level of expression of I NaP were similar in all three neurons, indicating that the presence of I NaP does not distinguish between regular-firing neurons and neurons capable of generating plateau potentials. Rather, the key distinguishing factor is the relationship between I NaP and outward currents such as the delayed outward current (I D), and I KCa We then demonstrated a technique for predicting complex physiological properties such as plateau duration, plateau amplitude, and action potential duration as a function of parameter values, by fitting a curve in parameter space and projecting the curve beyond the tested values.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Plateau potentials are intrinsic properties of neurons that are important for information processing in a wide variety of nervous systems. We examined three identified neurons in Aplysia californica with different propensities to generate a plateau potential. No single conductance was found to distinguish plateau generating neurons. Instead, plateau generation depended on the ratio between persistent Na+ current (I NaP), which favored plateaus, and outward currents such as I KCa, which facilitated plateau termination. Computational models revealed a relationship between the individual currents that predicted the features of simulated plateau potentials. These results provide a more solid understanding of the conductances that mediate plateau generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis L Neveu
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Paul Smolen
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Douglas A Baxter
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
- Engineering Medicine (ENMED), Texas A&M University School of Engineering Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - John H Byrne
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
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Bielecki J, Dam Nielsen SK, Nachman G, Garm A. Associative learning in the box jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4150-4159.e5. [PMID: 37741280 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Associative learning, such as classical or operant conditioning, has never been unequivocally associated with animals outside bilatarians, e.g., vertebrates, arthropods, or mollusks. Learning modulates behavior and is imperative for survival in the vast majority of animals. Obstacle avoidance is one of several visually guided behaviors in the box jellyfish, Tripedalia cystophora Conant, 1897 (Cnidaria: Cubozoa), and it is intimately associated with foraging between prop roots in their mangrove habitat. The obstacle avoidance behavior (OAB) is a species-specific defense reaction (SSDR) for T. cystophora, so identifying such SSDR is essential for testing the learning capacity of a given animal. Using the OAB, we show that box jellyfish performed associative learning (operant conditioning). We found that the rhopalial nervous system is the learning center and that T. cystophora combines visual and mechanical stimuli during operant conditioning. Since T. cystophora has a dispersed central nervous system lacking a conventional centralized brain, our work challenges the notion that associative learning requires complex neuronal circuitry. Moreover, since Cnidaria is the sister group to Bilateria, it suggests the intriguing possibility that advanced neuronal processes, like operant conditioning, are a fundamental property of all nervous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Bielecki
- Institute of Physiology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
| | | | - Gösta Nachman
- Section of Ecology and Evolution, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders Garm
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Fu P, Mei YS, Liu WJ, Chen P, Jin QC, Guo SQ, Wang HY, Xu JP, Zhang YCF, Ding XY, Liu CP, Liu CY, Mao RT, Zhang G, Jing J. Identification of three elevenin receptors and roles of elevenin disulfide bond and residues in receptor activation in Aplysia californica. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7662. [PMID: 37169790 PMCID: PMC10175484 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34596-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropeptides are ubiquitous intercellular signaling molecules in the CNS and play diverse roles in modulating physiological functions by acting on specific G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Among them, the elevenin signaling system is now believed to be present primarily in protostomes. Although elevenin was first identified from the L11 neuron of the abdominal ganglion in mollusc Aplysia californica, no receptors have been described in Aplysia, nor in any other molluscs. Here, using two elevenin receptors in annelid Platynereis dumerilii, we found three putative elevenin GPCRs in Aplysia. We cloned the three receptors and tentatively named them apElevR1, apElevR2, and apElevR3. Using an inositol monophosphate (IP1) accumulation assay, we demonstrated that Aplysia elevenin with the disulfide bond activated the three putative receptors with low EC50 values (ranging from 1.2 to 25 nM), supporting that they are true receptors for elevenin. In contrast, elevenin without the disulfide bond could not activate the receptors, indicating that the disulfide bond is required for receptor activity. Using alanine substitution of individual conserved residues other than the two cysteines, we showed that these residues appear to be critical to receptor activity, and the three different receptors had different sensitivities to the single residue substitution. Finally, we examined the roles of those residues outside the disulfide bond ring by removing these residues and found that they also appeared to be important to receptor activity. Thus, our study provides an important basis for further study of the functions of elevenin and its receptors in Aplysia and other molluscs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Shuo Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qing-Chun Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ju-Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan-Chu-Fei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cui-Ping Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cheng-Yi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Rui-Ting Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medical Psychology and Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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8
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Crossley M, Benjamin PR, Kemenes G, Staras K, Kemenes I. A circuit mechanism linking past and future learning through shifts in perception. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadd3403. [PMID: 36961898 PMCID: PMC10038338 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add3403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Long-term memory formation is energetically costly. Neural mechanisms that guide an animal to identify fruitful associations therefore have important survival benefits. Here, we elucidate a circuit mechanism in Lymnaea, which enables past memory to shape new memory formation through changes in perception. Specifically, strong classical conditioning drives a positive shift in perception that facilitates the robust learning of a subsequent and otherwise ineffective weak association. Circuit dissection approaches reveal the neural control network responsible, characterized by a mutual inhibition motif. This both sets perceptual state and acts as the master controller for gating new learning. Pharmacological circuit manipulation in vivo fully substitutes for strong paradigm learning, shifting the network into a more receptive state to enable subsequent weak paradigm learning. Thus, perceptual change provides a conduit to link past and future memory storage. We propose that this mechanism alerts animals to learning-rich periods, lowering the threshold for new memory acquisition.
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9
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Abstract
This selective review explores biologically inspired learning as a model for intelligent robot control and sensing technology on the basis of specific examples. Hebbian synaptic learning is discussed as a functionally relevant model for machine learning and intelligence, as explained on the basis of examples from the highly plastic biological neural networks of invertebrates and vertebrates. Its potential for adaptive learning and control without supervision, the generation of functional complexity, and control architectures based on self-organization is brought forward. Learning without prior knowledge based on excitatory and inhibitory neural mechanisms accounts for the process through which survival-relevant or task-relevant representations are either reinforced or suppressed. The basic mechanisms of unsupervised biological learning drive synaptic plasticity and adaptation for behavioral success in living brains with different levels of complexity. The insights collected here point toward the Hebbian model as a choice solution for “intelligent” robotics and sensor systems.
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10
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Momohara Y, Neveu CL, Chen HM, Baxter DA, Byrne JH. Specific Plasticity Loci and Their Synergism Mediate Operant Conditioning. J Neurosci 2022; 42:1211-1223. [PMID: 34992131 PMCID: PMC8883845 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1722-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite numerous studies examining the mechanisms of operant conditioning (OC), the diversity of OC plasticity loci and their synergism have not been examined sufficiently. In the well-characterized feeding neural circuit of Aplysia, in vivo and in vitro appetitive OC increases neuronal excitability and electrical coupling among several neurons leading to an increase in expression of ingestive behavior. Here, we used the in vitro analog of OC to investigate whether OC reduces the excitability of a neuron, B4, whose inhibitory connections decrease expression of ingestive behavior. We found OC decreased the excitability of B4. This change appeared intrinsic to B4 because it could be replicated with an analog of OC in isolated cultures of B4 neurons. In addition to changes in B4 excitability, OC decreased the strength of B4's inhibitory connection to a key decision-making neuron, B51. The OC-induced changes were specific without affecting the excitability of another neuron critical for feeding behavior, B8, or the B4-to-B8 inhibitory connection. A conductance-based circuit model indicated that reducing the B4-to-B51 synapse, or increasing B51 excitability, mediated the OC phenotype more effectively than did decreasing B4 excitability. We combined these modifications to examine whether they could act synergistically. Combinations including B51 synergistically enhanced feeding. Taken together, these results suggest modifications of diverse loci work synergistically to mediate OC and that some neurons are well suited to work synergistically with plasticity in other loci.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ways in which synergism of diverse plasticity loci mediate the change in motor patterns in operant conditioning (OC) are poorly understood. Here, we found that OC was in part mediated by decreasing the intrinsic excitability of a critical neuron of Aplysia feeding behavior, and specifically reducing the strength of one of its inhibitory connections that targets a key decision-making neuron. A conductance-based computational model indicated that the known plasticity loci showed a surprising level of synergism to mediate the behavioral changes associated with OC. These results highlight the importance of understanding the diversity, specificity and synergy among different types of plasticity that encode memory. Also, because OC in Aplysia is mediated by dopamine (DA), the present study provides insights into specific and synergistic mechanisms of DA-mediated reinforcement of behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Momohara
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Curtis L Neveu
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Hsin-Mei Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
- Center for Nursing Research, Education and Practice, Houston Methodist Academic Institute, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - Douglas A Baxter
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
- Engineering Medicine (ENMED), Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030
| | - John H Byrne
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, McGovern Medical School at the, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030
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11
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Costa RM, Baxter DA, Byrne JH. Neuronal population activity dynamics reveal a low-dimensional signature of operant learning in Aplysia. Commun Biol 2022; 5:90. [PMID: 35075264 PMCID: PMC8786933 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03044-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning engages a high-dimensional neuronal population space spanning multiple brain regions. However, it remains unknown whether it is possible to identify a low-dimensional signature associated with operant conditioning, a ubiquitous form of learning in which animals learn from the consequences of behavior. Using single-neuron resolution voltage imaging, here we identify two low-dimensional motor modules in the neuronal population underlying Aplysia feeding. Our findings point to a temporal shift in module recruitment as the primary signature of operant learning. Our findings can help guide characterization of learning signatures in systems in which only a smaller fraction of the relevant neuronal population can be monitored. Costa et al. use single-neuron resolution voltage imaging to identify two low-dimensional motor modules in the neuronal population underlying Aplysia feeding. Their findings point to a temporal shift in module recruitment as the primary signature of operant learning.
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12
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Jiang HM, Yang Z, Xue YY, Wang HY, Guo SQ, Xu JP, Li YD, Fu P, Ding XY, Yu K, Liu WJ, Zhang G, Wang J, Zhou HB, Susswein AJ, Jing J. Identification of an allatostatin C signaling system in mollusc Aplysia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1213. [PMID: 35075137 PMCID: PMC8786951 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05071-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropeptides, as pervasive intercellular signaling molecules in the CNS, modulate a variety of behavioral systems in both protostomes and deuterostomes. Allatostatins are neuropeptides in arthropods that inhibit the biosynthesis of juvenile hormones. Based on amino acid sequences, they are divided into three different types in arthropods: allatostatin A, allatostatin B, allatostatin C. Allatostatin C (AstC) was first isolated from Manduca sexta, and it has an important conserved feature of a disulfide bridge formed by two cysteine residues. Moreover, AstC appears to be the ortholog of mammalian somatostatin, and it has functions in common with somatostatin, such as modulating feeding behaviors. The AstC signaling system has been widely studied in arthropods, but minimally studied in molluscs. In this study, we seek to identify the AstC signaling system in the marine mollusc Aplysia californica. We cloned the AstC precursor from the cDNA of Aplysia. We predicted a 15-amino acid peptide with a disulfide bridge, i.e., AstC, using NeuroPred. We then cloned two putative allatostatin C-like receptors and through NCBI Conserved Domain Search we found that they belonged to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family. In addition, using an inositol monophosphate 1 (IP1) accumulation assay, we showed that Aplysia AstC could activate one of the putative receptors, i.e., the AstC-R, at the lowest EC50, and AstC without the disulfide bridge (AstC') activated AstC-R with the highest EC50. Moreover, four molluscan AstCs with variations of sequences from Aplysia AstC but with the disulfide bridge activated AstC-R at intermediate EC50. In summary, our successful identification of the Aplysia AstC precursor and its receptor (AstC-R) represents the first example in molluscs, and provides an important basis for further studies of the AstC signaling system in Aplysia and other molluscs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Min Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhe Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ying-Yu Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui-Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shi-Qi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ju-Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ya-Dong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ping Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xue-Ying Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ke Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei-Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Jian Wang
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
| | - Hai-Bo Zhou
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
| | - Abraham J Susswein
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, 52900, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Jian Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute for Brain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Extracellular RNA, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
- Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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13
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Thiede KI, Born J, Vorster APA. Sleep and conditioning of the siphon withdrawal reflex in Aplysia. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271187. [PMID: 34346500 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242431] [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: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Sleep is essential for memory consolidation after learning as shown in mammals and invertebrates such as bees and flies. Aplysia californica displays sleep, and sleep in this mollusk was also found to support memory for an operant conditioning task. Here, we investigated whether sleep in Aplysia is also required for memory consolidation in a simpler type of learning, i.e. the conditioning of the siphon withdrawal reflex. Two groups of animals (Wake, Sleep, each n=11) were conditioned on the siphon withdrawal reflex, with the training following a classical conditioning procedure where an electrical tail shock served as the unconditioned stimulus (US) and a tactile stimulus to the siphon as the conditioned stimulus (CS). Responses to the CS were tested before (pre-test), and 24 and 48 h after training. While Wake animals remained awake for 6 h after training, Sleep animals had undisturbed sleep. The 24 h test in both groups was combined with extinction training, i.e. the extended presentation of the CS alone over two blocks. At the 24 h test, siphon withdrawal duration in response to the CS was distinctly enhanced in both Sleep and Wake groups with no significant difference between groups, consistent with the view that consolidation of a simple conditioned reflex response does not require post-training sleep. Surprisingly, extinction training did not reverse the enhancement of responses to the CS. On the contrary, at the 48 h test, withdrawal duration in response to the CS was even further enhanced across both groups. This suggests that processes of sensitization, an even simpler non-associative type of learning, contributed to the withdrawal responses. Our study provides evidence for the hypothesis that sleep preferentially benefits consolidation of more complex learning paradigms than conditioning of simple reflexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin I Thiede
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology and Center for Integrative Neuroscience CIN, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Jan Born
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology and Center for Integrative Neuroscience CIN, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany.,German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Institute for Diabetes Research & Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen (IDM), Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Albrecht P A Vorster
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology and Center for Integrative Neuroscience CIN, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany.,Training Centre of Neuroscience (GTC)/International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
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14
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Bédécarrats A, Puygrenier L, Castro O'Byrne J, Lade Q, Simmers J, Nargeot R. Organelle calcium-derived voltage oscillations in pacemaker neurons drive the motor program for food-seeking behavior in Aplysia. eLife 2021; 10:68651. [PMID: 34190043 PMCID: PMC8263059 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The expression of motivated behaviors depends on both external and internally arising neural stimuli, yet the intrinsic releasing mechanisms for such variably occurring behaviors remain elusive. In isolated nervous system preparations of Aplysia, we have found that irregularly expressed cycles of motor output underlying food-seeking behavior arise from regular membrane potential oscillations of varying magnitude in an identified pair of interneurons (B63) in the bilateral buccal ganglia. This rhythmic signal, which is specific to the B63 cells, is generated by organelle-derived intracellular calcium fluxes that activate voltage-independent plasma membrane channels. The resulting voltage oscillation spreads throughout a subset of gap junction-coupled buccal network neurons and by triggering plateau potential-mediated bursts in B63, can initiate motor output driving food-seeking action. Thus, an atypical neuronal pacemaker mechanism, based on rhythmic intracellular calcium store release and intercellular propagation, can act as an autonomous intrinsic releaser for the occurrence of a motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Puygrenier
- Univ. Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33076 Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Quentin Lade
- Univ. Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33076 Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - John Simmers
- Univ. Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33076 Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Romuald Nargeot
- Univ. Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33076 Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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15
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Yamagata N, Ezaki T, Takahashi T, Wu H, Tanimoto H. Presynaptic inhibition of dopamine neurons controls optimistic bias. eLife 2021; 10:64907. [PMID: 34061730 PMCID: PMC8169112 DOI: 10.7554/elife.64907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of reward signaling in the brain is critical for appropriate judgement of the environment and self. In Drosophila, the protocerebral anterior medial (PAM) cluster dopamine neurons mediate reward signals. Here, we show that localized inhibitory input to the presynaptic terminals of the PAM neurons titrates olfactory reward memory and controls memory specificity. The inhibitory regulation was mediated by metabotropic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors clustered in presynaptic microdomain of the PAM boutons. Cell type-specific silencing the GABA receptors enhanced memory by augmenting internal reward signals. Strikingly, the disruption of GABA signaling reduced memory specificity to the rewarded odor by changing local odor representations in the presynaptic terminals of the PAM neurons. The inhibitory microcircuit of the dopamine neurons is thus crucial for both reward values and memory specificity. Maladaptive presynaptic regulation causes optimistic cognitive bias.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Takahiro Ezaki
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Hongyang Wu
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Hiromu Tanimoto
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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16
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Lv J, Jiang N, Wang H, Huang H, Bao Y, Chen Y, Liu X. Simulated weightlessness induces cognitive changes in rats illustrated by performance in operant conditioning tasks. LIFE SCIENCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 2021; 29:63-71. [PMID: 33888289 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2021.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The weightless environment encountered in space flight can cause cognitive changes, affecting mission execution and endanger mission safety. Ground simulations provide the means to evaluate these effects and the resulting risks. In this study, rats were used as model animals and subjected to simulated weightlessness by suspending them from their tails. Tail-suspension and operant task learning experiments were conducted to study the effects of simulated weightlessness on the complex operant conditioning abilities of the subject's acquisition, maintenance, and signal discrimination skills. The results showed that simulated weightlessness did not affect the animals' acquisition abilities but did affect their ability to maintain learned reflexes and recognize signals. This study may have general potential to research the effects of weightlessness on cognition in the space environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwei Lv
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Ning Jiang
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Haixia Wang
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Hong Huang
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yu Bao
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China; Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Ying Chen
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Xinmin Liu
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China.
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17
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Okada S, Hirano N, Abe T, Nagayama T. Aversive operant conditioning alters the phototactic orientation of the marbled crayfish. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.242180. [PMID: 33536310 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Aversive learning was applied to affect the phototactic behaviour of the marbled crayfish. Animals initially showed negative phototaxis to white light and positive taxis to blue light. Using an aversive learning paradigm, we investigated the plasticity of innate behaviour following operant conditioning. The initial rate of choosing a blue-lit exit was analysed by a dual choice experiment between blue-lit and white-lit exits in pre-test conditions. During training, electrical shocks were applied to the animals when they oriented to the blue-lit exit. Memory tests were given to analyse the orientation rate to the blue-lit exit in trials 1 and 24 h after training and these rates were compared with the pre-test. In general, animals avoided the blue-lit exit in the memory tests. When training was carried out three times, the long-term memory was retained for at least 48 h, although a single bout of training was also enough to form a long-term memory. Cooling animals at 4°C or injection of cycloheximide immediately after training altered the formation of long-term memory, but had no effect on short-term memory formation. Administration of the adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536, the PKA inhibitor H89 or the CREB inhibitor KG-501 immediately after training also blocked the formation of long-term memory, but had no effect on short-term memory formation. Thus, our pharmacological behavioural analyses showed that new protein synthesis was necessary to form long-term memories and that the cAMP/PKA/CREB pathway is the main signal cascade for long-term memory formation in the marbled crayfish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shione Okada
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 990-8560 Yamagata, Japan
| | - Natsumi Hirano
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 990-8560 Yamagata, Japan
| | - Toshiki Abe
- Division of Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 990-8560 Yamagata, Japan
| | - Toshiki Nagayama
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, 990-8560 Yamagata, Japan
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18
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Ginsburg S, Jablonka E. Evolutionary transitions in learning and cognition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190766. [PMID: 33550955 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We define a cognitive system as a system that can learn, and adopt an evolutionary-transition-oriented framework for analysing different types of neural cognition. This enables us to classify types of cognition and point to the continuities and discontinuities among them. The framework we use for studying evolutionary transitions in learning capacities focuses on qualitative changes in the integration, storage and use of neurally processed information. Although there are always grey areas around evolutionary transitions, we recognize five major neural transitions, the first two of which involve animals at the base of the phylogenetic tree: (i) the evolutionary transition from learning in non-neural animals to learning in the first neural animals; (ii) the transition to animals showing limited, elemental associative learning, entailing neural centralization and primary brain differentiation; (iii) the transition to animals capable of unlimited associative learning, which, on our account, constitutes sentience and entails hierarchical brain organization and dedicated memory and value networks; (iv) the transition to imaginative animals that can plan and learn through selection among virtual events; and (v) the transition to human symbol-based cognition and cultural learning. The focus on learning provides a unifying framework for experimental and theoretical studies of cognition in the living world. This article is part of the theme issue 'Basal cognition: multicellularity, neurons and the cognitive lens'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Ginsburg
- Natural Science Department, The Open University of Israel, 1 University Road, POB 808, Raanana 4353701, Israel
| | - Eva Jablonka
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, 6934525 Ramat Aviv, Israel.,CPNSS, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
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19
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Development and Control of Behaviour. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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20
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Brembs B. The brain as a dynamically active organ. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 564:55-69. [PMID: 33317833 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Nervous systems are typically described as static networks passively responding to external stimuli (i.e., the 'sensorimotor hypothesis'). However, for more than a century now, evidence has been accumulating that this passive-static perspective is wrong. Instead, evidence suggests that nervous systems dynamically change their connectivity and actively generate behavior so their owners can achieve goals in the world, some of which involve controlling their sensory feedback. This review provides a brief overview of the different historical perspectives on general brain function and details some select modern examples falsifying the sensorimotor hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Brembs
- Universität Regensburg, Institut für Zoologie - Neurogenetik, Regensburg, Germany.
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21
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Miller MW. Dopamine as a Multifunctional Neurotransmitter in Gastropod Molluscs: An Evolutionary Hypothesis. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2020; 239:189-208. [PMID: 33347799 PMCID: PMC8016498 DOI: 10.1086/711293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe catecholamine 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine, or dopamine, acts as a neurotransmitter across a broad phylogenetic spectrum. Functions attributed to dopamine in the mammalian brain include regulation of motor circuits, valuation of sensory stimuli, and mediation of reward or reinforcement signals. Considerable evidence also supports a neurotransmitter role for dopamine in gastropod molluscs, and there is growing appreciation for its potential common functions across phylogeny. This article reviews evidence for dopamine's transmitter role in the nervous systems of gastropods. The functional properties of identified dopaminergic neurons in well-characterized neural circuits suggest a hypothetical incremental sequence by which dopamine accumulated its diverse roles. The successive acquisition of dopamine functions is proposed in the context of gastropod feeding behavior: (1) sensation of potential nutrients, (2) activation of motor circuits, (3) selection of motor patterns from multifunctional circuits, (4) valuation of sensory stimuli with reference to internal state, (5) association of motor programs with their outcomes, and (6) coincidence detection between sensory stimuli and their consequences. At each stage of this sequence, it is proposed that existing functions of dopaminergic neurons favored their recruitment to fulfill additional information processing demands. Common functions of dopamine in other intensively studied groups, ranging from mammals and insects to nematodes, suggest an ancient origin for this progression.
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22
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Gill JP, Chiel HJ. Rapid Adaptation to Changing Mechanical Load by Ordered Recruitment of Identified Motor Neurons. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0016-20.2020. [PMID: 32332081 PMCID: PMC7242813 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0016-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As they interact with their environment and encounter challenges, animals adjust their behavior on a moment-to-moment basis to maintain task fitness. This dynamic process of adaptive motor control occurs in the nervous system, but an understanding of the biomechanics of the body is essential to properly interpret the behavioral outcomes. To study how animals respond to changing task conditions, we used a model system in which the functional roles of identified neurons and the relevant biomechanics are well understood and can be studied in intact behaving animals: feeding in the marine mollusc Aplysia We monitored the motor neuronal output of the feeding circuitry as intact animals fed on uniform food stimuli under unloaded and loaded conditions, and we measured the force of retraction during loaded swallows. We observed a previously undescribed pattern of force generation, which can be explained within the appropriate biomechanical context by the activity of just a few key, identified motor neurons. We show that, when encountering load, animals recruit identified retractor muscle motor neurons for longer and at higher frequency to increase retraction force duration. Our results identify a mode by which animals robustly adjust behavior to their environment, which is experimentally tractable to further mechanistic investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey P Gill
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080
| | - Hillel J Chiel
- Departments of Biology, Neurosciences, and Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080
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23
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Costa RM, Baxter DA, Byrne JH. Computational model of the distributed representation of operant reward memory: combinatoric engagement of intrinsic and synaptic plasticity mechanisms. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:236-249. [PMID: 32414941 PMCID: PMC7233148 DOI: 10.1101/lm.051367.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Operant reward learning of feeding behavior in Aplysia increases the frequency and regularity of biting, as well as biases buccal motor patterns (BMPs) toward ingestion-like BMPs (iBMPs). The engram underlying this memory comprises cells that are part of a central pattern generating (CPG) circuit and includes increases in the intrinsic excitability of identified cells B30, B51, B63, and B65, and increases in B63-B30 and B63-B65 electrical synaptic coupling. To examine the ways in which sites of plasticity (individually and in combination) contribute to memory expression, a model of the CPG was developed. The model included conductance-based descriptions of cells CBI-2, B4, B8, B20, B30, B31, B34, B40, B51, B52, B63, B64, and B65, and their synaptic connections. The model generated patterned activity that resembled physiological BMPs, and implementation of the engram reproduced increases in frequency, regularity, and bias. Combined enhancement of B30, B63, and B65 excitabilities increased BMP frequency and regularity, but not bias toward iBMPs. Individually, B30 increased regularity and bias, B51 increased bias, B63 increased frequency, and B65 decreased all three BMP features. Combined synaptic plasticity contributed primarily to regularity, but also to frequency and bias. B63-B30 coupling contributed to regularity and bias, and B63-B65 coupling contributed to all BMP features. Each site of plasticity altered multiple BMP features simultaneously. Moreover, plasticity loci exhibited mutual dependence and synergism. These results indicate that the memory for operant reward learning emerged from the combinatoric engagement of multiple sites of plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renan M Costa
- Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Douglas A Baxter
- Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,Engineering in Medicine (EnMed), Texas A&M Health Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - John H Byrne
- Keck Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.,MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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24
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Zhang H, Zeng H, Priimagi A, Ikkala O. Viewpoint: Pavlovian Materials-Functional Biomimetics Inspired by Classical Conditioning. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2020; 32:e1906619. [PMID: 32003096 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201906619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Herein, it is discussed whether the complex biological concepts of (associative) learning can inspire responsive artificial materials. It is argued that classical conditioning, being one of the most elementary forms of learning, inspires algorithmic realizations in synthetic materials, to allow stimuli-responsive materials that learn to respond to a new stimulus, to which they are originally insensitive. Two synthetic model systems coined as "Pavlovian materials" are described, whose stimuli-responsiveness algorithmically mimics programmable associative learning, inspired by classical conditioning. The concepts minimally need a stimulus-triggerable memory, in addition to two stimuli, i.e., the unconditioned and the originally neutral stimuli. Importantly, the concept differs conceptually from the classic stimuli-responsive and shape-memory materials, as, upon association, Pavlovian materials obtain a given response using a new stimulus (the originally neutral one); i.e., the system evolves to a new state. This also enables the functionality to be described by a logic diagram. Ample room for generalization to different stimuli and memory combinations is foreseen, and opportunities to develop future adaptive materials with ever-more intelligent functions are expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Zhang
- Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, FI 02150, Espoo, Finland
| | - Hao Zeng
- Smart Photonic Materials, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, P.O. Box 541, FI-33101, Tampere, Finland
| | - Arri Priimagi
- Smart Photonic Materials, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, P.O. Box 541, FI-33101, Tampere, Finland
| | - Olli Ikkala
- Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, FI 02150, Espoo, Finland
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25
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Wolf R, Heisenberg M, Brembs B, Waddell S, Mishra A, Kehrer A, Simenson A. Memory, anticipation, action – working with Troy D. Zars. J Neurogenet 2020; 34:9-20. [DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1715976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Wolf
- Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Björn Brembs
- Institut für Zoologie-Neurogenetik, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Scott Waddell
- Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Aditi Mishra
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Abigail Kehrer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Angelynn Simenson
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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26
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Wee CL, Song EY, Johnson RE, Ailani D, Randlett O, Kim JY, Nikitchenko M, Bahl A, Yang CT, Ahrens MB, Kawakami K, Engert F, Kunes S. A bidirectional network for appetite control in larval zebrafish. eLife 2019; 8:43775. [PMID: 31625906 PMCID: PMC6799978 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Medial and lateral hypothalamic loci are known to suppress and enhance appetite, respectively, but the dynamics and functional significance of their interaction have yet to be explored. Here we report that, in larval zebrafish, primarily serotonergic neurons of the ventromedial caudal hypothalamus (cH) become increasingly active during food deprivation, whereas activity in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) is reduced. Exposure to food sensory and consummatory cues reverses the activity patterns of these two nuclei, consistent with their representation of opposing internal hunger states. Baseline activity is restored as food-deprived animals return to satiety via voracious feeding. The antagonistic relationship and functional importance of cH and LH activity patterns were confirmed by targeted stimulation and ablation of cH neurons. Collectively, the data allow us to propose a model in which these hypothalamic nuclei regulate different phases of hunger and satiety and coordinate energy balance via antagonistic control of distinct behavioral outputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Lei Wee
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
- Program in NeuroscienceHarvard UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Erin Yue Song
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Robert Evan Johnson
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
- Program in NeuroscienceHarvard UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Deepak Ailani
- Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental BiologyNational Institute of Genetics, Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)MishimaJapan
| | - Owen Randlett
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Ji-Yoon Kim
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Maxim Nikitchenko
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Armin Bahl
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Chao-Tsung Yang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research CampusAshburnUnited States
| | - Misha B Ahrens
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research CampusAshburnUnited States
| | - Koichi Kawakami
- Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental BiologyNational Institute of Genetics, Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)MishimaJapan
| | - Florian Engert
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - Sam Kunes
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
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27
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The contributions and mechanisms of changes in excitability during simple forms of learning in Aplysia. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 164:107049. [PMID: 31362057 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Learning and memory have long been thought to involve changes in synaptic connections between neurons. However, in many cases learning-related plasticity also involves changes in the excitability of neurons. These findings have raised questions about the relative importance of these two types of mechanisms to behavioral learning, and also about the extent to which they involve shared or unique molecular mechanisms. We have taken a reductionist approach to these questions by addressing them in a simple model organism, Aplysia californica. Studies of a semi-intact Aplysia siphon withdrawal preparation suggest that classical conditioning involves an increase in the evoked firing of sensory neurons (SNs) as well as facilitation of the monosynaptic PSP to motor neurons (MNs). Furthermore, these two mechanisms may act cooperatively at the cellular level: increased SN firing produces more PSPs, each of which is facilitated, leading to a multiplicative increase in depolarization of the MN and siphon withdrawal. The changes in SN firing and the monosynaptic PSP also share several mechanisms at the molecular level, suggesting that they may both be due in part to a decrease in K+ current that causes an increase in SN excitability as well as an increase in SN spike width and thus increased transmitter release. However, changes in the monosynaptic PSP also involve additional mechanisms that are not shared and may affect different aspects of synaptic transmission as well. Studies of operant conditioning of feeding suggest that it involves similar mechanisms as classical conditioning of siphon withdrawal. In particular, for both types of associative learning adenylyl cyclase appears to serve as a molecular coincidence detector that leads to increased activation of PKA and changes in excitability of key neurons in the neural circuit. Furthermore, in both cases those changes in excitability make an important contribution to the behavioral learning.
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28
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McManus JM, Chiel HJ, Susswein AJ. Successful and unsuccessful attempts to swallow in a reduced Aplysia preparation regulate feeding responses and produce memory at different neural sites. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 26:151-165. [PMID: 30992384 PMCID: PMC6478246 DOI: 10.1101/lm.048983.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Sensory feedback shapes ongoing behavior and may produce learning and memory. Motor responses to edible or inedible food in a reduced Aplysia preparation were examined to test how sensory feedback affects behavior and memory. Feeding patterns were initiated by applying a cholinomimetic onto the cerebral ganglion. Feedback from buccal muscles increased the response variability and response rate. Repeated application of the cholinomimetic caused decreased responses, expressed in part by lengthening protractions. Swallowing strips of "edible" food, which in intact animals induces learning that enhances ingestion, increased the response rate, and shortened the protraction length, reflecting more swallowing. Testing memory by repeating the procedure prevented the decrease in response rate observed with the cholinomimetic alone, and shortened protractions. Training with "inedible" food that in intact animals produces learning expressed by decreased responses caused lengthened protractions. Testing memory by repeating the procedure did not cause decreased responses or lengthened protractions. After training and testing with edible or inedible food, all preparations were exposed to the cholinomimetic alone. Preparations previously trained with edible food displayed memory expressed as decreased protraction length. Preparations previously trained with inedible food showed decreases in many response parameters. Memory for inedible food may arise in part via a postsynaptic decrease in response to acetylcholine released by afferents sensing food. The lack of change in response number, and in the time that responses are maintained during the two training sessions preceding application of the cholinomimetic alone suggests that memory expression may differ from behavioral changes during training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M McManus
- Departments of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080, USA
| | - Hillel J Chiel
- Departments of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080, USA.,Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080, USA.,Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7080, USA
| | - Abraham J Susswein
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 52900, Israel.,The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 52900, Israel
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29
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Zwaka H, Bartels R, Lehfeldt S, Jusyte M, Hantke S, Menzel S, Gora J, Alberdi R, Menzel R. Learning and Its Neural Correlates in a Virtual Environment for Honeybees. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 12:279. [PMID: 30740045 PMCID: PMC6355692 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The search for neural correlates of operant and observational learning requires a combination of two (experimental) conditions that are very difficult to combine: stable recording from high order neurons and free movement of the animal in a rather natural environment. We developed a virtual environment (VE) that simulates a simplified 3D world for honeybees walking stationary on an air-supported spherical treadmill. We show that honeybees perceive the stimuli in the VE as meaningful by transferring learned information from free flight to the virtual world. In search for neural correlates of learning in the VE, mushroom body extrinsic neurons were recorded over days during learning. We found changes in the neural activity specific to the rewarded and unrewarded visual stimuli. Our results suggest an involvement of the mushroom body extrinsic neurons in operant learning in the honeybee (Apis mellifera).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Zwaka
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Ruth Bartels
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sophie Lehfeldt
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Meida Jusyte
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sören Hantke
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Simon Menzel
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jacob Gora
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rafael Alberdi
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Randolf Menzel
- Department of Biology and Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
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30
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Yang W, Meng Y, Li D, Wen Q. Visual Contrast Modulates Operant Learning Responses in Larval Zebrafish. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:4. [PMID: 30733672 PMCID: PMC6353835 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The larval zebrafish is a promising vertebrate model organism to study neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory due to its small brain and rich behavioral repertoire. Here, we report on a high-throughput operant conditioning system for zebrafish larvae, which can simultaneously train 12 fish to associate a visual conditioned pattern with electroshocks. We find that the learning responses can be enhanced by the visual contrast, not the spatial features of the conditioned patterns, highlighted by several behavioral metrics. By further characterizing the learning curves as well as memory extinction, we demonstrate that the percentage of learners and the memory length increase as the conditioned pattern becomes darker. Finally, little difference in operant learning responses was found between AB wild-type fish and elavl3:H2B-GCaMP6f transgenic fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbin Yang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Integrative Imaging, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Hefei, China
| | - Yutong Meng
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Integrative Imaging, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Hefei, China
| | - Danyang Li
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Integrative Imaging, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Hefei, China
| | - Quan Wen
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Center for Integrative Imaging, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Hefei, China
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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31
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Brown JW, Schaub BM, Klusas BL, Tran AX, Duman AJ, Haney SJ, Boris AC, Flanagan MP, Delgado N, Torres G, Rolón-Martínez S, Vaasjo LO, Miller MW, Gillette R. A role for dopamine in the peripheral sensory processing of a gastropod mollusc. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208891. [PMID: 30586424 PMCID: PMC6306152 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Histological evidence points to the presence of dopamine (DA) in the cephalic sensory organs of multiple gastropod molluscs, suggesting a possible sensory role for the neurotransmitter. We investigated the sensory function of DA in the nudipleuran Pleurobranchaea californica, in which the central neural correlates of sensation and foraging behavior have been well characterized. Tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity (THli), a signature of the dopamine synthetic pathway, was similar to that found in two other opisthobranchs and two pulmonates previously studied: 1) relatively few (<100) THli neuronal somata were observed in the central ganglia, with those observed found in locations similar to those documented in the other snails but varying in number, and 2) the vast majority of THli somata were located in the peripheral nervous system, were associated with ciliated, putative primary sensory cells, and were highly concentrated in chemotactile sensory organs, giving rise to afferent axons projecting to the central nervous system. We extended these findings by observing that applying a selective D2/D3 receptor antagonist to the chemo- and mechanosensory oral veil-tentacle complex of behaving animals significantly delayed feeding behavior in response to an appetitive stimulus. A D1 blocker had no effect. Recordings of the two major cephalic sensory nerves, the tentacle and large oral veil nerves, in a deganglionated head preparation revealed a decrease of stimulus-evoked activity in the former nerve following application of the same D2/D3 antagonist. Broadly, our results implicate DA in sensation and engender speculation regarding the foraging-based decisions the neurotransmitter may serve in the nervous system of Pleurobranchaea and, by extension, other gastropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey W. Brown
- Program in Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Brittany M. Schaub
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Bennett L. Klusas
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Andrew X. Tran
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Alexander J. Duman
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Samantha J. Haney
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Abigail C. Boris
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Megan P. Flanagan
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Nadia Delgado
- Institute of Neurobiology and Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Grace Torres
- Institute of Neurobiology and Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Solymar Rolón-Martínez
- Institute of Neurobiology and Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Lee O. Vaasjo
- Institute of Neurobiology and Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Mark W. Miller
- Institute of Neurobiology and Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Rhanor Gillette
- Program in Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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32
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Farruggella J, Acebo J, Lloyd L, Wainwright ML, Mozzachiodi R. Role of nitric oxide in the induction of the behavioral and cellular changes produced by a common aversive stimulus in Aplysia. Behav Brain Res 2018; 360:341-353. [PMID: 30528940 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Although it is well documented that exposure to aversive stimuli induces modulation of neural circuits and subsequent behavioral changes, the means by which an aversive stimulus concomitantly alters behaviors of different natures (e.g., defensive and appetitive) remains unclear. Here, we addressed this issue by using the learning-induced concurrent modulation of defensive and appetitive behaviors that occurs when the mollusk Aplysia is exposed to aversive stimuli. In Aplysia, aversive stimuli concomitantly enhance withdrawal reflexes (i.e., sensitization) and suppress feeding. Sensitization and feeding suppression, which are expressed in the short term and long term, depending on the training protocol, are accompanied by increased excitability of the tail sensory neurons (TSNs) controlling the withdrawal reflexes, and by decreased excitability of feeding decision-making neuron B51, respectively. Serotonin (5-HT) has been shown to mediate sensitization, but not feeding suppression. In this study, we examined which other neurotransmitter might be responsible for feeding suppression and its underlying cellular changes. Our results indicate that nitric oxide (NO) contributes to both short-term and long-term feeding suppression, as well as to the underlying decreased B51 excitability. NO was also necessary for the induction of long-term sensitization and for the expression of short-term increased TSN excitability in vitro, revealing a previously undocumented interaction between 5-HT and NO signaling cascades in sensitization. Overall, these results revealed a scenario in which multiple modulators contribute to the widespread changes induced by sensitizing stimuli in Aplysia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Farruggella
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5800, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Jonathan Acebo
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5800, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Leah Lloyd
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5800, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Marcy L Wainwright
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5800, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Riccardo Mozzachiodi
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5800, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA.
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Goldner A, Farruggella J, Wainwright ML, Mozzachiodi R. cGMP mediates short- and long-term modulation of excitability in a decision-making neuron in Aplysia. Neurosci Lett 2018; 683:111-118. [PMID: 29960055 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.06.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
In elementary neural circuits, changes in excitability can have a strong impact in the expression of a given behavior. One example is provided by B51, a neuron with decision-making properties in the feeding neural circuit of the mollusk Aplysia. The excitability of B51 is bidirectionally modulated by external and internal stimuli in a manner that is consistent with the corresponding induced changes in feeding behavior. For example, in operant reward learning, which up-regulates feeding, B51 excitability is increased via a cAMP-dependent mechanism. Conversely, following training protocols with aversive stimuli, which down-regulate feeding, B51 excitability is decreased. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that B51 decreased excitability may be mediated by another cyclic nucleotide, cGMP. Our results revealed that iontophoretic injection of cGMP was capable of inducing both short-term (45 min) and long-term (24 h) reduction of B51 excitability. We next investigated which biochemical trigger could increase cGMP cytosolic levels. The neurotransmitter nitric oxide was found to decrease B51 excitability through the activation of the soluble guanylyl cyclase. These findings indicate that a cGMP-dependent pathway modulates B51 excitability in a manner opposite of cAMP, indicating that distinct cyclic-nucleotide pathways bidirectionally regulate the excitability of a decision-making neuron.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Goldner
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Jesse Farruggella
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Marcy L Wainwright
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Riccardo Mozzachiodi
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA.
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Operant avoidance learning in crayfish, Orconectes rusticus: Computational ethology and the development of an automated learning paradigm. Learn Behav 2018; 44:239-49. [PMID: 26542703 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-015-0205-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Research in crustaceans offers a valuable perspective for studying the neural implementation of conserved behavioral phenomena, including motivation, escape, aggression, and drug-sensitive reward. The present work adds to this literature by demonstrating that crayfish successfully learn to respond to spatially contingent cues. An integrated video-tracking system automatically delivered a mild electric shock when a test animal entered or remained on a substrate paired with punishment. Following a few instances of shock delivery, crayfish quickly learned to avoid these areas. Comparable changes in substrate preference were not exhibited by yoked controls, but locomotion differed significantly from both pre-conditioning levels and from those of their masters receiving shock in a contingent fashion. The results of this work provide valuable insights into the principles governing avoidance learning in an invertebrate system and provide a behavioral template for exploring the neural changes during associative learning. Serving as a case study, this project introduces a new computer framework for the automated control of learning paradigms. Based on routines contained within the JavaGrinders library (free download at iEthology.com), it integrates real-time video tracking with robotic interfaces, and provides a suitable framework for implementing automated learning paradigms.
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Leod KAM, Seas A, Wainwright ML, Mozzachiodi R. Effects of internal and external factors on the budgeting between defensive and non-defensive responses in Aplysia. Behav Brain Res 2018; 349:177-185. [PMID: 29704600 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Following exposure to aversive stimuli, organisms budget their behaviors by augmenting defensive responses and reducing/suppressing non-defensive behaviors. This budgeting process must be flexible to accommodate modifications in the animal's internal and/or external state that require the normal balance between defensive and non-defensive behaviors to be adjusted. When exposed to aversive stimuli, the mollusk Aplysia budgets its behaviors by concurrently enhancing defensive withdrawal reflexes (an elementary form of learning known as sensitization) and suppressing feeding. Sensitization and feeding suppression are consistently co-expressed following different training protocols and share common temporal domains, suggesting that they are interlocked. In this study, we attempted to uncouple the co-expression of sensitization and feeding suppression using: 1) manipulation of the animal's motivational state through prolonged food deprivation and 2) extended training with aversive stimuli that induces sensitization lasting for weeks. Both manipulations uncoupled the co-expression of the above behavioral changes. Prolonged food deprivation prevented the expression of sensitization, but not of feeding suppression. Following the extended training, sensitization and feeding suppression were co-expressed only for a limited time (i.e., 24 h), after which feeding returned to baseline levels as sensitization persisted for up to seven days. These findings indicate that sensitization and feeding suppression are not interlocked and that their co-expression can be uncoupled by internal (prolonged food deprivation) and external (extended aversive training) factors. The different strategies, by which the co-expression of sensitization and feeding suppression was altered, provide an example of how budgeting strategies triggered by an identical aversive experience can vary depending on the state of the organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn A Mac Leod
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Alexandra Seas
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Marcy L Wainwright
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA
| | - Riccardo Mozzachiodi
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA.
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Casado-Aranda LA, Martínez-Fiestas M, Sánchez-Fernández J. Neural effects of environmental advertising: An fMRI analysis of voice age and temporal framing. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2018; 206:664-675. [PMID: 29132089 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Ecological information offered to society through advertising enhances awareness of environmental issues, encourages development of sustainable attitudes and intentions, and can even alter behavior. This paper, by means of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and self-reports, explores the underlying mechanisms of processing ecological messages. The study specifically examines brain and behavioral responses to persuasive ecological messages that differ in temporal framing and in the age of the voice pronouncing them. The findings reveal that attitudes are more positive toward future-framed messages presented by young voices. The whole-brain analysis reveals that future-framed (FF) ecological messages trigger activation in brain areas related to imagery, prospective memories and episodic events, thus reflecting the involvement of past behaviors in future ecological actions. Past-framed messages (PF), in turn, elicit brain activations within the episodic system. Young voices (YV), in addition to triggering stronger activation in areas involved with the processing of high-timbre, high-pitched and high-intensity voices, are perceived as more emotional and motivational than old voices (OV) as activations in anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala. Messages expressed by older voices, in turn, exhibit stronger activation in areas formerly linked to low-pitched voices and voice gender perception. Interestingly, a link is identified between neural and self-report responses indicating that certain brain activations in response to future-framed messages and young voices predicted higher attitudes toward future-framed and young voice advertisements, respectively. The results of this study provide invaluable insight into the unconscious origin of attitudes toward environmental messages and indicate which voice and temporal frame of a message generate the greatest subconscious value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis-Alberto Casado-Aranda
- Department of Marketing and Market Research, University of Granada, Campus Universitario Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - Myriam Martínez-Fiestas
- Department of Marketing and Market Research, University of Granada, Campus Universitario Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - Juan Sánchez-Fernández
- Department of Marketing and Market Research, University of Granada, Campus Universitario Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain.
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Mizunami M, Matsumoto Y. Roles of Octopamine and Dopamine Neurons for Mediating Appetitive and Aversive Signals in Pavlovian Conditioning in Crickets. Front Physiol 2017; 8:1027. [PMID: 29311961 PMCID: PMC5733098 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.01027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Revealing neural systems that mediate appetite and aversive signals in associative learning is critical for understanding the brain mechanisms controlling adaptive behavior in animals. In mammals, it has been shown that some classes of dopamine neurons in the midbrain mediate prediction error signals that govern the learning process, whereas other classes of dopamine neurons control execution of learned actions. In this review, based on the results of our studies on Pavlovian conditioning in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus and by referring to the findings in honey bees and fruit-flies, we argue that comparable aminergic systems exist in the insect brain. We found that administrations of octopamine (the invertebrate counterpart of noradrenaline) and dopamine receptor antagonists impair conditioning to associate an olfactory or visual conditioned stimulus (CS) with water or sodium chloride solution (appetitive or aversive unconditioned stimulus, US), respectively, suggesting that specific octopamine and dopamine neurons mediate appetitive and aversive signals, respectively, in conditioning in crickets. These findings differ from findings in fruit-flies. In fruit-flies, appetitive and aversive signals are mediated by different dopamine neuron subsets, suggesting diversity in neurotransmitters mediating appetitive signals in insects. We also found evidences of “blocking” and “auto-blocking” phenomena, which suggested that the prediction error, the discrepancy between actual US and predicted US, governs the conditioning in crickets and that octopamine neurons mediate prediction error signals for appetitive US. Our studies also showed that activations of octopamine and dopamine neurons are needed for the execution of an appetitive conditioned response (CR) and an aversive CR, respectively, and we, thus, proposed that these neurons mediate US prediction signals that drive appetitive and aversive CRs. Our findings suggest that the basic principles of functioning of aminergic systems in associative learning, i.e., to transmit prediction error signals for conditioning and to convey US prediction signals for execution of CR, are conserved among insects and mammals, on account of the fact that the organization of the insect brain is much simpler than that of the mammalian brain. Further investigation of aminergic systems that govern associative learning in insects should lead to a better understanding of commonalities and diversities of computational rules underlying associative learning in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yukihisa Matsumoto
- College of Liberal Arts and Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Ichikawa, Japan
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Wong-Lin K, Wang DH, Moustafa AA, Cohen JY, Nakamura K. Toward a multiscale modeling framework for understanding serotonergic function. J Psychopharmacol 2017; 31:1121-1136. [PMID: 28417684 PMCID: PMC5606304 DOI: 10.1177/0269881117699612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite its importance in regulating emotion and mental wellbeing, the complex structure and function of the serotonergic system present formidable challenges toward understanding its mechanisms. In this paper, we review studies investigating the interactions between serotonergic and related brain systems and their behavior at multiple scales, with a focus on biologically-based computational modeling. We first discuss serotonergic intracellular signaling and neuronal excitability, followed by neuronal circuit and systems levels. At each level of organization, we will discuss the experimental work accompanied by related computational modeling work. We then suggest that a multiscale modeling approach that integrates the various levels of neurobiological organization could potentially transform the way we understand the complex functions associated with serotonin.
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Affiliation(s)
- KongFatt Wong-Lin
- Intelligent Systems Research Centre, School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Derry~Londonderry, UK
| | - Da-Hui Wang
- School of Systems Science, and National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, and Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jeremiah Y Cohen
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Kae Nakamura
- Department of Physiology, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
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Weisz HA, Wainwright ML, Mozzachiodi R. A novel in vitro analog expressing learning-induced cellular correlates in distinct neural circuits. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 24:331-340. [PMID: 28716953 PMCID: PMC5516688 DOI: 10.1101/lm.045229.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
When presented with noxious stimuli, Aplysia exhibits concurrent sensitization of defensive responses, such as the tail-induced siphon withdrawal reflex (TSWR) and suppression of feeding. At the cellular level, sensitization of the TSWR is accompanied by an increase in the excitability of the tail sensory neurons (TSNs) that elicit the reflex, whereas feeding suppression is accompanied by decreased excitability of B51, a decision-making neuron in the feeding neural circuit. The goal of this study was to develop an in vitro analog coexpressing the above cellular correlates. We used a reduced preparation consisting of buccal, cerebral, and pleural-pedal ganglia, which contain the neural circuits controlling feeding and the TSWR, respectively. Sensitizing stimuli were delivered in vitro by electrical stimulation of afferent nerves. When trained with sensitizing stimuli, the in vitro analog expressed concomitant increased excitability in TSNs and decreased excitability in B51, which are consistent with the occurrence of sensitization and feeding suppression induced by in vivo training. This in vitro analog expressed both short-term (15 min) and long-term (24 h) excitability changes in TSNs and B51, depending on the amount of training administered. Finally, in vitro application of serotonin increased TSN excitability without altering B51 excitability, mirroring the in vivo application of the monoamine that induces sensitization, but not feeding suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harris A Weisz
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Marcy L Wainwright
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Riccardo Mozzachiodi
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
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Silva JE, Ferreira P, Coimbra JL, Menezes I. Theater and Psychological Development: Assessing Socio-Cognitive Complexity in the Domain of Theater. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2017.1302778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Holca-Lamarre R, Lücke J, Obermayer K. Models of Acetylcholine and Dopamine Signals Differentially Improve Neural Representations. Front Comput Neurosci 2017; 11:54. [PMID: 28690509 PMCID: PMC5479899 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2017.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological and artificial neural networks (ANNs) represent input signals as patterns of neural activity. In biology, neuromodulators can trigger important reorganizations of these neural representations. For instance, pairing a stimulus with the release of either acetylcholine (ACh) or dopamine (DA) evokes long lasting increases in the responses of neurons to the paired stimulus. The functional roles of ACh and DA in rearranging representations remain largely unknown. Here, we address this question using a Hebbian-learning neural network model. Our aim is both to gain a functional understanding of ACh and DA transmission in shaping biological representations and to explore neuromodulator-inspired learning rules for ANNs. We model the effects of ACh and DA on synaptic plasticity and confirm that stimuli coinciding with greater neuromodulator activation are over represented in the network. We then simulate the physiological release schedules of ACh and DA. We measure the impact of neuromodulator release on the network's representation and on its performance on a classification task. We find that ACh and DA trigger distinct changes in neural representations that both improve performance. The putative ACh signal redistributes neural preferences so that more neurons encode stimulus classes that are challenging for the network. The putative DA signal adapts synaptic weights so that they better match the classes of the task at hand. Our model thus offers a functional explanation for the effects of ACh and DA on cortical representations. Additionally, our learning algorithm yields performances comparable to those of state-of-the-art optimisation methods in multi-layer perceptrons while requiring weaker supervision signals and interacting with synaptically-local weight updates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaël Holca-Lamarre
- Neural Information Processing Group, Fakultät IV, Technische Universität BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceBerlin, Germany
| | - Jörg Lücke
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all and Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
- Machine Learning Lab, Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Carl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgOldenburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Obermayer
- Neural Information Processing Group, Fakultät IV, Technische Universität BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceBerlin, Germany
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Hernandez JS, Wainwright ML, Mozzachiodi R. Long-term sensitization training in Aplysia decreases the excitability of a decision-making neuron through a sodium-dependent mechanism. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 24:257-261. [PMID: 28507035 PMCID: PMC5435880 DOI: 10.1101/lm.044883.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2016] [Accepted: 03/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In Aplysia, long-term sensitization (LTS) occurs concurrently with a suppression of feeding. At the cellular level, the suppression of feeding is accompanied by decreased excitability of decision-making neuron B51. We examined the contribution of voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels to B51 decreased excitability. In a pharmacologically isolated Na+ channels environment, LTS training significantly increased B51 firing threshold, compared with untrained controls. Conversely, in a pharmacologically isolated K+ channels environment, no differences were observed between trained and untrained animals in either amplitude or area of B51 K+-dependent depolarizations. These findings suggest that Na+ channels contribute to the decrease in B51 excitability induced by LTS training.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Hernandez
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Marcy L Wainwright
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Riccardo Mozzachiodi
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
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Lu C, Shi Z, Sun X, Pan R, Chen S, Li Y, Qu L, Sun L, Dang H, Bu L, Chen L, Liu X. Kai Xin San aqueous extract improves Aβ 1-40-induced cognitive deficits on adaptive behavior learning by enhancing memory-related molecules expression in the hippocampus. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2017; 201:73-81. [PMID: 27751826 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Kai Xin San (KXS), a traditional formula of Chinese medicine, has been used to treat dementia. AIM OF THE STUDY The present study aimed to investigate its ameliorating effects on Aβ1-40-induced cognitive impairment in rats using a series of novel reward-directed instrumental learning tasks, and to determine its possible mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rats were pretreated with KXS aqueous extract (0.72 and 1.44g/kg, p.o.) for 10 days, and were trained to gain reward reinforcement by lever pressing at the meantime. Thereafter, rats received a bilateral microinjection of Aβ1-40 in CA1 regions of the hippocampus. Cognitive performance was evaluated with the goal directed (higher response ratio) and habit (visual signal discrimination and extinction) learning tasks, as well as on the levels of memory-related biochemical parameters and molecules. RESULTS Our findings first demonstrated that KXS can improve Aβ1-40-induced amnesia in RDIL via enhancing the comprehension of action-outcome association and the utilization of cue information to guide behavior. Then, its ameliorating effects should be attributed to the modulation of memory-related molecules in the hippocampus. CONCLUSION In conclusion, KXS has the potential to prevent and/or delay the deterioration of cognitive impairment in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Lu
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhe Shi
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuping Sun
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Ruile Pan
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Shanguang Chen
- China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
| | - Yinghui Li
- China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
| | - Lina Qu
- China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
| | - Lihua Sun
- Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haixia Dang
- Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lanlan Bu
- Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Lingling Chen
- Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Xinmin Liu
- Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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Xu P, Wang K, Lu C, Dong L, Chen Y, Wang Q, Shi Z, Yang Y, Chen S, Liu X. Effects of the chronic restraint stress induced depression on reward-related learning in rats. Behav Brain Res 2017; 321:185-192. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.12.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Revised: 12/25/2016] [Accepted: 12/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Bronfman ZZ, Ginsburg S, Jablonka E. The Transition to Minimal Consciousness through the Evolution of Associative Learning. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1954. [PMID: 28066282 PMCID: PMC5177968 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The minimal state of consciousness is sentience. This includes any phenomenal sensory experience - exteroceptive, such as vision and olfaction; interoceptive, such as pain and hunger; or proprioceptive, such as the sense of bodily position and movement. We propose unlimited associative learning (UAL) as the marker of the evolutionary transition to minimal consciousness (or sentience), its phylogenetically earliest sustainable manifestation and the driver of its evolution. We define and describe UAL at the behavioral and functional level and argue that the structural-anatomical implementations of this mode of learning in different taxa entail subjective feelings (sentience). We end with a discussion of the implications of our proposal for the distribution of consciousness in the animal kingdom, suggesting testable predictions, and revisiting the ongoing debate about the function of minimal consciousness in light of our approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohar Z Bronfman
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv, Israel; School of Psychology, Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv, Israel
| | - Simona Ginsburg
- Department of Natural Science, The Open University of Israel Raanana, Israel
| | - Eva Jablonka
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv, Israel; The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv, Israel
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Silverman K, Jarvis BP, Jessel J, Lopez AA. Incentives and Motivation. TRANSLATIONAL ISSUES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016; 2:97-100. [PMID: 27917395 DOI: 10.1037/tps0000073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Silverman
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Brantley P Jarvis
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | | | - Alexa A Lopez
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
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48
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Abstract
Anticipating the future has a decided evolutionary advantage, and researchers have found many evolutionarily conserved mechanisms by which humans and animals learn to predict future events. Researchers often study such learned behavior using conditioning experiments. The marine snail Aplysia has been at the forefront of research into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of classical conditioning. Recently, Aplysia has also gained a reputation as a valuable model system for operant reward learning. Its feeding behavior can be operantly conditioned in the intact animal as well as in reduced preparations of the nervous system. The reward signal relies on dopamine transmission and acts in conjunction with activity in an identified neuron (B51) to bring about operant memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Brembs
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas
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49
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Huang J, Ruan X, Yu N, Fan Q, Li J, Cai J. A Cognitive Model Based on Neuromodulated Plasticity. COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE 2016; 2016:4296356. [PMID: 27872638 PMCID: PMC5107251 DOI: 10.1155/2016/4296356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2016] [Revised: 07/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Associative learning, including classical conditioning and operant conditioning, is regarded as the most fundamental type of learning for animals and human beings. Many models have been proposed surrounding classical conditioning or operant conditioning. However, a unified and integrated model to explain the two types of conditioning is much less studied. Here, a model based on neuromodulated synaptic plasticity is presented. The model is bioinspired including multistored memory module and simulated VTA dopaminergic neurons to produce reward signal. The synaptic weights are modified according to the reward signal, which simulates the change of associative strengths in associative learning. The experiment results in real robots prove the suitability and validity of the proposed model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Huang
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
- Pilot College, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 101101, China
| | - Xiaogang Ruan
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Naigong Yu
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Qingwu Fan
- Pilot College, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 101101, China
| | - Jiaming Li
- Pilot College, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 101101, China
| | - Jianxian Cai
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
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50
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Wolfe KD, Wainwright ML, Smee DL, Mozzachiodi R. Eat or be eaten? Modifications of Aplysia californica feeding behaviour in response to natural aversive stimuli. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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