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Drzewiecki CM, Fox AS. Understanding the heterogeneity of anxiety using a translational neuroscience approach. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:228-245. [PMID: 38356013 PMCID: PMC11039504 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01162-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders affect millions of people worldwide and present a challenge in neuroscience research because of their substantial heterogeneity in clinical presentation. While a great deal of progress has been made in understanding the neurobiology of fear and anxiety, these insights have not led to effective treatments. Understanding the relationship between phenotypic heterogeneity and the underlying biology is a critical first step in solving this problem. We show translation, reverse translation, and computational modeling can contribute to a refined, cross-species understanding of fear and anxiety as well as anxiety disorders. More specifically, we outline how animal models can be leveraged to develop testable hypotheses in humans by using targeted, cross-species approaches and ethologically informed behavioral paradigms. We discuss reverse translational approaches that can guide and prioritize animal research in nontraditional research species. Finally, we advocate for the use of computational models to harmonize cross-species and cross-methodology research into anxiety. Together, this translational neuroscience approach will help to bridge the widening gap between how we currently conceptualize and diagnose anxiety disorders, as well as aid in the discovery of better treatments for these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly M Drzewiecki
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Andrew S Fox
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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2
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Panagopoulos VN, Bailey A, Kostopoulos GK, Ioannides AA. Changes in distinct brain systems identified with fMRI during smoking cessation treatment with varenicline: a review. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:653-685. [PMID: 38430396 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06556-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Varenicline is considered one of the most effective treatment options for smoking cessation. Nonetheless, it is only modestly effective. A deeper comprehension of the effects of varenicline by means of the in-depth review of relevant fMRI studies may assist in paving the development of more targeted and effective treatments. METHODOLOGY A search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted with the keywords "functional magnetic resonance imaging" or "fMRI", and "varenicline". All peer-reviewed articles regarding the assessment of smokers with fMRI while undergoing treatment with varenicline and meeting the predefined criteria were included. RESULTS Several studies utilizing different methodologies and targeting different aspects of brain function were identified. During nicotine withdrawal, decreased mesocorticolimbic activity and increased amygdala activity, as well as elevated amygdala-insula and insula-default-mode-network functional connectivity are alleviated by varenicline under specific testing conditions. However, other nicotine withdrawal-induced changes, including the decreased reward responsivity of the ventral striatum, the bilateral dorsal striatum and the anterior cingulate cortex are not influenced by varenicline suggesting a task-dependent divergence in neurocircuitry activation. Under satiety, varenicline treatment is associated with diminished cue-induced activation of the ventral striatum and medial orbitofrontal cortex concomitant with reduced cravings; during the resting state, varenicline induces activation of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and suppression of the right amygdala. CONCLUSIONS The current review provides important clues with regard to the neurobiological mechanism of action of varenicline and highlights promising research opportunities regarding the development of more selective and effective treatments and predictive biomarkers for treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassilis N Panagopoulos
- Laboratory for Human Brain Dynamics, AAI Scientific Cultural Services Ltd., Nicosia, Cyprus.
- Department of Physiology, Medical School, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
| | - Alexis Bailey
- Pharmacology Section, St. George's University of London, London, UK
| | | | - Andreas A Ioannides
- Laboratory for Human Brain Dynamics, AAI Scientific Cultural Services Ltd., Nicosia, Cyprus
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3
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Jiang Y, Gao Y, Dong D, Sun X, Situ W, Yao S. Brain Anatomy in Boys with Conduct Disorder: Differences Among Aggression Subtypes. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2024; 55:3-13. [PMID: 35704134 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-022-01360-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Aggression is a core feature of conduct disorder (CD), but the motivation, execution of aggression may vary. A deeper understanding of the neural substrates of aggressive behaviours is critical for effective clinical intervention. Seventy-six Boys with CD (50 with impulsive aggression (I-CD) and 26 with premeditated aggression (P-CD)) and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a structural MRI scan and behavioural assessments. Whole-brain analyses revealed that, compared to HCs, the I-CD group showed significant cortical thinning in the right frontal cortex, while the P-CD group demonstrated significant folding deficits in the bilateral superior parietal cortex. Both types of aggression negatively correlated with the left amygdala volume, albeit in different ways. The present results demonstrated that the complex nature of aggression relies on differentiated anatomical substrates, highlighting the importance of exploring differential circuit-targeted interventions for CD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yali Jiang
- Medical Psychological Center, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139, Middle Renmin Road, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China
- Department of Radiology, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 139, Middle Renmin Road, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yidian Gao
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Daifeng Dong
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Sun
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weijun Situ
- Department of Radiology, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 139, Middle Renmin Road, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Center, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139, Middle Renmin Road, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Medical Psychological Center, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
- National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, China.
- Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China.
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4
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Nielsen AN, Graham AM, Sylvester CM. Baby Brains at Work: How Task-Based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Can Illuminate the Early Emergence of Psychiatric Risk. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:880-892. [PMID: 36935330 PMCID: PMC10149573 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are complex, often emerging from multiple atypical processes within specified domains over the course of development. Characterizing the development of the neural circuits supporting these domains may help break down the components of complex disorders and reveal variations in functioning associated with psychiatric risk. This review highlights the current and potential role of infant task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in elucidating the developmental neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. Task-fMRI measures evoked brain activity in response to specific stimuli through changes in the blood oxygen level-dependent signal. First, we review extant studies using task fMRI from birth through the first few years of life and synthesize current evidence for when, where, and how different neural computations are performed across the infant brain. Neural circuits for sensory perception, the perception of abstract categories, and the detection of statistical regularities have been characterized with task fMRI in infants, providing developmental context for identifying and interpreting variation in the functioning of neural circuits related to psychiatric risk. Next, we discuss studies that specifically examine variation in the functioning of these neural circuits during infancy in relation to risk for psychiatric disorders. These studies reveal when maturation of specific neural circuits diverges, the influence of environmental risk factors, and the potential utility for task fMRI to facilitate early treatment or prevention of later psychiatric problems. Finally, we provide considerations for future infant task-fMRI studies with the potential to advance understanding of both functioning of neural circuits during infancy and subsequent risk for psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley N Nielsen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
| | - Alice M Graham
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Chad M Sylvester
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
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5
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Rantala MJ, Luoto S, Borráz-León JI, Krams I. Schizophrenia: the new etiological synthesis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104894. [PMID: 36181926 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia has been an evolutionary paradox: it has high heritability, but it is associated with decreased reproductive success. The causal genetic variants underlying schizophrenia are thought to be under weak negative selection. To unravel this paradox, many evolutionary explanations have been suggested for schizophrenia. We critically discuss the constellation of evolutionary hypotheses for schizophrenia, highlighting the lack of empirical support for most existing evolutionary hypotheses-with the exception of the relatively well supported evolutionary mismatch hypothesis. It posits that evolutionarily novel features of contemporary environments, such as chronic stress, low-grade systemic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis, increase susceptibility to schizophrenia. Environmental factors such as microbial infections (e.g., Toxoplasma gondii) can better predict the onset of schizophrenia than polygenic risk scores. However, researchers have not been able to explain why only a small minority of infected people develop schizophrenia. The new etiological synthesis of schizophrenia indicates that an interaction between host genotype, microbe infection, and chronic stress causes schizophrenia, with neuroinflammation and gut dysbiosis mediating this etiological pathway. Instead of just alleviating symptoms with drugs, the parasite x genotype x stress model emphasizes that schizophrenia treatment should focus on detecting and treating possible underlying microbial infection(s), neuroinflammation, gut dysbiosis, and chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus J Rantala
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland.
| | - Severi Luoto
- School of Population Health, University of Auckland, 1023 Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Indrikis Krams
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 51014 Tartu, Estonia; Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, 1004, Rīga, Latvia
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6
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Barroca NCB, Della Santa G, Suchecki D, García-Cairasco N, Umeoka EHDL. Challenges in the use of animal models and perspectives for a translational view of stress and psychopathologies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104771. [PMID: 35817171 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The neurobiology and development of treatments for stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders rely heavily on animal models. However, the complexity of these disorders makes it difficult to model them entirely, so only specific features of human psychopathology are emulated and these models should be used with great caution. Importantly, the effects of stress depend on multiple factors, like duration, context of exposure, and individual variability. Here we present a review on pre-clinical studies of stress-related disorders, especially those developed to model posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression, and anxiety. Animal models provide relevant evidence of the underpinnings of these disorders, as long as face, construct, and predictive validities are fulfilled. The translational challenges faced by scholars include reductionism and anthropomorphic/anthropocentric interpretation of the results instead of a more naturalistic and evolutionary understanding of animal behavior that must be overcome to offer a meaningful model. Other limitations are low statistical power of analysis, poor evaluation of individual variability, sex differences, and possible conflicting effects of stressors depending on specific windows in the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayara Cobra Barreiro Barroca
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Giovanna Della Santa
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Deborah Suchecki
- Department of Psychobiology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Norberto García-Cairasco
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Department of Physiology, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Henrique de Lima Umeoka
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; School of Medicine, University Center UniCerrado, Goiatuba, GO, Brazil
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7
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He L, Caudill MS, Jing J, Wang W, Sun Y, Tang J, Jiang X, Zoghbi HY. A weakened recurrent circuit in the hippocampus of Rett syndrome mice disrupts long-term memory representations. Neuron 2022; 110:1689-1699.e6. [PMID: 35290792 PMCID: PMC9930308 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.02.014] [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: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Successful recall of a contextual memory requires reactivating ensembles of hippocampal cells that were allocated during memory formation. Altering the ratio of excitation-to-inhibition (E/I) during memory retrieval can bias cell participation in an ensemble and hinder memory recall. In the case of Rett syndrome (RTT), a neurological disorder with severe learning and memory deficits, the E/I balance is altered, but the source of this imbalance is unknown. Using in vivo imaging during an associative memory task, we show that during long-term memory retrieval, RTT CA1 cells poorly distinguish mnemonic context and form larger ensembles than wild-type mouse cells. Simultaneous multiple whole-cell recordings revealed that mutant somatostatin expressing interneurons (SOM) are poorly recruited by CA1 pyramidal cells and are less active during long-term memory retrieval in vivo. Chemogenetic manipulation revealed that reduced SOM activity underlies poor long-term memory recall. Our findings reveal a disrupted recurrent CA1 circuit contributing to RTT memory impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingjie He
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Matthew S Caudill
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Junzhan Jing
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yaling Sun
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jianrong Tang
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiaolong Jiang
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Huda Y Zoghbi
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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8
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Millard SJ, Bearden CE, Karlsgodt KH, Sharpe MJ. The prediction-error hypothesis of schizophrenia: new data point to circuit-specific changes in dopamine activity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:628-640. [PMID: 34588607 PMCID: PMC8782867 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01188-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting 21 million people worldwide. People with schizophrenia suffer from symptoms including psychosis and delusions, apathy, anhedonia, and cognitive deficits. Strikingly, schizophrenia is characterised by a learning paradox involving difficulties learning from rewarding events, whilst simultaneously 'overlearning' about irrelevant or neutral information. While dysfunction in dopaminergic signalling has long been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a cohesive framework that accounts for this learning paradox remains elusive. Recently, there has been an explosion of new research investigating how dopamine contributes to reinforcement learning, which illustrates that midbrain dopamine contributes in complex ways to reinforcement learning, not previously envisioned. This new data brings new possibilities for how dopamine signalling contributes to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Building on recent work, we present a new neural framework for how we might envision specific dopamine circuits contributing to this learning paradox in schizophrenia in the context of models of reinforcement learning. Further, we discuss avenues of preclinical research with the use of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques where aspects of this model may be tested. Ultimately, it is hoped that this review will spur to action more research utilising specific reinforcement learning paradigms in preclinical models of schizophrenia, to reconcile seemingly disparate symptomatology and develop more efficient therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Millard
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Katherine H. Karlsgodt
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Melissa J. Sharpe
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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9
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Mufford MS, van der Meer D, Andreassen OA, Ramesar R, Stein DJ, Dalvie S. A review of systems biology research of anxiety disorders. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 43:414-423. [PMID: 33053074 PMCID: PMC8352731 DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2020-1090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The development of "omic" technologies and deep phenotyping may facilitate a systems biology approach to understanding anxiety disorders. Systems biology approaches incorporate data from multiple modalities (e.g., genomic, neuroimaging) with functional analyses (e.g., animal and tissue culture models) and mathematical modeling (e.g., machine learning) to investigate pathological biophysical networks at various scales. Here we review: i) the neurobiology of anxiety disorders; ii) how systems biology approaches have advanced this work; and iii) the clinical implications and future directions of this research. Systems biology approaches have provided an improved functional understanding of candidate biomarkers and have suggested future potential for refining the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of anxiety disorders. The systems biology approach for anxiety disorders is, however, in its infancy and in some instances is characterized by insufficient power and replication. The studies reviewed here represent important steps to further untangling the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary S Mufford
- South African Medical Research Council Genomic and Precision Medicine Research Unit, Division of Human Genetics, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dennis van der Meer
- Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,School of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Raj Ramesar
- South African Medical Research Council Genomic and Precision Medicine Research Unit, Division of Human Genetics, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dan J Stein
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Shareefa Dalvie
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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10
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Mizusaki BEP, O'Donnell C. Neural circuit function redundancy in brain disorders. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 70:74-80. [PMID: 34416675 PMCID: PMC8694099 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Redundancy is a ubiquitous property of the nervous system. This means that vastly different configurations of cellular and synaptic components can enable the same neural circuit functions. However, until recently, very little brain disorder research has considered the implications of this characteristic when designing experiments or interpreting data. Here, we first summarise the evidence for redundancy in healthy brains, explaining redundancy and three related sub-concepts: sloppiness, dependencies and multiple solutions. We then lay out key implications for brain disorder research, covering recent examples of redundancy effects in experimental studies on psychiatric disorders. Finally, we give predictions for future experiments based on these concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz E P Mizusaki
- Computational Neuroscience Unit, School of Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, BS8 1UB, United Kingdom
| | - Cian O'Donnell
- Computational Neuroscience Unit, School of Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, BS8 1UB, United Kingdom.
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11
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London EB, Yoo JH. From Research to Practice: Toward the Examination of Combined Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1073. [PMID: 34439691 PMCID: PMC8391105 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of biological (i.e., medications) in conjunction with applied behavior analysis is relatively common among people with ASD, yet research examining its benefit is scarce. This paper provides a brief overview of the existing literature on the combined interventions, including promising developments, and examines the existing barriers that hinder research in this area, including the heavy reliance on RCTs. Recommendations for possible solutions, including the creation of health homes, are provided in order to move toward a more integrated approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Bart London
- Department of Psychology, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road Staten Island, New York, NY 10314, USA;
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12
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Involvement of Scratch2 in GalR1-mediated depression-like behaviors in the rat ventral periaqueductal gray. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:1922586118. [PMID: 34108238 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1922586118] [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] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Galanin receptor1 (GalR1) transcript levels are elevated in the rat ventral periaqueductal gray (vPAG) after chronic mild stress (CMS) and are related to depression-like behavior. To explore the mechanisms underlying the elevated GalR1 expression, we carried out molecular biological experiments in vitro and in animal behavioral experiments in vivo. It was found that a restricted upstream region of the GalR1 gene, from -250 to -220, harbors an E-box and plays a negative role in the GalR1 promoter activity. The transcription factor Scratch2 bound to the E-box to down-regulate GalR1 promoter activity and lower expression levels of the GalR1 gene. The expression of Scratch2 was significantly decreased in the vPAG of CMS rats. Importantly, local knockdown of Scratch2 in the vPAG caused elevated expression of GalR1 in the same region, as well as depression-like behaviors. RNAscope analysis revealed that GalR1 mRNA is expressed together with Scratch2 in both GABA and glutamate neurons. Taking these data together, our study further supports the involvement of GalR1 in mood control and suggests a role for Scratch2 as a regulator of depression-like behavior by repressing the GalR1 gene in the vPAG.
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13
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Liu X, Zhou J, Zhang T, Chen K, Xu M, Wu L, Liu J, Huang Y, Nie B, Shen X, Ren P, Huang X. Meranzin hydrate elicits antidepressant effects and restores reward circuitry. Behav Brain Res 2020; 398:112898. [PMID: 32905810 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The burden of depression is enormous, and numerous studies have found that major depressive disorder (MDD) induces cardiovascular disorders (CVD) and functional dyspepsia (FD). Excitingly, meranzin hydrate (MH), an absorbed bioactive compound of Aurantii Fructus Immaturus, reverses psychosocial stress-induced mood disorders, gastrointestinal dysfunction and cardiac disease. Pharmacological methods have repeatedly failed in antidepressant development over the past few decades, but repairing aberrant neural circuits might be a reasonable strategy. This article aimed to explore antidepressant-like effects and potential mechanisms of MH in a rat model of unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS). Utilizing blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we sought to find reliable neurocircuits or a dominant brain region revealing the multiple effects of MH. The results show that compared with UCMS rats, MH (10 mg/kg/day for 1 week i.g.)-treated rats exhibited decreased depression-like behaviour; increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus; and normalized levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone (CORT), and acylated ghrelin (AG). Additionally, the UCMS-induced rise in BOLD activation in the reward system was attenuated after MH treatment. A literature search shown that nucleus accumbens (NAc) and hypothalamus of the reward system might reveal multiple effects of MH on MDD-FD-CVD comorbidity. Further research will focus on the role of these two brain regions in treating depression associated with comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- XiangFei Liu
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - JiaLing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Tian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Ken Chen
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Min Xu
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Lei Wu
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Jin Liu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiamen University, China.
| | - YunKe Huang
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Master Degree Candidate at Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Fudan University Medical School, China.
| | - BinBin Nie
- Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Xu Shen
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China.
| | - Ping Ren
- Department of Geriatrics, Jiangsu Province Hospital of TCM, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Xi Huang
- State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for TCM Quality and Efficacy, Institute of TCM-Related Comorbid Depression, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
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Verhagen PJ. Believing in Psychiatry. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2020; 59:1782-1793. [PMID: 31297731 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00879-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Believing always plays a role in psychiatry and in mental healthcare in general not only in patients but also in psychiatrists. It is part of how they relate to the illness, as far as the patients are concerned, and to the profession, as far as the psychiatrists are concerned. Both are driven by stories that not just are helpful in meaningmaking, but that wield also power for better or for worse. This contribution is no more and no less intended as a wake-up call to get a dialogue ongoing.
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15
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Hammerschlag AR, de Leeuw CA, Middeldorp CM, Polderman TJC. Synaptic and brain-expressed gene sets relate to the shared genetic risk across five psychiatric disorders. Psychol Med 2020; 50:1695-1705. [PMID: 31328717 PMCID: PMC7408577 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719001776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mounting evidence shows genetic overlap between multiple psychiatric disorders. However, the biological underpinnings of shared risk for psychiatric disorders are not yet fully uncovered. The identification of underlying biological mechanisms is crucial for the progress in the treatment of these disorders. METHODS We applied gene-set analysis including 7372 gene sets, and 53 tissue-type specific gene-expression profiles to identify sets of genes that are involved in the etiology of multiple psychiatric disorders. We included genome-wide meta-association data of the five psychiatric disorders schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The total dataset contained 159 219 cases and 262 481 controls. RESULTS We identified 19 gene sets that were significantly associated with the five psychiatric disorders combined, of which we excluded five sets because their associations were likely driven by schizophrenia only. Conditional analyses showed independent effects of several gene sets that in particular relate to the synapse. In addition, we found independent effects of gene expression levels in the cerebellum and frontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS We obtained novel evidence for shared biological mechanisms that act across psychiatric disorders and we showed that several gene sets that have been related to individual disorders play a role in a broader range of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke R. Hammerschlag
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Child Health Research Centre, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christiaan A. de Leeuw
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christel M. Middeldorp
- Child Health Research Centre, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Department of Biological Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Tinca J. C. Polderman
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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ELFN2 is a postsynaptic cell adhesion molecule with essential roles in controlling group III mGluRs in the brain and neuropsychiatric behavior. Mol Psychiatry 2019; 24:1902-1919. [PMID: 31485013 PMCID: PMC6874751 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0512-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2018] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The functional characterization of the GPCR interactome has predominantly focused on intracellular binding partners; however, the recent emergence of transsynaptic GPCR complexes represents an additional dimension to GPCR function that has previously been unaccounted for in drug discovery. Here, we characterize ELFN2 as a novel postsynaptic adhesion molecule with a distinct expression pattern throughout the brain and a selective binding with group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in trans. Using a transcellular GPCR signaling platform, we report that ELFN2 critically alters group III mGluR secondary messenger signaling by directly altering G protein coupling kinetics and efficacy. Loss of ELFN2 in mice results in the selective downregulation of group III mGluRs and dysregulated glutamatergic synaptic transmission. Elfn2 knockout (Elfn2 KO) mice also feature a range of neuropsychiatric manifestations including seizure susceptibility, hyperactivity, and anxiety/compulsivity, which can be rescued by pharmacological augmentation of group III mGluRs. Thus, we conclude that extracellular transsynaptic scaffolding by ELFN2 in the brain is a cardinal organizational feature of group III mGluRs essential for their signaling properties and brain function.
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17
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Plastic Adaptation to Pathology in Psychiatry: Are Patients with Psychiatric Disorders Pathological Experts? Neuroscientist 2019; 26:208-223. [DOI: 10.1177/1073858419867083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders share the same pattern of longitudinal evolution and have courses that tend to be chronic and recurrent. These aspects of chronicity and longitudinal evolution are currently studied under the deficit-oriented neuroprogression framework. Interestingly, considering the plasticity of the brain, it is also necessary to emphasize the bidirectional nature of neuroprogression. We review evidence highlighting alterations of the brain associated with the longitudinal evolution of psychiatric disorders from the framework of neuroplastic adaptation to pathology. This new framework highlights that substantial plasticity and remodeling may occur beyond the classic deficit-oriented neuroprogressive framework, which has been associated with progressive loss of gray matter thickness, decreased brain connectivity, and chronic inflammation. We also integrate the brain economy concept in the neuroplastic adaptation to pathology framework, emphasizing that to preserve its economy, i.e. function, the brain learns how to cope with the disease by adapting its architecture. Neuroplastic adaptation to pathology is a proposition for a paradigm shift to overcome the shortcomings of traditional psychiatric diagnostic boundaries; this approach can disentangle both the specific pathophysiology of psychiatric symptoms and the adaptation to pathology, thus offering a new framework for both diagnosis and treatment.
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Abstract
The prevailing paradigm for psychopharmacology focuses on understanding brain
mechanisms as the key to finding new medications and improving clinical
outcomes, but frustration with slow progress has inspired many pleas for new
approaches. Evolutionary psychiatry brings in an additional basic science that
poses new questions about why natural selection left us vulnerable to so many
mental disorders, and new insights about how drugs work. The integration of
neuroscience with evolutionary psychiatry is synergistic, going beyond
reductionism to provide a model like the one used by the rest of medicine. It
recognizes negative emotions as symptoms, that are, like pain and cough, useful
defenses whose presence should initiate a search for causes. An integrative
evolutionary approach explains why agents that block useful aversive responses
are usually safe, and how to anticipate when they may cause harm. More
generally, an evolutionary framework suggests novel practical strategies for
finding and testing new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randolph M Nesse
- Center for Evolutionary Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Dan J Stein
- SAMRC Unit on Risk Resilience in Mental Disorders, Dept of Psychiatry; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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19
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Abstract
Given the failure of psychiatry to develop clinically useful biomarkers for psychiatric disorders, and the concomitant failure to develop significant advances in diagnosis and treatment, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 2010 launched the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), a framework for research based on the assumption that mental disorders are disorders of identifiable brain neural circuits, with neural circuitry at the center of units of analysis ranging from genes, molecules, and cells to behavior, self-reports, and paradigms. These were to be integrated with five validated dimensional psychological constructs such as negative and positive valence systems. Four years later, the NIMH stated that the ultimate goal of RDoC is precision medicine for psychiatry, with the assumption that precision medications will normalize dysfunctional neural circuits. How this could be accomplished is not obvious, given that neural circuits are widely distributed, have unclear boundaries, and exhibit a significant degree of neuroplasticity, with multiple circuits present in any given disorder. Moreover, the early focus on neural circuitry has been criticized for its reductionism and neglect of the more recent RDoC emphasis on the integration and equivalence of biological and psychological phenomena. Yet this seems inconsistent with the priorities of the NIMH director, an advocate of the central role of neural circuitry and projects such as the Brain Initiative and the Human Connectome Project. Will such projects, at a cost of at least $10 billion, lead to precision medications for mental disorders, or further diminish funding for clinical care and research?
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Dean
- Mental Health Service Line,Minneapolis Veteran Administration Medical Center,One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis Minnesota, 55147,USA
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20
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Hökfelt T, Barde S, Xu ZQD, Kuteeva E, Rüegg J, Le Maitre E, Risling M, Kehr J, Ihnatko R, Theodorsson E, Palkovits M, Deakin W, Bagdy G, Juhasz G, Prud’homme HJ, Mechawar N, Diaz-Heijtz R, Ögren SO. Neuropeptide and Small Transmitter Coexistence: Fundamental Studies and Relevance to Mental Illness. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:106. [PMID: 30627087 PMCID: PMC6309708 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropeptides are auxiliary messenger molecules that always co-exist in nerve cells with one or more small molecule (classic) neurotransmitters. Neuropeptides act both as transmitters and trophic factors, and play a role particularly when the nervous system is challenged, as by injury, pain or stress. Here neuropeptides and coexistence in mammals are reviewed, but with special focus on the 29/30 amino acid galanin and its three receptors GalR1, -R2 and -R3. In particular, galanin's role as a co-transmitter in both rodent and human noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) neurons is addressed. Extensive experimental animal data strongly suggest a role for the galanin system in depression-like behavior. The translational potential of these results was tested by studying the galanin system in postmortem human brains, first in normal brains, and then in a comparison of five regions of brains obtained from depressed people who committed suicide, and from matched controls. The distribution of galanin and the four galanin system transcripts in the normal human brain was determined, and selective and parallel changes in levels of transcripts and DNA methylation for galanin and its three receptors were assessed in depressed patients who committed suicide: upregulation of transcripts, e.g., for galanin and GalR3 in LC, paralleled by a decrease in DNA methylation, suggesting involvement of epigenetic mechanisms. It is hypothesized that, when exposed to severe stress, the noradrenergic LC neurons fire in bursts and release galanin from their soma/dendrites. Galanin then acts on somato-dendritic, inhibitory galanin autoreceptors, opening potassium channels and inhibiting firing. The purpose of these autoreceptors is to act as a 'brake' to prevent overexcitation, a brake that is also part of resilience to stress that protects against depression. Depression then arises when the inhibition is too strong and long lasting - a maladaption, allostatic load, leading to depletion of NA levels in the forebrain. It is suggested that disinhibition by a galanin antagonist may have antidepressant activity by restoring forebrain NA levels. A role of galanin in depression is also supported by a recent candidate gene study, showing that variants in genes for galanin and its three receptors confer increased risk of depression and anxiety in people who experienced childhood adversity or recent negative life events. In summary, galanin, a neuropeptide coexisting in LC neurons, may participate in the mechanism underlying resilience against a serious and common disorder, MDD. Existing and further results may lead to an increased understanding of how this illness develops, which in turn could provide a basis for its treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Hökfelt
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Swapnali Barde
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Zhi-Qing David Xu
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Beijing Laboratory of Brain Disorders (Ministry of Science and Technology), Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Eugenia Kuteeva
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Joelle Rüegg
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- The Center for Molecular Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden
- Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center, Swetox, Södertälje, Sweden
| | - Erwan Le Maitre
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mårten Risling
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan Kehr
- Pronexus Analytical AB, Solna, Sweden
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Robert Ihnatko
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Elvar Theodorsson
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Miklos Palkovits
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - William Deakin
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Gyorgy Bagdy
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- NAP 2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Juhasz
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- SE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Naguib Mechawar
- Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Verdun, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Sven Ove Ögren
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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London EB. Neuromodulation and a Reconceptualization of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Using the Locus Coeruleus Functioning as an Exemplar. Front Neurol 2018; 9:1120. [PMID: 30619071 PMCID: PMC6305710 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.01120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of developmental disorders. Although, ASD can be reliably diagnosed, the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment targets remain poorly characterized. While there are many atypical findings in anatomy, genetics, connectivity, and other biologic parameters, there remains no discreet hypothesis to explain the core signs as well as the very frequent comorbidities. Due to this, designing targets for treatments can only be done by assuming each symptom is a result of a discreet abnormality which is likely not the case. Neuronal circuity remains a major focus of research but rarely taking into account the functioning of the brain is highly dependent on various systems, including the neuromodulatory substances originating in the midbrain. A hypothesis is presented which explores the possibility of explaining many of the symptoms found in ASD in terms of inefficient neuromodulation using the functioning of the locus coeruleus and norepinephrine (LC/NE) as exemplars. The basic science of LC/NE is reviewed. Several functions found to be impaired in ASD including learning, attention, sensory processing, emotional regulation, autonomic functioning, adaptive and repetitive behaviors, sleep, language acquisition, initiation, and prompt dependency are examined in terms of the functioning of the LC/NE system. Suggestions about possible treatment directions are explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric B. London
- Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, United States
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22
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Optogenetic induction of the schizophrenia-related endophenotype of ventral hippocampal hyperactivity causes rodent correlates of positive and cognitive symptoms. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12871. [PMID: 30150758 PMCID: PMC6110795 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31163-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathological over-activity of the CA1 subfield of the human anterior hippocampus has been identified as a potential predictive marker for transition from a prodromal state to overt schizophrenia. Psychosis, in turn, is associated with elevated activity in the anterior subiculum, the hippocampal output stage directly activated by CA1. Over-activity in these subfields may represent a useful endophenotype to guide translationally predictive preclinical models. To recreate this endophenotype and study its causal relation to deficits in the positive and cognitive symptom domains, we optogenetically activated excitatory neurons of the ventral hippocampus (vHPC; analogous to the human anterior hippocampus), targeting the ventral subiculum. Consistent with previous studies, we found that vHPC over-activity evokes hyperlocomotion, a rodent correlate of positive symptoms. vHPC activation also impaired performance on the spatial novelty preference (SNP) test of short-term memory, regardless of whether stimulation was applied during the encoding or retrieval stage of the task. Increasing dopamine transmission with amphetamine produced hyperlocomotion, but was not associated with SNP impairments. This suggests that short-term memory impairments resulting from hippocampal over-activity likely arise independently of a hyperdopaminergic state, a finding that is consistent with the pharmaco-resistance of cognitive symptoms in patients.
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23
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Thibault RT, MacPherson A, Lifshitz M, Roth RR, Raz A. Neurofeedback with fMRI: A critical systematic review. Neuroimage 2018; 172:786-807. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.12.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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Synaptic adhesion protein ELFN1 is a selective allosteric modulator of group III metabotropic glutamate receptors in trans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:5022-5027. [PMID: 29686062 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1722498115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional characterization of the GPCR interactome has been focused predominantly on intracellular interactions, yet GPCRs are increasingly found in complex with extracellular proteins. Extracellular leucine-rich repeat fibronectin type III domain containing 1 (ELFN1) was recently reported to physically anchor mGluR6 and mGluR7 across retinal and hippocampal synapses, respectively; however, the consequence of transsynaptic interactions on properties and pharmacology of these receptors are unknown. In the current study, we explore the effects of ELFN1 on mGluR signaling and pharmacology. First, we established the binding specificity of ELFN1 and found it to be recruited selectively to all group III mGluRs (mGluR4, mGluR6, mGluR7, and mGluR8), but not other mGluR species. Using site-directed mutagenesis we mapped binding determinants of this interaction to two distinct sites on the ELFN1 ectodomain. To evaluate functional aspects of the interaction, we developed a transcellular signaling assay in reconstituted HEK293 cells which monitors changes in mGluR activity in one cell following its exposure to separate ELFN1-containing cells. Using this platform, we found that ELFN1 acts as an allosteric modulator of class III mGluR activity in suppressing cAMP accumulation: altering both agonist-induced and constitutive receptor activity. Using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer-based real-time kinetic assays, we established that ELFN1 alters the ability of mGluRs to activate G proteins. Our findings demonstrate that core properties of class III mGluRs can be altered via extracellular interactions with ELFN1 which serves as a transsynaptic allosteric modulator for these receptors. Furthermore, our unique assay platform opens avenues for exploring transcellular/transsynaptic pharmacology of other GPCR transcomplexes.
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25
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Akil H, Gordon J, Hen R, Javitch J, Mayberg H, McEwen B, Meaney MJ, Nestler EJ. Treatment resistant depression: A multi-scale, systems biology approach. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 84:272-288. [PMID: 28859997 PMCID: PMC5729118 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 251] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
An estimated 50% of depressed patients are inadequately treated by available interventions. Even with an eventual recovery, many patients require a trial and error approach, as there are no reliable guidelines to match patients to optimal treatments and many patients develop treatment resistance over time. This situation derives from the heterogeneity of depression and the lack of biomarkers for stratification by distinct depression subtypes. There is thus a dire need for novel therapies. To address these known challenges, we propose a multi-scale framework for fundamental research on depression, aimed at identifying the brain circuits that are dysfunctional in several animal models of depression as well the changes in gene expression that are associated with these models. When combined with human genetic and imaging studies, our preclinical studies are starting to identify candidate circuits and molecules that are altered both in models of disease and in patient populations. Targeting these circuits and mechanisms can lead to novel generations of antidepressants tailored to specific patient populations with distinctive types of molecular and circuit dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huda Akil
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; University of Michigan, United States
| | - Joshua Gordon
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Columbia University, United States; New York State Psychiatric Institute, United States
| | - Rene Hen
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Columbia University, United States; New York State Psychiatric Institute, United States
| | - Jonathan Javitch
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Columbia University, United States; New York State Psychiatric Institute, United States
| | - Helen Mayberg
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Emory University, United States
| | - Bruce McEwen
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Rockefeller University, United States
| | - Michael J Meaney
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; McGill University, United States; Singapore Institute for Clinical Science, Singapore
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Depression Task Force, Hope for Depression Research Foundation, New York, NY 10019, United States; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States.
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26
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Dean CE. Social inequality, scientific inequality, and the future of mental illness. Philos Ethics Humanit Med 2017; 12:10. [PMID: 29258528 PMCID: PMC5738232 DOI: 10.1186/s13010-017-0052-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite five decades of increasingly elegant studies aimed at advancing the pathophysiology and treatment of mental illness, the results have not met expectations. Diagnoses are still based on observation, the clinical history, and an outmoded diagnostic system that stresses the historic goal of disease specificity. Psychotropic drugs are still based on molecular targets developed decades ago, with no increase in efficacy. Numerous biomarkers have been proposed, but none have the requisite degree of sensitivity and specificity, and therefore have no usefulness in the clinic. The obvious lack of progress in psychiatry needs exploration. METHODS The historical goals of psychiatry are reviewed, including parity with medicine, a focus on diagnostic reliability rather than validity, and an emphasis on reductionism at the expense of socioeconomic issues. Data are used from Thomas Picketty and others to argue that our failure to advance clinical care may rest in part on the rise in social and economic inequality that began in the 1970s, and in part on our inability to move beyond the medical model of specificity of disease and treatment. RESULTS It is demonstrated herein that the historical goal of specificity of disease and treatment has not only impeded the advance of diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, but, in combination with a rapid increase in socioeconomic inequality, has led to poorer outcomes and rising mortality rates in a number of disorders, including schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. CONCLUSIONS It is proposed that Psychiatry should recognize the fact of socioeconomic inequality and its effects on mental disorders. The medical model, with its emphasis on diagnostic and treatment specificity, may not be appropriate for investigation of the brain, given its complexity. The rise of scientific inequality, with billions allocated to connectomics and genetics, may shift attention away from the need for improvements in clinical care. Unfortunately, the future prospects of those suffering from mental illness appear dim.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Dean
- Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, Mental Health Service Line, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA.
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27
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Wylie KP, Smucny J, Legget KT, Tregellas JR. Targeting Functional Biomarkers in Schizophrenia with Neuroimaging. Curr Pharm Des 2017; 22:2117-23. [PMID: 26818860 DOI: 10.2174/1381612822666160127113912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Many of the most debilitating symptoms for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia remain poorly treated. As such, the development of novel treatments is urgently needed. Unfortunately, the costs associated with high failure rates for investigational compounds as they enter clinical trials has led to pharmaceutical companies downsizing or eliminating research programs needed to develop these drugs. One way of increasing the probability of success for investigational compounds is to incorporate alternative methods of identifying biological targets in order to more effectively screen new drugs. A promising method of accomplishing this goal for psychiatric drugs is to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI investigates neural circuits, shedding light on the biology that generates symptoms such as hallucinations. Once identified, relevant neural circuits can be targeted with pharmacologic interventions and the response to these drugs measured with fMRI. This review describes the early use of fMRI in this context, and discusses the alpha7 nicotinic receptor agonist 3-(2,4-dimethoxybenzylidene) anabaseine (DMXB-A), as an example of the potential value of fMRI for psychiatric drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korey P Wylie
- Department of Psychiatry, Anschutz Medical Campus, Bldg. 500, Mail Stop F546, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
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28
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This is an era where we have significantly advanced the understanding of the genetic architecture of schizophrenia. In this review, we consider how this knowledge may translate into advances that will improve patient care. RECENT FINDINGS Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than a hundred loci each making a small contribution to illness risk. Meta-analysis of copy number variants (CNVs) in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) dataset has confirmed that some variants have a moderate or large impact on risk, although these are rare in the population. Genome sequencing advances allow a much more comprehensive evaluation of genomic variation. We describe the key findings from whole exome studies to date. These studies are happening against a backdrop of growing understanding of the regulation and expression of genes and better functional tools to investigate molecular mechanisms in model systems. We provide an overview of how recent approaches in schizophrenia genetics are converging and consider how they could impact on diagnostics, the development of personalized medicine, and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Foley
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aiden Corvin
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Shigeki Nakagome
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Abstract
Since its development around 1800 psychiatry has been oscillating between the poles of the sciences and the humanities, being directed towards subjective experience on the one hand and towards the neural substrate on the other hand. Today, this dualism seems to have been overcome by a naturalism, which identifies subjective experience with neural processes, according to Griesinger's frequently quoted statement "mental diseases are brain diseases". The progress achieved by the neurobiological paradigm on the level of a fundamental science is in contrast to the tendency to isolate mental illnesses from the patients' social relationships and to neglect subjectivity and intersubjectivity in their explanation. What should be searched for is therefore an overarching paradigm that is able to establish psychiatry as a relational medicine in an encompassing sense: as a science and practice of biological, psychological and social relationships and their disorders. Within such a paradigm, the brain may be understood and investigated as the central "relational organ" without reductionist constrictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Fuchs
- Klinik für Allgemeine Psychiatrie, Zentrum für Psychosoziale Medizin, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Deutschland.
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Einstein EH, Klepacz L. What Influences Mental Illness? Discrepancies Between Medical Education and Conception. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AND CURRICULAR DEVELOPMENT 2017; 4:2382120517705123. [PMID: 29349333 PMCID: PMC5736266 DOI: 10.1177/2382120517705123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This preliminary study examined the differences between what was taught during a formal medical education and medical students' and psychiatry residents' conceptions of notions regarding the causes and determinants of mental illness. METHODS The authors surveyed 74 medical students and 11 residents via convenience sampling. The survey contained 18 statements which were rated twice based on truthfulness in terms of a participant's formal education and conception, respectively. Descriptive statistics and a Wilcoxon signed rank test determined differences between education and conception. RESULTS Results showed that students were less likely to perceive a neurotransmitter imbalance to cause mental illness, as opposed to what was emphasized during a formal medical education. Students and residents also understood the importance of factors such as systemic racism and socioeconomic status in the development of mental illness, which were factors that did not receive heavy emphasis during medical education. Furthermore, students and residents believed that not only did mental illnesses have nonuniform pathologies, but that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders also had the propensity to sometimes arbitrarily categorize individuals with potentially negative consequences. CONCLUSIONS If these notions are therefore part of students' and residents' conceptions, as well as documented in the literature, then it seems appropriate for medical education to be further developed to emphasize these ideas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Hy Einstein
- New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
- Evan Hy Einstein, New York Medical College, 40 Sunshine Cottage Road, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
| | - Lidia Klepacz
- Department of Psychiatry, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, USA
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31
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Mastwal S, Cao V, Wang KH. Genetic Feedback Regulation of Frontal Cortical Neuronal Ensembles Through Activity-Dependent Arc Expression and Dopaminergic Input. Front Neural Circuits 2016; 10:100. [PMID: 27999532 PMCID: PMC5138219 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental functions involve coordinated activities of specific neuronal ensembles that are embedded in complex brain circuits. Aberrant neuronal ensemble dynamics is thought to form the neurobiological basis of mental disorders. A major challenge in mental health research is to identify these cellular ensembles and determine what molecular mechanisms constrain their emergence and consolidation during development and learning. Here, we provide a perspective based on recent studies that use activity-dependent gene Arc/Arg3.1 as a cellular marker to identify neuronal ensembles and a molecular probe to modulate circuit functions. These studies have demonstrated that the transcription of Arc is activated in selective groups of frontal cortical neurons in response to specific behavioral tasks. Arc expression regulates the persistent firing of individual neurons and predicts the consolidation of neuronal ensembles during repeated learning. Therefore, the Arc pathway represents a prototypical example of activity-dependent genetic feedback regulation of neuronal ensembles. The activation of this pathway in the frontal cortex starts during early postnatal development and requires dopaminergic (DA) input. Conversely, genetic disruption of Arc leads to a hypoactive mesofrontal dopamine circuit and its related cognitive deficit. This mutual interaction suggests an auto-regulatory mechanism to amplify the impact of neuromodulators and activity-regulated genes during postnatal development. Such a mechanism may contribute to the association of mutations in dopamine and Arc pathways with neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. As the mesofrontal dopamine circuit shows extensive activity-dependent developmental plasticity, activity-guided modulation of DA projections or Arc ensembles during development may help to repair circuit deficits related to neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surjeet Mastwal
- Unit on Neural Circuits and Adaptive Behaviors, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Vania Cao
- Unit on Neural Circuits and Adaptive Behaviors, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kuan Hong Wang
- Unit on Neural Circuits and Adaptive Behaviors, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Bethesda, MD, USA
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32
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Faucher L, Goyer S. [The Research Domain Criteria (Rdoc), reductionism and clinical psychiatry]. REVUE DE SYNTHESE 2016; 137:117-149. [PMID: 27550461 DOI: 10.1007/s11873-016-0292-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The focus of the advocates of the Research Domain Critria (RDoC) on faulty brain circuits has led some to suspect it of being a reductionist enterprise. And because RDoC will eventually impact clinical psychiatry, some have feared that it will transform clinical psychiatry in a mindless and applied neurobehavioral science. We argue that if RDoC is officially endorsing a kind of reductionism, the particular kind of reductionism it endorses is not suffering from the shortcomings of more classical forms of reductionism. Because of that, at least in principle, RDoC could enrich rather than impoverish clinical psychiatry. This paper raises few potential problems of the RDoC for clinical psychiatry caused by its implicit epistemological reductionism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc Faucher
- Département de philosophie, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3P8.
| | - Simon Goyer
- Département de philosophie, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3P8
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Reversal of dendritic phenotypes in 16p11.2 microduplication mouse model neurons by pharmacological targeting of a network hub. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:8520-5. [PMID: 27402753 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607014113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The architecture of dendritic arbors contributes to neuronal connectivity in the brain. Conversely, abnormalities in dendrites have been reported in multiple mental disorders and are thought to contribute to pathogenesis. Rare copy number variations (CNVs) are genetic alterations that are associated with a wide range of mental disorders and are highly penetrant. The 16p11.2 microduplication is one of the CNVs most strongly associated with schizophrenia and autism, spanning multiple genes possibly involved in synaptic neurotransmission. However, disease-relevant cellular phenotypes of 16p11.2 microduplication and the driver gene(s) remain to be identified. We found increased dendritic arborization in isolated cortical pyramidal neurons from a mouse model of 16p11.2 duplication (dp/+). Network analysis identified MAPK3, which encodes ERK1 MAP kinase, as the most topologically important hub in protein-protein interaction networks within the 16p11.2 region and broader gene networks of schizophrenia-associated CNVs. Pharmacological targeting of ERK reversed dendritic alterations associated with dp/+ neurons, outlining a strategy for the analysis and reversal of cellular phenotypes in CNV-related psychiatric disorders.
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Psychological Susceptibility and Resilience. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 79:e75-e77. [PMID: 27130853 PMCID: PMC5715459 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.03.2102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Allen NB, Dahl RE. Multi-Level Models of Internalizing Disorders and Translational Developmental Science: Seeking Etiological Insights that can Inform Early Intervention Strategies. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 43:875-83. [PMID: 25947071 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-015-0024-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This commentary discusses the articles in this special section with an emphasis on the specific utility of multivariate, multi-level models in developmental psychopathology for ultimately contributing to both etiologic insights and translational advances. These issues are considered not only in terms of the specific papers, but also within a larger set of questions regarding the opportunities (and challenges) currently facing the field. We describe why we believe this an exciting time for integrative team-science approaches to tackle these challenges--a time that holds great promise for rapid advances in integrative developmental science that includes a biological level of mechanistic understanding. In order to facilitate this, we outline a range of approaches within both translational neuroscience and translational developmental science that can be used as frameworks for understanding how such research can provide etiologic insights regarding real-world targets at the level of social, behavioral, and affective processes that can be modified during key developmental windows of opportunity. We conclude that a "construct validity" framework, where biological data form a critical, but not privileged, component of key etiological mechanisms, combined with a developmental perspective on key period of sensitivity to intervention effects, is most likely to provide significant translational outcomes.
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Input- and Output-Specific Regulation of Serial Order Performance by Corticostriatal Circuits. Neuron 2016; 88:345-56. [PMID: 26494279 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The serial ordering of individual movements into sequential patterns is thought to require synaptic plasticity within corticostriatal circuits that route information through the basal ganglia. We used genetically and anatomically targeted manipulations of specific circuit elements in mice to isolate the source and target of a corticostriatal synapse that regulates the performance of a serial order task. This excitatory synapse originates in secondary motor cortex, terminates on direct pathway medium spiny neurons in the dorsolateral striatum, and is strengthened by serial order learning. This experience-dependent and synapse-specific form of plasticity may sculpt the balance of activity in basal ganglia circuits during sequential movements, driving a disparity in striatal output that favors the direct pathway. This disparity is necessary for execution of responses in serial order, even though both direct and indirect pathways are active during movement initiation, suggesting dynamic modulation of corticostriatal circuitry contributes to the choreography of behavioral routines.
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Fuccillo MV, Rothwell PE, Malenka RC. From Synapses to Behavior: What Rodent Models Can Tell Us About Neuropsychiatric Disease. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 79:4-6. [PMID: 26616432 PMCID: PMC4832414 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Accepted: 02/11/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Abstract
Genome-editing tools, and in particular those based on CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein) systems, are accelerating the pace of biological research and enabling targeted genetic interrogation in almost any organism and cell type. These tools have opened the door to the development of new model systems for studying the complexity of the nervous system, including animal models and stem cell-derived in vitro models. Precise and efficient gene editing using CRISPR-Cas systems has the potential to advance both basic and translational neuroscience research.
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Cao Y, Sarria I, Fehlhaber KE, Kamasawa N, Orlandi C, James KN, Hazen JL, Gardner MR, Farzan M, Lee A, Baker S, Baldwin K, Sampath AP, Martemyanov KA. Mechanism for Selective Synaptic Wiring of Rod Photoreceptors into the Retinal Circuitry and Its Role in Vision. Neuron 2015; 87:1248-1260. [PMID: 26402607 PMCID: PMC4583715 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
In the retina, rod and cone photoreceptors form distinct connections with different classes of downstream bipolar cells. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for their selective connectivity are unknown. Here we identify a cell-adhesion protein, ELFN1, to be essential for the formation of synapses between rods and rod ON-bipolar cells in the primary rod pathway. ELFN1 is expressed selectively in rods where it is targeted to the axonal terminals by the synaptic release machinery. At the synapse, ELFN1 binds in trans to mGluR6, the postsynaptic receptor on rod ON-bipolar cells. Elimination of ELFN1 in mice prevents the formation of synaptic contacts involving rods, but not cones, allowing a dissection of the contributions of primary and secondary rod pathways to retinal circuit function and vision. We conclude that ELFN1 is necessary for the selective wiring of rods into the primary rod pathway and is required for high sensitivity of vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Cao
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Ignacio Sarria
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Katherine E Fehlhaber
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, Los Angeles, 100 Stein Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Naomi Kamasawa
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Florida Institute, 1 Max Planck Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Cesare Orlandi
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Kiely N James
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92121, USA
| | - Jennifer L Hazen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92121, USA
| | - Matthew R Gardner
- Department of Infectious Disease, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Michael Farzan
- Department of Infectious Disease, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Amy Lee
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, 51 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Sheila Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa, 51 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Kristin Baldwin
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92121, USA
| | - Alapakkam P Sampath
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, Los Angeles, 100 Stein Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Kirill A Martemyanov
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA.
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40
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Le Moal M, Swendsen J. Sciences of the brain: The long road to scientific maturity and to present-day reductionism. C R Biol 2015; 338:593-601. [PMID: 26253699 DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2015.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
When examined in a long-term perspective, brain sciences demonstrate certain conceptual consistencies as well as theoretical oppositions that have lasted for centuries, ever since Ancient Greece. The neurosciences have progressed more on the basis of technological than conceptual advances, and the constant recuperation of new techniques from other sciences have led to a continually reductionist view of the brain and its functions. In a different perspective, if not opposite to the reductionism, are the psychological constructs and those that constitute the functional unity of individuals, which are still mysterious. In fact, the gap between these two approaches has never been larger than it is now. This chapter discusses the enduring nature of some of these problems and their recent consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Le Moal
- Neurocentre Magendie, Inserm U862, Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, 146, rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux cedex, France.
| | - Joël Swendsen
- Université de Bordeaux, 146, rue Léo-Saignat, 33077 Bordeaux cedex, France; CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux, France; École pratique des hautes études, Paris, France.
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Pavão R, Tort ABL, Amaral OB. Multifactoriality in Psychiatric Disorders: A Computational Study of Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2015; 41:980-8. [PMID: 25332409 PMCID: PMC4466174 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbu146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The search for biological causes of mental disorders has up to now met with limited success, leading to growing dissatisfaction with diagnostic classifications. However, it is questionable whether most clinical syndromes should be expected to correspond to specific microscale brain alterations, as multiple low-level causes could lead to similar symptoms in different individuals. In order to evaluate the potential multifactoriality of alterations related to psychiatric illness, we performed a parametric exploration of published computational models of schizophrenia. By varying multiple parameters simultaneously, such as receptor conductances, connectivity patterns, and background excitation, we generated 5625 different versions of an attractor-based network model of schizophrenia symptoms. Among networks presenting activity within valid ranges, 154 parameter combinations out of 3002 (5.1%) presented a phenotype reminiscent of schizophrenia symptoms as defined in the original publication. We repeated this analysis in a model of schizophrenia-related deficits in spatial working memory, building 3125 different networks, and found that 41 (4.9%) out of 834 networks with valid activity presented schizophrenia-like alterations. In isolation, none of the parameters in either model showed adequate sensitivity or specificity to identify schizophrenia-like networks. Thus, in computational models of schizophrenia, even simple network phenotypes related to the disorder can be produced by a myriad of causes at the molecular and circuit levels. This suggests that unified explanations for either the full syndrome or its behavioral and network endophenotypes are unlikely to be expected at the genetic and molecular levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Pavão
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Adriano B. L. Tort
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Olavo B. Amaral
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Leopoldo de Meis Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,*To whom correspondence should be addressed; Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, 21941-590 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; tel: (+55)21-3938-6789, fax: (+55)21-2270-8647, e-mail:
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42
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Barchas JD, Brody BD. Perspectives on depression-past, present, futurea. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1345:1-15. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jack D. Barchas
- Department of Psychiatry; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
| | - Benjamin D. Brody
- Department of Psychiatry; Weill Cornell Medical College; New York New York
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43
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Sullivan PF, Posthuma D. Biological pathways and networks implicated in psychiatric disorders. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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44
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Tuning the Brain-Gut Axis in Health and Disease. CURRENT STEM CELL REPORTS 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s40778-014-0004-y] [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]
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45
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Global mental health and neuroscience: potential synergies. Lancet Psychiatry 2015; 2:178-85. [PMID: 26359754 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(15)00014-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Global mental health has emerged as an important specialty. It has drawn attention to the burden of mental illness and to the relative gap in mental health research and services around the world. Global mental health has raised the question of whether this gap is a developmental issue, a health issue, a human rights issue, or a combination of these issues-and it has raised awareness of the need to develop new approaches for building capacity, mobilising resources, and closing the research and treatment gap. Translational neuroscience has also advanced. It comprises an important conceptual approach to understanding the neurocircuitry and molecular basis of mental disorders, to rethinking how best to undertake research on the aetiology, assessment, and treatment of these disorders, with the ultimate aim to develop entirely new approaches to prevention and intervention. Some apparent contrasts exist between these fields; global mental health emphasises knowledge translation, moving away from the bedside to a focus on health systems, whereas translational neuroscience emphasises molecular neuroscience, focusing on transitions between the bench and bedside. Meanwhile, important opportunities exist for synergy between the two paradigms, to ensure that present opportunities in mental health research and services are maximised. Here, we review the approaches of global mental health and clinical neuroscience to diagnosis, pathogenesis, and intervention, and make recommendations for facilitating an integration of these two perspectives.
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46
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Voineskos AN. Genetic underpinnings of white matter 'connectivity': heritability, risk, and heterogeneity in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2015; 161:50-60. [PMID: 24893906 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.03.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2014] [Revised: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a highly heritable disorder. Thus, the combination of genetics and brain imaging may be a useful strategy to investigate the effects of risk genes on anatomical connectivity, and for gene discovery, i.e. discovering the genetic correlates of white matter phenotypes. Following a database search, I review evidence for heritability of white matter phenotypes. I also review candidate gene investigations, examining association of putative risk variants with white matter phenotypes, as well as the recent flurry of research exploring relationships of genome-wide significant risk loci with white matter phenotypes. Finally, I review multivariate and polygene approaches, which constitute a new wave of imaging-genetics research, including large collaborative initiatives aiming to discover new genes that may predict aspects of white matter microstructure. The literature supports the heritability of white matter phenotypes. Loci in genes intimately implicated in oligodendrocyte and myelin development, growth and maintenance, and neurotrophic systems are associated with white matter microstructure. GWAS variants have not yet sufficiently been explored using DTI-based evaluation of white matter to draw conclusions, although micro-RNA 137 is promising due to its potential regulation of other GWAS schizophrenia genes. Many imaging-genetic studies only include healthy participants, which, while helping control for certain confounds, cannot address questions related to disease heterogeneity or symptom expression, and thus more studies should include participants with schizophrenia. With sufficiently large sample sizes, the future of this field lies in polygene strategies aimed at risk prediction and heterogeneity dissection of schizophrenia that can translate to personalized interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristotle N Voineskos
- Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory, Research Imaging Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada.
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47
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Categorical diagnosis: a fatal flaw for autism research? Trends Neurosci 2014; 37:683-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2014.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Revised: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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48
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Crabtree GW, Gogos JA. Synaptic plasticity, neural circuits, and the emerging role of altered short-term information processing in schizophrenia. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2014; 6:28. [PMID: 25505409 PMCID: PMC4243504 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2014.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Synaptic plasticity alters the strength of information flow between presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons and thus modifies the likelihood that action potentials in a presynaptic neuron will lead to an action potential in a postsynaptic neuron. As such, synaptic plasticity and pathological changes in synaptic plasticity impact the synaptic computation which controls the information flow through the neural microcircuits responsible for the complex information processing necessary to drive adaptive behaviors. As current theories of neuropsychiatric disease suggest that distinct dysfunctions in neural circuit performance may critically underlie the unique symptoms of these diseases, pathological alterations in synaptic plasticity mechanisms may be fundamental to the disease process. Here we consider mechanisms of both short-term and long-term plasticity of synaptic transmission and their possible roles in information processing by neural microcircuits in both health and disease. As paradigms of neuropsychiatric diseases with strongly implicated risk genes, we discuss the findings in schizophrenia and autism and consider the alterations in synaptic plasticity and network function observed in both human studies and genetic mouse models of these diseases. Together these studies have begun to point toward a likely dominant role of short-term synaptic plasticity alterations in schizophrenia while dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may be due to a combination of both short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregg W. Crabtree
- Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia UniversityNew York, NY, USA
| | - Joseph A. Gogos
- Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia UniversityNew York, NY, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia UniversityNew York, NY, USA
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50
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Bohland JW, Myers EM, Kim E. An informatics approach to integrating genetic and neurological data in speech and language neuroscience. Neuroinformatics 2014; 12:39-62. [PMID: 23949335 DOI: 10.1007/s12021-013-9201-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A number of heritable disorders impair the normal development of speech and language processes and occur in large numbers within the general population. While candidate genes and loci have been identified, the gap between genotype and phenotype is vast, limiting current understanding of the biology of normal and disordered processes. This gap exists not only in our scientific knowledge, but also in our research communities, where genetics researchers and speech, language, and cognitive scientists tend to operate independently. Here we describe a web-based, domain-specific, curated database that represents information about genotype-phenotype relations specific to speech and language disorders, as well as neuroimaging results demonstrating focal brain differences in relevant patients versus controls. Bringing these two distinct data types into a common database ( http://neurospeech.org/sldb ) is a first step toward bringing molecular level information into cognitive and computational theories of speech and language function. One bridge between these data types is provided by densely sampled profiles of gene expression in the brain, such as those provided by the Allen Brain Atlases. Here we present results from exploratory analyses of human brain gene expression profiles for genes implicated in speech and language disorders, which are annotated in our database. We then discuss how such datasets can be useful in the development of computational models that bridge levels of analysis, necessary to provide a mechanistic understanding of heritable language disorders. We further describe our general approach to information integration, discuss important caveats and considerations, and offer a specific but speculative example based on genes implicated in stuttering and basal ganglia function in speech motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason W Bohland
- Departments of Health Sciences and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Ave, Room 403, Boston, MA, 02215, USA,
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