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Lin H, Olaniran A, Luo X, Strauch J, Burke MAM, Matheson CL, Li X. Orbitofrontal cortex to dorsal striatum circuit is critical for incubation of oxycodone craving after forced abstinence. Addict Biol 2024; 29:e13440. [PMID: 39380299 PMCID: PMC11461755 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 09/08/2024] [Indexed: 10/10/2024]
Abstract
Relapse is a major challenge in treating opioid addiction, including oxycodone. During abstinence, oxycodone seeking progressively increases, a phenomenon termed incubation of oxycodone craving. We previously demonstrated a causal role of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in this incubation. Here, we studied the interaction between glutamatergic projections from OFC and dopamine 1-family receptor (D1R) signaling in dorsal striatum (DS) in this incubation in male rats. We first examined the causal role of D1R signalling in DS in incubated oxycodone seeking. Next, we combined fluorescence-conjugated cholera toxin subunit B (CTb-555, a retrograde tracer) with Fos (a neuronal activity marker) to assess whether the activation of OFC→DS projections was associated with incubated oxycodone seeking. We then used a pharmacological asymmetrical disconnection procedure to examine the role of the interaction between projections from OFC and D1R signalling in DS in incubated oxycodone seeking. We also tested the effect of unilateral pharmacological inactivation of OFC or unilateral D1R blockade of DS on incubated oxycodone seeking. Finally, we assessed whether contralateral disconnection of OFC→DS projections impacted non-incubated oxycodone seeking on abstinence day 1. We found that D1R blockade in DS decreased incubated oxycodone seeking and OFC→DS projections were activated during incubated oxycodone seeking. Moreover, anatomical disconnection of OFC→DS projections, but not unilateral inactivation of OFC or unilateral D1R blockade in DS, decreased incubated oxycodone seeking. Lastly, contralateral disconnection of OFC→DS projections had no effect on oxycodone seeking on abstinence day 1. Together, these results demonstrated a causal role of OFC→DS projections in incubation of oxycodone craving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyu Lin
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Adedayo Olaniran
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Xiang Luo
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Jessica Strauch
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Megan A. M. Burke
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Chloe L. Matheson
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive ScienceUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
| | - Xuan Li
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive ScienceUniversity of Maryland College ParkCollege ParkMarylandUSA
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2
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Weber SJ, Kawa AB, Beutler MM, Kuhn HM, Moutier AL, Westlake JG, Koyshman LM, Moreno CD, Wunsch AM, Wolf ME. Dopamine transmission at D1 and D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens contributes to the expression of incubation of cocaine craving. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024:10.1038/s41386-024-01992-2. [PMID: 39300272 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01992-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Revised: 08/30/2024] [Accepted: 09/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
Relapse represents a consistent clinical problem for individuals with substance use disorder. In the incubation of craving model of persistent craving and relapse, cue-induced drug seeking progressively intensifies or "incubates" during the first weeks of abstinence from drug self-administration and then remains high for months. Previously, we and others have demonstrated that expression of incubated cocaine craving requires strengthening of excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcc). However, despite the importance of dopaminergic signaling in the NAcc for motivated behavior, little is known about the role that dopamine (DA) plays in the incubation of cocaine craving. Here we used fiber photometry to measure DA transients in the NAcc of male and female rats during cue-induced seeking tests conducted in early abstinence from cocaine self-administration, prior to incubation, and late abstinence, after incubation of craving has plateaued. We observed DA transients time-locked to cue-induced responding but their magnitude did not differ significantly when measured during early versus late abstinence seeking tests. Next, we tested for a functional role of these DA transients by injecting DA receptor antagonists into the NAcc just before the cue-induced seeking test. Blockade of either D1 or D2 DA receptors reduced cue-induced cocaine seeking after but not before incubation. We found no main effect of sex or significant interaction of sex with other factors in our experiments. These results suggest that DA contributes to incubated cocaine seeking but the emergence of this role reflects changes in postsynaptic responsiveness to DA rather than presynaptic alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia J Weber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Alex B Kawa
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Madelyn M Beutler
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Hayley M Kuhn
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Alana L Moutier
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Jonathan G Westlake
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lara M Koyshman
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Cloe D Moreno
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Amanda M Wunsch
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Marina E Wolf
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
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Brown E, Zi Y, Vu MA, Bouabid S, Lindsey J, Godfrey-Nwachukwu C, Attarwala A, Litwin-Kumar A, DePasquale B, Howe M. Spatially organized striatal neuromodulator release encodes trajectory errors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.13.607797. [PMID: 39185163 PMCID: PMC11343099 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.13.607797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Goal-directed navigation requires animals to continuously evaluate their current direction and speed of travel relative to landmarks to discern whether they are approaching or deviating from their goal. Striatal dopamine and acetylcholine are powerful modulators of goal-directed behavior, but it is unclear whether and how neuromodulator dynamics at landmarks incorporate relative motion for effective behavioral guidance. Using optical measurements in mice, we demonstrate that cue-evoked striatal dopamine release encodes bi-directional 'trajectory errors' reflecting relationships between ongoing speed and direction of locomotion and visual flow relative to optimal goal trajectories. Striatum-wide micro-fiber array recordings resolved an anatomical gradient of trajectory error signaling across the anterior-posterior axis, distinct from trajectory error independent cue signals. Dynamic regression modeling revealed that positive and negative trajectory error encoding emerges early and late respectively during learning and over different time courses in the medial and lateral striatum, enabling region specific contributions to learning. Striatal acetylcholine release also encodes trajectory errors, but encoding is more spatially restricted, opposite polarity, and delayed relative to dopamine, supporting distinct roles in modulating striatal output and behavior. Dopamine trajectory error signaling and task performance were reproduced in a reinforcement learning model incorporating a conjunctive state space representation, suggesting a potential neural substrate for trajectory error generation. Our results establish region specific neuromodulator signals positioned to guide the speed and direction of locomotion to reach goals based on environmental landmarks during navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Brown
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yihan Zi
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mai-Anh Vu
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Safa Bouabid
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jack Lindsey
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Aaquib Attarwala
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Brian DePasquale
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark Howe
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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4
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Xu Y, Lin Y, Yu M, Zhou K. The nucleus accumbens in reward and aversion processing: insights and implications. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1420028. [PMID: 39184934 PMCID: PMC11341389 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1420028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a central component of the brain's reward circuitry, has been implicated in a wide range of behaviors and emotional states. Emerging evidence, primarily drawing from recent rodent studies, suggests that the function of the NAc in reward and aversion processing is multifaceted. Prolonged stress or drug use induces maladaptive neuronal function in the NAc circuitry, which results in pathological conditions. This review aims to provide comprehensive and up-to-date insights on the role of the NAc in motivated behavior regulation and highlights areas that demand further in-depth analysis. It synthesizes the latest findings on how distinct NAc neuronal populations and pathways contribute to the processing of opposite valences. The review examines how a range of neuromodulators, especially monoamines, influence the NAc's control over various motivational states. Furthermore, it delves into the complex underlying mechanisms of psychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression and evaluates prospective interventions to restore NAc functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Kuikui Zhou
- School of Health and Life Sciences, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China
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5
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Weber SJ, Kawa AB, Moutier AL, Beutler MM, Koyshman LM, Moreno CD, Westlake JG, Wunsch AM, Wolf ME. Dopamine transmission at D1 and D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens contributes to the expression of incubation of cocaine craving. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.26.600812. [PMID: 38979157 PMCID: PMC11230461 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.26.600812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Relapse represents a consistent clinical problem for individuals with substance use disorder. In the incubation of craving model of persistent craving and relapse, cue-induced drug seeking progressively intensifies or 'incubates' during the first weeks of abstinence from drug self-administration and then remains high for months. Previously, we and others have demonstrated that expression of incubated cocaine craving requires strengthening of excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcc). However, despite the importance of dopaminergic signaling in the NAcc for motivated behavior, little is known about the role that dopamine (DA) plays in the incubation of cocaine craving. Here we used fiber photometry to measure DA transients in the NAcc of male and female rats during cue-induced seeking tests conducted in early abstinence from cocaine self-administration, prior to incubation, and late abstinence, after incubation of craving has plateaued. We observed DA transients time-locked to cue-induced responding but their magnitude did not differ significantly when measured during early versus late abstinence seeking tests. Next, we tested for a functional role of these DA transients by injecting DA receptor antagonists into the NAcc just before the cue-induced seeking test. Blockade of either D1 or D2 DA receptors reduced cue-induced cocaine seeking after but not before incubation. We found no main effect of sex in our experiments. These results suggest that DA contributes to incubated cocaine seeking but the emergence of this role reflects changes in postsynaptic responsiveness to DA rather than presynaptic alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia J Weber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Alex B Kawa
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Alana L Moutier
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Madelyn M Beutler
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Lara M Koyshman
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Cloe D Moreno
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Jonathan G Westlake
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Amanda M Wunsch
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
| | - Marina E Wolf
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
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6
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Abbondanza A, Urushadze A, Alves-Barboza AR, Janickova H. Expression and function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in specific neuronal populations: Focus on striatal and prefrontal circuits. Pharmacol Res 2024; 204:107190. [PMID: 38704107 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107190] [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: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely expressed in the central nervous system and play an important role in the control of neural functions including neuronal activity, transmitter release and synaptic plasticity. Although the common subtypes of nAChRs are abundantly expressed throughout the brain, their expression in different brain regions and by individual neuronal types is not homogeneous or incidental. In recent years, several studies have emerged showing that particular subtypes of nAChRs are expressed by specific neuronal populations in which they have major influence on the activity of local circuits and behavior. It has been demonstrated that even nAChRs expressed by relatively rare neuronal types can induce significant changes in behavior and contribute to pathological processes. Depending on the identity and connectivity of the particular nAChRs-expressing neuronal populations, the activation of nAChRs can have distinct or even opposing effects on local neuronal signaling. In this review, we will summarize the available literature describing the expression of individual nicotinic subunits by different neuronal types in two crucial brain regions, the striatum and the prefrontal cortex. The review will also briefly discuss nicotinic expression in non-neuronal, glial cells, as they cannot be ignored as potential targets of nAChRs-modulating drugs. The final section will discuss options that could allow us to target nAChRs in a neuronal-type-specific manner, not only in the experimental field, but also eventually in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Abbondanza
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 14200, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Urushadze
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 14200, Czech Republic
| | - Amanda Rosanna Alves-Barboza
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 14200, Czech Republic
| | - Helena Janickova
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 14200, Czech Republic.
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7
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Sharma R, Chischolm A, Parikh M, Kempuraj D, Thakkar M. Cholinergic Interneurons in the Accumbal Shell Region Regulate Binge Alcohol Self-Administration in Mice: An In Vivo Calcium Imaging Study. Brain Sci 2024; 14:484. [PMID: 38790462 PMCID: PMC11120271 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14050484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Recently, we and others have shown that manipulating the activity of cholinergic interneurons (CIN) present in the NAc can modulate binge alcohol consumption. The present study is designed to examine the relationship between binge alcohol consumption and the activity of the CIN in real time by using an in vivo microendoscopic technique. We hypothesized that mice exposed to Drinking in the Dark (DID)-a recognized mouse model for binge drinking-would exhibit increased activity in the accumbal shell region (NAcSh). To test this hypothesis, male mice expressing Cre-recombinase in the cholinergic neurons were exposed to binge alcohol consumption (alcohol group), employing the DID method, and utilized in vivo calcium imaging to observe CIN activity in real time during alcohol consumption. The control (sucrose) group was exposed to 10% (w/v) sucrose. As compared to sucrose, mice in the alcohol group displayed a significant increase in the frequency and amplitude of discharge activity, which was measured using calcium transients in the CIN present in the NAcSh. In summary, our findings suggest that the activity of CIN in the NAcSh plays a crucial role in alcohol self-administration. These results emphasize the potential significance of targeting CIN activity as a therapeutic approach for addressing AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Mahesh Thakkar
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA; (R.S.); (A.C.); (M.P.); (D.K.)
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McFarland MH, Machado MMF, Sansbury GM, Musselman KC, Boero G, O'Buckley TK, Carr CC, Morrow AL, Robinson DL. Acute, but not repeated, cocaine exposure alters allopregnanolone levels in the midbrain of male and female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1011-1025. [PMID: 38282126 PMCID: PMC11180476 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06534-8] [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: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Multiple psychiatric disorders are associated with altered brain and serum levels of neuroactive steroids, including the endogenous GABAergic steroid, allopregnanolone. Clinically, chronic cocaine use was correlated with decreased levels of pregnenolone. Preclinically, the effect of acute cocaine on allopregnanolone levels in rodents has had mixed results, showing an increase or no change in allopregnanolone levels in some brain regions. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that cocaine acutely increases allopregnanolone levels, but repeated cocaine exposure decreases allopregnanolone levels compared to controls. METHODS We performed two separate studies to determine how systemic administration of 15 mg/kg cocaine (1) acutely or (2) chronically alters brain (olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, dorsal striatum, and midbrain) and serum allopregnanolone levels in adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. RESULTS Cocaine acutely increased allopregnanolone levels in the midbrain, but not in olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, or dorsal striatum. Repeated cocaine did not persistently (24 h later) alter allopregnanolone levels in any region in either sex. However, allopregnanolone levels varied by sex across brain regions. In the acute study, we found that females had significantly higher allopregnanolone levels in serum and olfactory bulb relative to males. In the repeated cocaine study, females had significantly higher allopregnanolone levels in olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, and serum. Finally, acute cocaine increased allopregnanolone levels in the frontal cortex of females in proestrus, relative to non-proestrus stages. CONCLUSION Collectively these results suggest that allopregnanolone levels vary across brain regions and by sex, which may play a part in differential responses to cocaine by sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna H McFarland
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Meira M F Machado
- Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Griffin M Sansbury
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Kate C Musselman
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Giorgia Boero
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Todd K O'Buckley
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Crystal C Carr
- Department of Psychology, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC, 29303, USA
| | - A Leslie Morrow
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Donita L Robinson
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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Pastor V, Medina JH. α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in memory processing. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:2138-2154. [PMID: 36634032 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Information storage in the brain involves different memory types and stages that are processed by several brain regions. Cholinergic pathways through acetylcholine receptors actively participate on memory modulation, and their disfunction is associated with cognitive decline in several neurological disorders. During the last decade, the role of α7 subtype of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in different memory stages has been studied. However, the information about their role in memory processing is still scarce. In this review, we attempt to identify brain areas where α7 nicotinic receptors have an essential role in different memory types and stages. In addition, we discuss recent work implicating-or not-α7 nicotinic receptors as promising pharmacological targets for memory impairment associated with neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Pastor
- Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (IBCN), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jorge H Medina
- Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo De Robertis" (IBCN), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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10
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Sharma R, Chischolm A, Parikh M, Thakkar M. Cholinergic interneurons in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens regulate binge alcohol consumption: A chemogenetic and genetic lesion study. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 48:827-842. [PMID: 38549545 PMCID: PMC11073918 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Binge drinking, characterized by heavy episodic alcohol consumption, poses significant health hazards and increases the likelihood of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Given the growing prevalence of this behavior and its negative consequences, there is a need to explore novel therapeutic targets. Accumulating evidence suggests that cholinergic interneurons (CIN) within the shell region of the nucleus accumbens (NAcSh) play a critical role in reward and addiction. However, their specific involvement in binge alcohol administration remains unclear. We hypothesized that CIN in the NAcSh regulates binge alcohol consumption. METHODS To test this hypothesis, we used male ChAT-cre mice expressing Cre-recombinase in cholinergic neurons. We performed chemogenetic manipulation using Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADD) to examine the activity, and genetic ablation of CIN in the NAcSh to examine the amount of alcohol consumed in mice exposed to binge alcohol consumption using the 4-Days Drinking-in-Dark (DID) paradigm. The impact of CIN manipulations in the NAcSh on sucrose self-administration was used to control for taste and caloric effects. Additionally, in a separate group of mice, c-Fos immunofluorescence was employed to verify chemogenetic activation or inhibition. Histological and immunohistochemical techniques were used to verify microinfusion sites, DREADD expression in CINs, and genetic ablation. RESULTS We found that, while chemogenetic activation of CIN in the NAcSh caused a significant increase in alcohol consumption, chemogenetic inhibition or genetic ablation of CIN significantly reduced the amount of alcohol consumed without affecting sucrose self-administration. The chemogenetic inhibition caused a significant reduction, whereas activation caused a significant increase, in the number of c-Fos-labeled CIN in the NAcSh. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the crucial involvement of CIN in the NAcSh in modulating binge alcohol consumption, suggesting that targeting these neurons could serve to modify alcohol-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rishi Sharma
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Abigail Chischolm
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Meet Parikh
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Mahesh Thakkar
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and Department of Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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11
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Arai M, Suzuki E, Kitamura S, Otaki M, Kanai K, Yamasaki M, Watanabe M, Kambe Y, Murata K, Takada Y, Arisawa T, Kobayashi K, Tajika R, Miyazaki T, Yamaguchi M, Lazarus M, Hayashi Y, Itohara S, de Kerchove d'Exaerde A, Nawa H, Kim R, Bito H, Momiyama T, Masukawa D, Goshima Y. Enhancement of Haloperidol-Induced Catalepsy by GPR143, an L-Dopa Receptor, in Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1504232024. [PMID: 38286627 PMCID: PMC10941237 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1504-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Dopamine neurons play crucial roles in pleasure, reward, memory, learning, and fine motor skills and their dysfunction is associated with various neuropsychiatric diseases. Dopamine receptors are the main target of treatment for neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Antipsychotics that antagonize the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) are used to alleviate the symptoms of these disorders but may also sometimes cause disabling side effects such as parkinsonism (catalepsy in rodents). Here we show that GPR143, a G-protein-coupled receptor for L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), expressed in striatal cholinergic interneurons enhances the DRD2-mediated side effects of haloperidol, an antipsychotic agent. Haloperidol-induced catalepsy was attenuated in male Gpr143 gene-deficient (Gpr143-/y ) mice compared with wild-type (Wt) mice. Reducing the endogenous release of L-DOPA and preventing interactions between GPR143 and DRD2 suppressed the haloperidol-induced catalepsy in Wt mice but not Gpr143-/y mice. The phenotypic defect in Gpr143-/y mice was mimicked in cholinergic interneuron-specific Gpr143-/y (Chat-cre;Gpr143flox/y ) mice. Administration of haloperidol increased the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 at Ser240/244 in the dorsolateral striatum of Wt mice but not Chat-cre;Gpr143flox/y mice. In Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing DRD2, co-expression of GPR143 increased cell surface expression level of DRD2, and L-DOPA application further enhanced the DRD2 surface expression. Shorter pauses in cholinergic interneuron firing activity were observed after intrastriatal stimulation in striatal slice preparations from Chat-cre;Gpr143flox/y mice compared with those from Wt mice. Together, these findings provide evidence that GPR143 regulates DRD2 function in cholinergic interneurons and may be involved in parkinsonism induced by antipsychotic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masami Arai
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Etsuko Suzuki
- Department of Pharmacology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kitamura
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Momoyo Otaki
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Kaori Kanai
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Miwako Yamasaki
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan
| | - Masahiko Watanabe
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan
| | - Yuki Kambe
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0075, Japan
| | - Koshi Murata
- Division of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-0017, Japan
| | - Yuuki Takada
- Department of Physiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Tetsu Arisawa
- Department of Physiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
- Radioisotope Research Center, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Kenta Kobayashi
- Section of Viral Vector Development, Center for Genetic Analysis of Behavior, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Rei Tajika
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Tomoyuki Miyazaki
- Department of Physiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yamaguchi
- Department of Physiology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi 783-8505, Japan
| | - Michael Lazarus
- Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan
- International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan
| | - Yu Hayashi
- International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Shigeyoshi Itohara
- Laboratory for Behavioral Genetics, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | | | - Hiroyuki Nawa
- Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wakayama Medical University. Wakayama-city, Wakayama 640-8156, Japan
| | - Ryang Kim
- Department of Neurochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Haruhiko Bito
- Department of Neurochemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Toshihiko Momiyama
- Department of Pharmacology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
| | - Daiki Masukawa
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Yoshio Goshima
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neurobiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
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12
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McDevitt DS, Wade QW, McKendrick GE, Nelsen J, Starostina M, Tran N, Blendy JA, Graziane NM. The Paraventricular Thalamic Nucleus and Its Projections in Regulating Reward and Context Associations. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0524-23.2024. [PMID: 38351131 PMCID: PMC10883411 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0524-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) is a brain region that mediates aversive and reward-related behaviors as shown in animals exposed to fear conditioning, natural rewards, or drugs of abuse. However, it is unknown whether manipulations of the PVT, in the absence of external factors or stimuli (e.g., fear, natural rewards, or drugs of abuse), are sufficient to drive reward-related behaviors. Additionally, it is unknown whether drugs of abuse administered directly into the PVT are sufficient to drive reward-related behaviors. Here, using behavioral as well as pathway and cell-type specific approaches, we manipulate PVT activity as well as the PVT-to-nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) neurocircuit to explore reward phenotypes. First, we show that bath perfusion of morphine (10 µM) caused hyperpolarization of the resting membrane potential, increased rheobase, and decreased intrinsic membrane excitability in PVT neurons that project to the NAcSh. Additionally, we found that direct injections of morphine (50 ng) in the PVT of mice were sufficient to generate conditioned place preference (CPP) for the morphine-paired chamber. Mimicking the inhibitory effect of morphine, we employed a chemogenetic approach to inhibit PVT neurons that projected to the NAcSh and found that pairing the inhibition of these PVT neurons with a specific context evoked the acquisition of CPP. Lastly, using brain slice electrophysiology, we found that bath-perfused morphine (10 µM) significantly reduced PVT excitatory synaptic transmission on both dopamine D1 and D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons in the NAcSh, but that inhibiting PVT afferents in the NAcSh was not sufficient to evoke CPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon S McDevitt
- Neuroscience Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Quinn W Wade
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Greer E McKendrick
- Neuroscience Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Jacob Nelsen
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Mariya Starostina
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Nam Tran
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Julie A Blendy
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Nicholas M Graziane
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
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13
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Sicre M, Ambroggi F, Meffre J. Two Distinct Neuronal Populations in the Rat Parafascicular Nucleus Oppositely Encode the Engagement in Stimulus-driven Reward-seeking. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:1551-1565. [PMID: 38847144 PMCID: PMC11097993 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x22666240131114225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The thalamus is a phylogenetically well-preserved structure. Known to densely contact cortical regions, its role in the transmission of sensory information to the striatal complex has been widely reconsidered in recent years. METHODS The parafascicular nucleus of the thalamus (Pf) has been implicated in the orientation of attention toward salient sensory stimuli. In a stimulus-driven reward-seeking task, we sought to characterize the electrophysiological activity of Pf neurons in rats. RESULTS We observed a predominance of excitatory over inhibitory responses for all events in the task. Neurons responded more strongly to the stimulus compared to lever-pressing and reward collecting, confirming the strong involvement of the Pf in sensory information processing. The use of long sessions allowed us to compare neuronal responses to stimuli between trials when animals were engaged in action and those when they were not. We distinguished two populations of neurons with opposite responses: MOTIV+ neurons responded more intensely to stimuli followed by a behavioral response than those that were not. Conversely, MOTIV- neurons responded more strongly when the animal did not respond to the stimulus. In addition, the latency of excitation of MOTIV- neurons was shorter than that of MOTIV+ neurons. CONCLUSION Through this encoding, the Pf could perform an early selection of environmental stimuli transmitted to the striatum according to motivational level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Sicre
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, UMR 7291, Marseille, France
| | - Frederic Ambroggi
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, UMR 7291, Marseille, France
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Marseille, France
| | - Julie Meffre
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, UMR 7291, Marseille, France
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14
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Loftén A, Adermark L, Ericson M, Söderpalm B. Regulation of ethanol-mediated dopamine elevation by glycine receptors located on cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens. Addict Biol 2023; 28:e13349. [PMID: 38017639 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is one of the major psychiatric disorders worldwide, and there are many factors and effects contributing to the disorder, for example, the experience of ethanol reward. The rewarding and reinforcing properties of ethanol have been linked to activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system, an effect that appears to involve glycine receptors (GlyRs) in the nucleus accumbens. On which neuronal subtypes these receptors are located is, however, not known. The aim of this study was to explore the role of GlyRs on cholinergic interneurons (CIN) in sustaining extracellular dopamine levels and in ethanol-induced dopamine release. To this end, CIN were ablated by anti-choline acetyltransferase-saporin administered locally in the nucleus accumbens of male Wistar rats. Changes in dopamine levels induced by ablation, ethanol and/or a GlyR antagonist were monitored using in vivo microdialysis. The GlyRs antagonist strychnine depressed extracellular dopamine in a similar manner independent on local ablation, suggesting that GlyRs on CIN are not important for sustaining the extracellular dopamine tone. However, a low concentration of strychnine hampered ethanol-induced dopamine release in sham-treated animals, whilst no reduction was seen in ablated animals, suggesting that GlyRs located on CIN are involved in ethanol-induced dopamine release. Further, in ablated rats, ethanol-induced increases of the extracellular levels of the GlyR agonists glycine and taurine were attenuated. In conclusion, this study suggests that CIN are not important for GlyR-mediated regulation of basal dopamine output, but that CIN ablation blunts the ethanol-induced dopamine release, putatively by reducing the release of GlyR agonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Loftén
- Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Beroendekliniken, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Louise Adermark
- Department of Pharmacology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Mia Ericson
- Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Bo Söderpalm
- Addiction Biology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Beroendekliniken, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
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15
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Serra GP, Guillaumin A, Vlcek B, Delgado-Zabalza L, Ricci A, Rubino E, Dumas S, Baufreton J, Georges F, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. A role for the subthalamic nucleus in aversive learning. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113328. [PMID: 37925641 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is critical for behavioral control; its dysregulation consequently correlated with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the STN successfully alleviates parkinsonian motor symptoms. However, low mood and depression are affective side effects. STN is adjoined with para-STN, associated with appetitive and aversive behavior. DBS aimed at STN might unintentionally modulate para-STN, causing aversion. Alternatively, the STN mediates aversion. To investigate causality between STN and aversion, affective behavior is addressed using optogenetics in mice. Selective promoters allow dissociation of STN (e.g., Pitx2) vs. para-STN (Tac1). Acute photostimulation results in aversion via both STN and para-STN. However, only STN stimulation-paired cues cause conditioned avoidance and only STN stimulation interrupts on-going sugar self-administration. Electrophysiological recordings identify post-synaptic responses in pallidal neurons, and selective photostimulation of STN terminals in the ventral pallidum replicates STN-induced aversion. Identifying STN as a source of aversive learning contributes neurobiological underpinnings to emotional affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Pietro Serra
- Uppsala University, Department of Organism Biology, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Adriane Guillaumin
- Uppsala University, Department of Organism Biology, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden; University of Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN, UMR 5293, 33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Bianca Vlcek
- Uppsala University, Department of Organism Biology, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Alessia Ricci
- Uppsala University, Department of Organism Biology, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Eleonora Rubino
- Uppsala University, Department of Organism Biology, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Jérôme Baufreton
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN, UMR 5293, 33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - François Georges
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN, UMR 5293, 33000 Bordeaux, France
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16
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Domingues AV, Rodrigues AJ, Soares-Cunha C. A novel perspective on the role of nucleus accumbens neurons in encoding associative learning. FEBS Lett 2023; 597:2601-2610. [PMID: 37643893 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been considered a key brain region for encoding reward/aversion and cue-outcome associations. These processes are encoded by medium spiny neurons that express either dopamine receptor D1 (D1-MSNs) or D2 (D2-MSNs). Despite the well-established role of NAc neurons in encoding reward/aversion, the underlying processing by D1-/D2-MSNs remains largely unknown. Recent electrophysiological, optogenetic and calcium imaging studies provided insight on the complex role of D1- and D2-MSNs in these behaviours and helped to clarify their involvement in associative learning. Here, we critically discuss findings supporting an intricate and complementary role of NAc D1- and D2-MSNs in associative learning, emphasizing the need for additional studies in order to fully understand the role of these neurons in behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Verónica Domingues
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Ana João Rodrigues
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Carina Soares-Cunha
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
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17
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Chancey JH, Kellendonk C, Javitch JA, Lovinger DM. Dopaminergic D2 receptor modulation of striatal cholinergic interneurons contributes to sequence learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.28.554807. [PMID: 37693570 PMCID: PMC10491092 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.28.554807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Learning action sequences is necessary for normal daily activities. Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the dorsal striatum (dStr) encode action sequences through changes in firing at the start and/or stop of action sequences or sustained changes in firing throughout the sequence. Acetylcholine (ACh), released from cholinergic interneurons (ChIs), regulates striatal function by modulating MSN and interneuron excitability, dopamine and glutamate release, and synaptic plasticity. Cholinergic neurons in dStr pause their tonic firing during the performance of learned action sequences. Activation of dopamine type-2 receptors (D2Rs) on ChIs is one mechanism of ChI pausing. In this study we show that deleting D2Rs from ChIs by crossing D2-floxed with ChAT-Cre mice (D2Flox-ChATCre), which inhibits dopamine-mediated ChI pausing and leads to deficits in an operant action sequence task and lower breakpoints in a progressive ratio task. These data suggest that D2Flox-ChATCre mice have reduced motivation to work for sucrose reward, but show no generalized motor skill deficits. D2Flox-ChATCre mice perform similarly to controls in a simple reversal learning task, indicating normal behavioral flexibility, a cognitive function associated with ChIs. In vivo electrophysiological recordings show that D2Flox-ChatCre mice have deficits in sequence encoding, with fewer dStr MSNs encoding entire action sequences compared to controls. Thus, ChI D2R deletion appears to impair a neural substrate of action chunking. Virally replacing D2Rs in dStr ChIs in adult mice improves action sequence learning, but not the lower breakpoints, further suggesting that D2Rs on ChIs in the dStr are critical for sequence learning, but not for driving the motivational aspects of the task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Hotard Chancey
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA, 20852
| | - Christoph Kellendonk
- Departments of Psychiatry and Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA, 10032
| | - Jonathan A. Javitch
- Departments of Psychiatry and Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA, 10032
| | - David M. Lovinger
- Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA, 20852
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18
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Gallegos DA, Minto M, Liu F, Hazlett MF, Aryana Yousefzadeh S, Bartelt LC, West AE. Cell-type specific transcriptional adaptations of nucleus accumbens interneurons to amphetamine. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3414-3428. [PMID: 35173267 PMCID: PMC9378812 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01466-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) interneurons of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) play an essential role in the addictive-like behaviors induced by psychostimulant exposure. To identify molecular mechanisms of PV+ neuron plasticity, we isolated interneuron nuclei from the NAc of male and female mice following acute or repeated exposure to amphetamine (AMPH) and sequenced for cell type-specific RNA expression and chromatin accessibility. AMPH regulated the transcription of hundreds of genes in PV+ interneurons, and this program was largely distinct from that regulated in other NAc GABAergic neurons. Chromatin accessibility at enhancers predicted cell-type specific gene regulation, identifying transcriptional mechanisms of differential AMPH responses. Finally, we assessed expression of PV-enriched, AMPH-regulated genes in an Mecp2 mutant mouse strain that shows heightened behavioral sensitivity to psychostimulants to explore the functional importance of this transcriptional program. Together these data provide novel insight into the cell-type specific programs of transcriptional plasticity in NAc neurons that underlie addictive-like behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Gallegos
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Melyssa Minto
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Fang Liu
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Mariah F Hazlett
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Luke C Bartelt
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Anne E West
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
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19
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Gangal H, Xie X, Huang Z, Cheng Y, Wang X, Lu J, Zhuang X, Essoh A, Huang Y, Chen R, Smith LN, Smith RJ, Wang J. Drug reinforcement impairs cognitive flexibility by inhibiting striatal cholinergic neurons. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3886. [PMID: 37391566 PMCID: PMC10313783 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39623-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Addictive substance use impairs cognitive flexibility, with unclear underlying mechanisms. The reinforcement of substance use is mediated by the striatal direct-pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs) that project to the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). Cognitive flexibility is mediated by striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs), which receive extensive striatal inhibition. Here, we hypothesized that increased dMSN activity induced by substance use inhibits CINs, reducing cognitive flexibility. We found that cocaine administration in rodents caused long-lasting potentiation of local inhibitory dMSN-to-CIN transmission and decreased CIN firing in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS), a brain region critical for cognitive flexibility. Moreover, chemogenetic and time-locked optogenetic inhibition of DMS CINs suppressed flexibility of goal-directed behavior in instrumental reversal learning tasks. Notably, rabies-mediated tracing and physiological studies showed that SNr-projecting dMSNs, which mediate reinforcement, sent axonal collaterals to inhibit DMS CINs, which mediate flexibility. Our findings demonstrate that the local inhibitory dMSN-to-CIN circuit mediates the reinforcement-induced deficits in cognitive flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himanshu Gangal
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Xueyi Xie
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Zhenbo Huang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Yifeng Cheng
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Xuehua Wang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Jiayi Lu
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Xiaowen Zhuang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Amanda Essoh
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
| | - Yufei Huang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Ruifeng Chen
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
- Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Laura N Smith
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Rachel J Smith
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807, USA.
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
- Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
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20
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Phillips RA, Tuscher JJ, Fitzgerald ND, Wan E, Zipperly ME, Duke CG, Ianov L, Day JJ. Distinct subpopulations of D1 medium spiny neurons exhibit unique transcriptional responsiveness to cocaine. Mol Cell Neurosci 2023; 125:103849. [PMID: 36965548 PMCID: PMC10898607 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2023.103849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Drugs of abuse increase extracellular concentrations of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), resulting in transcriptional alterations that drive long-lasting cellular and behavioral adaptations. While decades of research have focused on the transcriptional mechanisms by which drugs of abuse influence neuronal physiology and function, few studies have comprehensively defined NAc cell type heterogeneity in transcriptional responses to drugs of abuse. Here, we used single nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) to characterize the transcriptome of over 39,000 NAc cells from male and female adult Sprague-Dawley rats following acute or repeated cocaine experience. This dataset identified 16 transcriptionally distinct cell populations, including two populations of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) that express the Drd1 dopamine receptor (D1-MSNs). Critically, while both populations expressed classic marker genes of D1-MSNs, only one population exhibited a robust transcriptional response to cocaine. Validation of population-selective transcripts using RNA in situ hybridization revealed distinct spatial compartmentalization of these D1-MSN populations within the NAc. Finally, analysis of published NAc snRNA-seq datasets from non-human primates and humans demonstrated conservation of MSN subtypes across rat and higher order mammals, and further highlighted cell type-specific transcriptional differences across the NAc and broader striatum. These results highlight the utility in using snRNA-seq to characterize both cell type heterogeneity and cell type-specific responses to cocaine and provides a useful resource for cross-species comparisons of NAc cell composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Phillips
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jennifer J Tuscher
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - N Dalton Fitzgerald
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Ethan Wan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Morgan E Zipperly
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Corey G Duke
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Lara Ianov
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA; Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jeremy J Day
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
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21
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Robison AJ. Histamine Regulates Accumbens Microcircuits: An Arousing Finding for Addiction Research. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:964-965. [PMID: 37197836 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.03.008] [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: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alfred J Robison
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
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22
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Gao TT, Oh T, Mehta K, Huang YA, Camp T, Fan H, Han JW, Barnes CM, Zhang K. The clinical potential of optogenetic interrogation of pathogenesis. Clin Transl Med 2023; 13:e1243. [PMID: 37132114 PMCID: PMC10154842 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Opsin-based optogenetics has emerged as a powerful biomedical tool using light to control protein conformation. Such capacity has been initially demonstrated to control ion flow across the cell membrane, enabling precise control of action potential in excitable cells such as neurons or muscle cells. Further advancement in optogenetics incorporates a greater variety of photoactivatable proteins and results in flexible control of biological processes, such as gene expression and signal transduction, with commonly employed light sources such as LEDs or lasers in optical microscopy. Blessed by the precise genetic targeting specificity and superior spatiotemporal resolution, optogenetics offers new biological insights into physiological and pathological mechanisms underlying health and diseases. Recently, its clinical potential has started to be capitalized, particularly for blindness treatment, due to the convenient light delivery into the eye. AIMS AND METHODS This work summarizes the progress of current clinical trials and provides a brief overview of basic structures and photophysics of commonly used photoactivable proteins. We highlight recent achievements such as optogenetic control of the chimeric antigen receptor, CRISPR-Cas system, gene expression, and organelle dynamics. We discuss conceptual innovation and technical challenges faced by current optogenetic research. CONCLUSION In doing so, we provide a framework that showcases ever-growing applications of optogenetics in biomedical research and may inform novel precise medicine strategies based on this enabling technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Terry Gao
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Teak‐Jung Oh
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Kritika Mehta
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Yu‐En Andrew Huang
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignCenter for Biophysics and Quantitative BiologyUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Tyler Camp
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Huaxun Fan
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Jeong Won Han
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Collin Michael Barnes
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
| | - Kai Zhang
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignDepartment of BiochemistryUrbanaIllinoisUSA
- University of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignCenter for Biophysics and Quantitative BiologyUrbanaIllinoisUSA
- Cancer Center at IllinoisUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
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23
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Walker NB, Yan Y, Tapia MA, Tucker BR, Thomas LN, George BE, West AM, Marotta CB, Lester HA, Dougherty DA, Holleran KM, Jones SR, Drenan RM. β2 nAChR Activation on VTA DA Neurons Is Sufficient for Nicotine Reinforcement in Rats. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0449-22.2023. [PMID: 37193602 PMCID: PMC10216253 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0449-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Mesolimbic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChRs) activation is necessary for nicotine reinforcement behavior, but it is unknown whether selective activation of nAChRs in the dopamine (DA) reward pathway is sufficient to support nicotine reinforcement. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that activation of β2-containing (β2*) nAChRs on VTA neurons is sufficient for intravenous nicotine self-administration (SA). We expressed β2 nAChR subunits with enhanced sensitivity to nicotine (referred to as β2Leu9'Ser) in the VTA of male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, enabling very low concentrations of nicotine to selectively activate β2* nAChRs on transduced neurons. Rats expressing β2Leu9'Ser subunits acquired nicotine SA at 1.5 μg/kg/infusion, a dose too low to support acquisition in control rats. Saline substitution extinguished responding for 1.5 μg/kg/inf, verifying that this dose was reinforcing. β2Leu9'Ser nAChRs also supported acquisition at the typical training dose in rats (30 μg/kg/inf) and reducing the dose to 1.5 μg/kg/inf caused a significant increase in the rate of nicotine SA. Viral expression of β2Leu9'Ser subunits only in VTA DA neurons (via TH-Cre rats) also enabled acquisition of nicotine SA at 1.5 μg/kg/inf, and saline substitution significantly attenuated responding. Next, we examined electrically-evoked DA release in slices from β2Leu9'Ser rats with a history of nicotine SA. Single-pulse evoked DA release and DA uptake rate were reduced in β2Leu9'Ser NAc slices, but relative increases in DA following a train of stimuli were preserved. These results are the first to report that β2* nAChR activation on VTA neurons is sufficient for nicotine reinforcement in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah B Walker
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Yijin Yan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Melissa A Tapia
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Brenton R Tucker
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Leanne N Thomas
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Brianna E George
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Alyssa M West
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Christopher B Marotta
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106
| | - Henry A Lester
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106
| | - Dennis A Dougherty
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106
| | - Katherine M Holleran
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Sara R Jones
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Ryan M Drenan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
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24
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Sippy T, Tritsch NX. Unraveling the dynamics of dopamine release and its actions on target cells. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:228-239. [PMID: 36635111 PMCID: PMC10204099 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The neuromodulator dopamine (DA) is essential for regulating learning, motivation, and movement. Despite its importance, however, the mechanisms by which DA influences the activity of target cells to alter behavior remain poorly understood. In this review, we describe recent methodological advances that are helping to overcome challenges that have historically hindered the field. We discuss how the employment of these methods is shedding light on the complex dynamics of extracellular DA in the brain, as well as how DA signaling alters the electrical, biochemical, and population activity of target neurons in vivo. These developments are generating novel hypotheses about the mechanisms through which DA release modifies behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya Sippy
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Nicolas X Tritsch
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
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25
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Codianni MG, Rubin JE. A spiking computational model for striatal cholinergic interneurons. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:589-611. [PMID: 36653544 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02604-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cholinergic interneurons in the striatum, also known as tonically active interneurons or TANs, are thought to have a strong effect on corticostriatal plasticity and on striatal activity and outputs, which in turn play a critical role in modulating downstream basal ganglia activity and movement. Striatal TANs can exhibit a variety of firing patterns and responses to synaptic inputs; furthermore, they have been found to display various surges and pauses in activity associated with sensory cues and reward delivery in learning as well as with motor tic production. To help explain the factors that contribute to TAN activity patterns and to provide a resource for future studies, we present a novel conductance-based computational model of a striatal TAN. We show that this model produces the various characteristic firing patterns observed in recordings of TANs. With a single baseline tuning associated with tonic firing, the model also captures a wide range of TAN behaviors found in previous experiments involving a variety of manipulations. In addition to demonstrating these results, we explain how various ionic currents in the model contribute to them. Finally, we use this model to explore the contributions of the acetylcholine released by TANs to the production of surges and pauses in TAN activity in response to strong excitatory inputs. These results provide predictions for future experimental testing that may help with efforts to advance our understanding of the role of TANs in reinforcement learning and in motor disorders such as Tourette's syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello G Codianni
- Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Jonathan E Rubin
- Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA. .,Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
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26
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Gimenez-Gomez P, Le T, Martin GE. Modulation of neuronal excitability by binge alcohol drinking. Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1098211. [PMID: 36866357 PMCID: PMC9971943 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1098211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug use poses a serious threat to health systems throughout the world. The number of consumers rises every year being alcohol the drug of abuse most consumed causing 3 million deaths (5.3% of all deaths) worldwide and 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years. In this review, we present an up-to-date summary about what is known regarding the global impact of binge alcohol drinking on brains and how it affects the development of cognitive functions, as well as the various preclinical models used to probe its effects on the neurobiology of the brain. This will be followed by a detailed report on the state of our current knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the effects of binge drinking on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity, with an emphasis on brain regions of the meso-cortico limbic neurocircuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Gimenez-Gomez
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
- The Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Timmy Le
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
- The Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Gilles E. Martin
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
- The Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
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27
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Ren P, Ding W, Li S, Liu G, Luo M, Zhou W, Cheng R, Li Y, Wang P, Li Z, Yao L, Jiang Q, Liang X. Regional transcriptional vulnerability to basal forebrain functional dysconnectivity in mild cognitive impairment patients. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 177:105983. [PMID: 36586468 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM), one of the earliest targets of Alzheimer's disease (AD), may act as a seed for pathological spreading to its connected regions. However, the underlying basis of regional vulnerability to NbM dysconnectivity remains unclear. NbM functional dysconnectivity was assessed using resting-state fMRI data of health controls and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI2/GO phase). Transcriptional correlates of NbM dysconnectivity was explored by leveraging public intrinsic and differential post-mortem brain-wide gene expression datasets from Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA) and Mount Sinai Brain Bank (MSBB). By constructing an individual-level tissue-specific gene set risk score (TGRS), we evaluated the contribution of NbM dysconnectivity-correlated gene sets to change rate of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers during preclinical stage of AD, as well as to MCI onset age. An independent cohort of health controls and MCI patients from ADNI3 was used to validate our main findings. Between-group comparison revealed significant connectivity reduction between the right NbM and right middle temporal gyrus in MCI. This regional vulnerability to NbM dysconnectivity correlated with intrinsic expression of genes enriched in protein and immune functions, as well as with differential expression of genes enriched in cholinergic receptors, immune, vascular and energy metabolism functions. TGRS of these NbM dysconnectivity-correlated gene sets are associated with longitudinal amyloid-beta change at preclinical stages of AD, and contributed to MCI onset age independent of traditional AD risks. Our findings revealed the transcriptional vulnerability to NbM dysconnectivity and their crucial role in explaining preclinical amyloid-beta change and MCI onset age, which offer new insights into the early AD pathology and encourage more investigation and clinical trials targeting NbM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Ren
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Wencai Ding
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Siyang Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Guiyou Liu
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Meng Luo
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Wenyang Zhou
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Rui Cheng
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yiqun Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Pingping Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Zhipeng Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Lifen Yao
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Qinghua Jiang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Key Laboratory of Biological Big Data (Harbin Institute of Technology), Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001, China.
| | - Xia Liang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China.
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28
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Phillips RA, Tuscher JJ, Fitzgerald ND, Wan E, Zipperly ME, Duke CG, Ianov L, Day JJ. Distinct subpopulations of D1 medium spiny neurons exhibit unique transcriptional responsiveness to cocaine. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.12.523845. [PMID: 36711527 PMCID: PMC9882178 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.12.523845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Drugs of abuse increase extracellular concentrations of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), resulting in transcriptional alterations that drive long-lasting cellular and behavioral adaptations. While decades of research have focused on the transcriptional mechanisms by which drugs of abuse influence neuronal physiology and function, few studies have comprehensively defined NAc cell type heterogeneity in transcriptional responses to drugs of abuse. Here, we used single nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) to characterize the transcriptome of over 39,000 NAc cells from male and female adult Sprague-Dawley rats following acute or repeated cocaine experience. This dataset identified 16 transcriptionally distinct cell populations, including two populations of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) that express the Drd1 dopamine receptor (D1-MSNs). Critically, while both populations expressed classic marker genes of D1-MSNs, only one population exhibited a robust transcriptional response to cocaine. Validation of population-selective transcripts using RNA in situ hybridization revealed distinct spatial compartmentalization of these D1-MSN populations within the NAc. Finally, analysis of published NAc snRNA-seq datasets from non-human primates and humans demonstrated conservation of MSN subtypes across rat and higher order mammals, and further highlighted cell type-specific transcriptional differences across the NAc and broader striatum. These results highlight the utility in using snRNA-seq to characterize both cell type heterogeneity and cell type-specific responses to cocaine and provides a useful resource for cross-species comparisons of NAc cell composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. Phillips
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jennifer J. Tuscher
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - N. Dalton Fitzgerald
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Ethan Wan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Morgan E. Zipperly
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Corey G. Duke
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Lara Ianov
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
- Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Jeremy J. Day
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
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29
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Feng L, Lo H, You H, Wu W, Cheng X, Xin J, Ye Z, Chen X, Pan X. Loss of cannabinoid receptor 2 promotes α-Synuclein-induced microglial synaptic pruning in nucleus accumbens by modulating the pCREB-c-Fos signaling pathway and complement system. Exp Neurol 2023; 359:114230. [PMID: 36162511 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The disruption of nucleus accumbens (NAc) function impacts mood and learning behavior in α-Synucleinopathy, in which microglial synaptic pruning plays a pivotal role in modulating the neuropathologic progression. Available literature documents that in microglia, the activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) decreases inflammation, but it remains obscured regarding the roles of CB2R in microglia-mediated synaptic pruning in the NAc during the neuropathological progression of α-Synucleinopathy. We adopted the fibrillar α-Synuclein (α-Syn) treatment to characterize the effect of genetic CB2R deletion on microglial function and the signaling pathway. CB2R knockout (CB2-/-) mice and wild-type (CB2+/+) mice were divided into the α-Syn or saline treatment groups. Biochemical and microscopy approaches, including immunofluorescence, real-time PCR, and western blotting, were employed to assess the changes in homeostasis of synaptic pruning in NAc under the α-Syn-induced microglia. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms of CB2R on α-Syn induced microglial activity was assessed in vitro. After the injection of α-Syn into the NAc, distinct microglial morphological changes and M1 phenotype transformation were observed between CB2-/- and CB2+/+ mice. Meanwhile, after the α-Syn treatment, CB2-/- mice showed an increased upregulation of CD68 protein and IL-1β mRNA but decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and TGF-β mRNA compared with CB2+/+ mice. Additionally, CB2-/- microglia after the treatment showed a highly enriched complement 3a receptor (C3aR) producing excessive pruning of cholinergic synapses but less engulfment of dopaminergic synapses. Mechanistically, the loss of CB2R function in the α-Syn stimulation triggered c-Fos activation in microglia, but not in neurons. Further inhibition of microglial CB2R functions under α-Syn stimulation activated the phosphorylated cAMP-response element-binding protein (pCREB)-c-Fos, which was closely related to the C3aR upregulation. Our results reveal a critical and mechanistic role of CB2R in altering the microglial function and its value in the homeostasis of synaptic circuits in the NAc under the α-Syn pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linjuan Feng
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Hsuan Lo
- Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hanlin You
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Wei Wu
- Key Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Fujian Medical University, 1 Xueyuan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Xiaojuan Cheng
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Jiawei Xin
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Zucheng Ye
- Key Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Fujian Medical University, 1 Xueyuan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Xiaochun Chen
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Xiaodong Pan
- Department of Neurology, Center for Cognitive Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Institute of Geriatrics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Institute of Clinical Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Fujian Medical University, 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350001, China; Key Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Fujian Medical University, 1 Xueyuan Road, Fuzhou 350001, China.
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30
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Continuous cholinergic-dopaminergic updating in the nucleus accumbens underlies approaches to reward-predicting cues. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7924. [PMID: 36564387 PMCID: PMC9789106 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35601-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to learn Pavlovian associations from environmental cues predicting positive outcomes is critical for survival, motivating adaptive behaviours. This cued-motivated behaviour depends on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). NAc output activity mediated by spiny projecting neurons (SPNs) is regulated by dopamine, but also by cholinergic interneurons (CINs), which can release acetylcholine and glutamate via the activity of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) or the vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT3), respectively. Here we investigated behavioural and neurochemical changes in mice performing a touchscreen Pavlovian approach task by recording dopamine, acetylcholine, and calcium dynamics from D1- and D2-SPNs using fibre photometry in control, VAChT or VGLUT3 mutant mice to understand how these signals cooperate in the service of approach behaviours toward reward-predicting cues. We reveal that NAc acetylcholine-dopaminergic signalling is continuously updated to regulate striatal output underlying the acquisition of Pavlovian approach learning toward reward-predicting cues.
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31
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Kolpakova J, van der Vinne V, Gimenez-Gomez P, Le T, Martin GE. Binge alcohol drinking alters the differential control of cholinergic interneurons over nucleus accumbens D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:1010121. [PMID: 36589290 PMCID: PMC9797504 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.1010121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals studies support the notion that striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) play a central role in basal ganglia function by regulating associative learning, reward processing, and motor control. In the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region that mediates rewarding properties of substance abuse, acetylcholine regulates glutamatergic, dopaminergic, and GABAergic neurotransmission in naïve mice. However, it is unclear how ChIs orchestrate the control of these neurotransmitters/modulators to determine the synaptic excitability of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), the only projecting neurons that translate accumbens electrical activity into behavior. Also unknown is the impact of binge alcohol drinking on the regulation of dopamine D1- and D2 receptor-expressing MSNs (D1- and D2-MSNs, respectively) by ChIs. To investigate this question, we optogenetically stimulated ChIs while recording evoked and spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in nucleus accumbens core D1- and D2-MSN of ChAT.ChR2.eYFPxDrd1.tdtomato mice. In alcohol-naïve mice, we found that stimulating NAc ChIs decreased sEPSCs frequency in both D1- and D2-MSNs, presumably through a presynaptic mechanism. Interestingly, ChI stimulation decreased MSN synaptic excitability through different mechanisms in D1- vs. D2-MSNs. While decrease of ChI-mediated sEPSCs frequency in D1-MSNs was mediated by dopamine, the same effect in D2-MSNs resulted from a direct control of glutamate release by ChIs. Interestingly, after 2 weeks of binge alcohol drinking, optogenetic stimulation of ChIs enhanced glutamate release in D1-MSNs, while its effect on D2-MSNs remained unchanged. Taken together, these data suggest that cholinergic interneurons could be a key target for regulation of NAc circuitry and for alcohol consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenya Kolpakova
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | | | - Pablo Gimenez-Gomez
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Timmy Le
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Gilles E. Martin
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States,*Correspondence: Gilles E. Martin,
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32
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Ko H, Yoon SP. Optogenetic neuromodulation with gamma oscillation as a new strategy for Alzheimer disease: a narrative review. JOURNAL OF YEUNGNAM MEDICAL SCIENCE 2022; 39:269-277. [PMID: 35152662 PMCID: PMC9580057 DOI: 10.12701/jyms.2021.01683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The amyloid hypothesis has been considered a major explanation of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. However, failure of phase III clinical trials with anti-amyloid-beta monoclonal antibodies reveals the need for other therapeutic approaches to treat Alzheimer disease. Compared to its relatively short history, optogenetics has developed considerably. The expression of microbial opsins in cells using genetic engineering allows specific control of cell signals or molecules. The application of optogenetics to Alzheimer disease research or clinical approaches is increasing. When applied with gamma entrainment, optogenetic neuromodulation can improve Alzheimer disease symptoms. Although safety problems exist with optogenetics such as the use of viral vectors, this technique has great potential for use in Alzheimer disease. In this paper, we review the historical applications of optogenetic neuromodulation with gamma entrainment to investigate the mechanisms involved in Alzheimer disease and potential therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haneol Ko
- Medical Course, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Korea
| | - Sang-Pil Yoon
- Department of Anatomy, Jeju National University College of Medicine, Jeju, Korea
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33
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Kocaturk S, Guven EB, Shah F, Tepper JM, Assous M. Cholinergic control of striatal GABAergic microcircuits. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111531. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
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Cristofari P, Desplanque M, Poirel O, Hébert A, Dumas S, Herzog E, Danglot L, Geny D, Gilles JF, Geeverding A, Bolte S, Canette A, Trichet M, Fabre V, Daumas S, Pietrancosta N, El Mestikawy S, Bernard V. Nanoscopic distribution of VAChT and VGLUT3 in striatal cholinergic varicosities suggests colocalization and segregation of the two transporters in synaptic vesicles. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:991732. [PMID: 36176961 PMCID: PMC9513193 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.991732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs) use acetylcholine (ACh) and glutamate (Glut) to regulate the striatal network since they express vesicular transporters for ACh (VAChT) and Glut (VGLUT3). However, whether ACh and Glut are released simultaneously and/or independently from cholinergic varicosities is an open question. The answer to that question requires the multichannel detection of vesicular transporters at the level of single synaptic vesicle (SV). Here, we used super-resolution STimulated Emission Depletion microscopy (STED) to characterize and quantify the distribution of VAChT and VGLUT3 in CINs SVs. Nearest-neighbor distances analysis between VAChT and VGLUT3-immunofluorescent spots revealed that 34% of CINs SVs contain both VAChT and VGLUT3. In addition, 40% of SVs expressed only VAChT while 26% of SVs contain only VGLUT3. These results suggest that SVs from CINs have the potential to store simultaneously or independently ACh and/or Glut. Overall, these morphological findings support the notion that CINs varicosities can signal with either ACh or Glut or both with an unexpected level of complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Cristofari
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Mazarine Desplanque
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Odile Poirel
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Alison Hébert
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | | | - Etienne Herzog
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, IINS, UMR 5297, Bordeaux, France
| | - Lydia Danglot
- Université de Paris, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM U1266, Membrane Traffic in Healthy & Diseased Brain, Paris, France
- Université de Paris, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM U1266, NeurImag Imaging Facility, Paris, France
- GHU Paris Psychiatrie & Neurosciences, Paris, France
| | - David Geny
- Université de Paris, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM U1266, NeurImag Imaging Facility, Paris, France
| | - Jean-François Gilles
- Imaging Facility of the Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS)—Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Audrey Geeverding
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), Service de Microscopie Électronique (IBPS-SME), Paris, France
| | - Susanne Bolte
- Imaging Facility of the Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS)—Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Alexis Canette
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), Service de Microscopie Électronique (IBPS-SME), Paris, France
| | - Michaël Trichet
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), Service de Microscopie Électronique (IBPS-SME), Paris, France
| | - Véronique Fabre
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Stéphanie Daumas
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Pietrancosta
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 7203—Laboratoire des BioMolécules, Paris, France
| | - Salah El Mestikawy
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Véronique Bernard
- Sorbonne Université—CNRS UMR 8246—INSERM U1130—Neuroscience Paris Seine—Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS—IBPS), Paris, France
- *Correspondence: Véronique Bernard,
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He T, Chen W, Fan Y, Xu X, Guo H, Li N, Lu X, Ge F, Guan X. A novel cholinergic projection from the lateral parabrachial nucleus and its role in methamphetamine-primed conditioned place preference. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac219. [PMID: 36213311 PMCID: PMC9536296 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug relapse is a big clinical challenge in the treatment of addiction, but its neural circuit mechanism is far from being fully understood. Here, we identified a novel cholinergic pathway from choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons in the external lateral parabrachial nucleus (eLPBChAT) to the GABAergic neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeAGABA) and explored its role in methamphetamine priming-induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference. The anatomical structure and functional innervation of the eLPBChAT–CeAGABA pathway were investigated by various methods such as fluorescent micro-optical sectioning tomography, virus-based neural tracing, fibre photometry, patch-clamp and designer receptor exclusively activated by a designer drug. The role of the eLPBChAT–CeAGABA pathway in methamphetamine relapse was assessed using methamphetamine priming-induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference behaviours in male mice. We found that the eLPBChAT neurons mainly projected to the central nucleus of the amygdala. A chemogenetic activation of the eLPBChAT neurons in vitro or in vivo triggered the excitabilities of the CeAGABA neurons, which is at least in part mediated via the cholinergic receptor system. Most importantly, the chemogenetic activation of either the eLPBChAT neurons or the eLPBChAT neurons that project onto the central nucleus of the amygdala decreased the methamphetamine priming-induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference in mice. Our findings revealed a previously undiscovered cholinergic pathway of the eLPBChAT–CeAGABA and showed that the activation of this pathway decreased the methamphetamine priming-induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Hao Guo
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Nanqin Li
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xue Lu
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Feifei Ge
- Correspondence may also be addressed to: Feifei Ge, PhD E-mail:
| | - Xiaowei Guan
- Correspondence to: Xiaowei Guan, MD, PhD Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine 138 Xianlin Rd, Nanjing, China E-mail:
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36
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Guerreiro I, Gu Z, Yakel JL, Gutkin BS. Recurring Cholinergic Inputs Induce Local Hippocampal Plasticity through Feedforward Disinhibition. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0389-21.2022. [PMID: 36028329 PMCID: PMC9463983 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0389-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The CA1 pyramidal neurons are embedded in an intricate local circuitry that contains a variety of interneurons. The roles these interneurons play in the regulation of the excitatory synaptic plasticity remains largely understudied. Recent experiments showed that recurring cholinergic activation of α7 nACh receptors expressed in oriens-lacunosum-moleculare (OLMα2) interneurons can directly induce LTP in Schaffer collateral (SC)-CA1 synapses. Here, we pair in vitro studies with biophysically based modeling to uncover the underlying mechanisms. According to our model, α7 nAChR activation increases OLM GABAergic activity. This results in the inhibition of the fast-spiking interneurons that provide feedforward inhibition onto CA1 pyramidal neurons. This disinhibition, paired with tightly timed SC stimulation, can induce potentiation at the excitatory synapses of CA1 pyramidal neurons. Our work details the role of cholinergic modulation in disinhibition-induced hippocampal plasticity. It relates the timing of cholinergic pairing found experimentally in previous studies with the timing between disinhibition and hippocampal stimulation necessary to induce potentiation and suggests the dynamics of the involved interneurons play a crucial role in determining this timing.Significance StatementWe use a combination of experiments and mechanistic modeling to uncover the key role for cholinergic neuromodulation of feedforward disinhibitory circuits in regulating hippocampal plasticity. We found that cholinergic activation of α7 nAChR on α7 nACh receptors expressed in oriens-lacunosum-moleculare interneurons, when tightly paired with stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals, can cancel feedforward inhibition onto CA1 pyramidal cells, enabling the potentiation of the SC-CA1 synapse. Our work details how cholinergic action on GABAergic interneurons can tightly regulate the excitability and plasticity of the hippocampal network, unraveling the intricate interplay of the hierarchal inhibitory circuitry and cholinergic neuromodulation as a mechanism for hippocampal plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Guerreiro
- Group for Neural Theory, LNC2 INSERM U960, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Superieure, PSL Université Paris, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Zhenglin Gu
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Jerrel L Yakel
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Boris S Gutkin
- Group for Neural Theory, LNC2 INSERM U960, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Superieure, PSL Université Paris, 75005 Paris, France
- Center for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow 101000, Russia
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37
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Martyniuk KM, Torres-Herraez A, Lowes DC, Rubinstein M, Labouesse MA, Kellendonk C. Dopamine D2Rs coordinate cue-evoked changes in striatal acetylcholine levels. eLife 2022; 11:76111. [PMID: 35856493 PMCID: PMC9363114 DOI: 10.7554/elife.76111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the striatum, acetylcholine (ACh) neuron activity is modulated co-incident with dopamine (DA) release in response to unpredicted rewards and reward predicting cues and both neuromodulators are thought to regulate each other. While this co-regulation has been studied using stimulation studies, the existence of this mutual regulation in vivo during natural behavior is still largely unexplored. One long-standing controversy has been whether striatal DA is responsible for the induction of the cholinergic pause or whether D2R modulate a pause that is induced by other mechanisms. Here, we used genetically encoded sensors in combination with pharmacological and genetic inactivation of D2Rs from cholinergic interneurons (CINs) to simultaneously measure ACh and DA levels after CIN D2R inactivation in mice. We found that CIN D2Rs are not necessary for the initiation of cue induced decrease in ACh levels. Rather, they prolong the duration of the decrease and inhibit ACh rebound levels. Notably, the change in task evoked ACh levels is not associated with altered DA levels. Moreover, D2R inactivation strongly decreased the temporal correlation between DA and ACh signals not only at cue presentation but also during the intertrial interval pointing to a general mechanism by which D2Rs coordinate both signals. At the behavioral level D2R antagonism increased the latency to lever press, which was not observed in CIN-selective D2R knock out mice. Press latency correlated with the cue evoked decrease in ACh levels and artificial inhibition of CINs revealed that longer inhibition shortens the latency to press compared to shorter inhibition. This supports a role of the ACh signal and it's regulation by D2Rs in the motivation to initiate actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M Martyniuk
- Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
| | | | | | - Marcelo Rubinstein
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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38
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Baimel C, Jang E, Scudder SL, Manoocheri K, Carter AG. Hippocampal-evoked inhibition of cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111042. [PMID: 35793623 PMCID: PMC9302453 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) play a central role in motivated behaviors and associated disorders. However, while the activation of ChIs has been well studied in the dorsal striatum, little is known about how they are engaged in the NAc. Here, we find that the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) and the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) are the main excitatory inputs to ChIs in the NAc medial shell. While the PVT activates ChIs, the vHPC evokes a pronounced pause in firing through prominent feedforward inhibition. In contrast to the dorsal striatum, this inhibition reflects strong connections onto ChIs from local parvalbumin interneurons. Our results reveal the mechanisms by which different long-range inputs engage ChIs, highlighting fundamental differences in local connectivity across the striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corey Baimel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Emily Jang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Samantha L Scudder
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Kasra Manoocheri
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Adam G Carter
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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39
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Fleming W, Lee J, Briones BA, Bolkan SS, Witten IB. Cholinergic interneurons mediate cocaine extinction in male mice through plasticity across medium spiny neuron subtypes. Cell Rep 2022; 39:110874. [PMID: 35649378 PMCID: PMC9196889 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cholinergic interneurons (ChINs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been implicated in the extinction of drug associations, as well as related plasticity in medium spiny neurons (MSNs). However, since most previous work relied on artificial manipulations, whether endogenous acetylcholine signaling relates to drug associations is unclear. Moreover, despite great interest in the opposing effects of dopamine on MSN subtypes, whether ChIN-mediated effects vary by MSN subtype is also unclear. Here, we find that high endogenous acetylcholine event frequency correlates with greater extinction of cocaine-context associations across male mice. Additionally, extinction is associated with a weakening of glutamatergic synapses across MSN subtypes. Manipulating ChIN activity bidirectionally controls both the rate of extinction and the associated plasticity at MSNs. Our findings indicate that NAc ChINs mediate drug-context extinction by reducing glutamatergic synaptic strength across MSN subtypes, and that natural variation in acetylcholine signaling may contribute to individual differences in extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weston Fleming
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Junuk Lee
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Brandy A Briones
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Scott S Bolkan
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Ilana B Witten
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
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40
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Matityahu L, Malgady JM, Schirelman M, Johansson Y, Wilking J, Silberberg G, Goldberg JA, Plotkin JL. A tonic nicotinic brake controls spike timing in striatal spiny projection neurons. eLife 2022; 11:75829. [PMID: 35579422 PMCID: PMC9142149 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs) transform convergent excitatory corticostriatal inputs into an inhibitory signal that shapes basal ganglia output. This process is fine-tuned by striatal GABAergic interneurons (GINs), which receive overlapping cortical inputs and mediate rapid corticostriatal feedforward inhibition of SPNs. Adding another level of control, cholinergic interneurons (CINs), which are also vigorously activated by corticostriatal excitation, can disynaptically inhibit SPNs by activating α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on various GINs. Measurements of this disynaptic inhibitory pathway, however, indicate that it is too slow to compete with direct GIN-mediated feedforward inhibition. Moreover, functional nAChRs are also present on populations of GINs that respond only weakly to phasic activation of CINs, such as parvalbumin-positive fast-spiking interneurons (PV-FSIs), making the overall role of nAChRs in shaping striatal synaptic integration unclear. Using acute striatal slices from mice we show that upon synchronous optogenetic activation of corticostriatal projections blockade of α4β2 nAChRs shortened SPN spike latencies and increased postsynaptic depolarizations. The nAChR-dependent inhibition was mediated by downstream GABA release, and data suggest that the GABA source was not limited to GINs that respond strongly to phasic CIN activation. In particular, the observed decrease in spike latency caused by nAChR blockade was associated with a diminished frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in SPNs, a parallel hyperpolarization of PV-FSIs, and was occluded by pharmacologically preventing cortical activation of PV-FSIs. Taken together, we describe a role for tonic (as opposed to phasic) activation of nAChRs in striatal function. We conclude that tonic activation of nAChRs by CINs maintains a GABAergic brake on cortically-driven striatal output by ‘priming’ feedforward inhibition, a process that may shape SPN spike timing, striatal processing, and synaptic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Matityahu
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Jeffrey M Malgady
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, United States
| | - Meital Schirelman
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yvonne Johansson
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer Wilking
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, United States
| | - Gilad Silberberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Joshua A Goldberg
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Joshua L Plotkin
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, United States
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41
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Nunes EJ, Kebede N, Bagdas D, Addy NA. Cholinergic and dopaminergic-mediated motivated behavior in healthy states and in substance use and mood disorders. J Exp Anal Behav 2022; 117:404-419. [PMID: 35286712 PMCID: PMC9743782 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Acetylcholine is an important neuromodulator of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, which itself is a mediator of motivated behavior. Motivated behavior can be described by two primary components, termed directional and activational motivation, both of which can be examined and dissociated using effort-choice tasks. The directional component refers to motivated behavior directed towards reinforcing stimuli and away from aversive stimuli. Behaviors characterized by increased vigor, persistence, and work output are considered to reflect activational components of motivation. Disruption of DA signaling has been shown to decrease activational components of motivation, while leaving directional features intact. Facilitation of DA release promotes the activational aspects of motivated behavior. In this review, we discuss cholinergic and DA regulation of motivated behaviors. We place emphasis on effort-choice processes and the ability of effort-choice tasks to examine and dissociate changes of motivated behavior in the context of substance use and mood disorders. Furthermore, we consider how altered cholinergic transmission impacts motivated behavior across disease states, and the possible role of cholinergic dysregulation in the etiology of these illnesses. Finally, we suggest that treatments targeting cholinergic activity may be useful in ameliorating motivational disruptions associated with substance use and comorbid substance use and mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric J. Nunes
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine,Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Nardos Kebede
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine,Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Deniz Bagdas
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine,Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Nii A. Addy
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine,Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Yale School of Medicine,Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale School of Medicine,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University,Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University
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42
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Coss A, Suaste E, Gutierrez R. Lateral NAc Shell D1 and D2 neural ensembles concurrently predict licking behavior and categorize sucrose concentrations in a context-dependent manner. Neuroscience 2022; 493:81-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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43
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Reynolds JNJ, Avvisati R, Dodson PD, Fisher SD, Oswald MJ, Wickens JR, Zhang YF. Coincidence of cholinergic pauses, dopaminergic activation and depolarisation of spiny projection neurons drives synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1296. [PMID: 35277506 PMCID: PMC8917208 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28950-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine-dependent long-term plasticity is believed to be a cellular mechanism underlying reinforcement learning. In response to reward and reward-predicting cues, phasic dopamine activity potentiates the efficacy of corticostriatal synapses on spiny projection neurons (SPNs). Since phasic dopamine activity also encodes other behavioural variables, it is unclear how postsynaptic neurons identify which dopamine event is to induce long-term plasticity. Additionally, it is unknown how phasic dopamine released from arborised axons can potentiate targeted striatal synapses through volume transmission. To examine these questions we manipulated striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) and dopamine neurons independently in two distinct in vivo paradigms. We report that long-term potentiation (LTP) at corticostriatal synapses with SPNs is dependent on the coincidence of pauses in ChIs and phasic dopamine activation, critically accompanied by SPN depolarisation. Thus, the ChI pause defines the time window for phasic dopamine to induce plasticity, while depolarisation of SPNs constrains the synapses eligible for plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- John N J Reynolds
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand.
| | - Riccardo Avvisati
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Paul D Dodson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Simon D Fisher
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Manfred J Oswald
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Jeffery R Wickens
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, 904-2234, Japan
| | - Yan-Feng Zhang
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand.
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PT, UK.
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44
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Dopamine D2 receptors modulate the cholinergic pause and inhibitory learning. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:1502-1514. [PMID: 34789847 PMCID: PMC9106808 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01364-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Cholinergic interneurons (CINs) in the striatum respond to salient stimuli with a multiphasic response, including a pause, in neuronal activity. Slice-physiology experiments have shown the importance of dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) in regulating CIN pausing, yet the behavioral significance of the CIN pause and its regulation by dopamine in vivo is still unclear. Here, we show that D2R upregulation in CINs of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) lengthens the pause in CIN activity ex vivo and enlarges a stimulus-evoked decrease in acetylcholine (ACh) levels during behavior. This enhanced dip in ACh levels is associated with a selective deficit in the learning to inhibit responding in a Go/No-Go task. Our data demonstrate, therefore, the importance of CIN D2Rs in modulating the CIN response induced by salient stimuli and point to a role of this response in inhibitory learning. This work has important implications for brain disorders with altered striatal dopamine and ACh function, including schizophrenia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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Rodriguez-Romaguera J, Namboodiri VMK, Basiri ML, Stamatakis AM, Stuber GD. Developments from Bulk Optogenetics to Single-Cell Strategies to Dissect the Neural Circuits that Underlie Aberrant Motivational States. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2022; 12:a039792. [PMID: 32513671 PMCID: PMC7799172 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Motivational states are regulated by complex networks across brain regions that are composed of genetically and functionally distinct neuronal populations. Disruption within these neural circuits leads to aberrant motivational states and are thought to be the root cause of psychiatric disorders related to reward processing and addiction. Critical technological advances in the field have revolutionized the study of neural systems by allowing the use of optical strategies to precisely control and visualize neural activity within genetically identified neural populations in the brain. This review will provide a brief introduction into the history of how technological advances in single-cell strategies have been applied to elucidate the neural circuits that underlie aberrant motivational states that often lead to dysfunction in reward processing and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA
| | - Vijay M K Namboodiri
- Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine & Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6410, USA
| | - Marcus L Basiri
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA
| | - Alice M Stamatakis
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine & Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6410, USA
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46
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Sun C, Cao Y, Huang J, Huang K, Lu Y, Zhong C. Low-cost and easy-fabrication lightweight drivable electrode array for multiple-regions electrophysiological recording in free-moving mice. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 34996053 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac494e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Extracellular electrophysiology has been widely applied to neural circuit dissections. However, long-term multiregional recording in free-moving mice remains a challenge. Low-cost and easy-fabrication of elaborate drivable electrodes is required for their prevalence. APPROACH A three-layer nested construct (OD ~1.80 mm, length ~10 mm, <0.1g) was recruited as a drivable component, which consisted of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) heat-shrinkable tube, non-closed loop ceramic bushing, and stainless ferrule with a bulge twining silver wire. The supporting and working components were equipped with drivable components to be assembled into a drivable microwire electrode array with a nested structure (drivable MEANS). Two drivable microwire electrode arrays were independently implanted for chronic recording in different brain areas at respective angles. An optic fiber was easily loaded into the drivable MEANS to achieve optogenetic modulation and electrophysiological recording simultaneously. MAIN RESULTS The drivable MEANS had lightweight (~ 0.37 g), small (~ 15 mm ×15 mm × 4 mm), and low cost (≤ $64.62). Two drivable MEANS were simultaneously implanted in mice, and high-quality electrophysiological recordings could be applied ≥ 5 months after implantation in freely behaving animals. Electrophysiological recordings and analysis of the lateral septum (LS) and lateral hypothalamus (LH) in food-seeking behavior demonstrated that our drivable MEANS can be used to dissect the function of neural circuits. An optical fiber-integrated drivable MEANS (~ 0.47 g) was used to stimulate and record LS neurons, which suggested that changes in working components can achieve more functions than electrophysiological recordings, such as optical stimulation, drug release, and calcium imaging. SIGNIFICANCE Drivable MEANS is an easily fabricated, lightweight drivable microwire electrode array for multiple-region electrophysiological recording in free-moving mice. Our design is likely to be a valuable platform for both current and prospective users, as well as for developers of multifunctional electrodes for free-moving mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chongyang Sun
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Boulevard, University Town of Shenzhen, Xili Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, CHINA
| | - Yi Cao
- University of Science and Technology of China, No.96, JinZhai Road Baohe District, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, CHINA
| | - Jianyu Huang
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Boulevard, University Town of Shenzhen, Xili Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, CHINA
| | - Kang Huang
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Boulevard, University Town of Shenzhen, Xili Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, CHINA
| | - Yi Lu
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Boulevard, University Town of Shenzhen, Xili Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, CHINA
| | - Cheng Zhong
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Boulevard, University Town of Shenzhen, Xili Nanshan, Beijing, 100864, CHINA
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Zinsmaier AK, Dong Y, Huang YH. Cocaine-induced projection-specific and cell type-specific adaptations in the nucleus accumbens. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:669-686. [PMID: 33963288 PMCID: PMC8691189 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01112-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Cocaine craving, seeking, and relapse are mediated, in part, by cocaine-induced adaptive changes in the brain reward circuits. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) integrates and prioritizes different emotional and motivational inputs to the reward system by processing convergent glutamatergic projections from the medial prefrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, ventral hippocampus, and other limbic and paralimbic brain regions. Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are the principal projection neurons in the NAc, which can be divided into two major subpopulations, namely dopamine receptor D1- versus D2-expressing MSNs, with complementing roles in reward-associated behaviors. After cocaine experience, NAc MSNs exhibit complex and differential adaptations dependent on cocaine regimen, withdrawal time, cell type, location (NAc core versus shell), and related input and output projections, or any combination of these factors. Detailed characterization of these cellular adaptations has been greatly facilitated by the recent development of optogenetic/chemogenetic techniques combined with transgenic tools. In this review, we discuss such cell type- and projection-specific adaptations induced by cocaine experience. Specifically, (1) D1 and D2 NAc MSNs frequently exhibit differential adaptations in spinogenesis, glutamatergic receptor trafficking, and intrinsic membrane excitability, (2) cocaine experience differentially changes the synaptic transmission at different afferent projections onto NAc MSNs, (3) cocaine-induced NAc adaptations exhibit output specificity, e.g., being different at NAc-ventral pallidum versus NAc-ventral tegmental area synapses, and (4) the input, output, subregion, and D1/D2 cell type may together determine cocaine-induced circuit plasticity in the NAc. In light of the projection- and cell-type specificity, we also briefly discuss ensemble and circuit mechanisms contributing to cocaine craving and relapse after drug withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yan Dong
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
| | - Yanhua H. Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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Differential regulation of medium spiny and cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens core by the insular and medial prefrontal cortices in the rat. Pflugers Arch 2021; 473:1911-1924. [PMID: 34724104 DOI: 10.1007/s00424-021-02634-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) receives cortical projections principally from the insular cortex (IC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Among NAc neurons, cholinergic interneurons (ChNs) regulate the activities of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which make up ~ 95% of NAc neurons, by modulating their firing and synaptic properties. However, little is known about the synaptic mechanisms, including their cell-type-dependent corticoaccumbal projection properties and cholinergic effects on the NAc core. Here, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from NAc MSNs and ChNs in acute brain slice preparations obtained from rats that received an AAV5-hSyn-ChR2(H134R)-mCherry injection into the IC or mPFC. Light stimulation of IC or mPFC axons induced comparable phase-locked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in MSNs. On the other hand, ChNs showed consistent EPSCs evoked by light stimulation of mPFC axons, whereas light stimulation of IC axons evoked much smaller EPSCs, which often showed failure in ChNs. Light-evoked EPSCs were abolished by tetrodotoxin and were recovered by 4-aminopyridine, suggesting that corticoaccumbal projections monosynaptically induce EPSCs in MSNs and ChNs. Carbachol effectively suppressed the amplitude of EPSCs in MSNs and ChNs evoked by light stimulation of IC or mPFC axons and in ChNs evoked by stimulating mPFC axons. The carbachol-induced suppression was recovered by atropine or pirenzepine, while preapplication of gallamine, J104129, PD102807, or AF-DX384 did not block the carbachol-induced EPSC suppression. These results suggest that NAc MSNs and ChNs are differentially regulated by excitatory projections from the IC and mPFC and that these corticoaccumbal excitatory inputs are modulated by M1 receptor activation.
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Ventral tegmental area GABAergic inhibition of cholinergic interneurons in the ventral nucleus accumbens shell promotes reward reinforcement. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:1414-1428. [PMID: 34385700 PMCID: PMC8823543 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00898-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The long-range GABAergic input from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is relatively understudied, and therefore its role in reward processing has remained unknown. In the present study, we show, in both male and female mice, that long-range GABAergic projections from the VTA to the ventral NAc shell, but not to the dorsal NAc shell or NAc core, are engaged in reward and reinforcement behavior. We show that this GABAergic projection exclusively synapses on to cholinergic interneurons (CINs) in the ventral NAc shell, thereby serving a specialized function in modulating reinforced reward behavior through the inhibition of ventral NAc shell CINs. These findings highlight the diversity in the structural and functional topography of VTA GABAergic projections, and their neuromodulatory interactions across the dorsoventral gradient of the NAc shell. They also further our understanding of neuronal circuits that are directly implicated in neuropsychiatric conditions such as depression and addiction.
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50
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Chow SL, Sasson C, Benjamin IJ, Califf RM, Compton WM, Oliva EM, Robson C, Sanchez EJ. Opioid Use and Its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease and Brain Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2021; 144:e218-e232. [PMID: 34407637 DOI: 10.1161/cir.0000000000001007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The misuse of opioids continues to be epidemic, resulting in dependency and a recent upsurge in drug overdoses that have contributed to a significant decrease in life expectancy in the United States. Moreover, recent data suggest that commonly used opioids for the management of pain may produce undesirable pharmacological actions and interfere with critical medications commonly used in cardiovascular disease and stroke; however, the impact on outcomes remains controversial. The American Heart Association developed an advisory statement for health care professionals and researchers in the setting of cardiovascular and brain health to synthesize the current literature, to provide approaches for identifying patients with opioid use disorder, and to address pain management and overdose. A literature and internet search spanning from January 1, 2012, to February 15, 2021, and limited to epidemiology studies, reviews, consensus statements, and guidelines in human subjects was conducted. Suggestions and considerations listed in this document are based primarily on published evidence from this review whenever possible, as well as expert opinion. Several federal and institutional consensus documents and clinical resources are currently available to both patients and clinicians; however, none have specifically addressed cardiovascular disease and brain health. Although strategic tools and therapeutic approaches for recognition of opioid use disorder and safe opioid use are available for health care professionals who manage patients with cardiovascular disease and stroke, high-quality evidence does not currently exist. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more research to identify the most effective approaches to improve care for these patients.
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