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Borland JM. The effects of different types of social interactions on the electrophysiology of neurons in the nucleus accumbens in rodents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024:105809. [PMID: 39004323 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105809] [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: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
BORLAND, J.M., The effects of different types of social interactions on the electrophysiology of neurons in the nucleus accumbens in rodents, NEUROSCI BIOBEH REV 21(1) XXX-XXX, 2024.-Sociality shapes an organisms' life. The nucleus accumbens is a critical brain region for mental health. In the following review, the effects of different types of social interactions on the physiology of neurons in the nucleus accumbens is synthesized. More specifically, the effects of sex behavior, aggression, social defeat, pair-bonding, play behavior, affiliative interactions, parental behaviors, the isolation from social interactions and maternal separation on measures of excitatory synaptic transmission, intracellular signaling and factors of transcription and translation in neurons in the nucleus accumbens in rodent models are reviewed. Similarities and differences in effects depending on the type of social interaction is then discussed. This review improves the understanding of the molecular and synaptic mechanisms of sociality.
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Lee SS, Venniro M, Shaham Y, Hope BT, Ramsey LA. Operant social self-administration in male CD1 mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024:10.1007/s00213-024-06560-6. [PMID: 38453754 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06560-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE We recently introduced a model of operant social reward in which female CD1 mice lever press for access to affiliative social interaction with a cagemate peer mouse of the same sex and strain. Here we determined the generality of the operant social self-administration model to male CD1 mice who, under certain conditions, will lever press to attack a subordinate male mouse. METHODS We trained male CD1 mice to lever press for food and social interaction with a same sex and strain cagemate peer under different fixed-ratio (FR) schedule response requirements (FR1 to FR6). We then tested their motivation to seek social interaction after 15 days of isolation in the presence of cues previously paired with social self-administration. We also determined the effect of housing conditions on operant social self-administration and seeking. Finally, we determined sex differences in operant social self-administration and seeking, and the effect of housing conditions on unconditioned affiliative and antagonistic (aggressive) social interactions in both sexes. RESULTS Male CD1 mice lever pressed for access to a cagemate peer under different FR response requirements and seek social interaction after 15 isolation days; these effects were independent of housing conditions. There were no sex differences in operant social self-administration and seeking. Finally, group-housed CD1 male mice did not display unconditioned aggressive behavior toward a peer male CD1 mouse. CONCLUSIONS Adult socially housed male CD1 mice can be used in studies on operant social reward without the potential confound of operant responding to engage in aggressive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha S Lee
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute On Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marco Venniro
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute On Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bruce T Hope
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute On Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Leslie A Ramsey
- Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute On Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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3
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Fisher JL, Clark AD, Jones EF, Lasseigne BN. Sex-biased gene expression and gene-regulatory networks of sex-biased adverse event drug targets and drug metabolism genes. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 2024; 25:5. [PMID: 38167211 PMCID: PMC10763002 DOI: 10.1186/s40360-023-00727-1] [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: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous pharmacovigilance studies and a retroactive review of cancer clinical trial studies identified that women were more likely to experience drug adverse events (i.e., any unintended effects of medication), and men were more likely to experience adverse events that resulted in hospitalization or death. These sex-biased adverse events (SBAEs) are due to many factors not entirely understood, including differences in body mass, hormones, pharmacokinetics, and liver drug metabolism enzymes and transporters. METHODS We first identified drugs associated with SBAEs from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. Next, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression of the known drug targets and metabolism enzymes for those SBAE-associated drugs. We also constructed sex-specific tissue gene-regulatory networks to determine if these known drug targets and metabolism enzymes from the SBAE-associated drugs had sex-specific gene-regulatory network properties and predicted regulatory relationships. RESULTS We identified liver-specific gene-regulatory differences for drug metabolism genes between males and females, which could explain observed sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In addition, we found that ~ 85% of SBAE-associated drug targets had sex-biased gene expression or were core genes of sex- and tissue-specific network communities, significantly higher than randomly selected drug targets. Lastly, we provide the sex-biased drug-adverse event pairs, drug targets, and drug metabolism enzymes as a resource for the research community. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we provide evidence that many SBAEs are associated with drug targets and drug metabolism genes that are differentially expressed and regulated between males and females. These SBAE-associated drug metabolism enzymes and drug targets may be useful for future studies seeking to explain or predict SBAEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Amanda D Clark
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Emma F Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Brittany N Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
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4
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Hamilton PJ, Lim CJ, Nestler EJ, Heller EA. Neuroepigenetic Editing. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2842:129-152. [PMID: 39012593 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4051-7_6] [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] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
Epigenetic regulation is intrinsic to basic neurobiological function as well as neurological disease. Regulation of chromatin-modifying enzymes in the brain is critical during both development and adulthood and in response to external stimuli. Biochemical studies are complemented by numerous next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies that quantify global changes in gene expression, chromatin accessibility, histone and DNA modifications in neurons and glial cells. Neuroepigenetic editing tools are essential to distinguish between the mere presence and functional relevance of histone and DNA modifications to gene transcription in the brain and animal behavior. This review discusses current advances in neuroepigenetic editing, highlighting methodological considerations pertinent to neuroscience, such as delivery methods and the spatiotemporal specificity of editing and it demonstrates the enormous potential of epigenetic editing for basic neurobiological research and therapeutic application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Hamilton
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Carissa J Lim
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Eric J Nestler
- The Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Heller
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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5
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Fisher JL, Clark AD, Jones EF, Lasseigne BN. Sex-biased gene expression and gene-regulatory networks of sex-biased adverse event drug targets and drug metabolism genes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.23.541950. [PMID: 37362157 PMCID: PMC10290285 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.23.541950] [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: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Background Previous pharmacovigilance studies and a retroactive review of cancer clinical trial studies identified that women were more likely to experience drug adverse events (i.e., any unintended effects of medication), and men were more likely to experience adverse events that resulted in hospitalization or death. These sex-biased adverse events (SBAEs) are due to many factors not entirely understood, including differences in body mass, hormones, pharmacokinetics, and liver drug metabolism enzymes and transporters. Methods We first identified drugs associated with SBAEs from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. Next, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression of the known drug targets and metabolism enzymes for those SBAE-associated drugs. We also constructed sex-specific tissue gene-regulatory networks to determine if these known drug targets and metabolism enzymes from the SBAE-associated drugs had sex-specific gene-regulatory network properties and predicted regulatory relationships. Results We identified liver-specific gene-regulatory differences for drug metabolism genes between males and females, which could explain observed sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In addition, we found that ~85% of SBAE-associated drug targets had sex-biased gene expression or were core genes of sex- and tissue-specific network communities, significantly higher than randomly selected drug targets. Lastly, we provide the sex-biased drug-adverse event pairs, drug targets, and drug metabolism enzymes as a resource for the research community. Conclusions Overall, we provide evidence that many SBAEs are associated with drug targets and drug metabolism genes that are differentially expressed and regulated between males and females. These SBAE-associated drug metabolism enzymes and drug targets may be useful for future studies seeking to explain or predict SBAEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Amanda D. Clark
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Emma F. Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Brittany N. Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
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6
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Lonstein JS, Vitale EM, Olekanma D, McLocklin A, Pence N, Bredewold R, Veenema AH, Johnson AW, Burt SA. Anxiety, aggression, reward sensitivity, and forebrain dopamine receptor expression in a laboratory rat model of early-life disadvantage. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22421. [PMID: 37860907 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22421] [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: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Despite early-life disadvantage (ELD) in humans being a highly heterogenous construct, it consistently predicts negative neurobehavioral outcomes. The numerous environmental contributors and neural mechanisms underlying ELD remain unclear, though. We used a laboratory rat model to evaluate the effects of limited resources and/or heavy metal exposure on mothers and their adult male and female offspring. Dams and litters were chronically exposed to restricted (1-cm deep) or ample (4-cm deep) home cage bedding postpartum, with or without lead acetate (0.1%) in their drinking water from insemination through 1-week postweaning. Restricted-bedding mothers showed more pup-directed behaviors and behavioral fragmentation, while lead-exposed mothers showed more nestbuilding. Restricted bedding-raised male offspring showed higher anxiety and aggression. Either restricted bedding or lead exposure impaired goal-directed performance in a reinforcer devaluation task in females, whereas restricted bedding alone disrupted it in males. Lead exposure, but not limited bedding, also reduced sucrose reward sensitivity in a progressive ratio task in females. D1 and D2 receptor mRNA in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were each affected by the early-life treatments and differently between the sexes. Most notably, adult males (but not females) exposed to both early-life treatments had greatly increased D1 receptor mRNA in the NAc core. These results illuminate neural mechanisms through which ELD threatens neurobehavioral development and highlight forebrain dopamine as a factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Lonstein
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Erika M Vitale
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Doris Olekanma
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Andrew McLocklin
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Nathan Pence
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Remco Bredewold
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Alexa H Veenema
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Alexander W Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
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7
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Börchers S, Carl J, Schormair K, Krieger JP, Asker M, Edvardsson CE, Jerlhag E, Skibicka KP. An appetite for aggressive behavior? Female rats, too, derive reward from winning aggressive interactions. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:331. [PMID: 37891191 PMCID: PMC10611704 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02608-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
While aggression is an adaptive behavior mostly triggered by competition for resources, it can also in and of itself be rewarding. Based on the common notion that female rats are not aggressive, much of aggression research has been centered around males, leading to a gap in the understanding of the female aggression neurobiology. Therefore, we asked whether intact virgin female rats experience reward from an aggressive interaction and assessed aggression seeking behavior in rats of both sexes. To validate the involvement of reward signaling, we measured mesolimbic dopamine turnover and determined the necessity of dopamine signaling for expression of aggression-seeking. Together our data indicate that female rats exhibit aggressive behavior outside of maternal context, experience winning aggressive behaviors as rewarding, and do so to a similar extent as male rats and in a dopamine-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stina Börchers
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jil Carl
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Katharina Schormair
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jean-Philippe Krieger
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Mohammed Asker
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Christian E Edvardsson
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elisabeth Jerlhag
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Karolina P Skibicka
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Huck Institutes, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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8
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Ghosal S, Gebara E, Ramos-Fernández E, Chioino A, Grosse J, Guillot de Suduiraut I, Zanoletti O, Schneider B, Zorzano A, Astori S, Sandi C. Mitofusin-2 in nucleus accumbens D2-MSNs regulates social dominance and neuronal function. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112776. [PMID: 37440411 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a brain hub regulating motivated behaviors, including social competitiveness. Mitochondrial function in the NAc links anxiety with social competitiveness, and the mitochondrial fusion protein mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in NAc neurons regulates anxiety-related behaviors. However, it remains unexplored whether accumbal Mfn2 levels also affect social behavior and whether Mfn2 actions in the emotional and social domain are driven by distinct cell types. Here, we found that subordinate-prone highly anxious rats show decreased accumbal Mfn2 levels and that Mfn2 overexpression promotes dominant behavior. In mice, selective Mfn2 downregulation in NAc dopamine D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D2-MSNs) induced social subordination, accompanied by decreased accumbal mitochondrial functions and decreased excitability in D2-MSNs. Instead, D1-MSN-targeted Mfn2 downregulation affected competitive ability only transiently and likely because of an increase in anxiety-like behaviors. Our results assign dissociable cell-type specific roles to Mfn2 in the NAc in modulating social dominance and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriparna Ghosal
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Elias Gebara
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eva Ramos-Fernández
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Chioino
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jocelyn Grosse
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Guillot de Suduiraut
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olivia Zanoletti
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bernard Schneider
- Bertarelli Platform for Gene Therapy, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Antonio Zorzano
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Bioquímica i Biomedicina Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Simone Astori
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Carmen Sandi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Scott R, Aubry A, Cuttoli RDD, Rachel FF, Lyonna P, Cathomas F, Burnett C, Yang Y, Yuan C, Lablanca A, Chan K, Lin HY, Froemke R, Li L. A critical role for cortical amygdala circuitry in shaping social encounters. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3015820. [PMID: 37461537 PMCID: PMC10350173 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3015820/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved behavior that controls social hierarchies and protects valuable resources like mates, food, and territory. In mice, aggressive behaviour can be broken down into an appetitive phase, which involves approach and investigation, and a consummatory phase, which involves biting, kicking, and wrestling. By performing an unsupervised weighted correlation network analysis on whole-brain c-Fos expression, we identified a cluster of brain regions including hypothalamic and amygdalar sub-regions and olfactory cortical regions highly co-activated in male, but not female aggressors (AGG). The posterolateral cortical amygdala (COApl), an extended olfactory structure, was found to be a hub region based on the number and strength of correlations with other regions in the cluster. Our data further show that estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1)-expressing cells in the COApl exhibit increased activity during attack behaviour, and during bouts of investigation which precede an attack, in male mice only. Chemogenetic or optogenetic inhibition of COApl ESR1 cells in AGG males reduces aggression and increases pro-social investigation without affecting social reward/reinforcement behavior. We further confirmed that COApl ESR1 projections to the ventrolateral portion of the ventromedial hypothalamus and central amygdala are necessary for these behaviours. Collectively, these data suggest that in aggressive males, COApl ESR1 cells respond specifically to social stimuli, thereby enhancing their salience and promoting attack behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - C Burnett
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Long Li
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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Ramsey LA, Holloman FM, Lee SS, Venniro M. An operant social self-administration and choice model in mice. Nat Protoc 2023:10.1038/s41596-023-00813-y. [PMID: 36964403 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00813-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about how social factors contribute to neurobiology or neuropsychiatric disorders. The use of mice allows one to probe the neurobiological bases of social interaction, offering the genetic diversity and versatility to identify cell types and neural circuits of social behavior. However, mice typically show lower social motivation compared with rats, leading to the question of whether mice should be used to model complex social behaviors displayed by humans. Studies on mouse social behavior often rely on measures such as time spent in contact with a social partner or preference for a social-paired context, but fail to assess volitional (subject-controlled) rewarding social interaction. Here, we describe a volitional social self-administration and choice model that is an extension of our previous work on rats. Using mice, we systematically compared female adolescent and adult C57BL/6 mice and outbred CD1 mice, showing that operant social self-administration, social seeking during periods of isolation and choice of social interaction over palatable food is significantly stronger in female CD1 mice than in female C57BL/6J mice, independently of age. We describe the requirements for building the social self-administration and choice apparatus and we provide guidance for studying the role of operant social reward in mice. We also discuss its use to study brain mechanisms of operant social reward, potentially extending its application to mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The training commonly requires ~4 weeks for stable social self-administration and 3-4 additional weeks for tests, including social seeking and choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie A Ramsey
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Fernanda M Holloman
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Samantha S Lee
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marco Venniro
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Fritz M, Soravia SM, Dudeck M, Malli L, Fakhoury M. Neurobiology of Aggression-Review of Recent Findings and Relationship with Alcohol and Trauma. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12030469. [PMID: 36979161 PMCID: PMC10044835 DOI: 10.3390/biology12030469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Aggression can be conceptualized as any behavior, physical or verbal, that involves attacking another person or animal with the intent of causing harm, pain or injury. Because of its high prevalence worldwide, aggression has remained a central clinical and public safety issue. Aggression can be caused by several risk factors, including biological and psychological, such as genetics and mental health disorders, and socioeconomic such as education, employment, financial status, and neighborhood. Research over the past few decades has also proposed a link between alcohol consumption and aggressive behaviors. Alcohol consumption can escalate aggressive behavior in humans, often leading to domestic violence or serious crimes. Converging lines of evidence have also shown that trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could have a tremendous impact on behavior associated with both alcohol use problems and violence. However, although the link between trauma, alcohol, and aggression is well documented, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms and their impact on behavior have not been properly discussed. This article provides an overview of recent advances in understanding the translational neurobiological basis of aggression and its intricate links to alcoholism and trauma, focusing on behavior. It does so by shedding light from several perspectives, including in vivo imaging, genes, receptors, and neurotransmitters and their influence on human and animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fritz
- School of Health and Social Sciences, AKAD University of Applied Sciences, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Lindenallee 2, 89312 Günzburg, Germany
| | - Sarah-Maria Soravia
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Lindenallee 2, 89312 Günzburg, Germany
| | - Manuela Dudeck
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, BKH Günzburg, Lindenallee 2, 89312 Günzburg, Germany
| | - Layal Malli
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
| | - Marc Fakhoury
- Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut P.O. Box 13-5053, Lebanon
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12
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Fukushima HS, Takeda H, Nakamura R. Targeted Manipulation of Histone Modification in Medaka Embryos. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2577:279-293. [PMID: 36173581 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2724-2_20] [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] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recent development of targeted manipulation of histone modification enables us to experimentally and directly test the functional relevance of histone modifications accumulated at specific genomic regions. In particular, dCas9 epigenome editing has been widely used for site-specific manipulation of epigenetic modification. Here, we describe how to apply dCas9 epigenome editing in fish (medaka, Oryzias latipes) embryos and how to analyze induced changes in histone modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroto S Fukushima
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Takeda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryohei Nakamura
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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13
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Dorofeikova M, Borkar CD, Weissmuller K, Smith-Osborne L, Basavanhalli S, Bean E, Smith A, Duong A, Resendez A, Fadok JP. Effects of footshock stress on social behavior and neuronal activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of male and female mice. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281388. [PMID: 36757923 PMCID: PMC9910713 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behavior is complex and fundamental, and its deficits are common pathological features for several psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Acute stress may have a negative impact on social behavior, and these effects can vary based on sex. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of acute footshock stress, using analogous parameters to those commonly used in fear conditioning assays, on the sociability of male and female C57BL/6J mice in a standard social approach test. Animals were divided into two main groups of footshock stress (22 male, 24 female) and context exposed control (23 male and 22 female). Each group had mice that were treated intraperitoneally with either the benzodiazepine-alprazolam (control: 10 male, 10 female; stress: 11 male, 11 female), or vehicle (control: 13 male, 12 female; stress: 11 male, 13 female). In all groups, neuronal activation during social approach was assessed using immunohistochemistry against the immediate early gene product cFos. Although footshock stress did not significantly alter sociability or latency to approach a social stimulus, it did increase defensive tail-rattling behavior specifically in males (p = 0.0022). This stress-induced increase in tail-rattling was alleviated by alprazolam (p = 0.03), yet alprazolam had no effect on female tail-rattling behavior in the stress group. Alprazolam lowered cFos expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (p = 0.001 infralimbic area, p = 0.02 prelimbic area), and social approach induced sex-dependent differences in cFos activation in the ventromedial intercalated cell clusters (p = 0.04). Social approach following stress-induced cFos expression was positively correlated with latency to approach and negatively correlated with sociability in the prelimbic area and multiple amygdala subregions (all p < 0.05). Collectively, our results suggest that acute footshock stress induces sex-dependent alterations in defensiveness and differential patterns of cFos activation during social approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Dorofeikova
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Chandrashekhar D. Borkar
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | | | - Lydia Smith-Osborne
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA, United States of America
| | - Samhita Basavanhalli
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Erin Bean
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Avery Smith
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Anh Duong
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Alexis Resendez
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
| | - Jonathan P. Fadok
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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14
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The Protective Effect of Social Reward on Opioid and Psychostimulant Reward and Relapse: Behavior, Pharmacology, and Brain Regions. J Neurosci 2022; 42:9298-9314. [PMID: 36517252 PMCID: PMC9794371 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0931-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Until recently, most modern neuroscience research on addiction using animal models did not incorporate manipulations of social factors. Social factors play a critical role in human addiction: social isolation and exclusion can promote drug use and relapse, while social connections and inclusion tend to be protective. Here, we discuss the state of the literature on social factors in animal models of opioid and psychostimulant preference, self-administration, and relapse. We first summarize results from rodent studies on behavioral, pharmacological, and circuit mechanisms of the protective effect of traditional experimenter-controlled social interaction procedures on opioid and psychostimulant conditioned place preference, self-administration, and relapse. Next, we summarize behavioral and brain-mechanism results from studies using newer operant social-interaction procedures that inhibit opioid and psychostimulant self-administration and relapse. We conclude by discussing how the reviewed studies point to future directions for the addiction field and other neuroscience and psychiatric fields, and their implications for mechanistic understanding of addiction and development of new treatments.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this review, we propose that incorporating social factors into modern neuroscience research on addiction could improve mechanistic accounts of addiction and help close gaps in translating discovery to treatment. We first summarize rodent studies on behavioral, pharmacological, and circuit mechanisms of the protective effect of both traditional experimenter-controlled and newer operant social-interaction procedures. We then discuss potential future directions and clinical implications.
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15
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Aubry AV, Joseph Burnett C, Goodwin NL, Li L, Navarrete J, Zhang Y, Tsai V, Durand-de Cuttoli R, Golden SA, Russo SJ. Sex differences in appetitive and reactive aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1746-1754. [PMID: 35810200 PMCID: PMC9372130 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01375-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Aggression is an evolutionarily conserved, adaptive component of social behavior. Studies in male mice illustrate that aggression is influenced by numerous factors including the degree to which an individual finds aggression rewarding and will work for access to attack and subordinate mice. While such studies have expanded our understanding of the molecular and circuit mechanisms of male aggression very little is known about female aggression, within these established contexts. Here we use an ethologically relevant model of male vs. female aggression by pair housing adult male and female outbred CFW mice with opposite sex cage mates. We assess reactive (defensive) aggression in the resident intruder (RI) test and appetitive (rewarding) aggression in the aggression conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant self-administration (SA) tests. Our results show dramatic sex differences in both qualitative and quantitative aspects of reactive vs. appetitive aggression. Males exhibit more wrestling and less investigative behavior during RI, find aggression rewarding, and will work for access to a subordinate to attack. Females exhibit more bites, alternate between aggressive behaviors and investigative behaviors more readily during RI, however, they do not find aggression to be rewarding or reinforcing. These results establish sex differences in aggression in mice, providing an important resource for the field to better understand the circuit and molecular mechanisms of aggression in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio V Aubry
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - C Joseph Burnett
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nastacia L Goodwin
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Long Li
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jovana Navarrete
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yizhe Zhang
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Valerie Tsai
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Romain Durand-de Cuttoli
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sam A Golden
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Scott J Russo
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Brain-Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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16
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Kumar A, Aglyamova G, Yim Y, Bailey AO, Lynch H, Powell R, Nguyen N, Rosenthal Z, Zhao WN, Li Y, Chen J, Fan S, Lee H, Russell W, Stephan C, Robison A, Haggarty S, Nestler E, Zhou J, Machius M, Rudenko G. Chemically targeting the redox switch in AP1 transcription factor ΔFOSB. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:9548-9567. [PMID: 36039764 PMCID: PMC9458432 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The AP1 transcription factor ΔFOSB, a splice variant of FOSB, accumulates in the brain in response to chronic insults such as exposure to drugs of abuse, depression, Alzheimer's disease and tardive dyskinesias, and mediates subsequent long-term neuroadaptations. ΔFOSB forms heterodimers with other AP1 transcription factors, e.g. JUND, that bind DNA under control of a putative cysteine-based redox switch. Here, we reveal the structural basis of the redox switch by determining a key missing crystal structure in a trio, the ΔFOSB/JUND bZIP domains in the reduced, DNA-free form. Screening a cysteine-focused library containing 3200 thiol-reactive compounds, we identify specific compounds that target the redox switch, validate their activity biochemically and in cell-based assays, and show that they are well tolerated in different cell lines despite their general potential to bind to cysteines covalently. A crystal structure of the ΔFOSB/JUND bZIP domains in complex with a redox-switch-targeting compound reveals a deep compound-binding pocket near the DNA-binding site. We demonstrate that ΔFOSB, and potentially other, related AP1 transcription factors, can be targeted specifically and discriminately by exploiting unique structural features such as the redox switch and the binding partner to modulate biological function despite these proteins previously being thought to be undruggable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yun Young Yim
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Aaron O Bailey
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Haley M Lynch
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Reid T Powell
- HTS Screening Core, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Center for Translational Cancer Research, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Nghi D Nguyen
- HTS Screening Core, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Center for Translational Cancer Research, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Zachary Rosenthal
- Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Departments of Psychiatry & Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Wen-Ning Zhao
- Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Departments of Psychiatry & Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Jianping Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Shanghua Fan
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA,Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Hubert Lee
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA,Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - William K Russell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Clifford Stephan
- HTS Screening Core, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Center for Translational Cancer Research, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Alfred J Robison
- Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Stephen J Haggarty
- Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Departments of Psychiatry & Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Jia Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA,Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Mischa Machius
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA,Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Gabby Rudenko
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 409 772 6292; Fax: +1 409 772 9642;
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17
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Dai B, Sun F, Tong X, Ding Y, Kuang A, Osakada T, Li Y, Lin D. Responses and functions of dopamine in nucleus accumbens core during social behaviors. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111246. [PMID: 36001967 PMCID: PMC9511885 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Social behaviors are among the most important motivated behaviors. How dopamine (DA), a "reward" signal, releases during social behaviors has been a topic of interest for decades. Here, we use a genetically encoded DA sensor, GRABDA2m, to record DA activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core during various social behaviors in male and female mice. We find that DA releases during approach, investigation and consummation phases of social behaviors signal animals' motivation, familiarity of the social target, and valence of the experience, respectively. Positive and negative social experiences evoke opposite DA patterns. Furthermore, DA releases during mating and fighting are sexually dimorphic with a higher level in males than in females. At the functional level, increasing DA in NAc enhances social interest toward a familiar conspecific and alleviates defeat-induced social avoidance. Altogether, our results reveal complex information encoded by NAc DA activity during social behaviors and their multistage functional roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Dai
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Fangmiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyu Tong
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yizhuo Ding
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amy Kuang
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Takuya Osakada
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dayu Lin
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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18
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Ramsey LA, Holloman FM, Hope BT, Shaham Y, Venniro M. Waving Through the Window: A Model of Volitional Social Interaction in Female Mice. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:988-997. [PMID: 35074211 PMCID: PMC9081292 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mouse models of social behavior fail to account for volitional aspects of social interaction, and current neurobiological investigation of social behavior is performed almost exclusively using C57BL/6J mice, the background strain of most transgenic mice. Here, we introduce a mouse model of operant social self-administration and choice, using a custom-made apparatus. METHODS First, we trained adolescent and adult female C57BL/6J and CD1 mice to self-administer palatable food pellets and then to lever press under increasing fixed-ratio response requirements for access to an age-matched female social partner. Next, we tested their motivation to seek social interaction using a progressive ratio reinforcement schedule, relapse to social seeking after social isolation, and choice between palatable food versus social interaction. We also tested social conditioned place preference in adult female CD1 and C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS Adolescent and adult female mice of both strains showed similar rates of food self-administration. In contrast, CD1 mice demonstrated significantly stronger social self-administration than C57BL/6J mice under both reinforcement schedules. CD1 but not C57BL/6J mice demonstrated robust social seeking after social isolation. In the choice task, CD1 mice preferred social interaction, whereas C57BL/6J mice preferred food. CD1 but not C57BL/6J mice demonstrated robust social conditioned place preference. The strain differences were age independent. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that CD1 mice are a better strain for studying female social reward learning. Our mouse operant social model provides a tool for research on neurobiological substrates of female social reward and disruption of social reward in psychiatric disorders using mouse-specific genetic tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie A. Ramsey
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, NIDA, NIH, Baltimore, USA,Corresponding Authors: Leslie A. Ramsey, 251 Bayview Blvd, Baltimore, MD, 21224, (443) 740-2693, (); Marco Venniro, 20 Penn St, Baltimore, MD ()
| | - Fernanda M. Holloman
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, NIDA, NIH, Baltimore, USA
| | - Bruce T. Hope
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, NIDA, NIH, Baltimore, USA
| | - Yavin Shaham
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch Intramural Research Program, NIDA, NIH, Baltimore, USA
| | - Marco Venniro
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
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19
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Flanigan ME, Kash TL. Coordination of social behaviors by the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2404-2420. [PMID: 33006806 PMCID: PMC9906816 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a sexually dimorphic, neuropeptide-rich node of the extended amygdala that has been implicated in responses to stress, drugs of abuse, and natural rewards. Its function is dysregulated in neuropsychiatric disorders that are characterized by stress- or drug-induced alterations in mood, arousal, motivation, and social behavior. However, compared to the BNST's role in mood, arousal, and motivation, its role in social behavior has remained relatively understudied. Moreover, the precise cell types and circuits underlying the BNST's role in social behavior have only recently begun to be explored using modern neuroscience techniques. Here, we systematically review the existing literature investigating the neurobiological substrates within the BNST that contribute to the coordination of various sex-dependent and sex-independent social behavioral repertoires, focusing largely on pharmacological and circuit-based behavioral studies in rodents. We suggest that the BNST coordinates social behavior by promoting appropriate assessment of social contexts to select relevant behavioral outputs and that disruption of socially relevant BNST systems by stress and drugs of abuse may be an important factor in the development of social dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan E. Flanigan
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Thomas L. Kash
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC,Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC,Correspondence: Thomas L. Kash, John R. Andrews Distinguished Professor, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA, , (919) 843-7867
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20
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Shan Q, Hu Y, Chen S, Tian Y. Nucleus accumbens dichotomically controls social dominance in male mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:776-787. [PMID: 34750567 PMCID: PMC8783020 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01220-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Social dominance versus social submissiveness is a basic behavioral trait of social animals such as human beings and laboratory mice. The brain regions associated with this behavior have been intensely investigated, and early neuroimaging research on human subjects implies that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) might be involved in encoding social dominance. However, the underlying circuitry and synaptic mechanism are largely unknown. In this study, by introducing lesions to both NAc subregions, the shell and core, a causal relationship is established between social dominance and both NAc subregions. A further electrophysiology investigation on the circuitry of these two subregions revealed that the postsynaptic strength of excitatory synapses onto the medium spiny neurons that express the D1 dopamine receptors in the shell is negatively correlated, and the postsynaptic strength of excitatory synapses onto the medium spiny neurons that express the D2 dopamine receptors in the core is positively correlated, with social dominance. Correspondingly, a DREADD investigation revealed that the activities of these respective medium spiny neurons suppress and promote social dominance. These findings identify a neural substrate for social dominance, implying the potential for a therapeutic strategy for treating related psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Shan
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China.
| | - You Hu
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China
| | - Shijie Chen
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China
| | - Yao Tian
- Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, 300071, Tianjin, China
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21
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Teague CD, Nestler EJ. Key transcription factors mediating cocaine-induced plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:687-709. [PMID: 34079067 PMCID: PMC8636523 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01163-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Repeated cocaine use induces coordinated changes in gene expression that drive plasticity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), an important component of the brain's reward circuitry, and promote the development of maladaptive, addiction-like behaviors. Studies on the molecular basis of cocaine action identify transcription factors, a class of proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences and regulate transcription, as critical mediators of this cocaine-induced plasticity. Early methods to identify and study transcription factors involved in addiction pathophysiology primarily relied on quantifying the expression of candidate genes in bulk brain tissue after chronic cocaine treatment, as well as conventional overexpression and knockdown techniques. More recently, advances in next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, cell-type-specific targeting, and locus-specific neuroepigenomic editing offer a more powerful, unbiased toolbox to identify the most important transcription factors that drive drug-induced plasticity and to causally define their downstream molecular mechanisms. Here, we synthesize the literature on transcription factors mediating cocaine action in the NAc, discuss the advancements and remaining limitations of current experimental approaches, and emphasize recent work leveraging bioinformatic tools and neuroepigenomic editing to study transcription factors involved in cocaine addiction.
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22
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Oliveira VEDM, Bakker J. Neuroendocrine regulation of female aggression. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:957114. [PMID: 36034455 PMCID: PMC9399833 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.957114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Classically the neurobiology of aggression has been studied exclusively in males. Thus, females have been considered mildly aggressive except during lactation. Interestingly, recent studies in rodents and humans have revealed that non-lactating females can show exacerbated and pathological aggression similarly to males. This review provides an overview of recent findings on the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating aggressive behavior in females. In particular, the focus will be on novel rodent models of exaggerated aggression established in non-lactating females. Among the neuromodulatory systems influencing female aggression, special attention has been given to sex-steroids and sex-steroid-sensitive neuronal populations (i.e., the core nuclei of the neural pathway of aggression) as well as to the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin which are major players in the regulation of social behaviors.
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23
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Takahashi A. Social Stress and Aggression in Murine Models. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2021; 54:181-208. [PMID: 34432257 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Throughout life, animals engage in a variety of social interactions ranging from the affiliative mother-offspring interaction and juvenile play to aggressive conflict. Deprivation of the appropriate social interaction during early development is stressful and disrupts the development of appropriate social behaviors and emotional responses later in life. Additionally, agonistic encounters can induce stress responses in both dominant and subordinate individuals. This review focuses on the social stress that escalates aggressive behavior of animals and discusses the known neurobiological and physiological mechanisms underlying the link between social stress and aggression. Social instigation, a brief exposure to a rival without physical contact, induces aggressive arousal in dominant animals and escalates aggressive behaviors in the following agonistic encounter. Furthermore, the experience of winning an aggressive encounter is known to be as rewarding as addictive drugs, and the experience of repeatedly winning induces addiction-like behavioral and neurobiological changes and leads to abnormal aggressive behaviors. Social isolation stress in early development from neonatal to juvenile and adolescent periods also affects aggressive behavior, but these effects largely depend on the strain, sex, and species as well as the stage of development in which isolation stress is experienced. In conclusion, understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying the link between social stress and aggression will provide an important insight for the development of more effective and tolerable treatments for maladaptive aggression in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aki Takahashi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
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Ben-Ami Bartal I, Breton JM, Sheng H, Long KL, Chen S, Halliday A, Kenney JW, Wheeler AL, Frankland P, Shilyansky C, Deisseroth K, Keltner D, Kaufer D. Neural correlates of ingroup bias for prosociality in rats. eLife 2021; 10:65582. [PMID: 34253289 PMCID: PMC8277352 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Prosocial behavior, in particular helping others in need, occurs preferentially in response to distress of one’s own group members. In order to explore the neural mechanisms promoting mammalian helping behavior, a discovery-based approach was used here to identify brain-wide activity correlated with helping behavior in rats. Demonstrating social selectivity, rats helped others of their strain (‘ingroup’), but not rats of an unfamiliar strain (‘outgroup’), by releasing them from a restrainer. Analysis of brain-wide neural activity via quantification of the early-immediate gene c-Fos identified a shared network, including frontal and insular cortices, that was active in the helping test irrespective of group membership. In contrast, the striatum was selectively active for ingroup members, and activity in the nucleus accumbens, a central network hub, correlated with helping. In vivo calcium imaging showed accumbens activity when rats approached a trapped ingroup member, and retrograde tracing identified a subpopulation of accumbens-projecting cells that was correlated with helping. These findings demonstrate that motivation and reward networks are associated with helping an ingroup member and provide the first description of neural correlates of ingroup bias in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Jocelyn M Breton
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Huanjie Sheng
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Kimberly Lp Long
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Stella Chen
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Aline Halliday
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Justin W Kenney
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Toronto, Canada
| | - Anne L Wheeler
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Toronto, Canada.,Physiology Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Paul Frankland
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, Toronto, Canada.,Physiology Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada
| | - Carrie Shilyansky
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.,Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States
| | - Dacher Keltner
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Daniela Kaufer
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada
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25
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Lonstein JS, Charlier TD, Pawluski JL, Aigueperse N, Meurisse M, Lévy F, Lumineau S. Fos expression in the medial preoptic area and nucleus accumbens of female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) after maternal induction and interaction with chicks. Physiol Behav 2021; 234:113357. [PMID: 33582165 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113357] [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: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The neural system underlying maternal caregiving has often been studied using laboratory rodents and a few other mammalian species. This research shows that the medial preoptic area (mPOA) integrates sensory cues from the young that, along with hormonal and other environmental signals, control maternal acceptance of neonates. The mPOA then activates the mesolimbic system to drive maternal motivation and caregiving activities. How components of this neural system respond to maternal experience and exposure to young in non-mammals has rarely been examined. To gain more insight into this question, virgin female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were induced to be maternal through four days of continuous exposure to chicks (Maternal), or were not exposed to chicks (Non-Maternal). Chicks were removed overnight from the Maternal group and half the females from each group were then exposed to chicks for 90 minutes (Exposed), or not exposed to chicks (Non-Exposed), before euthanasia. The number of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) cells was examined as a marker of neuronal activation. As expected, repeated exposure to chicks induced caregiving behavior in the Maternal females, which persisted after the overnight separation, suggesting the formation of a maternal memory. In contrast, Non-Maternal females were aggressive and rejected the chicks when exposed to them. Exposed females, whether or not they were given prior experience with chicks (i.e., regardless if they accepted or rejected chicks during the exposure before euthanasia), had more Fos-ir cells in the mPOA compared to Non-Exposed females. In the nucleus accumbens (NAC), the number of Fos-ir cells was high in all Maternal females whether or not they were Exposed to chicks again before euthanasia. In the lateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, a site involved in general stress responding, groups did not differ in the number of Fos-ir cells. These data indicate a conserved role for the mPOA and NAC in maternal caregiving across vertebrates, with the mPOA acutely responding to the salience rather than valence of offspring cues, and the NAC showing longer-term changes in activity after a positive maternal experience even without a recent exposure to young.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Lonstein
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, United States.
| | - Thierry D Charlier
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Jodi L Pawluski
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Nadege Aigueperse
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Maryse Meurisse
- Unité de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportemenst (PRC), INRAE, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - Frédéric Lévy
- Unité de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportemenst (PRC), INRAE, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - Sophie Lumineau
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, France
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26
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Chou D. Topiramate inhibits offensive aggression through targeting ventrolateral periaqueductal gray. Neuropharmacology 2020; 181:108361. [PMID: 33096107 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Topiramate is an approved antiepileptic drug clinically used to treat epilepsy and prevent migraines. Currently, topiramate has been found to be effective in treating aggressive symptoms in neuropsychiatric patients. In preclinical studies, however, the effects and mechanisms of topiramate on offensive aggression are still largely uninvestigated. Our previous studies indicated that glutamatergic transmission in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) plays a crucial role in regulating elements of offensive aggressive behaviors. In the present work, we investigated the actions of topiramate on vlPAG glutamatergic transmission and aggressive behaviors in group-housed (GH) and socially isolated (SI) rats. The results suggested that a single injection of topiramate systemically and dose-dependently inhibited elements of offensive aggressive behaviors of both GH and SI rats in the resident-intruder test (RIT), with long-lasting effective time profiles in SI rats. Moreover, systemic single administration of topiramate reduced the frequency and amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in the vlPAG. Bath perfusion of topiramate directly decreased the frequency and amplitude of mEPSCs and shortened the amplitude of evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in the vlPAG. Furthermore, intra-vlPAG single microinjection of topiramate dose-dependently inhibited offensive aggressive behaviors in GH and SI rats in a time-dependent manner. Additionally, both systemic and local topiramate inhibited offensive aggressive behaviors in a (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK)-dependent rat model. In conclusion, the present results suggest that topiramate exerts anti-aggressive roles through its inhibitory actions on glutamatergic activities in the vlPAG. These preclinical results support topiramate as a candidate drug to treat patients with heightened offensive aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Chou
- Department of Physiology, Zhuhai Campus of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.
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27
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Borland JM, Kim E, Swanson SP, Rothwell PE, Mermelstein PG, Meisel RL. Effect of Aggressive Experience in Female Syrian Hamsters on Glutamate Receptor Expression in the Nucleus Accumbens. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:583395. [PMID: 33328919 PMCID: PMC7719767 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.583395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Our social relationships determine our health and well-being. In rodent models, there is now strong support for the rewarding properties of aggressive or assertive behaviors to be critical for the expression and development of adaptive social relationships, buffering from stress and protecting from the development of psychiatric disorders such as depression. However, due to the false belief that aggression is not a part of the normal repertoire of social behaviors displayed by females, almost nothing is known about the neural mechanisms mediating the rewarding properties of aggression in half the population. In the following study, using Syrian hamsters as a well-validated and translational model of female aggression, we investigated the effects of aggressive experience on the expression of markers of postsynaptic structure (PSD-95, Caskin I) and excitatory synaptic transmission (GluA1, GluA2, GluA4, NR2A, NR2B, mGluR1a, and mGluR5) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), caudate putamen and prefrontal cortex. Aggressive experience resulted in an increase in PSD-95, GluA1 and the dimer form of mGluR5 specifically in the NAc 24 h following aggressive experience. There was also an increase in the dimer form of mGluR1a 1 week following aggressive experience. Aggressive experience also resulted in an increase in the strength of the association between these postsynaptic proteins and glutamate receptors, supporting a common mechanism of action. In addition, 1 week following aggressive experience there was a positive correlation between the monomer of mGluR5 and multiple AMPAR and NMDAR subunits. In conclusion, we provide evidence that aggressive experience in females results in an increase in the expression of postsynaptic density, AMPARs and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors, and an increase in the strength of the association between postsynaptic proteins and glutamate receptors. This suggests that aggressive experience may result in an increase in excitatory synaptic transmission in the NAc, potentially encoding the rewarding and behavioral effects of aggressive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johnathan M. Borland
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
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28
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Neural mechanisms of aggression across species. Nat Neurosci 2020; 23:1317-1328. [PMID: 33046890 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00715-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Aggression is a social behavior essential for securing resources and defending oneself and family. Thanks to its indispensable function in competition and thus survival, aggression exists widely across animal species, including humans. Classical works from Tinbergen and Lorenz concluded that instinctive behaviors including aggression are mediated by hardwired brain circuitries that specialize in processing certain sensory inputs to trigger stereotyped motor outputs. They further suggest that instinctive behaviors are influenced by an animal's internal state and past experiences. Following this conceptual framework, here we review our current understanding regarding the neural substrates underlying aggression generation, highlighting an evolutionarily conserved 'core aggression circuit' composed of four subcortical regions. We further discuss the neural mechanisms that support changes in aggression based on the animal's internal state. We aim to provide an overview of features of aggression and the relevant neural substrates across species, highlighting findings in rodents, primates and songbirds.
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29
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Goodwin NL, Nilsson SRO, Golden SA. Rage Against the Machine: Advancing the study of aggression ethology via machine learning. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:2569-2588. [PMID: 32647898 PMCID: PMC7502501 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05577-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Aggression, comorbid with neuropsychiatric disorders, exhibits with diverse clinical presentations and places a significant burden on patients, caregivers, and society. This diversity is observed because aggression is a complex behavior that can be ethologically demarcated as either appetitive (rewarding) or reactive (defensive), each with its own behavioral characteristics, functionality, and neural basis that may transition from adaptive to maladaptive depending on genetic and environmental factors. There has been a recent surge in the development of preclinical animal models for studying appetitive aggression-related behaviors and identifying the neural mechanisms guiding their progression and expression. However, adoption of these procedures is often impeded by the arduous task of manually scoring complex social interactions. Manual observations are generally susceptible to observer drift, long analysis times, and poor inter-rater reliability, and are further incompatible with the sampling frequencies required of modern neuroscience methods. OBJECTIVES In this review, we discuss recent advances in the preclinical study of appetitive aggression in mice, paired with our perspective on the potential for machine learning techniques in producing automated, robust scoring of aggressive social behavior. We discuss critical considerations for implementing valid computer classifications within behavioral pharmacological studies. KEY RESULTS Open-source automated classification platforms can match or exceed the performance of human observers while removing the confounds of observer drift, bias, and inter-rater reliability. Furthermore, unsupervised approaches can identify previously uncharacterized aggression-related behavioral repertoires in model species. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Advances in open-source computational approaches hold promise for overcoming current manual annotation caveats while also introducing and generalizing computational neuroethology to the greater behavioral neuroscience community. We propose that currently available open-source approaches are sufficient for overcoming the main limitations preventing wide adoption of machine learning within the context of preclinical aggression behavioral research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nastacia L Goodwin
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Simon R O Nilsson
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sam A Golden
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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30
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Yim YY, Teague CD, Nestler EJ. In vivo locus-specific editing of the neuroepigenome. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:471-484. [PMID: 32704051 PMCID: PMC7439525 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0334-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Studies over the past several decades have identified numerous epigenetic mechanisms associated with pathological states in psychiatric and neurological disease. Until recently, studies investigating chromatin-regulatory proteins, using overexpression or knockdown approaches, did not establish causal roles for epigenetic modifications at specific genes because these techniques typically affect hundreds or thousands of genomic loci. In this Review, we describe recent efforts in using locus-specific neuroepigenome editing in vivo to, for the first time, define causal relationships between a single chromatin modification at a specific gene in a defined cell population and downstream measures at the molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioural levels. We briefly introduce three epigenome-editing platforms: zinc-finger proteins, transcriptional activator-like effectors and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). We then explore the development of in vivo neuroepigenome-editing tools and their applications to resolve epigenetic contributions to the pathophysiology of brain diseases. We also discuss technical considerations for in vivo neuroepigenome-editing experiments and ongoing innovations in the field, including new tools to investigate chromatin marks, manipulate chromatin topology and induce epigenetic modifications at multiple genes in the same cell. Lastly, we explore the potential clinical applications of in vivo neuroepigenome editing for treating brain pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Young Yim
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Collin D Teague
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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31
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Marler CA, Trainor BC. The challenge hypothesis revisited: Focus on reproductive experience and neural mechanisms. Horm Behav 2020; 123:104645. [PMID: 31778720 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 10/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Our review focuses on findings from mammals as part of a Special Issue "30th Anniversary of the Challenge Hypothesis". Here we put forth an integration of the mechanisms through which testosterone controls territorial behavior and consider how reproductive experience may alter these mechanisms. The emphasis is placed on the function of socially induced increases in testosterone (T) pulses, which occur in response to social interactions, as elegantly developed by Wingfield and colleagues. We focus on findings from the monogamous California mouse, as data from this species shows that reproductive status is a key factor influencing social interactions, site fidelity, and vigilance for offspring defense. Specifically, we examine differences in T pulses in sexually naïve versus sexually experienced pair bonded males. Testosterone pulses influence processes such as social decision making, the winner-challenge effect, and location preferences through rewarding effects of T. We also consider how social and predatory vigilance contribute to T pulses and how these interactions contribute to a territory centered around maximizing reproduction. Possible underlying mechanisms for these effects include the nucleus accumbens (rewarding effects of testosterone), hippocampus (spatial memories for territories), and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (social vigilance). The development of the challenge effect has provided an ideal framework for understanding the complex network of behavioral, environmental, physiological and neural mechanisms that ultimately relates to competition and territoriality across taxa. The opportunity to merge research on the challenge effect using both laboratory and field research to understand social behavior is unparalleled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine A Marler
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Brian C Trainor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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32
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Blum K, Baron D, McLaughlin T, Gold MS. Molecular neurological correlates of endorphinergic/dopaminergic mechanisms in reward circuitry linked to endorphinergic deficiency syndrome (EDS). J Neurol Sci 2020; 411:116733. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.116733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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33
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Zhang Y, Lu W, Wang Z, Zhang R, Xie Y, Guo S, Jiao L, Hong Y, Di Z, Wang G, Aa J. Reduced Neuronal cAMP in the Nucleus Accumbens Damages Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity and Promotes Stress Vulnerability. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:526-537. [PMID: 31812254 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.09.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies have suggested that chronic social stress specifically downregulates endothelial tight junction protein expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), thus increasing blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and promoting depression-like behaviors. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the reduction in tight junction protein, particularly in the NAc, is largely uncharacterized. METHODS We performed comparative metabolomic profiling of the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus of social defeat-stressed mice to identify the molecular events that mediate BBB breakdown. RESULTS We identified the levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) that were specifically reduced in the NAc and positively correlated with the degree of social avoidance. Replenishing cAMP in the NAc was sufficient to improve BBB integrity and depression-like behaviors. We further found that cAMP levels were markedly decreased in neurons of the NAc, rather than in endothelial cells, astrocytes, or microglia. RNA-sequencing data showed that adenylate cyclase 5 (Adcy5), an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of cAMP from adenosine triphosphate (ATP), was predominantly expressed in the NAc; it also resided exclusively in neurons. Endogenous modulation of cAMP synthesis in neurons through the knockdown of Adcy5 in the NAc regulated the sensitivity to social stress. Moreover, deficient neuronal cAMP production in the NAc decreased the expression of reelin, while supplementary injection of exogenous reelin into the NAc promoted BBB integrity and ameliorated depression-like behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Chronic social stress diminished cAMP synthesis in neurons, thus damaging BBB integrity in the NAc and promoting stress vulnerability. These results characterize neuron-produced cAMP in the NAc as a biological mechanism of neurovascular pathology in social stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wuhuan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zibin Wang
- Analytical and Testing Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ran Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuan Xie
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Suhan Guo
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Li Jiao
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu Hong
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zizhen Di
- Liaoning Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
| | - Guangji Wang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Jiye Aa
- Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
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Cathomas F, Murrough JW, Nestler EJ, Han MH, Russo SJ. Neurobiology of Resilience: Interface Between Mind and Body. Biol Psychiatry 2019; 86:410-420. [PMID: 31178098 PMCID: PMC6717018 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, exact enormous socioeconomic and individual consequences. Resilience, the process of adaptation in the face of adversity, is an important concept that is enabling the field to understand individual differences in stress responses, with the hope of harnessing this information for the development of novel therapeutics that mimic the body's natural resilience mechanisms. This review provides an update on the current state of research of the neurobiological mechanisms of stress resilience. We focus on physiological and transcriptional adaptations of specific brain circuits, the role of cellular and humoral factors of the immune system, the gut microbiota, and changes at the interface between the brain and the periphery, the blood-brain barrier. We propose viewing resilience as a process that requires the integration of multiple central and peripheral systems and that elucidating the underlying neurobiological mechanisms will ultimately lead to novel therapeutic options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flurin Cathomas
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029
| | - James W. Murrough
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029,Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029
| | - Eric J. Nestler
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029
| | - Ming-Hu Han
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029,Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Scott J. Russo
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029,Corresponding author: Scott J. Russo, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1425 Madison Ave., New York, NY, 10029. ()
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35
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Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Receptor 1 Expressing Neurons Are Instrumental in Appetitive Aggression. J Neurosci 2019; 39:6610-6612. [PMID: 31434715 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0772-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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36
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Dempsey E, Abautret-Daly Á, Docherty NG, Medina C, Harkin A. Persistent central inflammation and region specific cellular activation accompany depression- and anxiety-like behaviours during the resolution phase of experimental colitis. Brain Behav Immun 2019; 80:616-632. [PMID: 31063848 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression and anxiety-related psychological symptoms are increasingly recognised as important co-morbidities in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) -induced colitis is an animal model of IBD in which afferent activation of the gut-brain axis can be assessed and explored as a source of behavioural change. Exposure of adult male Wistar rats to DSS (5%) in drinking water induced distal colitis. In parallel to local inflammatory responses in the gut wall, increased expression of IL-6 and iNOS was found in the cerebral cortex and an increase in ventricular volume. Immunoreactivity of immediate early gene FosB/ΔFosB activation was measured as an index of cellular activation and was increased in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal raphe nucleus in acutely colitic animals. Following resolution of the acute colitic response, sustained anhedonia in the saccharin preference test, immobility in the forced swim test, reduced burying behaviour in the marble burying test, and mild signs of anxiety in the elevated plus maze and light/dark box were observed. Central increases in iNOS expression persisted during the recovery phase and mapped to reactive microglia, particularly those found in the parenchyma surrounding circumventricular regions. Evidence of associated nitration was also found. Sustained increases in ventricular volume and reduced T2 magnetic resonance relaxometry time in cortical regions were observed during the recovery period. FosB/ΔFosB activation was evident in the dorsal raphe during recovery. Persistent central inflammation and cellular activation may underpin the emergence of symptoms of depression and anxiety in experimental colitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Dempsey
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Áine Abautret-Daly
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Neil G Docherty
- Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Carlos Medina
- School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Andrew Harkin
- Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
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37
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Hamilton PJ, Nestler EJ. Epigenetics and addiction. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 59:128-136. [PMID: 31255844 PMCID: PMC6889055 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
As an individual becomes addicted to a drug of abuse, nerve cells within the brain's reward circuitry adapt at the epigenetic level during the course of repeated drug exposure. These drug-induced epigenetic adaptations mediate enduring changes in brain function which contribute to life-long, drug-related behavioral abnormalities that define addiction. Targeting these epigenetic alterations will enhance our understanding of the biological basis of addiction and might even yield more effective anti-addiction therapies. However, the complexity of the neuroepigenetic landscape makes it difficult to determine which drug-induced epigenetic changes causally contribute to the pathogenic mechanisms of drug addiction. In this review, we highlight the evidence that epigenetic modifications, specifically histone modifications, within key brain reward regions are correlated with addiction. We then discuss the emerging field of locus-specific neuroepigenetic editing, which is a promising method for determining the causal epigenetic molecular mechanisms that drive an addicted state. Such approaches will substantially increase the field's ability to establish the precise epigenetic mechanisms underlying drug addiction, and could lead to novel treatments for addictive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Hamilton
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, The Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, The Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States.
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Covington HE, Newman EL, Leonard MZ, Miczek KA. Translational models of adaptive and excessive fighting: an emerging role for neural circuits in pathological aggression. F1000Res 2019; 8:F1000 Faculty Rev-963. [PMID: 31281636 PMCID: PMC6593325 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.18883.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggression is a phylogenetically stable behavior, and attacks on conspecifics are observed in most animal species. In this review, we discuss translational models as they relate to pathological forms of offensive aggression and the brain mechanisms that underlie these behaviors. Quantifiable escalations in attack or the development of an atypical sequence of attacks and threats is useful for characterizing abnormal variations in aggression across species. Aggression that serves as a reinforcer can be excessive, and certain schedules of reinforcement that allow aggression rewards also allow for examining brain and behavior during the anticipation of a fight. Ethological attempts to capture and measure offensive aggression point to two prominent hypotheses for the neural basis of violence. First, pathological aggression may be due to an exaggeration of activity in subcortical circuits that mediate adaptive aggressive behaviors as they are triggered by environmental or endogenous cues at vulnerable time points. Indeed, repeated fighting experiences occur with plasticity in brain areas once considered hardwired. Alternatively, a separate "violence network" may converge on aggression circuitry that disinhibits pathological aggression (for example, via disrupted cortical inhibition). Advancing animal models that capture the motivation to commit pathological aggression remains important to fully distinguish the neural architecture of violence as it differs from adaptive competition among conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herbert E. Covington
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, 530 Boston Ave, 02155, MA, USA
| | - Emily L. Newman
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, 530 Boston Ave, 02155, MA, USA
| | - Michael Z. Leonard
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, 530 Boston Ave, 02155, MA, USA
| | - Klaus A. Miczek
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, 530 Boston Ave, 02155, MA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University, Boston, 136 Harrison Ave, 02111, MA, USA
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Ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine enhances aggression via periaqueductal gray glutamatergic transmission. Neuropharmacology 2019; 157:107667. [PMID: 31207251 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.107667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
(2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK), a metabolite of ketamine, has recently been suggested to be a potent antidepressant for treating animal depression and has rapid-onset and long-lasting action through potentiating glutamatergic transmission. However, its other effects are still unclear. In the present study, we tested the effects of (2R,6R)-HNK on offensive aggression. A resident-intruder (RI) test was used as the main model to test elements of offensive aggression, including threats and bites. Electrophysiological recordings in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) were used to measure the functions of glutamatergic synaptic transmission. A single systemic injection of (2R,6R)-HNK, but not (2S,6S)-HNK, increased elements of offensive aggression, including threats and bites, in a dose-dependent manner with long-lasting action. Moreover, (2R,6R)-HNK increased the input-output curve, the AMPA-mediated current, and the frequency and amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) and decreased the paired-pulse ratio (PPR) in the vlPAG. Furthermore, intra-vlPAG application of (2R,6R)-HNK increased aggressive and biting behaviors, which were abolished by an intra-vlPAG pretreatment with the AMPA receptors antagonist, CNQX. Notably, the intra-vlPAG CNQX pretreatment eliminated systemic (2R,6R)-HNK-enhanced aggressive and biting behaviors. The results of this suggest that (2R,6R)-HNK evokes offensive aggression by increasing vlPAG glutamatergic transmission. Although (2R,6R)-HNK is currently suggested to be effective for treating depression, its side effect of increasing offensive aggression should be a subject of concern in future drug development and therapy.
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Animal Models of (or for) Aggression Reward, Addiction, and Relapse: Behavior and Circuits. J Neurosci 2019; 39:3996-4008. [PMID: 30833504 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0151-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Inappropriate and pathological aggression plays a leading role in the suffering and death of millions of people, and further places an untenable strain on the caregivers and families of those afflicted. In some cases, such as addictive drugs, aggression can be highly rewarding (appetitive) and continually pursued despite short- and long-term negative consequences. Similarly, recidivism (relapse) rates for repeat violent offenders are as high as relapse rates for drug addicts. Appetitive aggression and relapse to aggression seeking can be modeled in mice studies using conditioned place preference and self-administration procedures followed by a period of abstinence and subsequent tests for relapse to aggression preference and aggression seeking. These procedures allow for the study of the mechanisms that control the appetitive versus the consummatory (attack) phases of aggressive behavior. In this review, we first discuss the behavioral procedures developed to probe appetitive aggression in mouse models, spanning from Pavlovian to operant tasks, and we also describe the recently proposed phenomenon of "aggression addiction." Next, we discuss the pharmacological and circuit mechanisms of aggression conditioned place preference and aggression self-administration, seeking, and relapse, highlighting mechanistic congruence and divergence between appetitive and consummatory phases of aggression. We conclude by discussing clinical implications of the studies reviewed.
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Oliveira VEDM, Neumann ID, de Jong TR. Post-weaning social isolation exacerbates aggression in both sexes and affects the vasopressin and oxytocin system in a sex-specific manner. Neuropharmacology 2019; 156:107504. [PMID: 30664846 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Post-weaning social isolation (PWSI) is known to induce exaggerated and abnormal aggression in male rats. Here we aimed to assess the effects of PWSI on aggressiveness and social behavior in both male and female rats. Furthermore, we evaluated how PWSI affects the central oxytocin (OXT) and vasopressin (AVP) systems in both sexes. Wistar rats were isolated (IS) or group housed (GH) in same-sex groups immediately after weaning. After seven weeks, rats underwent an intruder test to assess aggression. In one group, brains were immediately dissected afterwards for in situ hybridization and receptor autoradiography. The other group underwent additional anxiety-like and social behavior tests. PWSI induced increased (abnormal) aggression and impaired social memory in both sexes. Especially IS females exhibited abnormal aggression towards juveniles. Furthermore, PWSI increased OXT mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and decreased OXTR binding in the anterior portion of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), independent of the sex. V1a receptor binding was decreased in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and dentate gyrus (DG) in IS rats, regardless of sex. However, V1a receptor binding in the anterior portion of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTa) was decreased in IS females but increased in IS males. Taken together, our data support PWSI as a reliable model to exacerbate aggression not only in male but also in female rats. In addition, OXT receptors in the NAcca and V1a receptors in the LH, DG, and BNSTa may play a role in the link between PWSI and aggression. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Current status of the neurobiology of aggression and impulsivity'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Inga D Neumann
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Germany
| | - Trynke R de Jong
- Department of Behavioral and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Regensburg, Germany; Lifelines Biobank Noord-Nederland B.V. Groningen, Netherlands
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Nucleus Accumbens Drd1-Expressing Neurons Control Aggression Self-Administration and Aggression Seeking in Mice. J Neurosci 2019; 39:2482-2496. [PMID: 30655356 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2409-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
We recently developed a mouse model of appetitive operant aggression and reported that adult male outbred CD-1 mice lever-press for the opportunity to attack subordinate male mice and relapse to aggression seeking during abstinence. Here we studied the role of nucleus accumbens (NAc) dopamine receptor (Drd)1- and Drd2-expressing neurons in aggression self-administration and aggression seeking. We trained CD-1 mice to self-administer intruders (9 d, 12 trials/d) and tested them for aggression self-administration and aggression seeking on abstinence Day 1. We used immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization to measure the neuronal activity marker Fos in the NAc, and cell-type-specific colocalization of Fos with Drd1- and Drd2-expressing neurons. To test the causal role of Drd1- and Drd2-expressing neurons, we validated a transgenic hybrid breeding strategy crossing inbred Drd1-Cre and Drd2-Cre transgenic mice with outbred CD-1 mice and used cell-type-specific Cre-DREADD (hM4Di) to inhibit NAc Drd1- and Drd2-expressing neuron activity. We found that aggression self-administration and aggression seeking induced higher Fos expression in NAc shell than in core, that Fos colocalized with Drd1 and Drd2 in both subregions, and that chemogenetic inhibition of Drd1-, but not Drd2-, expressing neurons decreased aggression self-administration and aggression seeking. Results indicate a cell-type-specific role of Drd1-expressing neurons that is critical for both aggression self-administration and aggression seeking. Our study also validates a simple breeding strategy between outbred CD-1 mice and inbred C57-based Cre lines that can be used to study cell-type and circuit mechanisms of aggression reward and relapse.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Aggression is often comorbid with neuropsychiatric diseases, including drug addiction. One form, appetitive aggression, exhibits symptomatology that mimics that of drug addiction and is hypothesized to be due to dysregulation of addiction-related reward circuits. However, our mechanistic understanding of the circuitry modulating appetitive operant aggression is limited. Here we used a novel mouse model of aggression self-administration and relapse, in combination with immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and chemogenetic manipulations to examine how cell types in the nucleus accumbens are recruited for, and control, operant aggression self-administration and aggression seeking on abstinence Day 1. We found that one population, dopamine receptor 1-expressing neurons, act as a critical modulator of operant aggression reward and aggression seeking.
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Flanigan ME, Russo SJ. Recent advances in the study of aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:241-244. [PMID: 30242209 PMCID: PMC6300544 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0226-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Meghan E. Flanigan
- 0000 0001 0670 2351grid.59734.3cDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustav L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Scott J. Russo
- 0000 0001 0670 2351grid.59734.3cDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Affective Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustav L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029 USA
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44
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Newman EL, Leonard MZ, Arena DT, de Almeida RMM, Miczek KA. Social defeat stress and escalation of cocaine and alcohol consumption: Focus on CRF. Neurobiol Stress 2018; 9:151-165. [PMID: 30450381 PMCID: PMC6236516 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Both the ostensibly aversive effects of unpredictable episodes of social stress and the intensely rewarding effects of drugs of abuse activate the mesocorticolimbic dopamine systems. Significant neuroadaptations in interacting stress and reward neurocircuitry may underlie the striking connection between stress and substance use disorders. In rodent models, recurring intermittent exposure to social defeat stress appears to produce a distinct profile of neuroadaptations that translates most readily to the repercussions of social stress in humans. In the present review, preclinical rodent models of social defeat stress and subsequent alcohol, cocaine or opioid consumption are discussed with regard to: (1) the temporal pattern of social defeat stress, (2) male and female protocols of social stress-escalated drug consumption, and (3) the neuroplastic effects of social stress, which may contribute to escalated drug-taking. Neuroadaptations in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and CRF modulation of monoamines in the ventral tegmental area and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are highlighted as potential mechanisms underlying stress-escalated drug consumption. However, the specific mechanisms that drive CRF-mediated increases in dopamine require additional investigation as do the stress-induced neuroadaptations that may contribute to the development of compulsive patterns of drug-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L Newman
- Psychology Dept., Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | | | | | - Rosa M M de Almeida
- Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Klaus A Miczek
- Psychology Dept., Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.,Dept. of Neuroscience, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, 02111, USA
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