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Kuang J, Kafetzopoulos V, Deth R, Kocsis B. Dopamine D4 Receptor Agonist Drastically Increases Delta Activity in the Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens: Potential Role in Communication between Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15289. [PMID: 37894968 PMCID: PMC10607171 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015289] [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: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Network oscillations are essential for all cognitive functions. Oscillatory deficits are well established in psychiatric diseases and are recapitulated in animal models. They are significantly and specifically affected by pharmacological interventions using psychoactive compounds. Dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) activation was shown to enhance gamma rhythm in freely moving rats and to specifically affect slow delta and theta oscillations in the urethane-anesthetized rat model. The goal of this study was to test the effect of D4R activation on slow network oscillations at delta and theta frequencies during wake states, potentially supporting enhanced functional connectivity during dopamine-induced attention and cognitive processing. Network activity was recorded in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC) and nucleus reuniens (RE) in control conditions and after injecting the D4R agonist A-412997 (3 and 5 mg/kg; systemic administration). We found that A-412997 elicited a lasting (~40 min) wake state and drastically enhanced narrow-band delta oscillations in the PFC and RE in a dose-dependent manner. It also preferentially enhanced delta synchrony over theta coupling within the PFC-RE-HC circuit, strongly strengthening PFC-RE coupling. Thus, our findings indicate that the D4R may contribute to cognitive processes, at least in part, through acting on wake delta oscillations and that the RE, providing an essential link between the PFC and HC, plays a prominent role in this mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Kuang
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
| | - V. Kafetzopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Richard Deth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USA;
| | - B. Kocsis
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; (J.K.); (V.K.)
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Souza AJ, Sharmin D, Cook JM, Guimarães FS, Gomes FV. An alpha 5-GABAa receptor positive allosteric modulator attenuates social and cognitive deficits without changing dopamine system hyperactivity in an animal model for autism. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.24.554679. [PMID: 37662217 PMCID: PMC10473734 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.24.554679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by core behavioral symptoms in the domains of sociability, language/communication, and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. Deficits in the prefrontal and hippocampal excitatory/inhibitory balance due to a functional loss of GABAergic interneurons are proposed to underlie these symptoms. Increasing the postsynaptic effects of GABA with compounds that selectively modulate GABAergic receptors could be a potential target for treating ASD symptoms. In addition, deficits in GABAergic interneurons have been linked to dopamine (DA) system dysregulation, and, despite conflicting evidence, abnormalities in the DA system activity may underly some ASD symptoms. Here, we investigated whether the positive allosteric modulator of α5-containing GABA A receptors (α5-GABA A Rs) SH-053-2'F-R-CH3 (10 mg/kg) attenuates behavioral abnormalities in a rat model for autism based on in utero VPA exposure. We also evaluated if animals exposed to VPA in utero present changes in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA system activity using in vivo electrophysiology and if SH-053-2'F-R-CH3 could attenuate these changes. In utero VPA exposure caused male and female rats to present increased repetitive behavior (self-grooming) in early adolescence and deficits in social interaction in adulthood. Male, but not female VPA rats, also presented deficits in recognition memory as adults. SH-053-2'F-R-CH3 attenuated the impairments in sociability and cognitive function in male VPA-exposed rats without attenuating the decreased social interaction in females. Male and female adult VPA-exposed rats also showed an increased VTA DA neuron population activity, which was not changed by SH-053-2'F-R-CH3. Despite sex differences, our findings indicate α5-GABA A Rs positive allosteric modulators may effectively attenuate some core ASD symptoms.
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Suri D, Zanni G, Mahadevia D, Chuhma N, Saha R, Spivack S, Pini N, Stevens GS, Ziolkowski-Blake A, Simpson EH, Balsam P, Rayport S, Ansorge MS. Dopamine transporter blockade during adolescence increases adult dopamine function, impulsivity, and aggression. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3512-3523. [PMID: 37532798 PMCID: PMC10618097 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02194-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Sensitive developmental periods shape neural circuits and enable adaptation. However, they also engender vulnerability to factors that can perturb developmental trajectories. An understanding of sensitive period phenomena and mechanisms separate from sensory system development is still lacking, yet critical to understanding disease etiology and risk. The dopamine system is pivotal in controlling and shaping adolescent behaviors, and it undergoes heightened plasticity during that time, such that interference with dopamine signaling can have long-lasting behavioral consequences. Here we sought to gain mechanistic insight into this dopamine-sensitive period and its impact on behavior. In mice, dopamine transporter (DAT) blockade from postnatal (P) day 22 to 41 increases aggression and sensitivity to amphetamine (AMPH) behavioral stimulation in adulthood. Here, we refined this sensitive window to P32-41 and identified increased firing of dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in vivo as a neural correlate to altered adult behavior. Aggression can result from enhanced impulsivity and cognitive dysfunction, and dopamine regulates working memory and motivated behavior. Hence, we assessed these behavioral domains and found that P32-41 DAT blockade increases impulsivity but has no effect on cognition, working memory, or motivation in adulthood. Lastly, using optogenetics to drive dopamine neurons, we find that increased VTA but not SNc dopaminergic activity mimics the increase in impulsive behavior in the Go/NoGo task observed after adolescent DAT blockade. Together our data provide insight into the developmental origins of aggression and impulsivity that may ultimately improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies for related neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepika Suri
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Giulia Zanni
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Darshini Mahadevia
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Nao Chuhma
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Rinki Saha
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Stephen Spivack
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Nicolò Pini
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Gregory S Stevens
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Annette Ziolkowski-Blake
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Eleanor H Simpson
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Peter Balsam
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Stephen Rayport
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Mark S Ansorge
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
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Bach EC, Ewin SE, Heaney CF, Carlson HN, Ortelli OA, Almonte AG, Chappell AM, Raab-Graham KF, Weiner JL. Chemogenetic inhibition of a monosynaptic projection from the basolateral amygdala to the ventral hippocampus selectively reduces appetitive, but not consummatory, alcohol drinking-related behaviours. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:1241-1259. [PMID: 36840503 PMCID: PMC10931538 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15944] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and anxiety/stressor disorders frequently co-occur and this dual diagnosis represents a major health and economic problem worldwide. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is a key brain region that is known to contribute to the aetiology of both disorders. Although many studies have implicated BLA hyperexcitability in the pathogenesis of AUD and comorbid conditions, relatively little is known about the specific efferent projections from this brain region that contribute to these disorders. Recent optogenetic studies have shown that the BLA sends a strong monosynaptic excitatory projection to the ventral hippocampus (vHC) and that this circuit modulates anxiety- and fear-related behaviours. However, it is not known if this pathway influences alcohol drinking-related behaviours. Here, we employed a rodent operant self-administration regimen that procedurally separates appetitive (e.g. seeking) and consummatory (e.g., drinking) behaviours, chemogenetics and brain region-specific microinjections, to determine if BLA-vHC circuitry influences alcohol and sucrose drinking-related measures. We first confirmed prior optogenetic findings that silencing this circuit reduced anxiety-like behaviours on the elevated plus maze. We then demonstrated that inhibiting the BLA-vHC pathway significantly reduced appetitive drinking-related behaviours for both alcohol and sucrose while having no effect on consummatory measures. Taken together, these findings provide the first indication that the BLA-vHC circuit may regulate appetitive reward seeking directed at alcohol and natural rewards and add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that dysregulation of this pathway may contribute to the pathophysiology of AUD and anxiety/stressor-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva C Bach
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah E Ewin
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Chelcie F Heaney
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Hannah N Carlson
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Olivia A Ortelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Antoine G Almonte
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ann M Chappell
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kimberly F Raab-Graham
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Weiner
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
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5
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Tangmose K, Rostrup E, Bojesen KB, Sigvard A, Jessen K, Johansen LB, Glenthøj BY, Nielsen MØ. Reward disturbances in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis and their association to glutamate levels. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1629-1638. [PMID: 37010221 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721003305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant anticipation of motivational salient events and processing of outcome evaluation in striatal and prefrontal regions have been suggested to underlie psychosis. Altered glutamate levels have likewise been linked to schizophrenia. Glutamatergic abnormalities may affect the processing of motivational salience and outcome evaluation. It remains unresolved, whether glutamatergic dysfunction is associated with the coding of motivational salience and outcome evaluation in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis. METHODS Fifty-one antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis (22 ± 5.2 years, female/male: 31/20) and 52 healthy controls (HC) matched on age, sex, and parental education underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (3T) in one session. Brain responses to motivational salience and negative outcome evaluation (NOE) were examined using a monetary incentive delay task. Glutamate levels were estimated in the left thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex using LCModel. RESULTS Patients displayed a positive signal change to NOE in the caudate (p = 0.001) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; p = 0.003) compared to HC. No group difference was observed in motivational salience or in levels of glutamate. There was a different association between NOE signal in the caudate and DLPFC and thalamic glutamate levels in patients and HC due to a negative correlation in patients (caudate: p = 0.004, DLPFC: p = 0.005) that was not seen in HC. CONCLUSIONS Our findings confirm prior findings of abnormal outcome evaluation as a part of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The results also suggest a possible link between thalamic glutamate and NOE signaling in patients with first-episode psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Tangmose
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Kirsten B Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anne Sigvard
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kasper Jessen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Louise Baruël Johansen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Y Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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6
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Sabaroedin K, Tiego J, Fornito A. Circuit-Based Approaches to Understanding Corticostriatothalamic Dysfunction Across the Psychosis Continuum. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:113-124. [PMID: 36253195 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.07.017] [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: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine is known to play a role in the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms, but the mechanisms driving dopaminergic dysfunction in psychosis remain unclear. Considerable attention has focused on the role of corticostriatothalamic (CST) circuits, given that they regulate and are modulated by the activity of dopaminergic cells in the midbrain. Preclinical studies have proposed multiple models of CST dysfunction in psychosis, each prioritizing different brain regions and pathophysiological mechanisms. A particular challenge is that CST circuits have undergone considerable evolutionary modification across mammals, complicating comparisons across species. Here, we consider preclinical models of CST dysfunction in psychosis and evaluate the degree to which they are supported by evidence from human resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies conducted across the psychosis continuum, ranging from subclinical schizotypy to established schizophrenia. In partial support of some preclinical models, human studies indicate that dorsal CST and hippocampal-striatal functional dysconnectivity are apparent across the psychosis spectrum and may represent a vulnerability marker for psychosis. In contrast, midbrain dysfunction may emerge when symptoms warrant clinical assistance and may thus be a trigger for illness onset. The major difference between clinical and preclinical findings is the strong involvement of the dorsal CST in the former, consistent with an increasing prominence of this circuitry in the primate brain. We close by underscoring the need for high-resolution characterization of phenotypic heterogeneity in psychosis to develop a refined understanding of how the dysfunction of specific circuit elements gives rise to distinct symptom profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Sabaroedin
- Departments of Radiology and Paediatrics, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
| | - Jeggan Tiego
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Alex Fornito
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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Schnider M, Jenni R, Ramain J, Camporesi S, Golay P, Alameda L, Conus P, Do KQ, Steullet P. Time of exposure to social defeat stress during childhood and adolescence and redox dysregulation on long-lasting behavioral changes, a translational study. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:413. [PMID: 36163247 PMCID: PMC9512907 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02183-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Traumatic events during childhood/early adolescence can cause long-lasting physiological and behavioral changes with increasing risk for psychiatric conditions including psychosis. Genetic factors and trauma (and their type, degree of repetition, time of occurrence) are believed to influence how traumatic experiences affect an individual. Here, we compared long-lasting behavioral effects of repeated social defeat stress (SD) applied during either peripuberty or late adolescence in adult male WT and Gclm-KO mice, a model of redox dysregulation relevant to schizophrenia. As SD disrupts redox homeostasis and causes oxidative stress, we hypothesized that KO mice would be particularly vulnerable to such stress. We first found that peripubertal and late adolescent SD led to different behavioral outcomes. Peripubertal SD induced anxiety-like behavior in anxiogenic environments, potentiated startle reflex, and increased sensitivity to the NMDA-receptor antagonist, MK-801. In contrast, late adolescent SD led to increased exploration in novel environments. Second, the long-lasting impact of peripubertal but not late adolescent SD differed in KO and WT mice. Peripubertal SD increased anxiety-like behavior in anxiogenic environments and MK-801-sensitivity mostly in KO mice, while it increased startle reflex in WT mice. These suggest that a redox dysregulation during peripuberty interacts with SD to remodel the trajectory of brain maturation, but does not play a significant role during later SD. As peripubertal SD induced persisting anxiety- and fear-related behaviors in male mice, we then investigated anxiety in a cohort of 89 early psychosis male patients for whom we had information about past abuse and clinical assessment during the first year of psychosis. We found that a first exposure to physical/sexual abuse (analogous to SD) before age 12, but not after, was associated with higher anxiety at 6-12 months after psychosis onset. This supports that childhood/peripuberty is a vulnerable period during which physical/sexual abuse in males has wide and long-lasting consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Schnider
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Raoul Jenni
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Julie Ramain
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sara Camporesi
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Golay
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Luis Alameda
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Conus
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kim Q. Do
- grid.8515.90000 0001 0423 4662Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Steullet
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), 1008, Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Uliana DL, Zhu X, Gomes FV, Grace AA. Using animal models for the studies of schizophrenia and depression: The value of translational models for treatment and prevention. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:935320. [PMID: 36090659 PMCID: PMC9449416 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.935320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal models of psychiatric disorders have been highly effective in advancing the field, identifying circuits related to pathophysiology, and identifying novel therapeutic targets. In this review, we show how animal models, particularly those based on development, have provided essential information regarding circuits involved in disorders, disease progression, and novel targets for intervention and potentially prevention. Nonetheless, in recent years there has been a pushback, largely driven by the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to shift away from animal models and instead focus on circuits in normal subjects. This has been driven primarily from a lack of discovery of new effective therapeutic targets, and the failure of targets based on preclinical research to show efficacy. We discuss why animal models of complex disorders, when strongly cross-validated by clinical research, are essential to understand disease etiology as well as pathophysiology, and direct new drug discovery. Issues related to shortcomings in clinical trial design that confound translation from animal models as well as the failure to take patient pharmacological history into account are proposed to be a source of the failure of what are likely effective compounds from showing promise in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela L. Uliana
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Xiyu Zhu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Felipe V. Gomes
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- *Correspondence: Anthony A. Grace,
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9
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Uliana DL, Gomes FV, Grace AA. Nucleus reuniens inactivation reverses stress-induced hypodopaminergic state and altered hippocampal-accumbens synaptic plasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1513-1522. [PMID: 35488085 PMCID: PMC9205859 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01333-1] [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: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The nucleus reuniens of the thalamus (RE) is a pivotal area responsible for the connectivity of the prefrontal-hippocampus pathway that regulates cognitive, executive, and fear learning processes. Recently, it was proposed that the RE participates in the pathophysiological states related to affective dysregulation. We investigated the role of RE in motivational behavioral and electrophysiological dysregulation induced by stress. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to a combination of stressors (restraint stress+footshock) for 10 days and tested one to two weeks later in the forced swim test (FST), ventral tegmental area (VTA)dopamine (DA) neuron electrophysiological activity, and hippocampal-nucleus accumbens plasticity. The RE was inactivated by injecting TTX prior to the procedures. The stress exposure increased the immobility in the FST and decreased VTA DA neuron population activity. Whereas an early long-term potentiation (e-LTP) in the ventral hippocampus-nucleus accumbens pathway was found after fimbria high-frequency stimulation in naïve animals, stressed animals showed an early long-term depression (e-LTD). Inactivation of the RE reversed the stress-induced changes in the FST and restored dopaminergic activity. RE inactivation partially recovered the stress-induced abnormal hippocampal-accumbens plasticity observed in controls. Our findings support the role of the RE in regulating affective dysregulation and blunted VTA DA system function induced by stress. Also, it points to the hippocampal-accumbens pathway as a potential neural circuit through which RE could modulate activity. Therefore, RE may represent a key brain region involved in the neurobiology of amotivational states and may provide insights into circuit dysfunction and markers of the maladaptive stress response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela L. Uliana
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Felipe V. Gomes
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA ,grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Present Address: Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP Brazil
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
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10
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Wada M, Noda Y, Iwata Y, Tsugawa S, Yoshida K, Tani H, Hirano Y, Koike S, Sasabayashi D, Katayama H, Plitman E, Ohi K, Ueno F, Caravaggio F, Koizumi T, Gerretsen P, Suzuki T, Uchida H, Müller DJ, Mimura M, Remington G, Grace AA, Graff-Guerrero A, Nakajima S. Dopaminergic dysfunction and excitatory/inhibitory imbalance in treatment-resistant schizophrenia and novel neuromodulatory treatment. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:2950-2967. [PMID: 35444257 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01572-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Antipsychotic drugs are the mainstay in the treatment of schizophrenia. However, one-third of patients do not show adequate improvement in positive symptoms with non-clozapine antipsychotics. Additionally, approximately half of them show poor response to clozapine, electroconvulsive therapy, or other augmentation strategies. However, the development of novel treatment for these conditions is difficult due to the complex and heterogenous pathophysiology of treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Therefore, this review provides key findings, potential treatments, and a roadmap for future research in this area. First, we review the neurobiological pathophysiology of TRS, particularly the dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic pathways. Next, the limitations of existing and promising treatments are presented. Specifically, this article focuses on the therapeutic potential of neuromodulation, including electroconvulsive therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and deep brain stimulation. Finally, we propose multivariate analyses that integrate various perspectives of the pathogenesis, such as dopaminergic dysfunction and excitatory/inhibitory imbalance, thereby elucidating the heterogeneity of TRS that could not be obtained by conventional statistics. These analyses can in turn lead to a precision medicine approach with closed-loop neuromodulation targeting the detected pathophysiology of TRS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masataka Wada
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Noda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yusuke Iwata
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Yamanashi Faculty of Medicine, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Sakiko Tsugawa
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazunari Yoshida
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Hideaki Tani
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoji Hirano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.,Neural Dynamics Laboratory, Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shinsuke Koike
- Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Art and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daiki Sasabayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, Japan.,Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Haruyuki Katayama
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Eric Plitman
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kazutaka Ohi
- Department of Psychiatry, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Ueno
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Fernando Caravaggio
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Teruki Koizumi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, National Hospital Organization Shimofusa Psychiatric Medical Center, Chiba, Japan
| | - Philip Gerretsen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Takefumi Suzuki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Yamanashi Faculty of Medicine, Yamanashi, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Uchida
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daniel J Müller
- Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Masaru Mimura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Gary Remington
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ariel Graff-Guerrero
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shinichiro Nakajima
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. .,Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada.
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11
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Viena TD, Rasch GE, Allen TA. Dual medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus projecting neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1857-1869. [PMID: 35279742 PMCID: PMC11229420 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02478-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The paraventricular nucleus (PVT) of the midline thalamus is a critical higher-order cortico-thalamo-cortical integration site that plays a critical role in various behaviors including reward seeking, cue saliency, and emotional memory. Anatomical studies have shown that PVT projects to both medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HC). However, dual mPFC-HC projecting neurons which could serve a role in synchronizing mPFC and HC activity during PVT-dependent behaviors, have not been explored. Here we used a dual retrograde adenoassociated virus (AAV) tracing approach to characterize the location and proportion of different projection populations that send collaterals to mPFC and/or ventral hippocampus (vHC) in rats. Additionally, we examined the distribution of calcium binding proteins calretinin (CR) and calbindin (CB) with respect to these projection populations in PVT. We found that PVT contains separate populations of cells that project to mPFC, vHC, and those that innervate both regions. Interestingly, dual mPFC-HC projecting cells expressed neither CR nor CB. Topographically, CB+ and CR+ containing cells clustered around dual projecting neurons in PVT. These results are consistent with the features of dual mPFC-vHC projecting cells in the nucleus reuniens (RE) and suggestive of a functional mPFC-PVT-vHC system that may support mPFC-vHC interactions in PVT-dependent behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana D Viena
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Gabriela E Rasch
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Timothy A Allen
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
- Deparment of Environmental Health Sciences, Robert Stempel College of Public Health, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
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12
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Thalamic reticular nucleus impairments and abnormal prefrontal control of dopamine system in a developmental model of schizophrenia: prevention by N-acetylcysteine. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:7679-7689. [PMID: 34193975 PMCID: PMC8716611 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01198-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Recent evidence showed thalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia involving disruptions to the parvalbumin neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). However, their functional consequences, as well as a potential linkage to oxidative stress, are unclear. The TRN is posited to gate prefrontal control of dopamine neuron activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Thus, we hypothesized that schizophrenia-related TRN abnormalities might contribute to dopamine dysregulation, a well-known feature of the disorder. To test this, in adult rats exposed prenatally to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM rats), oxidative impairments to the parvalbumin neurons in the anterior TRN were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Using in vivo electrophysiology, we investigated whether inactivation of the prefrontal cortex would produce differential effects on VTA dopamine neurons in MAM rats. We show that MAM rats displayed reduced markers of parvalbumin and wisteria floribunda agglutinin-labeled perineuronal nets, correlating with increased markers of oxidative stress (8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-20-deoxyguanosine, and 3-nitrotyrosine). Moreover, MAM rats displayed heightened baseline and abnormal prefrontal control of VTA dopamine neuron activity, as tetrodotoxin-induced inactivation of the infralimbic prefrontal cortex decreased the dopamine population activity, contrary to the normal increase in controls. Such dopamine neuron dysregulation was recapitulated by enzymatic perineuronal net digestion in the TRN of normal rats. Furthermore, juvenile (postnatal day 11-25) antioxidant treatment (N-acetyl-cysteine, 900 mg/L drinking water) prevented all these impairments in MAM rats. Our findings suggest that early accumulation of oxidative stress in the TRN may shape the later onset of schizophrenia pathophysiology, highlighting redox regulation as a potential target for early intervention.
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13
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Kim W, Chung C. Brain-wide cellular mapping of acute stress-induced activation in male and female mice. FASEB J 2021; 35:e22041. [PMID: 34780680 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202101287r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Mood disorders are more prevalent and often reported to be more severe in women; however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this sexual prevalence. To gain insight into the functional differences in female brains in response to stress, we systemically compared brain activation in male and female C57BL/6N mice after acute stress exposure. We measured c-Fos expression levels in 18 brain areas related to stress responses after a 3-h long restraint stress and found that activation was sexually dimorphic in several brain areas, including the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, nucleus reuniens, and medial part of the lateral habenula. Moreover, stress-activated a substantial number of cells in the medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and lateral part of the lateral habenula; however, the levels of activation were comparable in males and females, suggesting that the core stress responding machineries are largely shared. Pearson correlation analysis revealed several interesting connections between the analyzed areas that are implicated in stress responses and depression. Overall, stress strengthened intra-circuitries in the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex in female mice, whereas more longer-range connections were highlighted in stressed male mice. Our study provides a highly valuable neuroanatomical framework for investigating the circuit mechanism underlying the higher vulnerability to depression in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woonhee Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - ChiHye Chung
- Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
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14
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Ríos-Flórez JA, Lima RRM, Morais PLAG, de Medeiros HHA, Cavalcante JS, Junior ESN. Medial prefrontal cortex (A32 and A25) projections in the common marmoset: a subcortical anterograde study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14565. [PMID: 34267273 PMCID: PMC8282874 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93819-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
This study was aimed at establishing the subcorticals substrates of the cognitive and visceromotor circuits of the A32 and A25 cortices of the medial prefrontal cortex and their projections and interactions with subcortical complexes in the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus). The study was primarily restricted to the nuclei of the diencephalon and amygdala. The common marmoset is a neotropical primate of the new world, and the absence of telencephalic gyrus favors the mapping of neuronal fibers. The biotinylated dextran amine was employed as an anterograde tracer. There was an evident pattern of rostrocaudal distribution of fibers within the subcortical nuclei, with medial orientation. Considering this distribution, fibers originating from the A25 cortex were found to be more clustered in the diencephalon and amygdala than those originating in the A32 cortex. Most areas of the amygdala received fibers from both cortices. In the diencephalon, all regions received projections from the A32, while the A25 fibers were restricted to the thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus at different densities. Precise deposits of neuronal tracers provided here may significantly contribute to expand our understanding of specific connectivity among the medial prefrontal cortex with limbic regions and diencephalic areas, key elements to the viscerocognitive process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Alexander Ríos-Flórez
- Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
| | - Ruthnaldo R M Lima
- Neuroanatomy Laboratory, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Paulo Leonardo A G Morais
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology, the University of the State of Rio Grande Do Norte, Mossoro, Brazil
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15
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Hou Y, Chen M, Wang C, Liu L, Mao H, Qu X, Shen X, Yu B, Liu S. Electroacupuncture Attenuates Anxiety-Like Behaviors in a Rat Model of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: The Role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:690159. [PMID: 34248490 PMCID: PMC8264195 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.690159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Electroacupuncture (EA) is a promising clinical approach to treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet the mechanisms whereby EA can alleviate anxiety and other PTSD symptoms have yet to be clarified. In the present report, rats underwent EA for 14 consecutive days following modified single prolonged stress (MSPS) exposure. These animals were then evaluated in open field and elevated plus maze tests (OFT and EPM), while Fos immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) functional activation. In addition, an extracellular recording and stimulation system was used to analyze vmPFC inputs into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in these rats. Temporary vmPFC inactivation was further performed to assess whether this was sufficient to reverse the anxiolytic effects of EA. Overall, rats that underwent EA treatment spent more time in the central region (OFT) and the open arm (EPM) relative to MSPS model animals (P < 0.05). These MSPS model animals also exhibited significantly fewer activated Fos-positive nuclei in the vmPFC following behavioral testing, while EA was associated with a significant relative increase in c-Fos expression in this region. The transient inactivation of the vmPFC was sufficient to reverse the effects of EA treatment on anxiety-like behaviors in MSPS model rats. MSPS and SEA rats exhibiting no differences in bursting activity between baseline and vmPFC stimulation, whereas bursting activity rose relative to baseline upon ventral mPFC stimulation in EA treated and control rats. Together, these findings indicate that the vmPFC and its inputs into the VTA are functionally linked to the anxiolytic activity of EA, implicating this pathway in the EA-mediated treatment of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchao Hou
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Meiyu Chen
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Can Wang
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Lumin Liu
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Huijuan Mao
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoyi Qu
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xueyong Shen
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Yu
- Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medicine Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Sheng Liu
- Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
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16
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Lee WJ. Symptomatologic pathomechanism of N-methyl D-aspartate receptor encephalitis. ENCEPHALITIS 2021; 1:36-44. [PMID: 37469763 PMCID: PMC10295887 DOI: 10.47936/encephalitis.2021.00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a well-characterized clinical syndrome. The main molecular mechanism of NMDAR encephalitis is autoantibody-mediated NMDAR hypofunction in the neuronal synapse. Several pathomechanistic hypotheses might explain how NMDAR hypofunction causes the typical symptoms and prognosis of NMDAR encephalitis. Suppression of NMDAR-dependent gamma-aminobutyric acid interneurons provokes an accelerated activation of the positive feedback loops of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex/subiculum-nucleus accumbens circuit in the striatum, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and the nucleus reuniens in the thalamus-hippocampus-VTA loop. Dysregulated activation of the VTA and cortex via those positive feedback loops may explain the rapid clinical deterioration at acute stages of the disease and the well-characterized syndrome that includes limbic system dysfunction, intractable seizures, dyskinesia, coma, and the characteristic extreme delta brush. Progressive cerebellar atrophy is correlated with cumulative disease burden and is associated with worse long-term outcomes, which might be explained by the NMDAR-dependent pathways required to maintain neuronal survival. Those pathomechanistic hypotheses for NMDAR encephalitis support the rationale for the early introduction of combination immunotherapy and the use of adjuvant immunotherapy in patients with persisting symptoms in chronic disease phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woo-Jin Lee
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
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17
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Cassel JC, Ferraris M, Quilichini P, Cholvin T, Boch L, Stephan A, Pereira de Vasconcelos A. The reuniens and rhomboid nuclei of the thalamus: A crossroads for cognition-relevant information processing? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 126:338-360. [PMID: 33766671 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Over the past twenty years, the reuniens and rhomboid (ReRh) nuclei, which constitute the ventral midline thalamus, have received constantly growing attention. Since our first review article about the functional contributions of ReRh nuclei (Cassel et al., 2013), numerous (>80) important papers have extended anatomical knowledge, including at a developmental level, introduced new and very original electrophysiological insights on ReRh functions, and brought novel results on cognitive and non-cognitive implications of the ReRh. The current review will cover these recent articles, more on Re than on Rh, and their contribution will be approached according to their affiliation with work before 2013. These neuroanatomical, electrophysiological or behavioral findings appear coherent and point to the ReRh nuclei as two major components of a multistructural system supporting numerous cognitive (and non-cognitive) functions. They gate the flow of information, perhaps especially from the medial prefrontal cortex to the hippocampus and back, and coordinate activity and processing across these two (and possibly other) brain regions of major cognitive relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Christophe Cassel
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Maëva Ferraris
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
| | - Pascale Quilichini
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
| | - Thibault Cholvin
- Institute for Physiology I, University Clinics Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Laurine Boch
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Aline Stephan
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Pereira de Vasconcelos
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France; LNCA, UMR 7364 - CNRS, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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18
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Bray MJC, Sharma B, Cottrelle's J, Peters ME, Bayley M, Green REA. Hippocampal atrophy is associated with psychotic symptom severity following traumatic brain injury. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab026. [PMID: 33977261 PMCID: PMC8098106 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychosis is a rare, but particularly serious sequela of traumatic brain injury. However, little is known as to the neurobiological processes that may contribute to its onset. Early evidence suggests that psychotic symptom development after traumatic brain injury may co-occur with hippocampal degeneration, invoking the possibility of a relationship. Particularly regarding the hippocampal head, these degenerative changes may lead to dysregulation in dopaminergic circuits, as is reported in psychoses due to schizophrenia, resulting in the positive symptom profile typically seen in post-injury psychosis. The objective of this study was to examine change in hippocampal volume and psychotic symptoms across time in a sample of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury patients. We hypothesized that hippocampal volume loss would be associated with increased psychotic symptom severity. From a database of n = 137 adult patients with prospectively collected, longitudinal imaging and neuropsychiatric outcomes, n = 24 had complete data at time points of interest (5 and 12 months post-traumatic brain injury) and showed increasing psychotic symptom severity on the Personality Assessment Inventory psychotic experiences subscale of the schizophrenia clinical scale across time. Secondary analysis employing stepwise regression with hippocampal volume change (independent variable) and Personality Assessment Inventory psychotic symptom change (dependent variable) from 5 to 12 months post-injury was conducted including age, sex, marijuana use, family history of schizophrenia, years of education and injury severity as control variables. Total right hippocampal volume loss predicted an increase in the Personality Assessment Inventory psychotic experiences subscale (F(1, 22) = 5.396, adjusted R2 = 0.161, P = 0.030; β = −0.017, 95% confidence interval = −0.018, −0.016) as did volume of the right hippocampal head (F(1, 22) = 5.764, adjusted R2 = 0.172, P = 0.025; β = −0.019, 95% confidence interval = −0.021, −0.017). Final model goodness-of-fit was confirmed using k-fold (k = 5) cross-validation. Consistent with our hypotheses, the current findings suggest that hippocampal degeneration in the chronic stages of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury may play a role in the delayed onset of psychotic symptoms after traumatic brain injury. These findings localized to the right hippocampal head are supportive of a proposed aetiological mechanism whereby atrophy of the hippocampal head may lead to the dysregulation of dopaminergic networks following traumatic brain injury; possibly accounting for observed clinical features of psychotic disorder after traumatic brain injury (including prolonged latency period to symptom onset and predominance of positive symptoms). If further validated, these findings may bear important clinical implications for neurorehabilitative therapies following traumatic brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J C Bray
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.,Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.,The KITE Research Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada
| | - Bhanu Sharma
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada.,The KITE Research Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada.,Department of Medical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Julia Cottrelle's
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada
| | - Matthew E Peters
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Mark Bayley
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.,Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada.,The KITE Research Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada
| | - Robin E A Green
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.,Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada.,The KITE Research Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada
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19
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Nath M, Wong TP, Srivastava LK. Neurodevelopmental insights into circuit dysconnectivity in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 104:110047. [PMID: 32721441 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is increasingly being recognized as a disorder of brain circuits of developmental origin. Animal models, however, have been technically limited in exploring the effects of early developmental circuit abnormalities on the maturation of the brain and associated behavioural outputs. This review discusses evidence of the developmental emergence of circuit abnormalities in schizophrenia, followed by a critical assessment on how animal models need to be adapted through optimized tools in order to spatially and temporally manipulate early developmental events, thereby providing insight into the causal contribution of developmental perturbations to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moushumi Nath
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada.
| | - Tak Pan Wong
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
| | - Lalit K Srivastava
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
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20
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Steullet P. Thalamus-related anomalies as candidate mechanism-based biomarkers for psychosis. Schizophr Res 2020; 226:147-157. [PMID: 31147286 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Identification of reliable biomarkers of prognosis in subjects with high risk to psychosis is an essential step to improve care and treatment of this population of help-seekers. Longitudinal studies highlight some clinical criteria, cognitive deficits, patterns of gray matter alterations and profiles of blood metabolites that provide some levels of prediction regarding the conversion to psychosis. Further effort is warranted to validate these results and implement these types of approaches in clinical settings. Such biomarkers may however fall short in entangling the biological mechanisms underlying the disease progression, an essential step in the development of novel therapies. Circuit-based approaches, which map on well-identified cerebral functions, could meet these needs. Converging evidence indicates that thalamus abnormalities are central to schizophrenia pathophysiology, contributing to clinical symptoms, cognitive and sensory deficits. This review highlights the various thalamus-related anomalies reported in individuals with genetic risks and in the different phases of the disorder, from prodromal to chronic stages. Several anomalies are potent endophenotypes, while others exist in clinical high-risk subjects and worsen in those who convert to full psychosis. Aberrant functional coupling between thalamus and cortex, low glutamate content and readouts from resting EEG carry predictive values for transition to psychosis or functional outcome. In this context, thalamus-related anomalies represent a valuable entry point to tackle circuit-based alterations associated with the emergence of psychosis. This review also proposes that longitudinal surveys of neuroimaging, EEG readouts associated with circuits encompassing the mediodorsal, pulvinar in high-risk individuals could unveil biological mechanisms contributing to this psychiatric disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Steullet
- Center of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Site de Cery, 1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland.
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21
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Kätzel D, Wolff AR, Bygrave AM, Bannerman DM. Hippocampal Hyperactivity as a Druggable Circuit-Level Origin of Aberrant Salience in Schizophrenia. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:486811. [PMID: 33178010 PMCID: PMC7596262 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.486811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of current neuroleptics was largely aiming to decrease excessive dopaminergic signaling in the striatum. However, the notion that abnormal dopamine creates psychotic symptoms by causing an aberrant assignment of salience that drives maladaptive learning chronically during disease development suggests a therapeutic value of early interventions that correct salience-related neural processing. The mesolimbic dopaminergic output is modulated by several interconnected brain-wide circuits centrally involving the hippocampus and key relays like the ventral and associative striatum, ventral pallidum, amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, nucleus reuniens, lateral and medial septum, prefrontal and cingulate cortex, among others. Unraveling the causal relationships between these circuits using modern neuroscience techniques holds promise for identifying novel cellular—and ultimately molecular—treatment targets for reducing transition to psychosis and symptoms of schizophrenia. Imaging studies in humans have implicated a hyperactivity of the hippocampus as a robust and early endophenotype in schizophrenia. Experiments in rodents, in turn, suggested that the activity of its output region—the ventral subiculum—may modulate dopamine release from ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons in the ventral striatum. Even though these observations suggested a novel circuit-level target for anti-psychotic action, no therapy has yet been developed along this rationale. Recently evaluated treatment strategies—at least in part—target excess glutamatergic activity, e.g. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), levetiracetam, and mGluR2/3 modulators. We here review the evidence for the central implication of the hippocampus-VTA axis in schizophrenia-related pathology, discuss its symptom-related implications with a particular focus on aberrant assignment of salience, and evaluate some of its short-comings and prospects for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Kätzel
- Institute for Applied Physiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Amy R Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Alexei M Bygrave
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - David M Bannerman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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22
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Dolleman-van der Weel MJ, Witter MP. The thalamic midline nucleus reuniens: potential relevance for schizophrenia and epilepsy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:422-439. [PMID: 33031816 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Anatomical, electrophysiological and behavioral studies in rodents have shown that the thalamic midline nucleus reuniens (RE) is a crucial link in the communication between hippocampal formation (HIP, i.e., CA1, subiculum) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), important structures for cognitive and executive functions. A common feature in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative brain diseases is a dysfunctional connectivity/communication between HIP and mPFC, and disturbances in the cognitive domain. Therefore, it is assumed that aberrant functioning of RE may contribute to behavioral/cognitive impairments in brain diseases characterized by cortico-thalamo-hippocampal circuit dysfunctions. In the human brain the connections of RE are largely unknown. Yet, recent studies have found important similarities in the functional connectivity of HIP-mPFC-RE in humans and rodents, making cautious extrapolating experimental findings from animal models to humans justifiable. The focus of this review is on a potential involvement of RE in schizophrenia and epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Dolleman-van der Weel
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway.
| | - M P Witter
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway.
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23
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Sonnenschein SF, Gomes FV, Grace AA. Dysregulation of Midbrain Dopamine System and the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:613. [PMID: 32719622 PMCID: PMC7350524 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of the dopamine system is central to many models of the pathophysiology of psychosis in schizophrenia. However, emerging evidence suggests that this dysregulation is driven by the disruption of upstream circuits that provide afferent control of midbrain dopamine neurons. Furthermore, stress can profoundly disrupt this regulatory circuit, particularly when it is presented at critical vulnerable prepubertal time points. This review will discuss the dopamine system and the circuits that regulate it, focusing on the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, thalamic nuclei, and medial septum, and the impact of stress. A greater understanding of the regulation of the dopamine system and its disruption in schizophrenia may provide a more complete neurobiological framework to interpret clinical findings and develop novel treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan F Sonnenschein
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Felipe V Gomes
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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24
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Tomasella E, Falasco G, Urrutia L, Bechelli L, Padilla L, Gelman DM. Impaired brain glucose metabolism and presynaptic dopaminergic functioning in a mouse model of schizophrenia. EJNMMI Res 2020; 10:39. [PMID: 32303857 PMCID: PMC7165233 DOI: 10.1186/s13550-020-00629-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Schizophrenia is a disease diagnosed by visible signs and symptoms from late adolescence to early adulthood. The etiology of this disease remains unknown. An objective diagnostic approach is required. Here, we used a mouse model that shows schizophrenia-like phenotypes to study brain glucose metabolism and presynaptic dopaminergic functioning by positron emission tomography (PET) and immunohistochemistry. PET scannings were performed on mice after the administration of [18F]-FDG or [18F]-F-DOPA. Glucose metabolism was evaluated in basal conditions and after the induction of a hyperdopaminergic state. Results Mutant animals show reduced glucose metabolism in prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and nucleus reuniens under the hyperdopaminergic state. They also show reduced [18F]-F-DOPA uptake in prefrontal cortex, substantia nigra reticulata, raphe nucleus, and ventral striatum but increased [18F]-F-DOPA uptake in dorsal striatum. Mutant animals also show reduced tyrosine hydroxylase expression on midbrain neurons. Conclusions Dopamine D2 mutant animals show reduced glucose metabolism and impaired presynaptic dopaminergic functioning, in line with reports from human studies. This mouse line may be a valuable model of schizophrenia, useful to test novel tracers for PET scanning diagnostic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Tomasella
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, C1428ADN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - German Falasco
- Fleni, Centro de Imágenes Moleculares (CIM), Laboratorio de Imágenes Preclínicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Leandro Urrutia
- Fleni, Centro de Imágenes Moleculares (CIM), Laboratorio de Imágenes Preclínicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucila Bechelli
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, C1428ADN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucia Padilla
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, C1428ADN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Diego M Gelman
- Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, C1428ADN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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25
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Long-Lasting Rescue of Network and Cognitive Dysfunction in a Genetic Schizophrenia Model. Cell 2019; 178:1387-1402.e14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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26
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Heinz A, Murray GK, Schlagenhauf F, Sterzer P, Grace AA, Waltz JA. Towards a Unifying Cognitive, Neurophysiological, and Computational Neuroscience Account of Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2019; 45:1092-1100. [PMID: 30388260 PMCID: PMC6737474 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sby154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Psychotic experiences may be understood as altered information processing due to aberrant neural computations. A prominent example of such neural computations is the computation of prediction errors (PEs), which signal the difference between expected and experienced events. Among other areas showing PE coding, hippocampal-prefrontal-striatal neurocircuits play a prominent role in information processing. Dysregulation of dopaminergic signaling, often secondary to psychosocial stress, is thought to interfere with the processing of biologically important events (such as reward prediction errors) and result in the aberrant attribution of salience to irrelevant sensory stimuli and internal representations. Bayesian hierarchical predictive coding offers a promising framework for the identification of dysfunctional neurocomputational processes and the development of a mechanistic understanding of psychotic experience. According to this framework, mismatches between prior beliefs encoded at higher levels of the cortical hierarchy and lower-level (sensory) information can also be thought of as PEs, with important consequences for belief updating. Low levels of precision in the representation of prior beliefs relative to sensory data, as well as dysfunctional interactions between prior beliefs and sensory data in an ever-changing environment, have been suggested as a general mechanism underlying psychotic experiences. Translating the promise of the Bayesian hierarchical predictive coding into patient benefit will come from integrating this framework with existing knowledge of the etiology and pathophysiology of psychosis, especially regarding hippocampal-prefrontal-striatal network function and neural mechanisms of information processing and belief updating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Graham K Murray
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Florian Schlagenhauf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philipp Sterzer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - James A Waltz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: 410-402-6044, fax: 410-402-7198, e-mail:
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27
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Ramanathan KR, Maren S. Nucleus reuniens mediates the extinction of contextual fear conditioning. Behav Brain Res 2019; 374:112114. [PMID: 31351844 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Learning and remembering the context in which events occur requires interactions between the hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The nucleus reuniens (RE) is a ventral midline thalamic nucleus that coordinates activity in the mPFC and HPC and is involved in spatial and contextual memory. We recently found that the RE is critical for contextual fear conditioning in rats, a form of learning that involves interactions between the HPC and mPFC. Here we examined whether the RE mediates the extinction of contextual fear. After contextual fear conditioning, rats underwent an extinction procedure in which they were merely exposed to the conditioning context; freezing behavior during the extinction procedure and during a retrieval test 24 h later served as an index of conditioned fear. Muscimol inactivation of the RE prior to extinction impaired the acquisition of both short- and long-term extinction memories. Similarly, inactivation of the RE prior to the extinction retrieval test also impaired the expression of extinction; this effect was not state-dependent. Taken together, these results reveal that the extinction of contextual fear memories requires the RE, which is consistent with a broader role for the RE in forms of learning that require HPC-mPFC interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthik R Ramanathan
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
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28
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Perez SM, Lodge DJ. Convergent Inputs from the Hippocampus and Thalamus to the Nucleus Accumbens Regulate Dopamine Neuron Activity. J Neurosci 2018; 38:10607-10618. [PMID: 30355626 PMCID: PMC6290296 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2629-16.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Aberrant hippocampal activity is observed in individuals with schizophrenia and is thought to underlie the augmented dopamine system function associated with psychosis. The pathway by which the ventral hippocampus (vHipp) regulates dopamine neuron activity has been demonstrated previously and involves a glutamatergic projection to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Recent postmortem studies have confirmed glutamatergic abnormalities in the NAc of individuals with schizophrenia. Specifically, an increase in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (vGlut2) expression was reported. Although projections from the hippocampus do express vGlut2, inputs from the thalamus are more likely to account for this alteration; however, the role of thalamic inputs to the NAc in the regulation of dopamine neuron activity has not been elucidated. Here, using male Sprague Dawley rats, we demonstrate that a subset of NAc medium spiny neurons receive convergent inputs from the vHipp and paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT), with both regions working synergistically to regulate dopamine neuron activity. Activation of either the vHipp or PVT increases the number of spontaneously active dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Moreover, this regulation requires simultaneous activity in both regions because PVT inactivation can reverse vHipp-induced increases in dopamine neuron population activity and vHipp inactivation can reverse PVT-induced increases. This is relevant to schizophrenia because inactivation of either the vHipp or PVT is sufficient to reverse aberrant dopamine system function in two distinct rodent models. These data suggest that thalamic abnormalities may contribute to the aberrant dopamine system function observed in schizophrenia and that the PVT represents a novel site of intervention for psychosis.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Current treatments for schizophrenia are far from adequate and a more complete understanding of the pathophysiology underlying this disease is warranted if we are to discover novel therapeutic targets. We have previously demonstrated that the aberrant dopamine system function observed in individuals with schizophrenia and rodent models is driven by increases in hippocampal activity. We now demonstrate that thalamic (paraventricular nucleus, PVT) and ventral hippocampal afferents converge in the nucleus accumbens to regulate dopamine system function. Such information provides a potential site for therapeutic intervention for schizophrenia. Indeed, inactivation of the PVT can effectively reverse aberrant dopamine system function in two distinct rodent models displaying circuit level alterations and corresponding behavioral deficits relevant to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Perez
- Department of Pharmacology and Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229
| | - Daniel J Lodge
- Department of Pharmacology and Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229
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29
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Modinos G, Şimşek F, Azis M, Bossong M, Bonoldi I, Samson C, Quinn B, Perez J, Broome MR, Zelaya F, Lythgoe DJ, Howes OD, Stone JM, Grace AA, Allen P, McGuire P. Prefrontal GABA levels, hippocampal resting perfusion and the risk of psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2652-2659. [PMID: 29440719 PMCID: PMC5955214 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-017-0004-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Revised: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical models propose that the onset of psychosis is associated with hippocampal hyperactivity, thought to be driven by cortical GABAergic interneuron dysfunction and disinhibition of pyramidal neurons. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that resting hippocampal perfusion is increased in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis, but how this may be related to GABA concentrations is unknown. The present study used a multimodal neuroimaging approach to address this issue in UHR subjects. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and pulsed-continuous arterial spin labeling imaging were acquired to investigate the relationship between medial prefrontal (MPFC) GABA+ levels (including some contribution from macromolecules) and hippocampal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 36 individuals at UHR of psychosis, based on preclinical evidence that MPFC dysfunction is involved in hippocampal hyperactivity. The subjects were then clinically monitored for 2 years: during this period, 7 developed a psychotic disorder and 29 did not. At baseline, MPFC GABA+ levels were positively correlated with rCBF in the left hippocampus (region of interest analysis, p = 0.044 family-wise error corrected, FWE). This correlation in the left hippocampus was significantly different in UHR subjects who went on to develop psychosis relative to those who did not (p = 0.022 FWE), suggesting the absence of a correlation in the latter subgroup. These findings provide the first human evidence that MPFC GABA+ concentrations are related to resting hippocampal perfusion in the UHR state, and offer some support for a link between GABA levels and hippocampal function in the development of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. .,Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Fatma Şimşek
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Matilda Azis
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Matthijs Bossong
- 0000000090126352grid.7692.aDepartment of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ilaria Bonoldi
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Carly Samson
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Beverly Quinn
- 0000 0004 0412 9303grid.450563.1CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jesus Perez
- 0000 0004 0412 9303grid.450563.1CAMEO Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK ,0000000121885934grid.5335.0Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK ,0000 0001 2180 1817grid.11762.33Department of Neuroscience, Instituto de Investigacion Biomedica de Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Matthew R Broome
- 0000 0004 1936 8948grid.4991.5Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK ,0000 0004 0573 576Xgrid.451190.8Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Fernando Zelaya
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - David J Lythgoe
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Oliver D Howes
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - James M Stone
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Anthony A Grace
- 0000 0004 1936 9000grid.21925.3dDepartment of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Paul Allen
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK ,0000 0001 0468 7274grid.35349.38Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, UK
| | - Philip McGuire
- 0000 0001 2322 6764grid.13097.3cDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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30
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Waltmann M, O'Daly O, Egerton A, McMullen K, Kumari V, Barker GJ, Williams SCR, Modinos G. Multi-echo fMRI, resting-state connectivity, and high psychometric schizotypy. Neuroimage Clin 2018; 21:101603. [PMID: 30503214 PMCID: PMC6413302 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Disrupted striatal functional connectivity is proposed to play a critical role in the development of psychotic symptoms. Previous resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies typically reported disrupted striatal connectivity in patients with psychosis and in individuals at clinical and genetic high risk of the disorder relative to healthy controls. This has not been widely studied in healthy individuals with subclinical psychotic-like experiences (schizotypy). Here we applied the emerging technology of multi-echo rs-fMRI to examine corticostriatal connectivity in this group, which is thought to drastically maximize physiological noise removal and increase BOLD contrast-to-noise ratio. Multi-echo rs-fMRI data (echo times, 12, 28, 44, 60 ms) were acquired from healthy individuals with low (LS, n = 20) and high (HS, n = 19) positive schizotypy as determined with the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE). After preprocessing to ensure optimal contrast and removal of non-BOLD signal components, whole-brain functional connectivity from six striatal seeds was compared between the HS and LS groups. Effects were considered significant at cluster-level p < .05 family-wise error correction. Compared to LS, HS subjects showed lower rs-fMRI connectivity between ventromedial prefrontal regions and ventral striatal regions. Lower connectivity was also observed between the dorsal putamen and the hippocampus, occipital regions, as well as the cerebellum. These results demonstrate that subclinical positive psychotic-like experiences in healthy individuals are associated with striatal hypoconnectivity as detected using multi-echo rs-fMRI. Further application of this approach may aid in characterizing functional connectivity abnormalities across the extended psychosis phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Waltmann
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Owen O'Daly
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Alice Egerton
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Katrina McMullen
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Veena Kumari
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK; Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Gareth J Barker
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Steve C R Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Gemma Modinos
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
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31
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Zimmerman EC, Grace AA. Prefrontal cortex modulates firing pattern in the nucleus reuniens of the midline thalamus via distinct corticothalamic pathways. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:3255-3272. [PMID: 30107061 PMCID: PMC6237082 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The thalamus has long been recognized for its role in relaying sensory information from the periphery, a function accomplished by its "first-order" nuclei. However, a second category of thalamic nuclei, termed "higher-order" nuclei, have been shown instead to mediate communication between cortical areas. The nucleus reuniens of the midline thalamus (RE) is a higher-order nucleus known to act as a conduit of reciprocal communication between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus. While anatomical and behavioural studies of RE are numerous, circuit-based electrophysiological studies, particularly those examining the impact of cortical input and the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) on RE neuron firing, are sparse. To characterize RE neuron firing properties and dissect the circuit dynamics of the infralimbic subdivision of the mPFC (ilPFC), the TRN and RE, we used in vivo, extracellular, single-unit recordings in male Sprague Dawley rats and manipulated neural activity using targeted pharmacological manipulations, electrical stimulation and a projection-specific implementation of designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs). We show that ilPFC inhibition reduces multiple burst firing parameters in RE, whereas ilPFC stimulation drives burst firing and dampens tonic firing. In addition, TRN inhibition reduces the number of spontaneously active neurons in RE. Finally, inhibition of ilPFC terminals in RE selectively enhances a subset of burst firing parameters. These findings demonstrate that ilPFC input, both via direct projections and via the TRN, can modulate RE neuron firing pattern in nuanced and complex ways. They also highlight the ilPFC-TRN-RE circuit as a likely critical component of prefrontal-hippocampal interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric C Zimmerman
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Ramanathan KR, Jin J, Giustino TF, Payne MR, Maren S. Prefrontal projections to the thalamic nucleus reuniens mediate fear extinction. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4527. [PMID: 30375397 PMCID: PMC6207683 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06970-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) receives dense projections from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), interconnects the mPFC and hippocampus, and may serve a pivotal role in regulating emotional learning and memory. Here we show that the RE and its mPFC afferents are critical for the extinction of Pavlovian fear memories in rats. Pharmacological inactivation of the RE during extinction learning or retrieval increases freezing to an extinguished conditioned stimulus (CS); renewal of fear outside the extinction context was unaffected. Suppression of fear in the extinction context is associated with an increase in c-fos expression and spike firing in RE neurons to the extinguished CS. The role for the RE in suppressing extinguished fear requires the mPFC, insofar as pharmacogenetically silencing mPFC to RE projections impairs the expression of extinction memory. These results reveal that mPFC-RE circuits inhibit the expression of fear, a function that is essential for adaptive emotional regulation. Previous work has shown that the thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) is involved in memory and emotion. Here the authors report that the RE and its inputs from the medial prefrontal cortex are indispensable for the top-down inhibition of fear memories after extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthik R Ramanathan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Jingji Jin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Thomas F Giustino
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Martin R Payne
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
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Bortz DM, Grace AA. Medial septum activation produces opposite effects on dopamine neuron activity in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra in MAM vs. normal rats. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2018; 4:17. [PMID: 30177811 PMCID: PMC6120917 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-018-0059-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The medial septum (MS) differentially impacts midbrain dopamine (DA) neuron activity via the ventral hippocampus, a region implicated in DA-related disorders. However, whether MS regulation of ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) is disrupted in a developmental disruption model of schizophrenia is unknown. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed at gestational day 17 to methylazoxymethanol (MAM) or saline. As adults, NMDA (0.75 µg/0.2 µL) was infused into the MS, and either DA neuron activity in the VTA and SNc (7-9 anesthetized rats per group) or amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (AIH, 11-13 rats per group) was measured. MS activation produced a 58% increase in the number of spontaneously active DA neurons in VTA and a 37% decrease in SNc in saline rats. However, MS activation produced opposite effects on DA population activity in MAM rats, decreasing VTA DA activity by 51% and increasing SNc DA activity by 47%. MS activation also increased AIH by 113% in MAM rats, opposite of what is seen in intact rats. The effect in behavioral output may be due to disrupted GABAergic regulation of SNc as bicuculline infusion into vSub, which selectively prevented the MS activation-induced decrease in SNc DA activity in intact rats, prevented the increase in AIH and SNc DA activity in MAM rats. These findings demonstrate that the regulation of midbrain DA neurons by the MS is disrupted in this well-validated animal model, suggesting that it could be a potential locus for pharmacological intervention in disorders such as schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Bortz
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
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Bortz DM, Grace AA. Medial septum differentially regulates dopamine neuron activity in the rat ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra via distinct pathways. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2093-2100. [PMID: 29654260 PMCID: PMC6098086 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0048-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The medial septum (MS) impacts hippocampal activity and the hippocampus, in turn, regulates midbrain dopamine (DA) neuron activity. However, it remains to be determined how MS activation impacts midbrain DA activity. This question was addressed by infusing NMDA (0.75 µg/0.2 µL) into the medial septum of anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats and recording dopamine neuron activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). MS activation increased (71%) the number of spontaneously active DA neurons in the VTA, and decreased (40%) the number of active DA neurons in the SNc. Effects in both the VTA and SNc required the ventral subiculum, but were differentially dependent on cholinergic and GABAergic mechanisms within the vSub and rostral and caudal subregions of the ventral pallidum, respectively. MS activation also decreased amphetamine-induced locomotor behavior, which was dependent on GABAergic inputs to the hippocampus. These findings demonstrate that the MS differentially regulates meso-striatal DA transmission via distinct pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M. Bortz
- 0000 0004 1936 9000grid.21925.3dDepartments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- 0000 0004 1936 9000grid.21925.3dDepartments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA
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Pittman-Polletta B, Hu K, Kocsis B. Subunit-specific NMDAR antagonism dissociates schizophrenia subtype-relevant oscillopathies associated with frontal hypofunction and hippocampal hyperfunction. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11588. [PMID: 30072757 PMCID: PMC6072790 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29331-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
NMDAR antagonism alters mesolimbic, hippocampal, and cortical function, acutely reproducing the positive, cognitive, and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. These physiological and behavioral effects may depend differentially on NMDAR subtype- and region-specific effects. The dramatic electrophysiological signatures of NMDAR blockade in rodents include potentiated high frequency oscillations (HFOs, ∼140 Hz), likely generated in mesolimbic structures, and increased HFO phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), a phenomenon related to goal-directed behavior and dopaminergic tone. This study examined the impact of subtype-specific NMDAR antagonism on HFOs and PAC. We found that positive-symptom-associated NR2A-preferring antagonism (NVP-AAM077), but not NR2B-specific antagonism (Ro25-6985) or saline control, replicated increases in HFO power seen with nonspecific antagonism (MK-801). However, PAC following NR2A-preferring antagonism was distinct from all other conditions. While θ-HFO PAC was prominent or potentiated in other conditions, NVP-AAM077 increased δ-HFO PAC and decreased θ-HFO PAC. Furthermore, active wake epochs exhibiting narrowband frontal δ oscillations, and not broadband sleep-associated δ, selectively exhibited δ-HFO coupling, while paradoxical sleep epochs having a high CA1 θ to frontal δ ratio selectively exhibited θ-HFO coupling. Our results suggest: (1) NR2A-preferring antagonism induces oscillopathies reflecting frontal hyperfunction and hippocampal hypofunction; and (2) HFO PAC indexes cortical vs. hippocampal control of mesolimbic circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Pittman-Polletta
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Kun Hu
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bernat Kocsis
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Bueno-Junior LS, Leite JP. Input Convergence, Synaptic Plasticity and Functional Coupling Across Hippocampal-Prefrontal-Thalamic Circuits. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:40. [PMID: 29875637 PMCID: PMC5975431 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Executive functions and working memory are long known to involve the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and two PFC-projecting areas: midline/paramidline thalamus (MLT) and cornus ammonis 1 (CA1)/subiculum of the hippocampal formation (HF). An increasing number of rodent electrophysiology studies are examining these substrates together, thus providing circuit-level perspectives on input convergence, synaptic plasticity and functional coupling, as well as insights into cognition mechanisms and brain disorders. Our review article puts this literature into a method-oriented narrative. As revisited throughout the text, limbic thalamic and hippocampal afferents to the PFC gate one another’s inputs, which in turn are modulated by PFC interneurons and ascending monoaminergic projections. In addition, long-term synaptic plasticity, paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), and event-related potentials (ERP) dynamically vary across PFC-related circuits during learning paradigms and drug effects. Finally, thalamic-prefrontal loops, which have been shown to amplify both cognitive processes and limbic seizures, are also being implicated as relays in the prefrontal-hippocampal feedback, contributing to spatial navigation and decision making. Based on these issues, we conclude the review with a critical synthesis and some research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lezio S Bueno-Junior
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Joao P Leite
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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Wolthusen RPF, Coombs G, Boeke EA, Ehrlich S, DeCross SN, Nasr S, Holt DJ. Correlation Between Levels of Delusional Beliefs and Perfusion of the Hippocampus and an Associated Network in a Non-Help-Seeking Population. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2018. [PMID: 29529413 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Delusions are a defining and common symptom of psychotic disorders. Recent evidence suggests that subclinical and clinical delusions may represent distinct stages on a phenomenological and biological continuum. However, few studies have tested whether subclinical psychotic experiences are associated with neural changes that are similar to those observed in clinical psychosis. For example, it is unclear if overactivity of the hippocampus, a replicated finding of neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia, is also present in individuals with subclinical psychotic symptoms. METHODS To investigate this question, structural and pulsed arterial spin labeling scans were collected in 77 adult participants with no psychiatric history. An anatomical region of interest approach was used to extract resting perfusion of the hippocampus, and 15 other regions, from each individual. A self-report measure of delusional ideation was collected on the day of scanning. RESULTS The level of delusional thinking (number of beliefs [r = .27, p = .02]), as well as the associated level of distress (r = .29, p = .02), was significantly correlated with hippocampal perfusion (averaged over right and left hemispheres). The correlations remained significant after controlling for age, hippocampal volume, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and image signal-to-noise ratio, and they were confirmed in a voxelwise regression analysis. The same association was observed in the thalamus and parahippocampal, lateral temporal, and cingulate cortices. CONCLUSIONS Similar to patients with schizophrenia, non-help-seeking individuals show elevated perfusion of a network of limbic regions in association with delusional beliefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rick P F Wolthusen
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Garth Coombs
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Emily A Boeke
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stephanie N DeCross
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Daphne J Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts.
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Mei H, Logothetis NK, Eschenko O. The activity of thalamic nucleus reuniens is critical for memory retrieval, but not essential for the early phase of "off-line" consolidation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 25:129-137. [PMID: 29449457 PMCID: PMC5817284 DOI: 10.1101/lm.047134.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Spatial navigation depends on the hippocampal function, but also requires bidirectional interactions between the hippocampus (HPC) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The cross-regional communication is typically regulated by critical nodes of a distributed brain network. The thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) is reciprocally connected to both HPC and PFC and may coordinate the information flow within the HPC-PFC pathway. Here we examined if RE activity contributes to the spatial memory consolidation. Rats were trained to find reward following a complex trajectory on a crossword-like maze. Immediately after each of the five daily learning sessions the RE was reversibly inactivated by local injection of muscimol. The post-training RE inactivation affected neither the spatial task acquisition nor the memory retention, which was tested after a 20-d "forgetting" period. In contrast, the RE inactivation in well-trained rats prior to the maze exposure impaired the task performance without affecting locomotion or appetitive motivation. Our results support the role of the RE in memory retrieval and/or "online" processing of spatial information, but do not provide evidence for its engagement in "off-line" processing, at least within a time window immediately following learning experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Mei
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Nikos K Logothetis
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen 72076, Germany.,Centre for Imaging Sciences, Biomedical Imaging Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Oxana Eschenko
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen 72076, Germany
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Kafetzopoulos V, Kokras N, Sotiropoulos I, Oliveira JF, Leite-Almeida H, Vasalou A, Sardinha VM, Papadopoulou-Daifoti Z, Almeida OFX, Antoniou K, Sousa N, Dalla C. The nucleus reuniens: a key node in the neurocircuitry of stress and depression. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:579-586. [PMID: 28397837 PMCID: PMC5822458 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2014] [Revised: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are connected in a reciprocal manner: whereas the hippocampus projects directly to the PFC, a polysynaptic pathway that passes through the nucleus reuniens (RE) of the thalamus relays inputs from the PFC to the hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that lesioning and/or inactivation of the RE reduces coherence in the PFC-hippocampal pathway, provokes an antidepressant-like behavioral response in the forced swim test and prevents, but does not ameliorate, anhedonia in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. Additionally, RE lesioning before CMS abrogates the well-known neuromorphological and endocrine correlates of CMS. In summary, this work highlights the importance of the reciprocal connectivity between the hippocampus and PFC in the establishment of stress-induced brain pathology and suggests a role for the RE in promoting resilience to depressive illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Kafetzopoulos
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - N Kokras
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - I Sotiropoulos
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
| | - J F Oliveira
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
| | - H Leite-Almeida
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
| | - A Vasalou
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - V M Sardinha
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
| | - Z Papadopoulou-Daifoti
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - O F X Almeida
- NeuroAdaptations Group, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - K Antoniou
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - N Sousa
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal,ICVS/3B’s, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
| | - C Dalla
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75, Athens 11527, Greece. E-mail:
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Yang S, Li J, Han L, Zhu G. Early maternal separation promotes apoptosis in dentate gyrus and alters neurological behaviors in adolescent rats. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY 2017; 10:10812-10820. [PMID: 31966424 PMCID: PMC6965815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Adverse early-life experience such as maternal separation (MS) affects the behavior of adult, and may also aggravate the outcome of neurological insults. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of early MS on hippocampus-related behaviors, and to assess the mechanisms. Newborn rats were randomly divided into normal control and MS groups. Our data showed that MS (P3-P21) impaired learning ability as well as memory retrieval, and caused depression-like activity, but decreased anxiety-like activity. Glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) expression in the dentate gyrus (DG) region was significantly reduced in the adults (P60). Mechanically, MS promoted apoptosis, and reduced protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation in the DG region in the early phase (P21). By contrast, MS did not affect ERK phosphorylation. Our data implicate that the inactivation of AKT pathway and apoptosis of DG cells might contribute to MS-induced behavioral changes. This study would provide useful evidence implicating the pathological changes for MS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjuan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Xin’an Medicine, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese MedicineHefei 230038, China
| | - Junyao Li
- Key Laboratory of Xin’an Medicine, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese MedicineHefei 230038, China
| | - Lan Han
- School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese MedicineHefei 230038, China
| | - Guoqi Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Xin’an Medicine, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese MedicineHefei 230038, China
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Belujon P, Grace AA. Dopamine System Dysregulation in Major Depressive Disorders. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2017; 20:1036-1046. [PMID: 29106542 PMCID: PMC5716179 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyx056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 399] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Anhedonia is considered a core feature of major depressive disorder, and the dopamine system plays a pivotal role in the hedonic deficits described in this disorder. Dopaminergic activity is complex and under the regulation of multiple brain structures, including the ventral subiculum of the hippocampus and the basolateral amygdala. Whereas basic and clinical studies demonstrate deficits of the dopaminergic system in depression, the origin of these deficits likely lies in dysregulation of its regulatory afferent circuits. This review explores the current information regarding the afferent modulation of the dopaminergic system and its relevance to major depressive disorder, as well as some of the system-level effects of novel antidepressants such as agomelatine and ketamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Belujon
- INSERM, U1084, Poitiers, France (Dr Belujon); University of Poitiers, U1084, Poitiers, France (Dr Belujon); Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Grace),Correspondence: Pauline Belujon, PhD, University of Poitiers, Laboratory of Experimental and Clinical Neurosciences, 1 rue Georges Bonnet, 86073 Poitiers, France ()
| | - Anthony A Grace
- INSERM, U1084, Poitiers, France (Dr Belujon); University of Poitiers, U1084, Poitiers, France (Dr Belujon); Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Grace)
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Moreines JL, Owrutsky ZL, Grace AA. Involvement of Infralimbic Prefrontal Cortex but not Lateral Habenula in Dopamine Attenuation After Chronic Mild Stress. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:904-913. [PMID: 27813530 PMCID: PMC5312072 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Emerging evidence supports a role for dopamine in major depressive disorder (MDD). We recently reported fewer spontaneously active ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons (ie, reduced dopamine neuron population activity) in the chronic mild stress (CMS) rodent model of MDD. In this study, we examined the role of two brain regions that have been implicated in MDD in humans, the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (ILPFC)-that is, rodent homolog of Brodmann area 25 (BA25), and the lateral habenula (LHb) in the CMS-induced attenuation of dopamine neuron activity. The impact of activating the ILPFC or LHb was evaluated using single-unit extracellular recordings of identified VTA dopamine neurons. The involvement of each region in dopamine neuron attenuation following 5-7 weeks of CMS was then evaluated by selective inactivation. Activation of either ILPFC or LHb in normal rats potently suppressed dopamine neuron population activity, but in unique patterns. ILPFC activation selectively inhibited dopamine neurons in medial VTA, which were most impacted by CMS. Conversely, LHb activation selectively inhibited dopamine neurons in lateral VTA, which were unaffected by CMS. Moreover, only ILPFC inactivation restored dopamine neuron population activity to normal levels following CMS; LHb inactivation had no restorative effect. These data suggest that, in the CMS model of MDD, the ILPFC is the primary driver of diminished dopamine neuron responses. These findings support a neural substrate for ILPFC/BA25 linking affective and motivational circuitry dysfunction in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared L Moreines
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Psychiatry, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, A210 Langley Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA, Tel: 412 624 7332, Fax: 412 624 9198, E-mail:
| | - Zoe L Owrutsky
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Psychiatry, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Psychiatry, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Potential synergistic action of 19 schizophrenia risk genes in the thalamus. Schizophr Res 2017; 180:64-69. [PMID: 27645107 PMCID: PMC5263182 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Revised: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A goal of current schizophrenia (SZ) research is to understand how multiple risk genes work together with environmental factors to produce the disease. In schizophrenia, there is elevated delta frequency EEG power in the awake state, an elevation that can be mimicked in rodents by N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist action in the thalamus. This thalamic delta can be blocked by dopamine D2 receptor antagonists, agents known to be therapeutic in SZ. Experiments suggest that these oscillations can interfere with brain function and may thus be causal in producing psychosis. Here we evaluate the question of whether well-established schizophrenia risk genes may interact to affect the delta generation process. We identify 19 risk genes that can plausibly work in a synergistic fashion to generate delta oscillations.
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