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Esposito-Zapero C, Fernández-Rodríguez S, Sánchez-Catalán MJ, Zornoza T, Cano-Cebrián MJ, Granero L. The rostromedial tegmental nucleus RMTg is not a critical site for ethanol-induced motor activation in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:2071-2080. [PMID: 37474756 PMCID: PMC10506920 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06425-4] [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: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Opioid drugs indirectly activate dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) through a disinhibition mechanism mediated by mu opioid receptors (MORs) present both on the GABA projection neurons located in the medial tegmental nucleus/tail of the VTA (RMTg/tVTA) and on the VTA GABA interneurons. It is well demonstrated that ethanol, like opioid drugs, provokes VTA DA neuron disinhibition by interacting (through its secondary metabolite, salsolinol) with MORs present in VTA GABA interneurons, but it is not known whether ethanol could disinhibit VTA DA neurons through the MORs present in the RMTg/tVTA. OBJECTIVES The objective of the present study was to determine whether ethanol, directly microinjected into the tVTA/RMTg, is also able to induce VTA DA neurons disinhibition. METHODS Disinhibition of VTA DA neurons was indirectly assessed through the analysis of the motor activity of rats. Cannulae were placed into the tVTA/RMTg to perform microinjections of DAMGO (0.13 nmol), ethanol (150 or 300 nmol) or acetaldehyde (250 nmol) in animals pre-treated with either aCSF or the irreversible antagonist of MORs, beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA; 2.5 nmol). After injections, spontaneous activity was monitored for 30 min. RESULTS Neither ethanol nor acetaldehyde directly administered into the RMTg/tVTA were able to increase the locomotor activity of rats at doses that, in previous studies performed in the posterior VTA, were effective in increasing motor activities. However, microinjections of 0.13 nmol of DAMGO into the tVTA/RMTg significantly increased the locomotor activity of rats. These activating effects were reduced by local pre-treatment of rats with beta-FNA (2.5 nmol). CONCLUSIONS The tVTA/RMTg does not appear to be a key brain region for the disinhibiting action of ethanol on VTA DA neurons. The absence of dopamine in the tVTA/RMTg extracellular medium, the lack of local ethanol metabolism or both could explain the present results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Esposito-Zapero
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain
| | - Sandra Fernández-Rodríguez
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain
| | - María José Sánchez-Catalán
- Lab of Functional Neuroanatomy (NeuroFun-UJI-UV), Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain
| | - Teodoro Zornoza
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain
| | - María José Cano-Cebrián
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain.
| | - Luis Granero
- Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain.
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Huang L, Chen X, Tao Q, Wang X, Huang X, Fu Y, Yang Y, Deng S, Lin S, So KF, Song X, Ren C. Bright light treatment counteracts stress-induced sleep alterations in mice, via a visual circuit related to the rostromedial tegmental nucleus. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002282. [PMID: 37676855 PMCID: PMC10484455 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Light in the environment greatly impacts a variety of brain functions, including sleep. Clinical evidence suggests that bright light treatment has a beneficial effect on stress-related diseases. Although stress can alter sleep patterns, the effect of bright light treatment on stress-induced sleep alterations and the underlying mechanism are poorly understood. Here, we show that bright light treatment reduces the increase in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep induced by chronic stress through a di-synaptic visual circuit consisting of the thalamic ventral lateral geniculate nucleus and intergeniculate leaflet (vLGN/IGL), lateral habenula (LHb), and rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg). Specifically, chronic stress causes a marked increase in NREM sleep duration and a complementary decrease in wakefulness time in mice. Specific activation of RMTg-projecting LHb neurons or activation of RMTg neurons receiving direct LHb inputs mimics the effects of chronic stress on sleep patterns, while inhibition of RMTg-projecting LHb neurons or RMTg neurons receiving direct LHb inputs reduces the NREM sleep-promoting effects of chronic stress. Importantly, we demonstrate that bright light treatment reduces the NREM sleep-promoting effects of chronic stress through the vLGN/IGL-LHb-RMTg pathway. Together, our results provide a circuit mechanism underlying the effects of bright light treatment on sleep alterations induced by chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Huang
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xi Chen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qian Tao
- Psychology Department, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaodan Huang
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yunwei Fu
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan Yang
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shijie Deng
- Department of Anesthesiology, Jiangmen Central Hospital, Guangdong, China
| | - Song Lin
- Physiology Department, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kwok-Fai So
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation Institute, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Xingrong Song
- Department of Anesthesiology, Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chaoran Ren
- Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou, China
- Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation Institute, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, China
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Neuhofer D, Kalivas P. Differential Modulation of GABAergic and Glutamatergic Neurons in the Ventral Pallidum by GABA and Neuropeptides. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0404-22.2023. [PMID: 37414552 PMCID: PMC10348443 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0404-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The ventral pallidum (VP) is an integral locus in the reward circuitry and a major target of GABAergic innervation of both D1-medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and D2-MSNs from the nucleus accumbens. The VP contains populations of GABAergic [VPGABA, GAD2(+), or VGluT(-)] and glutamatergic [VPGlutamate, GAD2(-), or VGluT(+)] cells that facilitate positive reinforcement and behavioral avoidance, respectively. MSN efferents to the VP exert opponent control over behavioral reinforcement with activation of D1-MSN afferents promoting and D2-MSN afferents inhibiting reward seeking. How this afferent-specific and cell type-specific control of reward seeking is integrated remains largely unknown. In addition to GABA, D1-MSNs corelease substance P to stimulate neurokinin 1 receptors (NK1Rs) and D2-MSNs corelease enkephalin to activate μ-opioid receptors (MORs) and δ-opioid receptors. These neuropeptides act in the VP to alter appetitive behavior and reward seeking. Using a combination of optogenetics and patch-clamp electrophysiology in mice, we found that GAD2(-) cells receive weaker GABA input from D1-MSN, but GAD2(+) cells receive comparable GABAergic input from both afferent types. Pharmacological activation of MORs induced an equally strong presynaptic inhibition of GABA and glutamate transmission on both cell types. Interestingly, MOR activation hyperpolarized VPGABA but not VGluT(+). NK1R activation inhibited glutamatergic transmission only on VGluT(+) cells. Our results indicate that the afferent-specific release of GABA and neuropeptides from D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs can differentially influence VP neuronal subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Neuhofer
- Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425
| | - Peter Kalivas
- Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425
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Chao YS, Parrilla-Carrero J, Eid M, Culver OP, Jackson TB, Lipat R, Taniguchi M, Jhou TC. Innate cocaine-seeking vulnerability arising from loss of serotonin-mediated aversive effects of cocaine in rats. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112404. [PMID: 37083325 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cocaine blocks dopamine reuptake, thereby producing rewarding effects that are widely studied. However, cocaine also blocks serotonin uptake, which we show drives, in rats, individually variable aversive effects that depend on serotonin 2C receptors (5-HT2CRs) in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), a major GABAergic afferent to midbrain dopamine neurons. 5-HT2CRs produce depolarizing effects in RMTg neurons that are particularly strong in some rats, leading to aversive effects that reduce acquisition of and relapse to cocaine seeking. In contrast, 5-HT2CR signaling is largely lost after cocaine exposure in other rats, leading to reduced aversive effects and increased cocaine seeking. These results suggest a serotonergic biological marker of cocaine-seeking vulnerability that can be targeted to modulate drug seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying S Chao
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | | | - Maya Eid
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Oliver P Culver
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Tyler B Jackson
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Rachel Lipat
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Makoto Taniguchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Thomas C Jhou
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
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Coombs I, Bats C, Sexton CA, Studniarczyk D, Cull-Candy SG, Farrant M. Enhanced functional detection of synaptic calcium-permeable AMPA receptors using intracellular NASPM. eLife 2023; 12:e66765. [PMID: 37042655 PMCID: PMC10168695 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Calcium-permeable AMPA-type glutamate receptors (CP-AMPARs) contribute to many forms of synaptic plasticity and pathology. They can be distinguished from GluA2-containing calcium-impermeable AMPARs by the inward rectification of their currents, which reflects voltage-dependent channel block by intracellular spermine. However, the efficacy of this weakly permeant blocker is differentially altered by the presence of AMPAR auxiliary subunits - including transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins, cornichons, and GSG1L - which are widely expressed in neurons and glia. This complicates the interpretation of rectification as a measure of CP-AMPAR expression. Here, we show that the inclusion of the spider toxin analog 1-naphthylacetyl spermine (NASPM) in the intracellular solution results in a complete block of GluA1-mediated outward currents irrespective of the type of associated auxiliary subunit. In neurons from GluA2-knockout mice expressing only CP-AMPARs, intracellular NASPM, unlike spermine, completely blocks outward synaptic currents. Thus, our results identify a functional measure of CP-AMPARs, that is unaffected by their auxiliary subunit content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Coombs
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Cécile Bats
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Craig A Sexton
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Dorota Studniarczyk
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Stuart G Cull-Candy
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Mark Farrant
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
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Strickland JC, Gipson CD, Dunn KE. Dopamine Supersensitivity: A Novel Hypothesis of Opioid-Induced Neurobiological Mechanisms Underlying Opioid-Stimulant Co-use and Opioid Relapse. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:835816. [PMID: 35492733 PMCID: PMC9051080 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.835816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emergent harms presented by the co-use of opioids and methamphetamine highlight the broader public health challenge of preventing and treating opioid and stimulant co-use. Development of effective therapeutics requires an understanding of the physiological mechanisms that may be driving co-use patterns, specifically the underlying neurobiology of co-use and how they may facilitate (or be leveraged to prevent) continued use patterns. This narrative review summarizes largely preclinical data that demonstrate clinically-meaningful relationships between the dopamine and opioid systems with direct implications for opioid and stimulant co-use. Synthesized conclusions of this body of research include evidence that changes in the dopamine system occur only once physical dependence to opioids develops, that the chronicity of opioid exposure is associated with the severity of changes, and that withdrawal leaves the organism in a state of substantive dopamine deficit that persists long after the somatic or observed signs of opioid withdrawal appear to have resolved. Evidence also suggests that dopamine supersensitivity develops soon after opioid abstinence and results in increased response to dopamine agonists that increases in magnitude as the abstinence period continues and is evident several weeks into protracted withdrawal. Mechanistically, this supersensitivity appears to be mediated by changes in the sensitivity, not quantity, of dopamine D2 receptors. Here we propose a neural circuit mechanism unique to withdrawal from opioid use with implications for increased stimulant sensitivity in previously stimulant-naïve or inexperienced populations. These hypothesized effects collectively delineate a mechanism by which stimulants would be uniquely reinforcing to persons with opioid physical dependence, would contribute to the acute opioid withdrawal syndrome, and could manifest subjectively as craving and/or motivation to use that could prompt opioid relapse during acute and protracted withdrawal. Preclinical research is needed to directly test these hypothesized mechanisms. Human laboratory and clinical trial research is needed to explore these clinical predictions and to advance the goal of developing treatments for opioid-stimulant co-use and/or opioid relapse prevention and withdrawal remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Strickland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Cassandra D Gipson
- Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Kelly E Dunn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Jhou TC. The rostromedial tegmental (RMTg) "brake" on dopamine and behavior: A decade of progress but also much unfinished work. Neuropharmacology 2021; 198:108763. [PMID: 34433088 PMCID: PMC8593889 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Between 2005 and 2009, several research groups identified a strikingly dense inhibitory input to midbrain dopamine neurons arising from a previously uncharted region posterior to the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This region is now denoted as either the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) or the "tail of the VTA" (tVTA), and is recognized to express distinct genetic markers, encode negative "prediction errors" (inverse to dopamine neurons), and play critical roles in behavioral inhibition and punishment learning. RMTg neurons are also influenced by many categories of abused drugs, and may drive some aversive responses to such drugs, particularly cocaine and alcohol. However, despite much progress, many important questions remain about RMTg molecular/genetic properties, diversity of projection targets, and applications to addiction, depression, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. This article is part of the special Issue on 'Neurocircuitry Modulating Drug and Alcohol Abuse'.
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