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Higa GSV, Viana FJC, Francis-Oliveira J, Cruvinel E, Franchin TS, Marcourakis T, Ulrich H, De Pasquale R. Serotonergic neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity. Neuropharmacology 2024; 257:110036. [PMID: 38876308 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.110036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Synaptic plasticity constitutes a fundamental process in the reorganization of neural networks that underlie memory, cognition, emotional responses, and behavioral planning. At the core of this phenomenon lie Hebbian mechanisms, wherein frequent synaptic stimulation induces long-term potentiation (LTP), while less activation leads to long-term depression (LTD). The synaptic reorganization of neuronal networks is regulated by serotonin (5-HT), a neuromodulator capable of modify synaptic plasticity to appropriately respond to mental and behavioral states, such as alertness, attention, concentration, motivation, and mood. Lately, understanding the serotonergic Neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity has become imperative for unraveling its impact on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions. Through a comparative analysis across three main forebrain structures-the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, this review discusses the actions of 5-HT on synaptic plasticity, offering insights into its role as a neuromodulator involved in emotional and cognitive functions. By distinguishing between plastic and metaplastic effects, we provide a comprehensive overview about the mechanisms of 5-HT neuromodulation of synaptic plasticity and associated functions across different brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme Shigueto Vilar Higa
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química (USP), Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Felipe José Costa Viana
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - José Francis-Oliveira
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Emily Cruvinel
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Thainá Soares Franchin
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Tania Marcourakis
- Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Henning Ulrich
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química (USP), Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Roberto De Pasquale
- Laboratório de Neurofisiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade de São Paulo, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil.
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Piccin A, Plat H, Wolff M, Coutureau E. Adaptive Responding to Stimulus-Outcome Associations Requires Noradrenergic Transmission in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0078242024. [PMID: 38684363 PMCID: PMC11140671 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0078-24.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
A dynamic environment, such as the one we inhabit, requires organisms to continuously update their knowledge of the setting. While the prefrontal cortex is recognized for its pivotal role in regulating such adaptive behavior, the specific contribution of each prefrontal area remains elusive. In the current work, we investigated the direct involvement of two major prefrontal subregions, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC, A32D + A32V) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, VO + LO), in updating pavlovian stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations following contingency degradation in male rats. Specifically, animals had to learn that a particular cue, previously fully predicting the delivery of a specific reward, was no longer a reliable predictor. First, we found that chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC, but not of OFC, neurons altered the rats' ability to adaptively respond to degraded and non-degraded cues. Next, given the growing evidence pointing at noradrenaline (NA) as a main neuromodulator of adaptive behavior, we decided to investigate the possible involvement of NA projections to the two subregions in this higher-order cognitive process. Employing a pair of novel retrograde vectors, we traced NA projections from the locus ceruleus (LC) to both structures and observed an equivalent yet relatively segregated amount of inputs. Then, we showed that chemogenetic inhibition of NA projections to the mPFC, but not to the OFC, also impaired the rats' ability to adaptively respond to the degradation procedure. Altogether, our findings provide important evidence of functional parcellation within the prefrontal cortex and point at mPFC NA as key for updating pavlovian S-O associations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hadrien Plat
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, Bordeaux F-33000, France
| | - Mathieu Wolff
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, Bordeaux F-33000, France
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3
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Palchaudhuri S, Osypenko D, Schneggenburger R. Fear Learning: An Evolving Picture for Plasticity at Synaptic Afferents to the Amygdala. Neuroscientist 2024; 30:87-104. [PMID: 35822657 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221108083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Unraveling the neuronal mechanisms of fear learning might allow neuroscientists to make links between a learned behavior and the underlying plasticity at specific synaptic connections. In fear learning, an innocuous sensory event such as a tone (called the conditioned stimulus, CS) acquires an emotional value when paired with an aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus, US). Here, we review earlier studies that have shown that synaptic plasticity at thalamic and cortical afferents to the lateral amygdala (LA) is critical for the formation of auditory-cued fear memories. Despite the early progress, it has remained unclear whether there are separate synaptic inputs that carry US information to the LA to act as a teaching signal for plasticity at CS-coding synapses. Recent findings have begun to fill this gap by showing, first, that thalamic and cortical auditory afferents can also carry US information; second, that the release of neuromodulators contributes to US-driven teaching signals; and third, that synaptic plasticity additionally happens at connections up- and downstream of the LA. Together, a picture emerges in which coordinated synaptic plasticity in serial and parallel circuits enables the formation of a finely regulated fear memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shriya Palchaudhuri
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Denys Osypenko
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ralf Schneggenburger
- Laboratory of Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Hornstein E, Leschak CJ, Parrish MH, Byrne-Haltom KE, Fanselow MS, Craske MG, Eisenberger NI. Social support and fear-inhibition: an examination of underlying neural mechanisms. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae002. [PMID: 38217103 PMCID: PMC10868130 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent work has demonstrated that reminders of those we are closest to have a unique combination of effects on fear learning and represent a new category of fear inhibitors, termed prepared fear suppressors. Notably, social-support-figure images have been shown to resist becoming associated with fear, suppress conditional-fear-responding and lead to long-term fear reduction. Due to the novelty of this category, understanding the underlying neural mechanisms that support these unique abilities of social-support-reminders has yet to be investigated. Here, we examined the neural correlates that enable social-support-reminders to resist becoming associated with fear during a retardation-of-acquisition test. We found that social-support-figure-images (vs stranger-images) were less readily associated with fear, replicating prior work, and that this effect was associated with decreased amygdala activity and increased ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) activity for social-support-figure-images (vs stranger-images), suggesting that social-support-engagement of the VMPFC and consequent inhibition of the amygdala may contribute to unique their inhibitory effects. Connectivity analyses supported this interpretation, showing greater connectivity between the VMPFC and left amygdala for social-support-figure-images (vs stranger-images).
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Affiliation(s)
- E.A Hornstein
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - C J Leschak
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - M H Parrish
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - K E Byrne-Haltom
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - M S Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - M G Craske
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - N I Eisenberger
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Jones MJ, Uzuneser TC, Clement T, Wang H, Ojima I, Rushlow WJ, Laviolette SR. Inhibition of fatty acid binding protein-5 in the basolateral amygdala induces anxiolytic effects and accelerates fear memory extinction. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:119-138. [PMID: 37747506 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06468-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE The endocannabinoid (eCB) system critically controls anxiety and fear-related behaviours. Anandamide (AEA), a prominent eCB ligand, is a hydrophobic lipid that requires chaperone proteins such as Fatty Acid Binding Proteins (FABPs) for intracellular transport. Intracellular AEA transport is necessary for degradation, so blocking FABP activity increases AEA neurotransmission. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of a novel FABP5 inhibitor (SBFI-103) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) on anxiety and fear memory. METHODS We infused SBFI-103 (0.5 μg-5 μg) to the BLA of adult male Sprague Dawley rats and ran various anxiety and fear memory behavioural assays, neurophysiological recordings, and localized molecular signaling analyses. We also co-infused SBFI-103 with the AEA inhibitor, LEI-401 (3 μg and 10 μg) to investigate the potential role of AEA in these phenomena. RESULTS Acute intra-BLA administration of SBFI-103 produced strong anxiolytic effects across multiple behavioural tests. Furthermore, animals exhibited acute and long-term accelerated associative fear memory extinction following intra-BLA FABP5 inhibition. In addition, BLA FABP5 inhibition induced strong modulatory effects on putative PFC pyramidal neurons along with significantly increased gamma oscillation power. Finally, we observed local BLA changes in the phosphorylation activity of various anxiety- and fear memory-related molecular biomarkers in the PI3K/Akt and MAPK/Erk signaling pathways. At all three levels of analyses, we found the functional effects of SBFI-103 depend on availability of the AEA ligand. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate a novel intra-BLA FABP5 signaling mechanism regulating anxiety and fear memory behaviours, neuronal activity states, local anxiety-related molecular pathways, and functional AEA modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Jones
- Department of Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada
| | - Taygun C Uzuneser
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada
| | - Timothy Clement
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discoveries, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Hehe Wang
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discoveries, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Iwao Ojima
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discoveries, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Walter J Rushlow
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada
| | - Steven R Laviolette
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON, Canada.
- Lawson Health Research Institute, 268 Grosvenor St, London, ON, Canada.
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6
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Conring F, Gangl N, Derome M, Wiest R, Federspiel A, Walther S, Stegmayer K. Associations of resting-state perfusion and auditory verbal hallucinations with and without emotional content in schizophrenia. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 40:103527. [PMID: 37871539 PMCID: PMC10598456 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVH) are highly prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. AVH with high emotional content lead to particularly poor functional outcome. Increasing evidence shows that AVH are associated with alterations in structure and function in language and memory related brain regions. However, neural correlates of AVH with emotional content remain unclear. In our study (n = 91), we related resting-state cerebral perfusion to AVH and emotional content, comparing four groups: patients with AVH with emotional content (n = 13), without emotional content (n = 14), without hallucinations (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 44). Patients with AVH and emotional content presented with increased perfusion within the amygdala and the ventromedial and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC/ dmPFC) compared to patients with AVH without emotional content. In addition, patients with any AVH showed hyperperfusion within the anterior cingulate gyrus, the vmPFC/dmPFC, the right hippocampus, and the left pre- and postcentral gyrus compared to patients without AVH. Our results indicate metabolic alterations in brain areas critical for the processing of emotions as key for the pathophysiology of AVH with emotional content. Particularly, hyperperfusion of the amygdala may reflect and even trigger emotional content of AVH, while hyperperfusion of the vmPFC/dmPFC cluster may indicate insufficient top-down amygdala regulation in patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frauke Conring
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Nicole Gangl
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Melodie Derome
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Support Center of Advanced Neuroimaging (SCAN), University Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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7
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Sahi RS, Eisenberger NI, Silvers JA. Peer facilitation of emotion regulation in adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 62:101262. [PMID: 37302349 PMCID: PMC10276262 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101262] [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: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation is particularly important for adolescents as they undergo normative developmental changes in affective systems and experience heightened risk for psychopathology. Despite a high need for emotion regulation during adolescence, commonly studied emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal are less beneficial for adolescents than adults because they rely on neural regions that are still developing during this period (i.e., lateral prefrontal cortex). However, adolescence is also marked by increased valuation of peer relationships and sensitivity to social information and cues. In the present review, we synthesize research examining emotion regulation and peer influence across development to suggest that sensitivity to peers during adolescence could be leveraged to improve emotion regulation for this population. We first discuss developmental trends related to emotion regulation at the level of behavior and brain in adolescents, using cognitive reappraisal as an exemplar emotion regulation strategy. Next, we discuss social influences on adolescent brain development, describing caregiver influence and increasing susceptibility to peer influence, to describe how adolescent sensitivity to social inputs represents both a window of vulnerability and opportunity. Finally, we conclude by describing the promise of social (i.e., peer-based) interventions for enhancing emotion regulation in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Razia S Sahi
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Naomi I Eisenberger
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Han S, Zheng R, Li S, Liu L, Wang C, Jiang Y, Wen M, Zhou B, Wei Y, Pang J, Li H, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Cheng J. Progressive brain structural abnormality in depression assessed with MR imaging by using causal network analysis. Psychol Med 2023; 53:2146-2155. [PMID: 34583785 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721003986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As a neuroprogressive illness, depression is accompanied by brain structural abnormality that extends to many brain regions. However, the progressive structural alteration pattern remains unknown. METHODS To elaborate the progressive structural alteration of depression according to illness duration, we recruited 195 never-treated first-episode patients with depression and 130 healthy controls (HCs) undergoing T1-weighted MRI scans. Voxel-based morphometry method was adopted to measure gray matter volume (GMV) for each participant. Patients were first divided into three stages according to the length of illness duration, then we explored stage-specific GMV alterations and the causal effect relationship between them using causal structural covariance network (CaSCN) analysis. RESULTS Overall, patients with depression presented stage-specific GMV alterations compared with HCs. Regions including the hippocampus, the thalamus and the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) presented GMV alteration at onset of illness. Then as the illness advanced, others regions began to present GMV alterations. These results suggested that GMV alteration originated from the hippocampus, the thalamus and vmPFC then expanded to other brain regions. The results of CaSCN analysis revealed that the hippocampus and the vmPFC corporately exerted causal effect on regions such as nucleus accumbens, the precuneus and the cerebellum. In addition, GMV alteration in the hippocampus was also potentially causally related to that in the dorsolateral frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with the neuroprogressive hypothesis, our results reveal progressive morphological alteration originating from the vmPFC and the hippocampus and further elucidate possible details about disease progression of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoqiang Han
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Ruiping Zheng
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Shuying Li
- Department of Psychiatry, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Liang Liu
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Caihong Wang
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Mengmeng Wen
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Bingqian Zhou
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yarui Wei
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jianyue Pang
- Department of Psychiatry, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Hengfen Li
- Department of Psychiatry, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jingliang Cheng
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research Medicine of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
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9
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Busceti CL, Bucci D, Scioli M, Di Pietro P, Nicoletti F, Puglisi-Allegra S, Ferrucci M, Fornai F. Chronic treatment with corticosterone increases the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing cells within specific nuclei of the brainstem reticular formation. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:976714. [DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.976714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cushing's syndrome is due to increased glucocorticoid levels in the body, and it is characterized by several clinical alterations which concern both vegetative and behavioral functions. The anatomical correlates of these effects remain largely unknown. Apart from peripheral effects induced by corticosteroids as counter-insular hormones, only a few reports are available concerning the neurobiology of glucocorticoid-induced vegetative and behavioral alterations. In the present study, C57 Black mice were administered daily a chronic treatment with corticosterone in drinking water. This treatment produces a significant and selective increase of TH-positive neurons within two nuclei placed in the lateral column of the brainstem reticular formation. These alterations significantly correlate with selective domains of Cushing's syndrome. Specifically, the increase of TH neurons within area postrema significantly correlates with the development of glucose intolerance, which is in line with the selective control by area postrema of vagal neurons innervating the pancreas. The other nucleus corresponds to the retrorubral field, which is involved in the behavioral activity. In detail, the retrorubral field is likely to modulate anxiety and mood disorders, which frequently occur following chronic exposure to glucocorticoids. To our knowledge, this is the first study that provides the neuroanatomical basis underlying specific symptoms occurring in Cushing's syndrome.
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10
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Sadeghi MA, Hemmati S, Nassireslami E, Yousefi Zoshk M, Hosseini Y, Abbasian K, Chamanara M. Targeting neuronal nitric oxide synthase and the nitrergic system in post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:3057-3082. [PMID: 36029333 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06212-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Current pharmacological approaches to treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) lack adequate effectiveness. As a result, identifying new molecular targets for drug development is necessary. Furthermore, fear learning and memory in PTSD can undergo different phases, such as fear acquisition, consolidation, and extinction. Each phase may involve different cellular pathways and brain regions. As a result, effective management of PTSD requires mindfulness of the timing of drug administration. One of the molecular targets currently under intense investigation is the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptor (NMDAR). However, despite the therapeutic efficacy of drugs targeting NMDAR, their translation into clinical use has been challenging due to their various side effects. One possible solution to this problem is to target signaling proteins downstream to NMDAR to improve targeting specificity. One of these proteins is the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), which is activated following calcium influx through the NMDAR. OBJECTIVE In this paper, we review the literature on the pharmacological modulation of nNOS in animal models of PTSD to evaluate its therapeutic potential. Furthermore, we attempt to decipher the inconsistencies observed between the findings of these studies based on the specific phase of fear learning which they had targeted. RESULTS Inhibition of nNOS may inhibit fear acquisition and recall, while not having a significant effect on fear consolidation and extinction. However, it may improve extinction consolidation or reconsolidation blockade. CONCLUSIONS Modulation of nNOS has therapeutic potential against PTSD and warrants further development for use in the clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Amin Sadeghi
- Toxicology Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sara Hemmati
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ehsan Nassireslami
- Toxicology Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Yasaman Hosseini
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Kourosh Abbasian
- Management and Health Economics Department, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohsen Chamanara
- Toxicology Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. .,Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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11
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Prefrontal cortical circuits in anxiety and fear: an overview. Front Med 2022; 16:518-539. [PMID: 35943704 DOI: 10.1007/s11684-022-0941-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Pathological anxiety is among the most difficult neuropsychiatric diseases to treat pharmacologically, and it represents a major societal problem. Studies have implicated structural changes within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and functional changes in the communication of the PFC with distal brain structures in anxiety disorders. Treatments that affect the activity of the PFC, including cognitive therapies and transcranial magnetic stimulation, reverse anxiety- and fear-associated circuit abnormalities through mechanisms that remain largely unclear. While the subjective experience of a rodent cannot be precisely determined, rodent models hold great promise in dissecting well-conserved circuits. Newly developed genetic and viral tools and optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques have revealed the intricacies of neural circuits underlying anxiety and fear by allowing direct examination of hypotheses drawn from existing psychological concepts. This review focuses on studies that have used these circuit-based approaches to gain a more detailed, more comprehensive, and more integrated view on how the PFC governs anxiety and fear and orchestrates adaptive defensive behaviors to hopefully provide a roadmap for the future development of therapies for pathological anxiety.
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12
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Morice CK, Yammine L, Yoon J, Lane SD, Schmitz JM, Kosten TR, De La Garza R, Verrico CD. Comorbid alcohol use and post-traumatic stress disorders: Pharmacotherapy with aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 inhibitors versus current agents. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 115:110506. [PMID: 34995723 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110506] [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: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The increased risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is well-documented. Compared to individuals with PTSD or AUD alone, those with co-existing PTSD and AUD exhibit greater symptom severity, poorer quality of life, and poorer treatment outcomes. Although the treatment of comorbid AUD is vital for the effective management of PTSD, there is a lack of evidence on how to best treat comorbid PTSD and AUD, and currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments for the PTSD-AUD comorbidity. The objective of this manuscript is to review the evidence of a promising target for treating the AUD-PTSD comorbidity. First, we summarize the epidemiological evidence and review the completed clinical studies that have tested pharmacotherapeutic approaches for co-existing AUD and PTSD. Next, we summarize the shared pathological factors between AUD and PTSD. We conclude by providing a rationale for selectively inhibiting aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 as a potential target to treat comorbid AUD in persons with PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire K Morice
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1977 Butler Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, United States of America
| | - Luba Yammine
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building, 1941 East Road, Houston, TX 77054, United States of America
| | - Jin Yoon
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building, 1941 East Road, Houston, TX 77054, United States of America
| | - Scott D Lane
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building, 1941 East Road, Houston, TX 77054, United States of America
| | - Joy M Schmitz
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building, 1941 East Road, Houston, TX 77054, United States of America
| | - Thomas R Kosten
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1977 Butler Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, United States of America; Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, One Baylor Plaza, BCM330, Houston, TX 77030, United States of America; Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, One Baylor Plaza, S640, Houston, TX 77030, United States of America; Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pathology & Immunology, One Baylor Plaza, BCM315, Houston, TX 77030, United States of America
| | - Richard De La Garza
- University of California Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America
| | - Christopher D Verrico
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1977 Butler Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, United States of America; Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, One Baylor Plaza, BCM330, Houston, TX 77030, United States of America.
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13
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Acute neurofunctional effects of escitalopram during emotional processing in pediatric anxiety: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:1081-1087. [PMID: 34580419 PMCID: PMC8938471 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01186-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders in adolescents. However, only 50% of pediatric patients with anxiety disorders respond to the first-line pharmacologic treatments-selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Thus, identifying the neurofunctional targets of SSRIs and finding pretreatment or early-treatment neurofunctional markers of SSRI treatment response in this population is clinically important. We acquired pretreatment and early-treatment (2 weeks into treatment) functional magnetic resonance imaging during a continuous processing task with emotional and neutral distractors in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD, N = 36) randomized to 8 weeks of double-blind escitalopram or placebo. Generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis was conducted to examine the functional connectivity of the amygdala while patients viewed emotional pictures. Full-factorial analysis was used to investigate the treatment effect of escitalopram on amygdala connectivity. Correlation analyses were performed to explore whether pretreatment and early (week 2) treatment-related connectivity were associated with treatment response (improvement in anxiety) at week 8. Compared to placebo, escitalopram enhanced emotional processing speed and enhanced negative right amygdala-bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and positive left amygdala-right angular gyrus connectivity during emotion processing. Baseline amygdala-vmPFC connectivity and escitalopram-induced increased amygdala-angular gyrus connectivity at week 2 predicted the magnitude of subsequent improvement in anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that amygdala connectivity to hubs of the default mode network represents a target of acute SSRI treatment. Furthermore, pretreatment and early-treatment amygdala connectivity could serve as biomarkers of SSRI treatment response in adolescents with GAD. The trial registration for the study is ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02818751.
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14
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N-acetylcysteine facilitates extinction of cued fear memory in rats via reestablishing basolateral amygdala glutathione homeostasis. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2022; 43:260-272. [PMID: 33927360 PMCID: PMC8791957 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-021-00661-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in the development of uncontrollable fear in response to traumatic stressors have been observed in clinic, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study we first conducted a meta-analysis of published clinical data and found that malondialdehyde, an oxidative stress biomarker, was significantly elevated in the blood of patients with fear-related anxiety disorders. We then carried out experimental study in rats subjected to fear conditioning. We showed that reestablishing redox homeostasis in basolateral amygdale (BLA) after exposure to fear stressors determined the capacity of learned fear inhibition. Intra-BLA infusion of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) to deplete the most important endogenous antioxidant glutathione (GSH) blocked fear extinction, whereas intra-BLA infusion of dithiothreitol or N-acetylcysteine (a precursor of GSH) facilitated extinction. In electrophysiological studies conducted on transverse slices, we showed that fear stressors induced redox-dependent inhibition of NMDAR-mediated synaptic function, which was rescued by extinction learning or reducing agents. Our results reveal a novel pharmacological strategy for reversing impaired fear inhibition and highlight the role of GSH in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
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15
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Gazi AH, Wittbrodt MT, Harrison AB, Sundararaj S, Gurel NZ, Nye JA, Shah AJ, Vaccarino V, Bremner JD, Inan OT. Robust Estimation of Respiratory Variability Uncovers Correlates of Limbic Brain Activity and Transcutaneous Cervical Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Context of Traumatic Stress. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2022; 69:849-859. [PMID: 34449355 PMCID: PMC8853700 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2021.3108135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Variations in respiration patterns are a characteristic response to distress due to underlying neurorespiratory couplings. Yet, no work to date has quantified respiration pattern variability (RPV) in the context of traumatic stress and studied its functional neural correlates - this analysis aims to address this gap. METHODS Fifty human subjects with prior traumatic experiences (24 with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) completed a ∼3-hr protocol involving personalized traumatic scripts and active/sham (double-blind) transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS). High-resolution positron emission tomography functional neuroimages, electrocardiogram (ECG), and respiratory effort (RSP) data were collected during the protocol. Supplementing the RSP signal with ECG-derived respiration for quality assessment and timing extraction, RPV metrics were quantified and analyzed. Specifically, correlation analyses were performed using neuroactivity in selected limbic regions, and responses to active and sham tcVNS were compared. RESULTS The single-lag unscaled autocorrelation of respiration rate correlated negatively with left amygdala activity and positively with right rostromedial prefrontal cortex (rmPFC) activity for non-PTSD; it also correlated negatively with left and right insulae activity and positively with right rmPFC activity for PTSD. The single-lag unscaled autocorrelation of expiration time was greater following active stimulation for non-PTSD. CONCLUSION Quantifying RPV is of demonstrable importance to assessing trauma-induced changes in neural function and tcVNS effects on respiratory physiology. SIGNIFICANCE This is the first demonstration of RPV's pertinence to traumatic stress- and tcVNS-induced neurorespiratory responses. The open-source processing pipeline elucidated herein uniquely includes both RSP and ECG-derived respiration signals for quality assessment, timing estimation, and RPV extraction.
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16
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Neuner I, Veselinović T, Ramkiran S, Rajkumar R, Schnellbaecher GJ, Shah NJ. 7T ultra-high-field neuroimaging for mental health: an emerging tool for precision psychiatry? Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:36. [PMID: 35082273 PMCID: PMC8791951 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01787-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Given the huge symptom diversity and complexity of mental disorders, an individual approach is the most promising avenue for clinical transfer and the establishment of personalized psychiatry. However, due to technical limitations, knowledge about the neurobiological basis of mental illnesses has, to date, mainly been based on findings resulting from evaluations of average data from certain diagnostic groups. We postulate that this could change substantially through the use of the emerging ultra-high-field MRI (UHF-MRI) technology. The main advantages of UHF-MRI include high signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in higher spatial resolution and contrast and enabling individual examinations of single subjects. Thus, we used this technology to assess changes in the properties of resting-state networks over the course of therapy in a naturalistic study of two depressed patients. Significant changes in several network property measures were found in regions corresponding to prior knowledge from group-level studies. Moreover, relevant parameters were already significantly divergent in both patients at baseline. In summary, we demonstrate the feasibility of UHF-MRI for capturing individual neurobiological correlates of mental diseases. These could serve as a tool for therapy monitoring and pave the way for a truly individualized and predictive clinical approach in psychiatric care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Neuner
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich/Aachen, Germany.
| | - Tanja Veselinović
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Shukti Ramkiran
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ravichandran Rajkumar
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich/Aachen, Germany
| | | | - N Jon Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich/Aachen, Germany
- Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 11, INM-11, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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17
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Yang Y, Yang B, Zhang L, Peng G, Fang D. Dynamic Functional Connectivity Reveals Abnormal Variability in the Amygdala Subregions of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:648143. [PMID: 34658751 PMCID: PMC8514188 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.648143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: This study investigates whether the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the amygdala subregions is altered in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: The dFC of the amygdala subregions was systematically calculated using a sliding time window method, for 75 children with ADHD and 20 healthy control (HC) children. Results: Compared with the HC group, the right superficial amygdala exhibited significantly higher dFC with the right prefrontal cortex, the left precuneus, and the left post-central gyrus for children in the ADHD group. The dFC of the amygdala subregions showed a negative association with the cognitive functions of children in the ADHD group. Conclusion: Functional connectivity of the amygdala subregions is more unstable among children with ADHD. In demonstrating an association between the stability of functional connectivity of the amygdala and cognitive functions, this study may contribute by providing a new direction for investigating the internal mechanism of ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Yang
- Children's Healthcare & Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Binrang Yang
- Children's Healthcare & Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Linlin Zhang
- Children's Healthcare & Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Gang Peng
- Children's Healthcare & Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Diangang Fang
- Children's Healthcare & Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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18
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Xu J, Hao L, Chen M, He Y, Jiang M, Tian T, Wang H, Wang Y, Wang D, Han ZR, Tan S, Men W, Gao J, He Y, Tao S, Dong Q, Qin S. Developmental Sex Differences in Negative Emotion Decision-Making Dynamics: Computational Evidence and Amygdala-Prefrontal Pathways. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:2478-2491. [PMID: 34643680 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in human emotion and related decision-making behaviors are recognized, which can be traced back early in development. However, our understanding of their underlying neurodevelopmental mechanisms remains elusive. Using developmental functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational approach, we investigated developmental sex differences in latent decision-making dynamics during negative emotion processing and related neurocognitive pathways in 243 school-aged children and 78 young adults. Behaviorally, girls exhibit higher response caution and more effective evidence accumulation, whereas boys show more impulsive response to negative facial expression stimuli. These effects parallel sex differences in emotion-related brain maturity linking to evidence accumulation, along with age-related decrease in emotional response in the basolateral amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in girls and an increase in the centromedial amygdala (CMA) in boys. Moreover, girls exhibit age-related decreases in BLA-MPFC coupling linked to evidence accumulation, but boys exhibit increases in CMA-insula coupling associated with response caution. Our findings highlight the neurocomputational accounts for developmental sex differences in emotion and emotion-related behaviors and provide important implications into the neurodevelopmental mechanisms of sex differences in latent emotional decision-making dynamics. This informs the emergence of sex differences in typical and atypical neurodevelopment of children's emotion and related functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahua Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Lei Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Menglu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Ying He
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Min Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Ting Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Faculty of Psychology, School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yanpei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Daoyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Zhuo Rachel Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Shuping Tan
- Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, 100096, China
| | - Weiwei Men
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies & McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jiahong Gao
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies & McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yong He
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Sha Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Qi Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Key Laboratory of Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China
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19
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Chen YH, Wu JL, Hu NY, Zhuang JP, Li WP, Zhang SR, Li XW, Yang JM, Gao TM. Distinct projections from the infralimbic cortex exert opposing effects in modulating anxiety and fear. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:e145692. [PMID: 34263737 DOI: 10.1172/jci145692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety-related disorders can be treated by cognitive therapies and transcranial magnetic stimulation, which involve the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Subregions of the mPFC have been implicated in mediating different and even opposite roles in anxiety-related behaviors. However, precise causal targets of these top-down connections among diverse possibilities have not been established. Here, we show that the lateral septum (LS) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) represent 2 direct targets of the infralimbic cortex (IL), a subregion of the mPFC that modulates anxiety and fear. Two projections were unexpectedly found to exert opposite effects on the anxious state and learned freezing: the IL-LS projection promoted anxiety-related behaviors and fear-related freezing, whereas the IL-CeA projection exerted anxiolytic and fear-releasing effects for the same features. Furthermore, selective inhibition of corresponding circuit elements showed opposing behavioral effects compared with excitation. Notably, the IL-CeA projection implemented top-down control of the stress-induced high-anxiety state. These results suggest that distinct IL outputs exert opposite effects in modulating anxiety and fear and that modulating the excitability of these projections with distinct strategies may be beneficial for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
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20
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Ruihua M, Hua G, Meng Z, Nan C, Panqi L, Sijia L, Jing S, Yunlong T, Shuping T, Fude Y, Li T, Zhiren W. The Relationship Between Facial Expression and Cognitive Function in Patients With Depression. Front Psychol 2021; 12:648346. [PMID: 34234708 PMCID: PMC8256151 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: Considerable evidence has shown that facial expression recognition ability and cognitive function are impaired in patients with depression. We aimed to investigate the relationship between facial expression recognition and cognitive function in patients with depression. Methods: A total of 51 participants (i.e., 31 patients with depression and 20 healthy control subjects) underwent facial expression recognition tests, measuring anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, and surprise. The Chinese version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), which assesses seven cognitive domains, was used. Results: When compared with a control group, there were differences in the recognition of the expressions of sadness (p = 0.036), happiness (p = 0.041), and disgust (p = 0.030) in a depression group. In terms of cognitive function, the scores of patients with depression in the Trail Making Test (TMT; p < 0.001), symbol coding (p < 0.001), spatial span (p < 0.001), mazes (p = 0.007), the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT; p = 0.001), category fluency (p = 0.029), and continuous performance test (p = 0.001) were lower than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant. The accuracy of sadness and disgust expression recognition in patients with depression was significantly positively correlated with cognitive function scores. The deficits in sadness expression recognition were significantly correlated with the TMT (p = 0.001, r = 0.561), symbol coding (p = 0.001, r = 0.596), maze (p = 0.015, r = 0.439), and the BVMT (p = 0.044, r = 0.370). The deficits in disgust expression recognition were significantly correlated with impairments in the TMT (p = 0.005, r = 0.501) and symbol coding (p = 0.001, r = 0.560). Conclusion: Since cognitive function is impaired in patients with depression, the ability to recognize negative facial expressions declines, which is mainly reflected in processing speed, reasoning, problem-solving, and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ma Ruihua
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guo Hua
- Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital, Zhumadian, China
| | - Zhao Meng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Nan
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Liu Panqi
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Liu Sijia
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Shi Jing
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tan Yunlong
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tan Shuping
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Fude
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tian Li
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China.,Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Wang Zhiren
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
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21
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Marchisella F, Creutzberg KC, Begni V, Sanson A, Wearick-Silva LE, Tractenberg SG, Orso R, Kestering-Ferreira É, Grassi-Oliveira R, Riva MA. Exposure to Prenatal Stress Is Associated With an Excitatory/Inhibitory Imbalance in Rat Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala and an Increased Risk for Emotional Dysregulation. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:653384. [PMID: 34141707 PMCID: PMC8204112 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.653384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have shown that environmental insults and maternal stress during pregnancy increase the risk of several psychiatric disorders in the offspring. Converging lines of evidence from humans, as well as from rodent models, suggest that prenatal stress (PNS) interferes with fetal development, ultimately determining changes in brain maturation and function that may lead to the onset of neuropsychiatric disorders. From a molecular standpoint, transcriptional alterations are thought to play a major role in this context and may contribute to the behavioral phenotype by shifting the expression of genes related to excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) transmission balance. Nevertheless, the exact neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the enhanced vulnerability to psychopathology following PNS exposure are not well understood. In the present study, we used a model of maternal stress in rats to investigate the distal effects of PNS on the expression of genes related to glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmissions. We inspected two critical brain regions involved in emotion regulation, namely, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala (AMY), which we show to relate with the mild behavioral effects detected in adult rat offspring. We observed that PNS exposure promotes E/I imbalance in the PFC of adult males only, by dysregulating the expression of glutamatergic-related genes. Moreover, such an effect is accompanied by increased expression of the activity-dependent synaptic modulator gene Npas4 specifically in the PFC parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons, suggesting an altered regulation of synapse formation promoting higher PV-dependent inhibitory transmission and increased overall circuit inhibition in the PFC of males. In the AMY, PNS more evidently affects the transcription of GABAergic-related genes, shifting the balance toward inhibition. Collectively, our findings suggest that the E/I dysregulation of the PFC-to-AMY transmission may be a long-term signature of PNS and may contribute to increase the risk for mood disorder upon further stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Marchisella
- Laboratory of Psychopharmacology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Kerstin Camile Creutzberg
- Laboratory of Psychopharmacology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Begni
- Laboratory of Psychopharmacology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Alice Sanson
- Laboratory of Psychopharmacology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Luis Eduardo Wearick-Silva
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Saulo Gantes Tractenberg
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Orso
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Érika Kestering-Ferreira
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marco Andrea Riva
- Laboratory of Psychopharmacology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.,Biological Psychiatry Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli Brescia, Brescia, Italy
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22
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Kenwood MM, Kalin NH. Nonhuman Primate Models to Explore Mechanisms Underlying Early-Life Temperamental Anxiety. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:659-671. [PMID: 33229035 PMCID: PMC7952470 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, causing significant suffering and disability. Behavioral inhibition is a temperament that is linked to an increased risk for the later development of anxiety disorders and other stress-related psychopathology, and understanding the neural systems underlying this dispositional risk could provide insight into novel treatment targets for anxiety disorders. Nonhuman primates (NHPs) have anxiety-related temperaments that are similar to those of humans with behavioral inhibition, facilitating the design of translational models related to human psychopathology. Characterization of our NHP model of behavioral inhibition, which we term anxious temperament (AT), reveals that it is trait-like. Exploration of the neural substrates of AT in NHPs has revealed a distributed neural circuit that is linked to individual differences in AT, which includes the dorsal amygdala. AT-related metabolism in the dorsal amygdala, including the central nucleus, is stable across time and can be detected even in safe contexts, suggesting that AT has trait-like neural signatures within the brain. The use of lesioning and novel chemogenetic methods allows for mechanistic perturbation of the amygdala to determine its causal contribution to AT. Studies characterizing the molecular bases for individual differences in AT in the dorsal amygdala, which take advantage of novel methods for probing cellular and molecular systems, suggest involvement of neurotrophic systems, which point to the importance of neuroplasticity in AT. These novel methods, when used in combination with translational NHP models such as AT, promise to provide insights into the brain systems underlying the early risk for anxiety disorder development.
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23
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Kestering-Ferreira E, Tractenberg SG, Lumertz FS, Orso R, Creutzberg KC, Wearick-Silva LE, Viola TW, Grassi-Oliveira R. Long-term Effects of Maternal Separation on Anxiety-Like Behavior and Neuroendocrine Parameters in Adult Balb/c Mice. CHRONIC STRESS (THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.) 2021; 5:24705470211067181. [PMID: 34993376 PMCID: PMC8725222 DOI: 10.1177/24705470211067181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Disruption of maternal care using maternal separation (MS) models has provided significant evidence of the deleterious long-term effects of early life stress. Several preclinical studies investigating MS showed multiple behavioral and biomolecular alterations. However, there is still conflicting results from MS studies, which represents a challenge for reliability and replicability of those findings. Objective: To address that, this study was conducted to investigate whether MS would affect anxiety-like behaviors using a battery of classical tasks, as well as central and peripheral stress-related biomarkers. Methods: Male Balb/c mice were exposed to MS from postnatal day (PND) 2 to 14 for 180-min per day. Two independent cohorts were performed to evaluate both baseline and anxiety-like behavior responses to MS at PND60. We performed composite scores to evaluate MS effects on anxiety and risk assessment phenotypes. Also, we assessed mRNA gene expression in the medial pre-frontal cortex (mPFC) of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR) using real-time PCR and peripheral corticosterone levels (CORT) to investigate possible neurobiological correlates to anxiety behaviors. Results: We found increased anxiety-like behavior and decreased risk assessment and exploratory behaviors in MS mice. The animals exposed to MS also presented a decrease in MR mRNA expression and higher levels of CORT compared to controls. Conclusions: Our findings reinforce the body of evidence suggesting that long-term MS induces effects on anxiety and risk assessment phenotypes following the exposure to a standardized MS protocol. Moreover, MS affected the expression of MR mRNA and induced significant changes on CORT response. This data highlights that the reprograming MS effects on HPA axis could be mediate by MR gene expression in mPFC and chronic overactivity of peripheral CORT levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Kestering-Ferreira
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
(DCNL), Pontifical University Catholic of Rio Grande do Sul
| | - Saulo Gantes Tractenberg
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
(DCNL), Pontifical University Catholic of Rio Grande do Sul
| | | | - Rodrigo Orso
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
(DCNL), Pontifical University Catholic of Rio Grande do Sul
| | | | | | - Thiago Wendt Viola
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
(DCNL), Pontifical University Catholic of Rio Grande do Sul
| | - Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
(DCNL), Pontifical University Catholic of Rio Grande do Sul
- Aarhus University, Denmark
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24
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Rainer C, Nasrouei S, Tschofen S, Bliem HR, Wilhelm FH, Marksteiner J. Fear acquisition and extinction in elderly patients with depression. J Affect Disord 2020; 276:197-204. [PMID: 32697699 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression in elderly patients is common and characterized by anxiety symptoms and cognitive impairment. To our knowledge, no studies have yet investigated the process of fear extinction in these patients. We investigated fear extinction with a paradigm consisting of habituation, acquisition and extinction. METHODS We included three age matched (mean age: 75.7 years) groups: Late Life Depression (LLD, n = 33), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI, n = 39), healthy controls (HC, n = 39). All participants were diagnosed with a standardized procedure including clinical examination, CERAD cognitive test battery, as well as magnetic resonance imaging. Participants underwent a fear conditioning paradigm consisting of habituation, acquisition, and extinction. During acquisition, a neutral face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) was paired with an electrical unconditioned stimulus, whereas another face (safety stimulus, CS-) was unpaired. Conditioned responses were measured by US-expectancy and valence ratings. RESULTS Compared to HC, both patient groups showed a significantly lower, differential (CS+ vs. CS-) fear acquisition across all measurements. Patients with cognitive impairment showed a significantly slower extinction, which is characterized by higher US-expectancy and reduced positive valence for CS+. Fear extinction was significantly less differential (CS+ vs. CS-) in patients with LLD. LIMITATIONS Due to the cross-sectional design we cannot distinguish whether the observed differences in fear extinction are state or trait markers in the LLD patients. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we demonstrate that fear extinction is impaired in elderly patients with depression. These results can have influence on treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Rainer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, State Hospital Hall, Hall, Austria; Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - Sarah Nasrouei
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, State Hospital Hall, Hall, Austria; Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Simon Tschofen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, State Hospital Hall, Hall, Austria
| | - Harald R Bliem
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Josef Marksteiner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, State Hospital Hall, Hall, Austria
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25
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Ketenci S, Acet NG, Sarıdoğan GE, Aydın B, Cabadak H, Gören MZ. The Neurochemical Effects of Prazosin Treatment on Fear Circuitry in a Rat Traumatic Stress Model. CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 18:219-230. [PMID: 32329303 PMCID: PMC7242110 DOI: 10.9758/cpn.2020.18.2.219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Objective The timing of administration of pharmacologic agents is crucial in traumatic stress since they can either potentiate the original fear memory or may cause fear extinction depending on the phase of fear conditioning. Brain noradrenergic system has a role in fear conditioning. Data regarding the role of prazosin in traumatic stress are controversial. Methods In this study, we examined the effects of prazosin and the noradrenergic system in fear conditioning in a predator stress rat model. We evaluated the direct or indirect effects of stress and prazosin on noradrenaline (NA), gamma-aminobuytyric acid (GABA), glutamate, glycine levels and choline esterase activity in the amygdaloid complex, the dorsal hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex and the rostral pons. Results Our results demonstrated that prazosin might alleviate defensive behaviors and traumatic stress symptoms when given during the traumatic cue presentation in the stressed rats. However prazosin administration resulted in higher anxiety levels in non stressed rats when the neutral cue was presented. Conclusion Prazosin should be used in PTSD with caution because prazosin might exacerbate anxiety in non-traumatized subjects. However prazosin might as well alleviate stress responses very effectively. Stress induced changes included increased NA and GABA levels in the amygdaloid complex in our study, attributing noradrenaline a possible inhibitory role on fear acquisition. Acetylcholine also has a role in memory modulation in the brain. We also demonstrated increased choline esterase acitivity. Cholinergic modulation might be another target for indirect prazosin action which needs to be further studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sema Ketenci
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Nazife Gökçe Acet
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Medeniyet University, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gökçe Elif Sarıdoğan
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.,Department of Psychiatry, Erenköy Mental Health and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Banu Aydın
- Department of Biophysics, Marmara University, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hülya Cabadak
- Department of Biophysics, Marmara University, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Mehmet Zafer Gören
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
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26
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Liu WZ, Zhang WH, Zheng ZH, Zou JX, Liu XX, Huang SH, You WJ, He Y, Zhang JY, Wang XD, Pan BX. Identification of a prefrontal cortex-to-amygdala pathway for chronic stress-induced anxiety. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2221. [PMID: 32376858 PMCID: PMC7203160 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15920-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulated prefrontal control over amygdala is engaged in the pathogenesis of psychiatric diseases including depression and anxiety disorders. Here we show that, in a rodent anxiety model induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS), the dysregulation occurs in basolateral amygdala projection neurons receiving mono-directional inputs from dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC→BLA PNs) rather than those reciprocally connected with dmPFC (dmPFC↔BLA PNs). Specifically, CRS shifts the dmPFC-driven excitatory-inhibitory balance towards excitation in the former, but not latter population. Such specificity is preferential to connections made by dmPFC, caused by enhanced presynaptic glutamate release, and highly correlated with the increased anxiety-like behavior in stressed mice. Importantly, low-frequency optogenetic stimulation of dmPFC afferents in BLA normalizes the enhanced prefrontal glutamate release onto dmPFC→BLA PNs and lastingly attenuates CRS-induced increase of anxiety-like behavior. Our findings thus reveal a target cell-based dysregulation of mPFC-to-amygdala transmission for stress-induced anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Zhu Liu
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China.,Department of Biological Science, School of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Wen-Hua Zhang
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhi-Heng Zheng
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Jia-Xin Zou
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Xiao-Xuan Liu
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Shou-He Huang
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Wen-Jie You
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Ye He
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Jun-Yu Zhang
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | - Xiao-Dong Wang
- Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bing-Xing Pan
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institutes of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China. .,Department of Biological Science, School of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China. .,Department of Ophthalmology, the 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Medical School of Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China.
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27
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Ferrara NC, Mrackova E, Loh MK, Padival M, Rosenkranz JA. Fear Learning Enhances Prefrontal Cortical Suppression of Auditory Thalamic Inputs to the Amygdala in Adults, but Not Adolescents. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21083008. [PMID: 32344598 PMCID: PMC7215292 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21083008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is characterized by increased susceptibility to the development of fear- and anxiety-related disorders. Adolescents also show elevated fear responding and aversive learning that is resistant to behavioral interventions, which may be related to alterations in the circuitry supporting fear learning. These features are linked to ongoing adolescent development of medial prefrontal cortical (PFC) inputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) that regulate neural activity and contribute to the refinement of fear responses. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the extent of PFC inhibition of the BLA following fear learning is greater in adults than in adolescents, using anesthetized in vivo recordings to measure local field potentials (LFPs) evoked by stimulation of PFC or auditory thalamic (MgN) inputs to BLA. We found that BLA LFPs evoked by stimulation of MgN inputs were enhanced in adults following fear conditioning. Fear conditioning also led to reduced summation of BLA LFPs evoked in response to PFC train stimulation, and increased the capacity of PFC inhibition of MgN inputs in adults. These data suggest that fear conditioning recruits additional inhibitory capacity by PFC inputs to BLA in adults, but that this capacity is weaker in adolescents. These results provide insight into how the development of PFC inputs may relate to age differences in memory retention and persistence following aversive learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C. Ferrara
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Eliska Mrackova
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Maxine K. Loh
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Mallika Padival
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - J. Amiel Rosenkranz
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; (E.M.); (M.K.L.); (M.P.); (J.A.R.)
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
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28
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Dulka BN, Bagatelas ED, Bress KS, Grizzell JA, Cannon MK, Whitten CJ, Cooper MA. Chemogenetic activation of an infralimbic cortex to basolateral amygdala projection promotes resistance to acute social defeat stress. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6884. [PMID: 32327679 PMCID: PMC7181792 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63879-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Tremendous individual differences exist in stress responsivity and social defeat stress is a key approach for identifying cellular mechanisms of stress susceptibility and resilience. Syrian hamsters show reliable territorial aggression, but after social defeat they exhibit a conditioned defeat (CD) response characterized by increased submission and an absence of aggression in future social interactions. Hamsters that achieve social dominance prior to social defeat exhibit greater defeat-induced neural activity in infralimbic (IL) cortex neurons that project to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and reduced CD response compared to subordinate hamsters. Here, we hypothesize that chemogenetic activation of an IL-to-BLA neural projection during acute social defeat will reduce the CD response in subordinate hamsters and thereby produce dominant-like behavior. We confirmed that clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) itself did not alter the CD response and validated a dual-virus, Cre-dependent, chemogenetic approach by showing that CNO treatment increased c-Fos expression in the IL and decreased it in the BLA. We found that CNO treatment during social defeat reduced the acquisition of CD in subordinate, but not dominant, hamsters. This project extends our understanding of the neural circuits underlying resistance to acute social stress, which is an important step toward delineating circuit-based approaches for the treatment of stress-related psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke N Dulka
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA
| | - Elena D Bagatelas
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Kimberly S Bress
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - J Alex Grizzell
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Megan K Cannon
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Conner J Whitten
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Matthew A Cooper
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA.
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29
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Mertens LJ, Wall MB, Roseman L, Demetriou L, Nutt DJ, Carhart-Harris RL. Therapeutic mechanisms of psilocybin: Changes in amygdala and prefrontal functional connectivity during emotional processing after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:167-180. [PMID: 31941394 DOI: 10.1177/0269881119895520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psilocybin has shown promise as a treatment for depression but its therapeutic mechanisms are not properly understood. In contrast to the presumed actions of antidepressants, we recently found increased amygdala responsiveness to fearful faces one day after open-label treatment with psilocybin (25 mg) in 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression, which correlated with treatment efficacy. AIMS Aiming to further unravel the therapeutic mechanisms of psilocybin, the present study extends this basic activation analysis. We hypothesised changed amygdala functional connectivity, more precisely decreased amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity, during face processing after treatment with psilocybin. METHODS Psychophysiological interaction analyses were conducted on functional magnetic resonance imaging data from a classic face/emotion perception task, with the bilateral amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex time-series as physiological regressors. Average parameter estimates (beta weights) of significant clusters were correlated with clinical outcomes at one week. RESULTS Results showed decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex-right amygdala functional connectivity during face processing post- (versus pre-) treatment; this decrease was associated with levels of rumination at one week. This effect was driven by connectivity changes in response to fearful and neutral (but not happy) faces. Independent whole-brain analyses also revealed a post-treatment increase in functional connectivity between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex to occipital-parietal cortices during face processing. CONCLUSION These results are consistent with the idea that psilocybin therapy revives emotional responsiveness on a neural and psychological level, which may be a key treatment mechanism for psychedelic therapy. Future larger placebo-controlled studies are needed to examine the replicability of the current findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea J Mertens
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Matthew B Wall
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Leor Roseman
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK
- The Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL), Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Lysia Demetriou
- Invicro, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
- Investigative Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - David J Nutt
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Schifani C, Hafizi S, Tseng HH, Gerritsen C, Kenk M, Wilson AA, Houle S, Rusjan PM, Mizrahi R. Preliminary data indicating a connection between stress-induced prefrontal dopamine release and hippocampal TSPO expression in the psychosis spectrum. Schizophr Res 2019; 213:80-86. [PMID: 30409695 PMCID: PMC6500775 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged stress can cause neuronal loss in the hippocampus resulting in disinhibition of glutamatergic neurons proposed to enhance dopaminergic firing in subcortical regions including striatal areas. Supporting this, imaging studies show increased striatal dopamine release in response to psychosocial stress in healthy individuals with low childhood maternal care, individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) and patients with schizophrenia. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is connected to the hippocampus and a key region to control neurochemical responses to stressful stimuli. We recently reported a disrupted PFC dopamine-stress regulation in schizophrenia, which was intact in CHR. Given the available evidence on the link between psychosocial stress, PFC dopamine release and hippocampal immune activation in psychosis, we explored, for the first time in vivo, whether stress-induced PFC dopamine release is associated with hippocampal TSPO expression (a neuroimmune marker) in the psychosis spectrum. We used an overlapping sample of antipsychotic-naïve subjects with CHR (n = 6) and antipsychotic-free schizophrenia patients (n = 9) from our previously published studies, measuring PFC dopamine release induced by a psychosocial stress task with [11C]FLB457 positron emission tomography (PET) and TSPO expression with [18F]FEPPA PET. We observed that participants on the psychosis spectrum with lower stress-induced dopamine release in PFC had significantly higher TSPO expression in hippocampus (β = -2.39, SE = 0.96, F(1,11) = 6.17, p = 0.030). Additionally, we report a positive association between stress-induced PFC dopamine release, controlled for hippocampal TSPO expression, and Global Assessment of Functioning. This is the first exploration of the relationship between PFC dopamine release and hippocampal TSPO expression in vivo in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christin Schifani
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sina Hafizi
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Huai-Hsuan Tseng
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cory Gerritsen
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Miran Kenk
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alan A. Wilson
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sylvain Houle
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pablo M. Rusjan
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Romina Mizrahi
- Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Lee CW, Chen YJ, Wu HF, Chung YJ, Lee YC, Li CT, Lin HC. Ketamine ameliorates severe traumatic event-induced antidepressant-resistant depression in a rat model through ERK activation. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 93:102-113. [PMID: 30940482 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a major public health issue, as it is common for patients with depression to fail to respond to adequate trials of antidepressants. However, a well-established animal model of TRD is still warranted. The present study focused on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) resistance, and aimed to investigate whether higher levels of traumatic stress caused by greater numbers of foot-shocks may lead to severe depression and to examine the feasibility of this as an animal model of SSRI-resistant depression. To reveal the correlation between traumatic stress and severe depression, rats received 3, 6 and 10 tone (conditioned stimulus, CS)-shock (unconditioned stimulus, US) pairings to mimic mild, moderate, and severe traumatic events, and subsequent depressive-like behaviors and protein immunocontents were analyzed. The antidepressant efficacy was assessed for ketamine and SSRI (i.e., fluoxetine) treatment. We found that only the severe stress group presented depressive-like behaviors. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) was decreased in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC). The immunocontents of GluA1 and PSD 95 were increased in the amygdala and decreased in the PFC. Moreover, the glutamate-related abnormalities in the amygdala and PFC were normalized by single-dose (10 mg/kg, i.p.) ketamine treatment. In contrast, the depressive-like behaviors were not reversed by 28 days of fluoxetine treatment (10 mg/kg, i.p.) in the severe stress group. Our data demonstrated that high levels of traumatic stress could lead to SSRI-resistant depressive symptoms through impacts on the glutamatergic system, and that this rat model has the potential to be a feasible animal model of SSRI-resistant depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Wei Lee
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Instiutes, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ju Chen
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Han-Fang Wu
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Optometry, Hsin-Sheng College of Medical Care and Management, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yueh-Jung Chung
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chao Lee
- Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Instiutes, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Ta Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Hui-Ching Lin
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Instiutes, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Koek RJ, Roach J, Athanasiou N, van 't Wout-Frank M, Philip NS. Neuromodulatory treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 92:148-160. [PMID: 30641094 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Electroconvulsive therapy has been used successfully in some individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) whose symptoms have not improved with other treatments. But there are only a few reports. Meanwhile, an array of new neuromodulation strategies, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, trigeminal nerve stimulation, and deep brain stimulation have been developed and applied experimentally in the treatment of other psychiatric disorders. This article will review the clinical evidence and mechanistic basis for their use in PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph J Koek
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center, Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, North Hills, CA, USA.
| | - Janine Roach
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oliveview Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas Athanasiou
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Fernando Mental Health Center, Granada Hills, CA, USA
| | - Mascha van 't Wout-Frank
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Noah S Philip
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA
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Nuñez M, Zinbarg RE, Mittal VA. Efficacy and mechanisms of non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance exposure therapy: A review. Clin Psychol Rev 2019; 70:64-78. [PMID: 30986744 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2019.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Though cognitive behavioral techniques are generally effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders, some people fail to benefit from exposure therapy or experience a return of fear after terminating exposure therapy. The burgeoning field of non-invasive brain stimulation provides a potential method of augmenting exposure therapy so that it is more effective. Successful exposure therapy is hypothesized to occur due to inhibition, and research suggests that brain stimulation can alter inhibitory learning and related processes. As such, one can reasonably posit that brain stimulation could be used to test the inhibitory learning theory of exposure therapy and to increase the efficacy of exposure therapy by inducing stronger inhibitory learning during exposures. Four known studies that pair brain stimulation with exposure therapy have yielded promising preliminary evidence in support of the therapeutic use of brain stimulation. In this review we describe research illustrating the mechanisms and efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance the understanding of and outcomes produced by exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia Nuñez
- Northwestern University, United States; Rogers Behavioral Health, United States.
| | - Richard E Zinbarg
- Northwestern University, United States; The Family Institute, Northwestern University, United States
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Grace AA, Gomes FV. The Circuitry of Dopamine System Regulation and its Disruption in Schizophrenia: Insights Into Treatment and Prevention. Schizophr Bull 2019; 45:148-157. [PMID: 29385549 PMCID: PMC6293217 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite evidence for a role of the dopamine system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, there has not been substantial evidence that this disorder originates from a pathological change within the dopamine system itself. Current data from human imaging studies and preclinical investigations instead point to a disruption in afferent regulation of the dopamine system, with a focus on the hippocampus. We found that the hippocampus in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rodent developmental disruption model of schizophrenia is hyperactive and dysrhythmic, possibly due to loss of parvalbumin interneurons, leading to a hyperresponsive dopamine system. Whereas current therapeutic approaches target dopamine receptor blockade, treatment at the site of pathology may be a more effective therapeutic avenue. This model also provided insights into potential means for prevention of schizophrenia. Specifically, given that stress is a risk factor in schizophrenia, and that stress can damage hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons, we tested whether alleviating stress early in life can effectively circumvent transition to schizophrenia-like states. Administering diazepam prepubertally at an antianxiety dose in MAM rats was effective at preventing the emergence of the hyperdopaminergic state in the adult. Moreover, multiple stressors applied to normal rats at the same time point resulted in pathology similar to the MAM rat. These data suggest that a genetic predisposition leading to stress hyper-responsivity, or exposure to substantial stressors, could be a primary factor leading to the emergence of schizophrenia later in life, and furthermore treating stress at a critical period may be effective in circumventing this transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, A210 Langley Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, US; tel: 412-624-4609, fax: 412-624-9198, e-mail:
| | - Felipe V Gomes
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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35
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Selleck RA, Zhang W, Mercier HD, Padival M, Rosenkranz JA. Limited prefrontal cortical regulation over the basolateral amygdala in adolescent rats. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17171. [PMID: 30464293 PMCID: PMC6249319 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35649-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive regulation of emotion develops from childhood into adulthood. This occurs in parallel with maturation of prefrontal cortical (PFC) regulation over the amygdala. The cellular substrates for this regulation may include PFC activation of inhibitory GABAergic elements in the amygdala. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PFC regulation over basolateral amygdala area (BLA) in vivo is immature in adolescence, and if this is due to immaturity of GABAergic elements or PFC excitatory inputs. Using in vivo extracellular electrophysiological recordings from anesthetized male rats we found that in vivo summation of PFC inputs to the BLA was less regulated by GABAergic inhibition in adolescents (postnatal day 39) than adults (postnatal day 72-75). In addition, stimulation of either prelimbic or infralimbic PFC evokes weaker inhibition over basal (BA) and lateral (LAT) nuclei of the BLA in adolescents. This was dictated by both weak recruitment of inhibition in LAT and weak excitatory effects of PFC in BA. The current results may contribute to differences in adolescent cognitive regulation of emotion. These findings identify specific elements that undergo adolescent maturation and may therefore be sensitive to environmental disruptions that increase risk for psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A. Selleck
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Hannah D. Mercier
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - Mallika Padival
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
| | - J. Amiel Rosenkranz
- 0000 0004 0388 7807grid.262641.5Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064 USA
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Wang L, Zhu Z, Hou W, Zhang X, He Z, Yuan W, Yang Y, Zhang S, Jia R, Tai F. Serotonin Signaling Trough Prelimbic 5-HT1A Receptors Modulates CSDS-Induced Behavioral Changes in Adult Female Voles. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 22:208-220. [PMID: 30445535 PMCID: PMC6403097 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyy093] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most previous studies have focused on the effects of social defeat in male juvenile individuals. Whether chronic social defeat stress in adulthood affects female emotion and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. METHODS Using highly aggressive adult female mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus), the present study aimed to determine the effects of chronic social defeat stress on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in adult female rodents and investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects. RESULTS Exposure of adult female voles to social defeat stress for 14 days reduced the time spent in the central area of the open field test and in the open arms of the elevated plus maze and lengthened the immobility time in the tail suspension and forced swimming tests, indicating increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Meanwhile, defeated voles exhibited increased neural activity in the prelimbic cortex of the medial prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, chronic social defeat stress reduced serotonin projections and levels of serotonin 1A receptors in the medial prefrontal cortex-prelimbic cortex. Intra-prelimbic cortex microinjections of the serotonin 1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT reversed the alterations in emotional behaviors, whereas injections of the serotonin 1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 into the prelimbic cortex of control voles increased the levels of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our results demonstrated that chronic social defeat stress increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in adult female voles, and these effects were mediated by the action of serotonin on the serotonin 1A receptors in the prelimbic cortex. The serotonin system may be a promising target to treat emotional disorders induced by chronic social defeat stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limin Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhenxiang Zhu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wenjuan Hou
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xueni Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhixiong He
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Yuan
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yang Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Siyi Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Rui Jia
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Fadao Tai
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China,Correspondence: Fadao Tai, PhD, Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710062, China ()
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Guo Z, Liu X, Xu S, Hou H, Chen X, Zhang Z, Chen W. Abnormal changes in functional connectivity between the amygdala and frontal regions are associated with depression in Alzheimer's disease. Neuroradiology 2018; 60:1315-1322. [PMID: 30242429 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-018-2100-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) of Alzheimer's disease patients with depression (D-AD) based on an amygdalar seed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). METHODS Twenty-one non-depressed AD (nD-AD) patients and 21 D-AD patients underwent rs-fMRI. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Neuropsychiatric Inventory were used to evaluate the severity of depression. The amygdala was used as the seed for FC analysis. The FC differences between the two groups were evaluated by two-sample t tests, and the correlation of FC changes with depressive severity was analyzed by Pearson correlational analysis. RESULTS Compared with the nD-AD patients, D-AD patients had increased FC values between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex and decreased FC values among the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION These data suggest that abnormal amygdala-prefrontal FC may be an important characteristic of AD patients with depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongwei Guo
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Provence & Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Zhejiang, 310012, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaozheng Liu
- Department of Radiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, China-USA Neuroimaging Research Institute, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China
| | - Songquan Xu
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Provence & Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Zhejiang, 310012, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongtao Hou
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Provence & Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Zhejiang, 310012, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xingli Chen
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Provence & Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Zhejiang, 310012, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhenzhong Zhang
- Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Provence & Zhejiang Mental Health Center, Zhejiang, 310012, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Zhejiang, 310016, Hangzhou, China. .,Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Chinese Ministry of Health, Zhejiang, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
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Chang CH, Grace AA. Inhibitory Modulation of Orbitofrontal Cortex on Medial Prefrontal Cortex-Amygdala Information Flow. Cereb Cortex 2018; 28:1-8. [PMID: 29253248 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala receives cortical inputs from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that are believed to affect emotional control and cue-outcome contingencies, respectively. Although mPFC impact on the amygdala has been studied, how the OFC modulates mPFC-amygdala information flow, specifically the infralimbic (IL) division of mPFC, is largely unknown. In this study, combined in vivo extracellular single-unit recordings and pharmacological manipulations were used in anesthetized rats to examine how OFC modulates amygdala neurons responsive to mPFC activation. Compared with basal condition, pharmacological (N-Methyl-D-aspartate) or electrical activation of the OFC exerted an inhibitory modulation of the mPFC-amygdala pathway, which was reversed with intra-amygdala blockade of GABAergic receptors with combined GABAA and GABAB antagonists (bicuculline and saclofen). Moreover, potentiation of the OFC-related pathways resulted in a loss of OFC control over the mPFC-amygdala pathway. These results show that the OFC potently inhibits mPFC drive of the amygdala in a GABA-dependent manner; but with extended OFC pathway activation this modulation is lost. Our results provide a circuit-level basis for this interaction at the level of the amygdala, which would be critical in understanding the normal and pathophysiological control of emotion and contingency associations regulating behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Hui Chang
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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Dulka BN, Bress KS, Grizzell JA, Cooper MA. Social Dominance Modulates Stress-induced Neural Activity in Medial Prefrontal Cortex Projections to the Basolateral Amygdala. Neuroscience 2018; 388:274-283. [PMID: 30075245 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Stress is a contributing factor in the etiology of several mood and anxiety disorders, and social defeat models are used to investigate the biological basis of stress-related psychopathologies. Male Syrian hamsters are highly aggressive and territorial, but after social defeat they exhibit a conditioned defeat (CD) response which is characterized by increased submissive behavior and a failure to defend their home territory against a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. Hamsters with dominant social status show increased c-Fos expression in the infralimbic (IL) cortex following social defeat and display a reduced CD response at testing compared to subordinates and controls. In this study, we tested the prediction that dominants would show increased defeat-induced neural activity in IL, but not prelimbic (PL) or ventral hippocampus (vHPC), neurons that send efferent projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) compared to subordinates. We performed dual immunohistochemistry for c-Fos and cholera toxin B (CTB) and found that dominants display a significantly greater proportion of double-labeled c-Fos + CTB cells in both the IL and PL. Furthermore, dominants display more c-Fos-positive cells in both the IL and PL, but not vHPC, compared to subordinates. These findings suggest that dominant hamsters selectively activate IL and PL, but not vHPC, projections to the amygdala during social defeat, which may be responsible for their reduced CD response. This project extends our understanding of the neural circuits underlying resistance to social stress, which is an important step toward delineating a circuit-based approach for the prevention and treatment of stress-related psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke N Dulka
- Department of Psychology, NeuroNET Research Center, University of Tennessee, United States.
| | - Kimberly S Bress
- Department of Psychology, NeuroNET Research Center, University of Tennessee, United States
| | - J Alex Grizzell
- Department of Psychology, NeuroNET Research Center, University of Tennessee, United States
| | - Matthew A Cooper
- Department of Psychology, NeuroNET Research Center, University of Tennessee, United States
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Hiser J, Koenigs M. The Multifaceted Role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Emotion, Decision Making, Social Cognition, and Psychopathology. Biol Psychiatry 2018; 83:638-647. [PMID: 29275839 PMCID: PMC5862740 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.10.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 512] [Impact Index Per Article: 85.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been implicated in a variety of social, cognitive, and affective functions that are commonly disrupted in mental illness. In this review, we summarize data from a diverse array of human and animal studies demonstrating that the vmPFC is a key node of cortical and subcortical networks that subserve at least three broad domains of psychological function linked to psychopathology. One track of research indicates that the vmPFC is critical for the representation of reward- and value-based decision making, through interactions with the ventral striatum and amygdala. A second track of research demonstrates that the vmPFC is critical for the generation and regulation of negative emotion, through its interactions with the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, periaqueductal gray, hippocampus, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. A third track of research shows the importance of the vmPFC in multiple aspects of social cognition, such as facial emotion recognition, theory-of-mind ability, and processing self-relevant information, through its interactions with the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, dorsomedial PFC, and amygdala. We then present meta-analytic data revealing distinct subregions within the vmPFC that correspond to each of these three functions, as well as the associations between these subregions and specific psychiatric disorders (depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, addiction, social anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). We conclude by describing several translational possibilities for clinical studies of vmPFC-based circuits, including neuropsychological assessment of transdiagnostic functions, anatomical targets for intervention, predictors of treatment response, markers of treatment efficacy, and subtyping within disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaryd Hiser
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI,
USA,Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI,
USA
| | - Michael Koenigs
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
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41
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Goldstein-Piekarski AN, Greer SM, Saletin JM, Harvey AG, Williams LM, Walker MP. Sex, Sleep Deprivation, and the Anxious Brain. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:565-578. [PMID: 29244642 PMCID: PMC6143348 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Insufficient sleep is a known trigger of anxiety. Nevertheless, not everyone experiences these effects to the same extent. One determining factor is sex, wherein women experience a greater anxiogenic impact in response to sleep loss than men. However, the underlying brain mechanism(s) governing this sleep-loss-induced anxiety increase, including the markedly different reaction in women and men, is unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that structural brain morphology in a discrete network of emotion-relevant regions represents one such explanatory factor. Healthy participants were assessed across sleep-rested and sleep-deprived conditions, with brain structure quantified using gray matter volume measures. Sleep loss triggered greater levels of anxiety in women compared with men. Reduced gray matter volume in the anterior insula and lateral orbitofrontal cortex predicted the anxiogenic impact of sleep loss in women, yet predicted resilience in men, and did so with high discrimination accuracy. In contrast, gray matter volume in ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicted the anxiogenic impact of sleep loss in both men and women. Structural human brain morphology therefore appears to represent one mechanistic pathway (and possible biomarker) determining anxiety vulnerability to sleep loss-a discovery that may help explain the higher prevalence of sleep disruption and anxiety in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea N. Goldstein-Piekarski
- University of California, Berkeley
- Stanford University
- Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System
| | | | - Jared M. Saletin
- University of California, Berkeley
- Alpert Medical School of Brown University
| | | | - Leanne M. Williams
- Stanford University
- Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System
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42
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O'Neill PK, Gore F, Salzman CD. Basolateral amygdala circuitry in positive and negative valence. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2018; 49:175-183. [PMID: 29525574 PMCID: PMC6138049 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
All organisms must solve the same fundamental problem: they must acquire rewards and avoid danger in order to survive. A key challenge for the nervous system is therefore to connect motivationally salient sensory stimuli to neural circuits that engage appropriate valence-specific behavioral responses. Anatomical, behavioral, and electrophysiological data have long suggested that the amygdala plays a central role in this process. Here we review experimental efforts leveraging recent technological advances to provide previously unattainable insights into the functional, anatomical, and genetic identity of neural populations within the amygdala that connect sensory stimuli to valence-specific behavioral responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia-Kelsey O'Neill
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Felicity Gore
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - C Daniel Salzman
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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43
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Prefrontal Cortex Deep Brain Stimulation Improves Fear and Anxiety-Like Behavior and Reduces Basolateral Amygdala Activity in a Preclinical Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:1099-1106. [PMID: 28862251 PMCID: PMC5854795 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 08/06/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is being investigated for a number of psychiatric indications, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Preclinical studies continue to be a cornerstone for the development of new DBS applications. We investigate whether DBS delivered to the infralimbic cortex (IL), a region involved in mechanisms of stress resiliency, may counter behavioral abnormalities in rats that present persistent extinction deficits and long-term anxiety after exposure to fear conditioning. Rats undergoing fear conditioning/extinction were segregated into weak and strong extinction groups (WE >70% or SE <30% of freezing during extinction). Following 2 weeks of DBS, animals were exposed to novel recall sessions and tested in the open field, novelty-suppressed feeding, and elevated plus maze. zif268 expression was measured in structures involved in mechanisms of fear and stress. In vivo electrophysiology was used to record activity from the basolateral amygdala (BLA). We found that DBS improved extinction deficits and anxiety-like behavior in WE animals, having no significant effects in SE rats. No major differences in absolute zif268 levels were recorded across groups. However, correlation between zif268 expression in the IL and BLA was disrupted in WE animals, a deficit that was countered by DBS treatment. Electrophysiology experiments have shown that DBS reduced BLA firing of both putative principal cells and interneurons in WE rats, with no significant differences being detected between SE and SE DBS animals. In summary, IL DBS mitigated fear, partially improved anxiety-like behavior, reversed neurocircuitry abnormalities, and reduced BLA cell firing in a preclinical model of PTSD.
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Abstract
SummaryDeafness does not in itself cause emotional/behavioural or cognitive problems or psychiatric disorders. However, children with hearing impairment are at greater risk of developing emotional/behavioural problems and neurodevelopmental disorders. The incidence of both seems to be higher in deaf children from hearing families. Most prelingual deafness is caused by recessive genes; hence, most deaf individuals come from hearing families, the majority of whom do not use sign language. Numerous studies, in both hearing and deaf populations, show how the lack of access to language has an impact on the emotional development of children. This article focuses on the mechanisms by which early language deprivation mediates emotional/behavioural difficulties and consequent emotional dysregulation, and may produce behaviours and symptoms that can be misdiagnosed as neurodevelopmental disorders in deaf children and adolescents (from infancy to 18 years of age).
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45
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Chang CH, Ho TW. Inhibitory modulation of medial prefrontal cortical activation on lateral orbitofrontal cortex-amygdala information flow. J Physiol 2017; 595:6065-6076. [PMID: 28678402 DOI: 10.1113/jp274568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) receives input from the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) for cue-outcome contingencies and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) for emotion control. Here we examined how the mPFC modulates lOFC-BLA information flow. We found that the majority of BLA neurons responsive to lOFC stimulation were also responsive to mPFC stimulation. Activation of the mPFC exerted an inhibitory modulation of the lOFC-BLA pathway, which was reversed with intra-amygdala blockade of GABAergic receptors. mPFC tetanus potentiated the lOFC-BLA pathway, but did not alter its inhibitory modulatory gating. These results show that the mPFC potently inhibits lOFC drive of the BLA in a GABA-dependent manner, which is informative in understanding the normal and potential pathophysiological state of emotion and contingency associations in regulating behaviour. ABSTRACT Several neocortical projections converge onto the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA), including the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Lateral orbitofrontal input to the BLA is important for cue-outcome contingencies, while medial prefrontal input is essential for emotion control. In this study, we examined how the mPFC, specifically the infralimbic division of the mPFC, modulates lOFC-BLA information flow, using combined in vivo extracellular single-unit recordings and pharmacological manipulations in anaesthetized rats. We found that the majority (over 95%) of BLA neurons that responded to lOFC stimulation also responded to mPFC stimulation. Compared to basal condition, pharmacological (N-methyl-d-aspartate) or electrical activation of the mPFC exerted an inhibitory modulation of the lOFC-BLA pathway, which was reversed with intra-amygdala blockade of GABAergic receptors with combined GABAA and GABAB antagonists (bicuculline and saclofen). Moreover, mPFC tetanus potentiated the lOFC-BLA pathway, but mPFC tetanus or low-frequency stimulation did not alter its inhibitory modulatory gating on the lOFC-BLA pathway. These results show that the mPFC potently inhibits lOFC drive of BLA neurons in a GABA-dependent manner. Our result is informative in understanding the normal and potential pathophysiological state of emotion and contingency associations regulating behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Hui Chang
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 30013
| | - Ta-Wen Ho
- Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 30013
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46
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Gomes FV, Grace AA. Prefrontal Cortex Dysfunction Increases Susceptibility to Schizophrenia-Like Changes Induced by Adolescent Stress Exposure. Schizophr Bull 2017; 43:592-600. [PMID: 28003467 PMCID: PMC5464092 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbw156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Stress during adolescence is a risk factor for schizophrenia, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) dysfunction is proposed to interfere with stress control, increasing the susceptibility to stress. We evaluated the impact of different stressful events during adolescence (restraint stress [RS], footshock [FS], or the combination of FS and RS) on behaviors correlated with schizophrenia in rats as adults. At adulthood, animals were tested for anxiety responses (elevated plus-maze), cognitive function (novel-object recognition test) and dopamine (DA) system responsivity (locomotor response to amphetamine and DA neuron activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) using in vivo electrophysiology). All adolescent stressors impaired weight gain and induced anxiety-like responses in adults. FS and FS + RS also disrupted cognitive function. Interestingly, only the combination of FS and RS induced a DA hyper-responsivity as indicated by augmented locomotor response to amphetamine and increased number of spontaneously active DA neurons which was confined to the lateral VTA. Additionally, prelimbic (pl) mPFC lesions triggered a DA hyper-responsivity in animals exposed to FS alone during adolescence. Our results are consistent with previous studies showing long-lasting changes induced by stressful events during adolescence. The impact on DA system activity, however, seems to depend on intense multiple stressors. Our data also suggest that plPFC dysfunction increases the vulnerability to stress in terms of changes in the DA system. Hence, stress during adolescence could be a precipitating factor for the transition to schizophrenia, and stress control at this vulnerable period may circumvent these changes to prevent the emergence of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe V. Gomes
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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47
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Van't Wout M, Longo SM, Reddy MK, Philip NS, Bowker MT, Greenberg BD. Transcranial direct current stimulation may modulate extinction memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. Brain Behav 2017; 7:e00681. [PMID: 28523223 PMCID: PMC5434186 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abnormalities in fear extinction and recall are core components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data from animal and human studies point to a role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in extinction learning and subsequent retention of extinction memories. Given the increasing interest in developing noninvasive brain stimulation protocols for psychopathology treatment, we piloted whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) during extinction learning, vs. during consolidation of extinction learning, might improve extinction recall in veterans with warzone-related PTSD. METHODS Twenty-eight veterans with PTSD completed a 2-day Pavlovian fear conditioning, extinction, and recall paradigm. Participants received one 10-min session of 2 mA anodal tDCS over AF3, intended to target the vmPFC. Fourteen received tDCS that started simultaneously with extinction learning onset, and the remaining 14 participants received tDCS during extinction consolidation. Normalized skin conductance reactivity (SCR) was the primary outcome measure. Linear mixed effects models were used to test for effects of tDCS on late extinction and early extinction recall 24 hr later. RESULTS During early recall, veterans who received tDCS during extinction consolidation showed slightly lower SCR in response to previously extinguished stimuli as compared to veterans who received tDCS simultaneous with extinction learning (p = .08), generating a medium effect size (Cohen's d = .38). There was no significant effect of tDCS on SCR during late extinction. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary findings suggest that testing the effects of tDCS during consolidation of fear extinction may have promise as a way of enhancing extinction recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mascha Van't Wout
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Alpert Brown Medical School Brown University Providence RI USA.,Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA
| | - Sharon M Longo
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA
| | - Madhavi K Reddy
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Alpert Brown Medical School Brown University Providence RI USA.,Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston TX USA
| | - Noah S Philip
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Alpert Brown Medical School Brown University Providence RI USA.,Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA
| | - Marguerite T Bowker
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA
| | - Benjamin D Greenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Alpert Brown Medical School Brown University Providence RI USA.,Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology Providence VA Medical Center Providence RI USA
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48
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Levar N, van Leeuwen JMC, Puts NAJ, Denys D, van Wingen GA. GABA Concentrations in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Are Associated with Fear Network Function and Fear Recovery in Humans. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:202. [PMID: 28496404 PMCID: PMC5406467 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Relapse of fear after successful treatment is a common phenomenon in patients with anxiety disorders. Animal research suggests that the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays a key role in the maintenance of extinguished fear. Here, we combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the role of GABA in fear recovery in 70 healthy male participants. We associated baseline GABA levels in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) to indices of fear recovery as defined by changes in skin conductance responses (SCRs), blood oxygen level dependent responses, and functional connectivity from fear extinction to fear retrieval. The results showed that high GABA levels were associated with increased SCRs, enhanced activation of the right amygdala, and reduced amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity during fear recovery. Follow-up analyses exclusively for the extinction phase showed that high GABA levels were associated with reduced amygdala activation and enhanced amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity, despite the absence of correlations between GABA and physiological responses. Follow-up analyses for the retrieval phase did not show any significant associations with GABA. Together, the association between GABA and increases in SCRs from extinction to retrieval, without associations during both phases separately, suggests that dACC GABA primarily inhibits the consolidation of fear extinction. In addition, the opposite effects of GABA on amygdala activity and connectivity during fear extinction compared to fear recovery suggest that dACC GABA may initially facilitate extinction learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Levar
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Spinoza Center for NeuroimagingAmsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Judith M C van Leeuwen
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center UtrechtUtrecht, Netherlands
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD, USA.,FM Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger InstituteBaltimore, MD, USA
| | - Damiaan Denys
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Spinoza Center for NeuroimagingAmsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Guido A van Wingen
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands.,Spinoza Center for NeuroimagingAmsterdam, Netherlands
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49
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Chang CH. Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortical Modulation on the Medial Prefrontal Cortex-Amygdala Pathway: Differential Regulation of Intra-Amygdala GABAA and GABAB Receptors. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2017; 20:602-610. [PMID: 28444246 PMCID: PMC5492808 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyx027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The basolateral complex of the amygdala receives inputs from neocortical areas, including the medial prefrontal cortex and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Earlier studies have shown that lateral orbitofrontal cortex activation exerts an inhibitory gating on medial prefrontal cortex-amygdala information flow. Here we examined the individual role of GABAA and GABAB receptors in this process. METHODS In vivo extracellular single-unit recordings were done in anesthetized rats. We searched amygdala neurons that fire in response to medial prefrontal cortex activation, tested lateral orbitofrontal cortex gating at different delays (lateral orbitofrontal cortex-medial prefrontal cortex delays: 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 milliseconds), and examined differential contribution of GABAA and GABAB receptors with iontophoresis. RESULTS Relative to baseline, lateral orbitofrontal cortex stimulation exerted an inhibitory modulatory gating on the medial prefrontal cortex-amygdala pathway and was effective up to a long delay of 500 ms (long-delay latencies at 100, 250, and 500 milliseconds). Moreover, blockade of intra-amygdala GABAA receptors with bicuculline abolished the lateral orbitofrontal cortex inhibitory gating at both short- (25 milliseconds) and long-delay (100 milliseconds) intervals, while blockade of GABAB receptors with saclofen reversed the inhibitory gating at long delay (100 milliseconds) only. Among the majority of the neurons examined (8 of 9), inactivation of either GABAA or GABAB receptors during baseline did not change evoked probability per se, suggesting that local feed-forward inhibitory mechanism is pathway specific. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the effect of lateral orbitofrontal cortex inhibitory modulatory gating was effective up to 500 milliseconds and that intra-amygdala GABAA and GABAB receptors differentially modulate the short- and long-delay lateral orbitofrontal cortex inhibitory gating on the medial prefrontal cortex-amygdala pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-hui Chang
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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50
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Delli Pizzi S, Chiacchiaretta P, Mantini D, Bubbico G, Ferretti A, Edden RA, Di Giulio C, Onofrj M, Bonanni L. Functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuit and their relevance to emotional processing. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 222:1267-1279. [PMID: 27566606 PMCID: PMC5549263 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-016-1276-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 07/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear. To investigate this circuit, we obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and proton MR spectroscopy in 21 healthy subjects to assess the potential relationship between GABA levels within mPFC and the amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). Partial correlations were used to measure the relationships among the functional connectivity outcomes, mPFC GABA levels and STAI-Y2 scores. Age, educational level and amount of the gray and white matters within 1H-MRS volume of interest were included as nuisance variables. The rs-fMRI signals of the amygdala and the vmPFC were significantly anti-correlated. This negative functional coupling between the two regions was inversely correlated with the GABA+/tCr level within the mPFC and the STAI-Y2 scores. We suggest a close relationship between mPFC GABA levels and functional interactions within the amygdala-vmPFC circuit, providing new insights in the physiology of emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Delli Pizzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Piero Chiacchiaretta
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Giovanna Bubbico
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Richard A Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Camillo Di Giulio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
- Aging Research Centre, ''G. d'Annunzio'' University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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