Reduced Motivation in Perinatal Fluoxetine-Treated Mice: A Hypodopaminergic Phenotype

Bidirectional control of infant rat social behavior via dopaminergic innervation of the basolateral amygdala

Social interaction deficits seen in psychiatric disorders emerge in early-life and are most closely linked to aberrant neural circuit function. Due to technical limitations, we have limited understanding of how typical versus pathological social behavior circuits develop. Using a suite of invasive procedures in awake, behaving infant rats, including optogenetics, microdialysis, and microinfusions, we dissected the circuits controlling the gradual increase in social behavior deficits following two complementary procedures-naturalistic harsh maternal care and repeated shock alone or with an anesthetized mother. Whether the mother was the source of the adversity (naturalistic Scarcity-Adversity) or merely present during the adversity (repeated shock with mom), both conditions elevated basolateral amygdala (BLA) dopamine, which was necessary and sufficient in initiating social behavior pathology. This did not occur when pups experienced adversity alone. These data highlight the unique impact of social adversity as causal in producing mesolimbic dopamine circuit dysfunction and aberrant social behavior.

Neonatal ethanol causes profound reduction of cholinergic cell number in the basal forebrain of adult animals

In animal models that mimic human third-trimester fetal development, ethanol causes substantial cellular apoptosis in the brain, but for most brain structures, the extent of permanent neuron loss that persists into adulthood is unknown. We injected ethanol into C57BL/6J mouse pups at postnatal day 7 (P7) to model human late-gestation ethanol toxicity, and then used stereological methods to investigate adult cell numbers in several subcortical neurotransmitter systems that project extensively in the forebrain to regulate arousal states. Ethanol treatment caused especially large reductions (34-42%) in the cholinergic cells of the basal forebrain, including cholinergic cells in the medial septal/vertical diagonal band nuclei (Ch1/Ch2) and in the horizontal diagonal band/substantia innominata/nucleus basalis nuclei (Ch3/Ch4). Cell loss was also present in non-cholinergic basal forebrain cells, as demonstrated by 34% reduction of parvalbumin-immunolabeled GABA cells and 25% reduction of total Nissl-stained neurons in the Ch1/Ch2 region. In contrast, cholinergic cells in the striatum were reduced only 12% by ethanol, and those of the brainstem pedunculopontine/lateral dorsal tegmental nuclei (Ch5/Ch6) were not significantly reduced. Similarly, ethanol did not significantly reduce dopamine cells of the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra or serotonin cells in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Orexin (hypocretin) cells in the hypothalamus showed a modest reduction (14%). Our findings indicate that the basal forebrain is especially vulnerable to alcohol exposure in the late gestational period. Reduction of cholinergic and GABAergic projection neurons from the basal forebrain that regulate forebrain arousal may contribute to the behavioral and cognitive deficits associated with neonatal ethanol exposure.

Serotonergic regulation of the dopaminergic system: Implications for reward-related functions

Serotonin is a critical neuromodulator involved in development and behavior. Its role in reward is however still debated. Here, we first review classical studies involving electrical stimulation protocols and pharmacological approaches. Contradictory results on the serotonergic' involvement in reward emerge from these studies. These differences might be ascribable to either the diversity of cellular types within the raphe nuclei or/and the specific projection pathways of serotonergic neurons. We continue to review more recent work, using optogenetic approaches to activate serotonergic cells in the Raphe to VTA pathway. From these studies, it appears that activation of this pathway can lead to reinforcement learning mediated through the excitation of dopaminergic neurons by serotonergic neurons co-transmitting glutamate. Finally, given the importance of serotonin during development on adult emotion, the effect of abnormal early-life levels of serotonin on the dopaminergic system will also be discussed. Understanding the interaction between the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems during development and adulthood is critical to gain insight into the specific facets of neuropsychiatric disorders.