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Gabriel CJ, Gupta T, Sanchez-Fuentes A, Zeidler Z, Wilke SA, DeNardo LA. Transformations in prefrontal ensemble activity underlying rapid threat avoidance learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.28.610165. [PMID: 39257764 PMCID: PMC11383712 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.28.610165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2024]
Abstract
The capacity to learn cues that predict aversive outcomes, and understand how to avoid those outcomes, is critical for adaptive behavior. Naturalistic avoidance often means accessing a safe location, but whether a location is safe depends on the nature of the impending threat. These relationships must be rapidly learned if animals are to survive. The prelimbic subregion (PL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) integrates learned associations to influence these threat avoidance strategies. Prior work has focused on the role of PL activity in avoidance behaviors that are fully established, leaving the prefrontal mechanisms that drive rapid avoidance learning poorly understood. To determine when and how these learning-related changes emerge, we recorded PL neural activity using miniscope calcium imaging as mice rapidly learned to avoid a threatening cue by accessing a safe location. Over the course of learning, we observed enhanced modulation of PL activity representing intersections of a threatening cue with safe or risky locations and movements between them. We observed rapid changes in PL population dynamics that preceded changes observable in the encoding of individual neurons. Successful avoidance could be predicted from cue-related population dynamics during early learning. Population dynamics during specific epochs of the conditioned tone period correlated with the modeled learning rates of individual animals. In contrast, changes in single-neuron encoding occurred later, once an avoidance strategy had stabilized. Together, our findings reveal the sequence of PL changes that characterize rapid threat avoidance learning.
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2
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Lanjewar AL, Levitt P, Eagleson KL. Developmental and molecular contributions to contextual fear memory emergence in mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1392-1401. [PMID: 38438594 PMCID: PMC11251045 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01835-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is a common phenotype of neurodevelopmental disorders, but how these deficits arise remains elusive. Determining the onset of discrete cognitive capabilities facilitates studies in probing mechanisms underlying their emergence. The present study analyzed the emergence of contextual fear memory persistence (7-day memory retention) and remote memory (30-day memory retention). There was a rapid transition from postnatal day (P) 20 to P21, in which memory persistence emerged in C57Bl/6 J male and female mice. Remote memory was present at P23, but expression was not robust compared to pubertal and adult mice. Previous studies reported that following deletion of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase (MET), there are fear memory deficits in adult mice and the timing of critical period plasticity is altered in the developing visual cortex, positioning MET as a regulator for onset of contextual fear memory. Sustaining Met past the normal window of peak cortical expression or deleting Met, however, did not alter the timing of emergence of persistence or remote memory capabilities during development. Fear memory in young adults, however, was disrupted. Remarkably, compared to homecage controls, the number of FOS-expressing infragranular neurons in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) did not increase from contextual memory formation recall of fear conditioning at P35 but exhibited enhanced activation at P90 in male and female mice. Additionally, MET-expressing neurons were preferentially recruited at P90 compared to P35 during fear memory expression. The studies demonstrate a developmental profile of contextual fear memory capabilities. Further, developmental disruption of Met leads to a delayed functional deficit that arises in young adulthood, correlated with an increase of mPFC neuron activation during fear memory recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra L Lanjewar
- Program in Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Pat Levitt
- Program in Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kathie L Eagleson
- Program in Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, The Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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3
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Santos TB, de Oliveira Coelho CA, Kramer-Soares JC, Frankland PW, Oliveira MGM. Reactivation of encoding ensembles in the prelimbic cortex supports temporal associations. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:1296-1308. [PMID: 38454052 PMCID: PMC11224261 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01825-2] [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: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Fear conditioning is encoded by strengthening synaptic connections between the neurons activated by a conditioned stimulus (CS) and those activated by an unconditioned stimulus (US), forming a memory engram, which is reactivated during memory retrieval. In temporal associations, activity within the prelimbic cortex (PL) plays a role in sustaining a short-term, transient memory of the CS, which is associated with the US after a temporal gap. However, it is unknown whether the PL has only a temporary role, transiently representing the CS, or is part of the neuronal ensembles that support the retrieval, i.e., whether PL neurons support both transient, short-term memories and stable, long-term memories. We investigated neuronal ensembles underlying temporal associations using fear conditioning with a 5-s interval between the CS and US (CFC-5s). Controls were trained in contextual fear conditioning (CFC), in which the CS-US overlaps. We used Robust Activity Marking (RAM) to selectively manipulate PL neurons activated by CFC-5s learning and Targeted Recombination in Active Populations (TRAP2) mice to label neurons activated by CFC-5s learning and reactivated by memory retrieval in the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, perirhinal cortices (PER) and subiculum. We also computed their co-reactivation to generate correlation-based networks. The optogenetic reactivation or silencing of PL encoding ensembles either promoted or impaired the retrieval of CFC-5s but not CFC. CFC-5s retrieval reactivated encoding ensembles in the PL, PER, and basolateral amygdala. The engram network of CFC-5s had higher amygdala and PER centralities and interconnectivity. The same PL neurons support learning and stable associative memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thays Brenner Santos
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, 04023-062, Brazil.
| | | | - Juliana Carlota Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, 04023-062, Brazil
- Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul - UNICSUL, São Paulo, 08060-070, Brazil
| | - Paul W Frankland
- Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada
- Child & Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, M5G 1M1, Canada
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4
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Zhao B, Zhang H, Liu Y, Zu G, Zhang Y, Hu J, Liu S, You L. Forebrain excitatory neuron-specific loss of Brpf1 attenuates excitatory synaptic transmission and impairs spatial and fear memory. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:1133-1141. [PMID: 37862219 PMCID: PMC10749587 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.385307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Bromodomain and plant homeodomain (PHD) finger containing protein 1 (Brpf1) is an activator and scaffold protein of a multiunit complex that includes other components involving lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) 6A/6B/7. Brpf1, KAT6A, and KAT6B mutations were identified as the causal genes of neurodevelopmental disorders leading to intellectual disability. Our previous work revealed strong and specific expression of Brpf1 in both the postnatal and adult forebrain, especially the hippocampus, which has essential roles in learning and memory. Here, we hypothesized that Brpf1 plays critical roles in the function of forebrain excitatory neurons, and that its deficiency leads to learning and memory deficits. To test this, we knocked out Brpf1 in forebrain excitatory neurons using CaMKIIa-Cre. We found that Brpf1 deficiency reduced the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents and downregulated the expression of genes Pcdhgb1, Slc16a7, Robo3, and Rho, which are related to neural development, synapse function, and memory, thereby damaging spatial and fear memory in mice. These findings help explain the mechanisms of intellectual impairment in patients with BRPF1 mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baicheng Zhao
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hang Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Gaoyu Zu
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuxiao Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
- NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiayi Hu
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuai Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
- NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Linya You
- Department of Human Anatomy & Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention of Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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5
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Krasne FB, Fanselow MS. Remote memory in a Bayesian model of context fear conditioning (BaconREM). Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 17:1295969. [PMID: 38515786 PMCID: PMC10955142 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1295969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Here, we propose a model of remote memory (BaconREM), which is an extension of a previously published Bayesian model of context fear learning (BACON) that accounts for many aspects of recently learned context fear. BaconREM simulates most known phenomenology of remote context fear as studied in rodents and makes new predictions. In particular, it predicts the well-known observation that fear that was conditioned to a recently encoded context becomes hippocampus-independent and shows much-enhanced generalization ("hyper-generalization") when systems consolidation occurs (i.e., when memory becomes remote). However, the model also predicts that there should be circumstances under which the generalizability of remote fear may not increase or even decrease. It also predicts the established finding that a "reminder" exposure to a feared context can abolish hyper-generalization while at the same time making remote fear again hippocampus-dependent. This observation has in the past been taken to suggest that reminders facilitate access to detail memory that remains permanently in the hippocampus even after systems consolidation is complete. However, the present model simulates this result even though it totally moves all the contextual memory that it retains to the neo-cortex when context fear becomes remote.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franklin B. Krasne
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael S. Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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6
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Wen Y, Jiang J, Zhai F, Fan F, Lu J. Sleep-wake dependent hippocampal regulation of fear memory. Sleep Med 2024; 115:162-173. [PMID: 38367358 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.02.022] [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: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
The hippocampus (HPC) plays a pivotal role in fear learning and memory. Our two recent studies suggest that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep via the HPC downregulates fear memory consolidation and promotes fear extinction. However, it is not clear whether and how the dorsal and the ventral HPC regulates fear memory differently; and how the HPC in wake regulates fear memory. By chemogenetic stimulating in the HPC directly and its afferent entorhinal cortex that selectively activated the HPC in REM sleep for 3-6 h post-fear-acquisition, we found that HPC activation in REM sleep consolidated fear extinction memory. In particular, dorsal HPC (dHPC) stimulation in REM sleep virtually eliminated fear memory by enhancing fear extinction and reducing fear memory consolidation. By contrast, chemogenetic stimulating HPC afferent the supramammillary nucleus (SUM) induced 3-hr wake with HPC activation impaired fear extinction. Finally, desipramine (DMI) injection that selectively eliminated REM sleep for >6 h impaired fear extinction. Our results demonstrate that the HPC is critical for fear memory regulation; and wake HPC and REM sleep HPC have an opposite role in fear extinction of respective impairment and consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujun Wen
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Craniocerebral Diseases, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China; Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA.
| | - Jinhong Jiang
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory in Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China; Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA
| | - Feng Zhai
- Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA
| | - Fangfang Fan
- Stroke Center and Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China; Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA
| | - Jun Lu
- Stroke Center and Department of Neurology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China; Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA.
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7
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Palombo P, Maeda R, Riberti Zaniboni C, Antonagi Engi S, Yokoyama T, Bonetti Bertagna N, Anesio A, Cristina Bianchi P, Righi T, Emily Boaventura Tavares G, Souccar C, da Silva FBR, Cardoso Cruz F. Unlocking the role of dorsal hippocampal α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in Ethanol-Induced conditioned place preference in mice. Neurosci Lett 2024; 824:137666. [PMID: 38331019 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137666] [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: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) presents a significant and challenging public health concern, marked by a dearth of effective pharmacological treatments. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of AUD is of paramount importance for the development of efficacious interventions. The process of addiction entails the acquisition of associative behaviors, prominently engaging the dorsal region of the hippocampus for encoding these associative memories. Nicotinic receptor systems have been implicated in mediating the rewarding effects of ethanol, as well as memory and learning processes. In our current investigation, we delved into the role of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) within the dorsal hippocampus in the context of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference (CPP), a robust model for scrutinizing the rewarding properties and drug-associated behaviors. To establish CPP, ethanol (2 g/kg) was administered intraperitoneally during a 8-day conditioning phase. Fos immunohistochemistry was employed to assess the involvement of discrete subregions within the dorsal hippocampus in ethanol-induced CPP. Additionally, we probed the influence of α4β2 nAChRs on CPP via microinjections of a selective nAChR antagonist, dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHBE, at dosages of 6, 12, and 18 µg/0.5 µL per hemisphere) within the hippocampus. Our results unveiled that ethanol-induced CPP was associated with an increase Fos -positive cells in various subregions of the dorsal hippocampus, including CA1, CA2, CA3, and the dentate gyrus. Intrahippocampal administration of DHBE (at doses of 6 and 18 µg/0.50 µL per hemisphere) effectively blocked ethanol-induced CPP, while leaving locomotor activity unaffected. These findings underscore the critical involvement of the dorsal hippocampus and α4β2 nAChRs in the acquisition of ethanol-associated learning and reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Palombo
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Roberta Maeda
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Caroline Riberti Zaniboni
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sheila Antonagi Engi
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Thais Yokoyama
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natalia Bonetti Bertagna
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Augusto Anesio
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paula Cristina Bianchi
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Thamires Righi
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Caden Souccar
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Fabio Cardoso Cruz
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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8
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Xu J, Erlendsson S, Singh M, Holling GA, Regier M, Ibiricu I, Einstein J, Hantak MP, Day GS, Piquet AL, Smith TL, Clardy SL, Whiteley AM, Feschotte C, Briggs JAG, Shepherd JD. PNMA2 forms immunogenic non-enveloped virus-like capsids associated with paraneoplastic neurological syndrome. Cell 2024; 187:831-845.e19. [PMID: 38301645 PMCID: PMC10922747 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.009] [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: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
The paraneoplastic Ma antigen (PNMA) proteins are associated with cancer-induced paraneoplastic syndromes that present with an autoimmune response and neurological symptoms. Why PNMA proteins are associated with this severe autoimmune disease is unclear. PNMA genes are predominantly expressed in the central nervous system and are ectopically expressed in some tumors. We show that PNMA2, which has been co-opted from a Ty3 retrotransposon, encodes a protein that is released from cells as non-enveloped virus-like capsids. Recombinant PNMA2 capsids injected into mice induce autoantibodies that preferentially bind external "spike" PNMA2 capsid epitopes, whereas a capsid-assembly-defective PNMA2 protein is not immunogenic. PNMA2 autoantibodies in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with anti-Ma2 paraneoplastic disease show similar preferential binding to spike capsid epitopes. PNMA2 capsid-injected mice develop learning and memory deficits. These observations suggest that PNMA2 capsids act as an extracellular antigen, capable of generating an autoimmune response that results in neurological deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Xu
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Simon Erlendsson
- The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Manvendra Singh
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - G Aaron Holling
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Matthew Regier
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Iosune Ibiricu
- Department of Cell and Virus Structure, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jenifer Einstein
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Michael P Hantak
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Gregory S Day
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Amanda L Piquet
- Department of Neurology, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Tammy L Smith
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah and George E Wahlen VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Stacey L Clardy
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah and George E Wahlen VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Cédric Feschotte
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - John A G Briggs
- The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK; Department of Cell and Virus Structure, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jason D Shepherd
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
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Grella SL, Donaldson TN. Contextual memory engrams, and the neuromodulatory influence of the locus coeruleus. Front Mol Neurosci 2024; 17:1342622. [PMID: 38375501 PMCID: PMC10875109 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1342622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Here, we review the basis of contextual memory at a conceptual and cellular level. We begin with an overview of the philosophical foundations of traversing space, followed by theories covering the material bases of contextual representations in the hippocampus (engrams), exploring functional characteristics of the cells and subfields within. Next, we explore various methodological approaches for investigating contextual memory engrams, emphasizing plasticity mechanisms. This leads us to discuss the role of neuromodulatory inputs in governing these dynamic changes. We then outline a recent hypothesis involving noradrenergic and dopaminergic projections from the locus coeruleus (LC) to different subregions of the hippocampus, in sculpting contextual representations, giving a brief description of the neuroanatomical and physiological properties of the LC. Finally, we examine how activity in the LC influences contextual memory processes through synaptic plasticity mechanisms to alter hippocampal engrams. Overall, we find that phasic activation of the LC plays an important role in promoting new learning and altering mnemonic processes at the behavioral and cellular level through the neuromodulatory influence of NE/DA in the hippocampus. These findings may provide insight into mechanisms of hippocampal remapping and memory updating, memory processes that are potentially dysregulated in certain psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L. Grella
- MNEME Lab, Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Tia N. Donaldson
- Systems Neuroscience and Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
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10
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Korbmacher M, van der Meer D, Beck D, de Lange AMG, Eikefjord E, Lundervold A, Andreassen OA, Westlye LT, Maximov II. Brain asymmetries from mid- to late life and hemispheric brain age. Nat Commun 2024; 15:956. [PMID: 38302499 PMCID: PMC10834516 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45282-3] [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: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The human brain demonstrates structural and functional asymmetries which have implications for ageing and mental and neurological disease development. We used a set of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics derived from structural and diffusion MRI data in N=48,040 UK Biobank participants to evaluate age-related differences in brain asymmetry. Most regional grey and white matter metrics presented asymmetry, which were higher later in life. Informed by these results, we conducted hemispheric brain age (HBA) predictions from left/right multimodal MRI metrics. HBA was concordant to conventional brain age predictions, using metrics from both hemispheres, but offers a supplemental general marker of brain asymmetry when setting left/right HBA into relationship with each other. In contrast to WM brain asymmetries, left/right discrepancies in HBA are lower at higher ages. Our findings outline various sex-specific differences, particularly important for brain age estimates, and the value of further investigating the role of brain asymmetries in brain ageing and disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Korbmacher
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV), Bergen, Norway.
| | - Dennis van der Meer
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Dani Beck
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ann-Marie G de Lange
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Eli Eikefjord
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV), Bergen, Norway
| | - Arvid Lundervold
- Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV), Bergen, Norway
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ivan I Maximov
- Department of Health and Functioning, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.
- NORMENT Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
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11
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Gräff J. Engrams of Fear Memory Attenuation. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 38:149-161. [PMID: 39008015 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-62983-9_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Fear attenuation is an etiologically relevant process for animal survival, since once acquired information needs to be continuously updated in the face of changing environmental contingencies. Thus, when situations are encountered that were originally perceived as fearful but are no longer so, fear must be attenuated, otherwise, it risks becoming maladaptive. But what happens to the original memory trace of fear during fear attenuation? In this chapter, we review the studies that have started to approach this question from an engram perspective. We find evidence pointing to both the original memory trace of fear being suppressed, as well as it being updated towards safety. These seemingly conflicting results reflect a well-established dichotomy in the field of fear memory attenuation, namely whether fear attenuation is mediated by an inhibitory mechanism that suppresses fear expression, called extinction, or by an updating mechanism that allows the fear memory to reconsolidate in a different form, called reconsolidation-updating. Which of these scenarios takes the upper hand is ultimately influenced by the behavioral paradigms used to induce fear attenuation, but is an important area for further study as the precise cell populations underlying fear attenuation and the molecular mechanisms therein can now be understood at unprecedented resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Gräff
- Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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12
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Kyriatzis G, Khrestchatisky M, Ferhat L, Chatzaki EA. Neurotensin and Neurotensin Receptors in Stress-related Disorders: Pathophysiology & Novel Drug Targets. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:916-934. [PMID: 37534788 PMCID: PMC10845085 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x21666230803101629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurotensin (NT) is a 13-amino acid neuropeptide widely distributed in the CNS that has been involved in the pathophysiology of many neural and psychiatric disorders. There are three known neurotensin receptors (NTSRs), which mediate multiple actions, and form the neurotensinergic system in conjunction with NT. NTSR1 is the main mediator of NT, displaying effects in both the CNS and the periphery, while NTSR2 is mainly expressed in the brain and NTSR3 has a broader expression pattern. In this review, we bring together up-to-date studies showing an involvement of the neurotensinergic system in different aspects of the stress response and the main stress-related disorders, such as depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its associated symptoms, such as fear memory and maternal separation, ethanol addiction, and substance abuse. Emphasis is put on gene, mRNA, and protein alterations of NT and NTSRs, as well as behavioral and pharmacological studies, leading to evidence-based suggestions on the implicated regulating mechanisms as well as their therapeutic exploitation. Stress responses and anxiety involve mainly NTSR1, but also NTSR2 and NTSR3. NTSR1 and NTSR3 are primarily implicated in depression, while NTSR2 and secondarily NTSR1 in PTSD. NTSR1 is interrelated with substance and drug abuse and NTSR2 with fear memory, while all NTSRs seem to be implicated in ethanol consumption. Some of the actions of NT and NTSRs in these pathological settings may be driven through interactions between NT and corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) in their regulatory contribution, as well as by NT's pro-inflammatory mediating actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grigorios Kyriatzis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
- Institute of Neurophysiopathology, INP, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Michel Khrestchatisky
- Institute of Neurophysiopathology, INP, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Lotfi Ferhat
- Institute of Neurophysiopathology, INP, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Ekaterini Alexiou Chatzaki
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
- Institute of Agri-Food and Life Sciences, University Research Centre, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
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Nachtigall EG, de Freitas JDR, Marcondes LA, Furini CRG. Memory persistence induced by environmental enrichment is dependent on different brain structures. Physiol Behav 2023; 272:114375. [PMID: 37806510 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114375] [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: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) has been demonstrated to have a beneficial effect on different functions of the central nervous system in several mammal species, being used to improve behavior and cell damage in various neurological and psychiatric diseases. However, little has been investigated on the effect of EE in healthy animals, particularly regarding its impact on memory persistence and the brain structures involved. Therefore, here we verified in male Wistar rats that contextual fear conditioning (CFC) memory persistence, tested 28 days after the CFC training session, was facilitated by 5 weeks of exposure to EE, with no effect in groups tested 7 or 14 days after CFC training. However, a two-week exposure to EE did not affect memory persistence. Moreover, we investigated the role of specific brain regions in mediating the effect of EE on memory persistence. We conducted inactivation experiments using the GABAergic agonist Muscimol to target the basolateral amygdala (BLA), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and CA1 region of the hippocampus (CA1). Inactivation of the BLA immediately and 12 h after CFC training impaired the effect of EE on memory persistence. Similarly, inactivation of the CA1 region and mPFC 12 h after training, but not immediately, also impaired the effect of EE on memory persistence. These results have important scientific implications as they shed new light on the effect of an enriched environment on memory persistence and the brain structures involved, thereby helping elucidate how an environment rich in experiences can modify the persistence of learned information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduarda G Nachtigall
- Laboratory of Cognition and Memory Neurobiology, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. Ipiranga, 6690 - 3rd floor, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Júlia D R de Freitas
- Laboratory of Cognition and Memory Neurobiology, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. Ipiranga, 6690 - 3rd floor, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Lucas Aschidamini Marcondes
- Laboratory of Cognition and Memory Neurobiology, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. Ipiranga, 6690 - 3rd floor, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Cristiane R G Furini
- Laboratory of Cognition and Memory Neurobiology, Brain Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. Ipiranga, 6690 - 3rd floor, 90610-000, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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Weber BL, Nicodemus MM, Hite AK, Spalding IR, Beaver JN, Scrimshaw LR, Kassis SK, Reichert JM, Ford MT, Russell CN, Hallal EM, Gilman TL. Heterotypic Stressors Unmask Behavioral Influences of PMAT Deficiency in Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16494. [PMID: 38003684 PMCID: PMC10671398 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Certain life stressors having enduring physiological and behavioral consequences, in part by eliciting dramatic signaling shifts in monoamine neurotransmitters. High monoamine levels can overwhelm selective transporters like the serotonin transporter. This is when polyspecific transporters like plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT, Slc29a4) are hypothesized to contribute most to monoaminergic signaling regulation. Here, we employed two distinct counterbalanced stressors-fear conditioning and swim stress-in mice to systematically determine how reductions in PMAT function affect heterotypic stressor responsivity. We hypothesized that male heterozygotes would exhibit augmented stressor responses relative to female heterozygotes. Decreased PMAT function enhanced context fear expression, an effect unexpectedly obscured by a sham stress condition. Impaired cued fear extinction retention and enhanced context fear expression in males were conversely unmasked by a sham swim condition. Abrogated corticosterone levels in male heterozygotes that underwent swim stress after context fear conditioning did not map onto any measured behaviors. In sum, male heterozygous mouse fear behaviors proved malleable in response to preceding stressor or sham stress exposure. Combined, these data indicate that reduced male PMAT function elicits a form of stress-responsive plasticity. Future studies should assess how PMAT is differentially affected across sexes and identify downstream consequences of the stress-shifted corticosterone dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - T. Lee Gilman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA
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15
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Weber BL, Nicodemus MM, Hite AK, Spalding IR, Beaver JN, Scrimshaw LR, Kassis SK, Reichert JM, Ford MT, Russell CN, Hallal EM, Gilman TL. Heterotypic stressors unmask behavioral influences of PMAT deficiency in mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.30.555632. [PMID: 37693400 PMCID: PMC10491137 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.555632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Certain life stressors having enduring physiological and behavioral consequences, in part by eliciting dramatic signaling shifts in monoamine neurotransmitters. High monoamine levels can overwhelm selective transporters like the serotonin transporter. This is when polyspecific transporters like plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT, Slc29a4) are hypothesized to contribute most to monoaminergic signaling regulation. Here, we employed two distinct counterbalanced stressors - fear conditioning, and swim stress - in mice to systematically determine how reductions in PMAT function affect heterotypic stressor responsivity. We hypothesized male heterozygotes would exhibit augmented stressor responses relative to female heterozygotes. Decreased PMAT function enhanced context fear expression, an effect unexpectedly obscured by a sham stress condition. Impaired cued fear extinction retention and enhanced context fear expression in males were conversely unmasked by a sham swim condition. Abrogated corticosterone levels in male heterozygotes that underwent swim stress after context fear conditioning did not map on to any measured behaviors. In sum, male heterozygous mouse fear behaviors proved malleable in response to preceding stressor or sham stress exposure. Combined, these data indicate reduced male PMAT function elicits a form of stress-responsive plasticity. Future studies should assess how PMAT is differentially affected across sexes and identify downstream consequences of the stress-shifted corticosterone dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brady L Weber
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Marissa M Nicodemus
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Allianna K Hite
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Isabella R Spalding
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Jasmin N Beaver
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Lauren R Scrimshaw
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Sarah K Kassis
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Julie M Reichert
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Matthew T Ford
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Cameron N Russell
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Elayna M Hallal
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - T Lee Gilman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Healthy Communities Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
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Totty MS, Tuna T, Ramanathan KR, Jin J, Peters SE, Maren S. Thalamic nucleus reuniens coordinates prefrontal-hippocampal synchrony to suppress extinguished fear. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6565. [PMID: 37848425 PMCID: PMC10582091 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42315-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic events result in vivid and enduring fear memories. Suppressing the retrieval of these memories is central to behavioral therapies for pathological fear. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HPC) have been implicated in retrieval suppression, but how mPFC-HPC activity is coordinated during extinction retrieval is unclear. Here we show that after extinction training, coherent theta oscillations (6-9 Hz) in the HPC and mPFC are correlated with the suppression of conditioned freezing in male and female rats. Inactivation of the nucleus reuniens (RE), a thalamic hub interconnecting the mPFC and HPC, reduces extinction-related Fos expression in both the mPFC and HPC, dampens mPFC-HPC theta coherence, and impairs extinction retrieval. Conversely, theta-paced optogenetic stimulation of RE augments fear suppression and reduces relapse of extinguished fear. Collectively, these results demonstrate a role for RE in coordinating mPFC-HPC interactions to suppress fear memories after extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Totty
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Tuğçe Tuna
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Karthik R Ramanathan
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Jingji Jin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Shaun E Peters
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Stephen Maren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Bast T, Cassaday HJ, Martin SJ, Suwansawang S, Halliday DM, Stevenson CW. Dopamine D1-like receptors modulate synchronized oscillations in the hippocampal-prefrontal-amygdala circuit in contextual fear. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17631. [PMID: 37848657 PMCID: PMC10582086 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44772-6] [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: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) is mediated by a neural circuit that includes the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala, but the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the regulation of CFC by neuromodulators remain unclear. Dopamine D1-like receptors (D1Rs) in this circuit regulate CFC and local synaptic plasticity, which is facilitated by synchronized oscillations between these areas. In rats, we determined the effects of systemic D1R blockade on CFC and oscillatory synchrony between dorsal hippocampus (DH), prelimbic (PL) cortex, basolateral amygdala (BLA), and ventral hippocampus (VH), which sends hippocampal projections to PL and BLA. D1R blockade altered DH-VH and reduced VH-PL and VH-BLA synchrony during CFC, as inferred from theta and gamma coherence and theta-gamma coupling. D1R blockade also impaired CFC, as indicated by decreased freezing at retrieval, which was characterized by altered DH-VH and reduced VH-PL, VH-BLA, and PL-BLA synchrony. This reduction in VH-PL-BLA synchrony was not fully accounted for by non-specific locomotor effects, as revealed by comparing between epochs of movement and freezing in the controls. These results suggest that D1Rs regulate CFC by modulating synchronized oscillations within the hippocampus-prefrontal-amygdala circuit. They also add to growing evidence indicating that this circuit synchrony at retrieval reflects a neural signature of learned fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Stubbendorff
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
- Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.
| | - Ed Hale
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
- Envigo, Hillcrest, Dodgeford Lane, Belton, LE12 9TE, UK
| | - Tobias Bast
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Helen J Cassaday
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Stephen J Martin
- Cellular and Systems Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Sopapun Suwansawang
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
| | - David M Halliday
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
| | - Carl W Stevenson
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.
- Neuroscience@Nottingham, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
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Liu J, Hall AF, Wang DV. Emerging many-to-one weighted mapping in hippocampus-amygdala network underlies memory formation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.06.556568. [PMID: 37732176 PMCID: PMC10508749 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.06.556568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Memories are crucial for our daily lives, yet the network-level organizing principle that governs neural representations of our experiences remains to be determined. Employing dual-site electrophysiology recording in freely behaving mice, we discovered that hippocampal dorsal CA1 (dCA1) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) utilize distinct coding strategies to represent novel experiences. A small assembly of BLA neurons rapidly emerged during memory acquisition and remained active during subsequent consolidation, whereas the majority of dCA1 neurons engaged in the same processes. Machine learning decoding revealed that dCA1 population spikes predicted the BLA assembly firing rate. This suggests that most dCA1 neurons concurrently index an episodic event by rapidly establishing weighted communications with a specific BLA assembly, a process we call "many-to-one weighted mapping." Furthermore, we demonstrated that closed-loop optoinhibition of BLA activity triggered by dCA1 ripples after new learning resulted in impaired memory. These findings highlight a new principle of hippocampus-amygdala communication underlying memory formation and provide new insights into how the brain creates and stores memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liu
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
| | - Arron F Hall
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
| | - Dong V Wang
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
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Hisey E, Purkey A, Gao Y, Hossain K, Soderling SH, Ressler KJ. A Ventromedial Prefrontal-to-Lateral Entorhinal Cortex Pathway Modulates the Gain of Behavioral Responding During Threat. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 94:239-248. [PMID: 36925415 PMCID: PMC10354215 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ability to correctly associate cues and contexts with threat is critical for survival, and the inability to do so can result in threat-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus are well known to play critical roles in cued and contextual threat memory processing. However, the circuits that mediate prefrontal-hippocampal modulation of context discrimination during cued threat processing are less understood. Here, we demonstrate the role of a previously unexplored projection from the ventromedial region of PFC (vmPFC) to the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) in modulating the gain of behavior in response to contextual information during threat retrieval and encoding. METHODS We used optogenetics followed by in vivo calcium imaging in male C57/B6J mice to manipulate and monitor vmPFC-LEC activity in response to threat-associated cues in different contexts. We then investigated the inputs to, and outputs from, vmPFC-LEC cells using Rabies tracing and channelrhodopsin-assisted electrophysiology. RESULTS vmPFC-LEC cells flexibly and bidirectionally shaped behavior during threat expression, shaping sensitivity to contextual information to increase or decrease the gain of behavioral output in response to a threatening or neutral context, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Glutamatergic vmPFC-LEC cells are key players in behavioral gain control in response to contextual information during threat processing and may provide a future target for intervention in threat-based disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Hisey
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Alicia Purkey
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Yudong Gao
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Kazi Hossain
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Scott H Soderling
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.
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Lai TT, Gericke B, Feja M, Conoscenti M, Zelikowsky M, Richter F. Anxiety in synucleinopathies: neuronal circuitry, underlying pathomechanisms and current therapeutic strategies. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2023; 9:97. [PMID: 37349373 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00547-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by alpha-synuclein (αSyn) accumulation in neurons or glial cells, including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). αSyn-related pathology plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies leading to the progressive loss of neuronal populations in specific brain regions and the development of motor and non-motor symptoms. Anxiety is among the most frequent non-motor symptoms in patients with PD, but it remains underrecognized and undertreated, which significantly reduces the quality of life for patients. Anxiety is defined as a neuropsychiatric complication with characteristics such as nervousness, loss of concentration, and sweating due to the anticipation of impending danger. In patients with PD, neuropathology in the amygdala, a central region in the anxiety and fear circuitry, may contribute to the high prevalence of anxiety. Studies in animal models reported αSyn pathology in the amygdala together with alteration of anxiety or fear learning response. Therefore, understanding the progression, extent, and specifics of pathology in the anxiety and fear circuitry in synucleinopathies will suggest novel approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Here, we provide an overview of studies that address neuropsychiatric symptoms in synucleinopathies. We offer insights into anxiety and fear circuitry in animal models and the current implications for therapeutic intervention. In summary, it is apparent that anxiety is not a bystander symptom in these disorders but reflects early pathogenic mechanisms in the cortico-limbic system which may even contribute as a driver to disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thuy Thi Lai
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Birthe Gericke
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Malte Feja
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | | | | | - Franziska Richter
- Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany.
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Munier J, Shen S, Rahal D, Hanna A, Marty V, O'Neill P, Fanselow M, Spigelman I. Chronic intermittent ethanol exposure disrupts stress-related tripartite communication to impact affect-related behavioral selection in male rats. Neurobiol Stress 2023; 24:100539. [PMID: 37131490 PMCID: PMC10149313 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by loss of intake control, increased anxiety, and susceptibility to relapse inducing stressors. Both astrocytes and neurons contribute to behavioral and hormonal consequences of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure in animal models. Details on how CIE disrupts hypothalamic neuro-glial communication, which mediates stress responses are lacking. We conducted a behavioral battery (grooming, open field, reactivity to a single, uncued foot-shock, intermittent-access two-bottle choice ethanol drinking) followed by Ca2+ imaging in ex-vivo slices of paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) from male rats exposed to CIE vapor or air-exposed controls. Ca2+ signals were evaluated in response to norepinephrine (NE) with or without selective α-adrenergic receptor (αAR) or GluN2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, followed by dexamethasone (DEX) to mock a pharmacological stress response. Expectedly, CIE rats had altered anxiety-like, rearing, grooming, and drinking behaviors. Importantly, NE-mediated reductions in Ca2+ event frequency were blunted in both CIE neurons and astrocytes. Administration of the selective α1AR antagonist, prazosin, reversed this CIE-induced dysfunction in both cell types. Additionally, the pharmacological stress protocol reversed the altered basal Ca2+ signaling profile of CIE astrocytes. Signaling changes in astrocytes in response to NE were correlated with anxiety-like behaviors, such as the grooming:rearing ratio, suggesting tripartite synaptic function plays a role in switching between exploratory and stress-coping behavior. These data show how CIE exposure causes persistent changes to PVN neuro-glial function and provides the groundwork for how these physiological changes manifest in behavioral selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.J. Munier
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
- Corresponding author.
| | - S. Shen
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - D. Rahal
- Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, United States
| | - A. Hanna
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - V.N. Marty
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - P.R. O'Neill
- Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, United States
| | - M.S. Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, College of Life Sciences, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Science, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, United States
| | - I. Spigelman
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
- Corresponding author. Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, 63-078 CHS, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1668, United States.
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Gasalla P, Manahan-Vaughan D, Dwyer DM, Hall J, Méndez-Couz M. Characterisation of the neural basis underlying appetitive extinction & renewal in Cacna1c rats. Neuropharmacology 2023; 227:109444. [PMID: 36724867 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed impairments in Cacna1c ± heterozygous animals (a gene that encodes the Cav 1.2 L-type voltage-gated calcium channels and is implicated in risk for multiple neuropsychiatric disorders) in aversive forms of learning, such as latent inhibition, reversal learning or context discrimination. However, the role of Cav 1.2 L-type voltage-gated calcium channels in extinction of appetitive associations remains under-investigated. Here, we used an appetitive Pavlovian conditioning task and evaluated extinction learning (EL) with a change of context from that of training and test (ABA) and without such a change (AAA) in Cacna1c ± male rats versus their wild-type (WT) littermates. In addition, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization of somatic immediate early genes (IEGs) Arc and Homer1a expression to scrutinize associated changes in the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Cacna1c ± animals successfully adapt their responses by engaging in appetitive EL and renewal. However, the regional IEG expression profile changed. For the EL occurring in the same context, Cacna1c ± animals presented higher IEG expression in the infralimbic cortex and the central amygdala than controls. The prelimbic region presented a larger neural ensemble in Cacna1c ± than WT animals, co-labelled for the time window of EL in the original context and prolonged exposure to the unrewarded context. With a context change, the Cacna1c ± infralimbic region displayed higher IEG expression during renewal than controls. Taken together, our findings provide novel evidence of distinct brain activation patterns occurring in Cacna1c ± rats after appetitive extinction and renewal despite preserved behavioral responses. This article is part of the Special Issue on "L-type calcium channel mechanisms in neuropsychiatric disorders".
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Gasalla
- Neuroscience & Mental Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK; School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Denise Manahan-Vaughan
- Dept. Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Building MA 4/158, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dominic Michael Dwyer
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Jeremy Hall
- Neuroscience & Mental Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Marta Méndez-Couz
- Dept. Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Building MA 4/158, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
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23
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Kenna M, Marek R, Sah P. Insights into the encoding of memories through the circuitry of fear. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 80:102712. [PMID: 37003106 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Associative learning induces physical changes to a network of cells, known as the memory engram. Fear is widely used as a model to understand the circuit motifs that underpin associative memories. Recent advances suggest that the distinct circuitry engaged by different conditioned stimuli (e.g. tone vs. context) can provide insights into what information is being encoded in the fear engram. Moreover, as the fear memory matures, the circuitry engaged indicates how information is remodelled after learning and hints at potential mechanisms for consolidation. Finally, we propose that the consolidation of fear memories involves plasticity of engram cells through coordinated activity between brain regions, and the inherent characteristics of the circuitry may mediate this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Kenna
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Roger Marek
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Pankaj Sah
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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24
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Ferrara NC, Kwapis JL, Trask S. Memory retrieval, reconsolidation, and extinction: Exploring the boundary conditions of post-conditioning cue exposure. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2023; 15:1146665. [PMID: 36937567 PMCID: PMC10017482 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1146665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Following fear conditioning, behavior can be reduced by giving many CS-alone presentations in a process known as extinction or by presenting a few CS-alone presentations and interfering with subsequent memory reconsolidation. While the two share procedural similarities, both the behavioral outcomes and the neurobiological underpinnings are distinct. Here we review the neural and behavioral mechanisms that produce these separate behavioral reductions, as well as some factors that determine whether or not a retrieval-dependent reconsolidation process or an extinction process will be in effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C. Ferrara
- Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, United States
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Janine L. Kwapis
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Sydney Trask
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
- Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, West Lafayette, IN, United States
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25
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Santos TB, Kramer-Soares JC, Oliveira MGM. Contextual fear conditioning with a time interval induces CREB phosphorylation in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala nuclei that depend on prelimbic cortex activity. Hippocampus 2023. [PMID: 36847108 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
In temporal associations, a conditioned stimulus (CS) is separated by a time interval from the unconditioned stimulus (US), which activates the prelimbic cortex (PL) to maintain a CS representation over time. However, it is unknown whether the PL participates, besides the encoding, in the memory consolidation, and thus directly, with activity-dependent changes or indirectly, by modulation of activity-dependent changes in other brain regions. We investigated brain regions supporting the consolidation of associations with intervals and the influence of PL activity in this consolidation process. For this, we observed in Wistar rats the effect of pre-training PL inactivation by muscimol in CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein) phosphorylation, which is essential for memory consolidation, in subdivisions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus, and amygdala 3 h after the training in the contextual fear conditioning (CFC) or CFC with 5-s interval (CFC-5s), fear associations without or with an interval between the CS and US, respectively. Both the CFC-5s and CFC training increased phosphorylation of CREB in the PL and infralimbic cortex (IL); lateral (LA) and basolateral (BLA) amygdala; dorsal CA1 (dCA1); dorsal (dDG), and ventral dentate gyrus, and the CFC-5s training in the central amygdala (CEA). PL activity was necessary for the CREB phosphorylation in the PL, BLA, CEA, dCA1, and dDG only in animals trained in the CFC-5s. The cingulate cortex, ventral CA1, and ventral subiculum did not have learning-induced phosphorylation of CREB. These results suggest that the mPFC, hippocampus, and amygdala support the consolidation of associations with or without intervals and that PL activity influences consolidation in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala in temporal associations. Thereby, the PL contributes directly and indirectly by modulation to memory consolidation. The time interval engaged the PL early in recent memory consolidation. Results expanded PL's role beyond the time interval and remote memory consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thays Brenner Santos
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Carlota Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil.,Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul - UNICSUL, São Paulo, Brazil
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26
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Asch RH, Pothula S, Toyonaga T, Fowles K, Groman SM, Garcia-Milian R, DiLeone RJ, Taylor JR, Esterlis I. Examining sex differences in responses to footshock stress and the role of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5: an [ 18F]FPEB and positron emission tomography study in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:489-497. [PMID: 36100654 PMCID: PMC9852230 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01441-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Clinical investigations suggest involvement of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in the pathophysiology of fear learning that underlies trauma-related disorders. Here, we utilized a 4-day fear learning paradigm combined with positron emission tomography (PET) to examine the relationship between mGluR5 availability and differences in the response of rats to repeated footshock exposure (FE). Specifically, on day 1, male (n = 16) and female (n = 12) rats received 15 footshocks and were compared with control rats who did not receive footshocks (n = 7 male; n = 4 female). FE rats were classified as low responders (LR) or high responders (HR) based on freezing to the context the following day (day 2). PET with [18F]FPEB was used to calculate regional mGluR5 binding potential (BPND) at two timepoints: prior to FE (i.e., baseline), and post-behavioral testing. Additionally, we used an unbiased proteomics approach to assess group and sex differences in prefrontal cortex (PFC) protein expression. Post-behavioral testing we observed decreased BPND in LR females, but increased BPND in HR males relative to baseline. Further, individuals displaying the greatest freezing during the FE context memory test had the largest increases in PFC BPND. Males and females displayed unique post-test molecular profiles: in males, the greatest differences were between FE and CON, including upregulation of mGluR5 and related molecular networks in FE, whereas the greatest differences among females were between the LR and HR groups. These findings suggest greater mGluR5 availability increases following footshock exposure may be related to greater contextual fear memory. Results additionally reveal sex differences in the molecular response to footshock, including differential involvement of mGluR5-related molecular networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth H Asch
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Santosh Pothula
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Takuya Toyonaga
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Krista Fowles
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stephanie M Groman
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Rolando Garcia-Milian
- Bioinformatics Support Program, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ralph J DiLeone
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jane R Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Irina Esterlis
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, USA
- US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
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27
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Asch RH, Fowles K, Pietrzak RH, Taylor JR, Esterlis I. Examining mGlu5 Receptor Availability as a Predictor of Vulnerability to PTSD: An [ 18F]FPEB and PET Study in Male and Female Rats. CHRONIC STRESS (THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.) 2023; 7:24705470231215001. [PMID: 38024327 PMCID: PMC10666551 DOI: 10.1177/24705470231215001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Background Females are twice as likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males, yet specific factors contributing to this greater risk are not fully understood. Our clinical and recent preclinical findings suggest a role for the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) in PTSD and differential involvement between males and females. Methods Here, we further investigate whether mGlu5 receptor availability may contribute to individual and sex differences in PTSD susceptibility by quantifying receptor availability using the mGlu5 receptor-specific radiotracer, [18F]FPEB, and positron emission tomography in male (n = 16) and female (n = 16) rats before and after traumatic footshock exposure (FE) and assessment of stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL) susceptibility, as compared with no-shock controls (CON; n = 7 male; n = 8 female). Results Overall, FE rats displayed greater fear generalization as compared with CON (p < .001). Further, greater mGlu5 receptor availability at baseline (p = .003) and post-test (p = .005) was significantly associated with expression of the SEFL phenotype. Notably, FE female rats displayed a shift to more passive coping (ie, freezing), and displayed greater SEFL susceptibility (p = .01), and had lower baseline mGlu5 availability (p = .03) relative to their FE male rat counterparts. Conclusion Results are consistent with clinical findings of higher mGlu5 receptor availability in PTSD, and add to growing evidence implicating these receptors in the pathophysiology of PTSD and sex-differences in susceptibility for this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth H. Asch
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Krista Fowles
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Robert H. Pietrzak
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jane R. Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Irina Esterlis
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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28
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Bauer EP. Sex differences in fear responses: Neural circuits. Neuropharmacology 2023; 222:109298. [PMID: 36328063 PMCID: PMC11267399 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Women have increased vulnerability to PTSD and anxiety disorders compared to men. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of these disorders is critical for identifying risk factors and developing appropriate sex-specific interventions. Despite the clear clinical relevance of an examination of sex differences in fear responses, the vast majority of pre-clinical research on fear learning and memory formation has exclusively used male animals. This review highlights sex differences in context and cued fear conditioning, fear extinction and fear generalization with a focus on the neural circuits underlying these behaviors in rodents. There are mixed reports of behavioral sex differences in context and cued fear conditioning paradigms, which can depend upon the behavioral indices of fear. However, there is greater evidence of differential activation of the hippocampus, amygdalar nuclei and the prefrontal cortical regions in male and female rodents during context and cued fear conditioning. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a sexually dimorphic structure, is of particular interest as it differentially contributes to fear responses in males and females. In addition, while the influence of the estrous cycle on different phases of fear conditioning is delineated, the clearest modulatory effect of estrogen is on fear extinction processes. Examining the variability in neural responses and behavior in both sexes should increase our understanding of how that variability contributes to the neurobiology of affective disorders. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Fear, anxiety and PTSD'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth P Bauer
- Departments of Biology and Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College of Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, United States.
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29
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De Corte BJ, Farley SJ, Heslin KA, Parker KL, Freeman JH. The dorsal hippocampus' role in context-based timing in rodents. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 194:107673. [PMID: 35985617 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107673] [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: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
To act proactively, we must predict when future events will occur. Individuals generate temporal predictions using cues that indicate an event will happen after a certain duration elapses. Neural models of timing focus on how the brain represents these cue-duration associations. However, these models often overlook the fact that situational factors frequently modulate temporal expectations. For example, in realistic environments, the intervals associated with different cues will often covary due to a common underlying cause. According to the 'common cause hypothesis,' observers anticipate this covariance such that, when one cue's interval changes, temporal expectations for other cues shift in the same direction. Furthermore, as conditions will often differ across environments, the same cue can mean different things in different contexts. Therefore, updates to temporal expectations should be context-specific. Behavioral work supports these predictions, yet their underlying neural mechanisms are unclear. Here, we asked whether the dorsal hippocampus mediates context-based timing, given its broad role in context-conditioning. Specifically, we trained rats with either hippocampal or sham lesions that two cues predicted reward after either a short or long duration elapsed (e.g., tone-8 s/light-16 s). Then, we moved rats to a new context and extended the long cue's interval (e.g., light-32 s). This caused rats to respond later to the short cue, despite never being trained to do so. Importantly, when returned to the initial training context, sham rats shifted back toward both cues' original intervals. In contrast, lesion rats continued to respond at the long cue's newer interval. Surprisingly, they still showed contextual modulation for the short cue, responding earlier like shams. These data suggest the hippocampus only mediates context-based timing if a cue is explicitly paired and/or rewarded across distinct contexts. Furthermore, as lesions did not impact timing measures at baseline or acquisition for the long cue's new interval, our data suggests that the hippocampus only modulates timing when context is relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J De Corte
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sean J Farley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Kelsey A Heslin
- Department of Neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Krystal L Parker
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - John H Freeman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
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30
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Smith NJ, Markowitz SY, Hoffman AN, Fanselow MS. Adaptation of Threat Responses Within the Negative Valence Framework. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:886771. [PMID: 35694043 PMCID: PMC9178277 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.886771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
External threats are a major source of our experience of negatively valanced emotion. As a threat becomes closer and more real, our specific behavior patterns and our experiences of negative affect change in response to the perceived imminence of threat. Recognizing this, the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Negative Valence system is largely based around different levels of threat imminence. This perspective describes the correspondence between the RDoC Negative Valence System and a particular neurobiological/neuroecological model of reactions to threat, the Predatory Imminence Continuum (PIC) Theory. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustration, we describe both adaptive and maladaptive behavior patterns from this perspective to illustrate how behavior in response to a crisis may get shaped. We end with suggestions on how further consideration of the PIC suggests potential modifications of the negative valence systems RDoC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy J. Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sara Y. Markowitz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Ann N. Hoffman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael S. Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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31
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Medeiros KAAL, Almeida-Souza TH, Silva RS, Santos HF, Santos EV, Gois AM, Leal PC, Santos JR. Involvement of nitric oxide in the neurobiology of fear-like behavior. Nitric Oxide 2022; 124:24-31. [PMID: 35533947 DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2022.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Fear is an emotional reaction that arises in dangerous situations, inducing the adaptation to an existing condition. This behavior was conserved in all vertebrates throughout evolution and is observed in mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. The neurocircuitry of fear involves areas of the limbic system, cortical regions, midbrain, and brainstem. These areas communicate with each other so that there is an expression of fear and memory formation to deal with the same situation at another time. The effect of nitric oxide (NO) on fear modulation has been explored. NO is a gaseous compound that easily diffuses through the cell membrane and is produced through the oxidation reaction of l-Arginine to l-citrulline catalyzed by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Activating the intracellular NO receptor (soluble guanylyl cyclase enzyme - sGC) triggers an enzymatic cascade that can culminate in plastic events in the neuron. NOS inhibitors induce anxiolytic-like responses in fear modulation, whereas NO donors promote fear- and anxiety-like behaviors. This review describes the neurobiology of fear in mammals and non-mammals, how NO is produced in the central nervous system, and how NO acts in fear-like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katty A A L Medeiros
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil
| | - Thiago H Almeida-Souza
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristovão, SE, Brazil
| | - Rodolfo S Silva
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil
| | - Heitor F Santos
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil
| | - Eliziane V Santos
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil
| | - Auderlan M Gois
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil
| | - Pollyana C Leal
- Graduate Program of Dentistry, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, SE, Brazil
| | - José R Santos
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Evolutionary Neurobiology, Department of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil.
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32
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Ortega-de San Luis C, Ryan TJ. Understanding the physical basis of memory: Molecular mechanisms of the engram. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:101866. [PMID: 35346687 PMCID: PMC9065729 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Memory, defined as the storage and use of learned information in the brain, is necessary to modulate behavior and critical for animals to adapt to their environments and survive. Despite being a cornerstone of brain function, questions surrounding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of how information is encoded, stored, and recalled remain largely unanswered. One widely held theory is that an engram is formed by a group of neurons that are active during learning, which undergoes biochemical and physical changes to store information in a stable state, and that are later reactivated during recall of the memory. In the past decade, the development of engram labeling methodologies has proven useful to investigate the biology of memory at the molecular and cellular levels. Engram technology allows the study of individual memories associated with particular experiences and their evolution over time, with enough experimental resolution to discriminate between different memory processes: learning (encoding), consolidation (the passage from short-term to long-term memories), and storage (the maintenance of memory in the brain). Here, we review the current understanding of memory formation at a molecular and cellular level by focusing on insights provided using engram technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Ortega-de San Luis
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Tomás J Ryan
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Child & Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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33
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Hodges TE, Lee GY, Noh SH, Galea LA. Sex and age differences in cognitive bias and neural activation in response to cognitive bias testing. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100458. [PMID: 35586750 PMCID: PMC9109184 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive symptoms of depression, including negative cognitive bias, are more severe in women than in men. Current treatments to reduce negative cognitive bias are not effective and sex differences in the neural activity underlying cognitive bias may play a role. Here we examined sex and age differences in cognitive bias and functional connectivity in a novel paradigm. Male and female rats underwent an 18-day cognitive bias procedure, in which they learned to discriminate between two contexts (shock paired context A, no-shock paired context B), during either adolescence (postnatal day (PD 40)), young adulthood (PD 100), or middle-age (PD 210). Cognitive bias was measured as freezing behaviour in response to an ambiguous context (context C), with freezing levels akin to the shock paired context coded as negative bias. All animals learned to discriminate between the two contexts, regardless of sex or age. However, adults (young adults, middle-aged) displayed a greater negative cognitive bias compared to adolescents, and middle-aged males had a greater negative cognitive bias than middle-aged females. Females had greater neural activation of the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and hippocampal regions to the ambiguous context compared to males, and young rats (adolescent, young adults) had greater neural activation in these regions compared to middle-aged rats. Functional connectivity between regions involved in cognitive bias differed by age and sex, and only adult males had negative correlations between the frontal regions and hippocampal regions. These findings highlight the importance of examining age and sex when investigating the underpinnings of negative cognitive bias and lay the groundwork for determining what age- and sex-specific regions to target in future cognitive bias studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis E. Hodges
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Grace Y. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sophia H. Noh
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Liisa A.M. Galea
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Canada
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Diniz CRAF, da Silva LA, Domingos LB, Sonego AB, Moraes LRB, Joca S. Fluoxetine acts concomitantly on dorsal and ventral hippocampus to Trk-dependently modulate the extinction of fear memory. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 113:110451. [PMID: 34619303 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hippocampus can be divided along its longitudinal axis into dorsal and ventral parts, which play different roles in modulating the behavioral responses to stress. However, it is not clear whether the hippocampal subregions could also differently modulate the effect of antidepressant drugs. Since fluoxetine (FLX) effect on extinction of aversive memory is well known to depend on hippocampal BDNF levels, we hypothesized that the hippocampal subregions might play different roles in fluoxetine efficacy in decreasing fear response. METHOD Wistar rats were fear-cued conditioned and treated chronically with FLX to subsequently investigate their extinction memory. BDNF levels were assessed separately in the dorsal (dHC) and ventral (vHC) hippocampus in animals chronically treated with FLX. An independent group received K252a (a functional Trk blocker) infusion into the dHC or vHC to assay its interaction with FLX treatment along the fear response. Next, BDNF was directly infused into either the dHC or vHC to the behavior be compared with those induced by chronic FLX treatment. Finally, FLX effect on c-Fos expression was evaluated also considering the dHC and vHC apart, along with subareas of amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. RESULTS BDNF levels were increased in the vHC after acute FLX, and in the dHC after chronic FLX treatment. FLX effect on fear response was blocked by K252a administration into either dHC or vHC, after the extinction protocol. BDNF administration into the dHC increased fear response, however its administration into the vHC induced an opposite effect. Besides, a negative correlation between the fear response and c-Fos expression in the dHC CA3/CA1 and vHC CA1/DG was observed after chronic FLX treatment. CONCLUSION Both dHC and vHC are essential for the Trk-dependent effect of FLX on extinction memory, although a discrepancy in the fear response was observed with the infusion of BDNF into the dHC or vHC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Sâmia Joca
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-9034, Brazil; Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
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Namkung H, Thomas KL, Hall J, Sawa A. Parsing neural circuits of fear learning and extinction across basic and clinical neuroscience: Towards better translation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104502. [PMID: 34921863 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.025] [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: 06/12/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decades, studies of fear learning and extinction have advanced our understanding of the neurobiology of threat and safety learning. Animal studies can provide mechanistic/causal insights into human brain regions and their functional connectivity involved in fear learning and extinction. Findings in humans, conversely, may further enrich our understanding of neural circuits in animals by providing macroscopic insights at the level of brain-wide networks. Nevertheless, there is still much room for improvement in translation between basic and clinical research on fear learning and extinction. Through the lens of neural circuits, in this article, we aim to review the current knowledge of fear learning and extinction in both animals and humans, and to propose strategies to fill in the current knowledge gap for the purpose of enhancing clinical benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ho Namkung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Kerrie L Thomas
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Jeremy Hall
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Akira Sawa
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
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36
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Lee JQ, McHugh R, Morgan E, Sutherland RJ, McDonald RJ. Behaviour-driven Arc expression is greater in dorsal than ventral CA1 regardless of task or sex differences. Behav Brain Res 2022; 423:113790. [PMID: 35149121 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from genetic, behavioural, anatomical, and physiological study suggests that the hippocampus functionally differs across its longitudinal (dorsoventral or septotemporal) axis. Although, how to best characterize functional and representational differences in the hippocampus across its long axis remains unclear. While some suggest that the hippocampus can be divided into dorsal and ventral subregions that support distinct cognitive functions, others posit that these regions vary in their granularity of representation, wherein spatial-temporal resolution decreases in the ventral (temporal) direction. Importantly, the cognitive and granular hypotheses also make distinct predictions on cellular recruitment dynamics under conditions when animals perform tasks with qualitatively different cognitive-behavioural demands. One interpretation of the cognitive function account implies that dorsal and ventral cellular recruitment differs depending on relevant behavioural demands, while the granularity account suggests similar recruitment dynamics regardless of the nature of the task performed. Here, we quantified cellular recruitment with the immediate early gene (IEG) Arc across the entire longitudinal CA1 axis in female and male rats performing spatial- and fear-guided memory tasks. Our results show that recruitment is greater in dorsal than ventral CA1 regardless of task or sex, and thus support a granular view of hippocampal function across the long axis. We further discuss how future experiments might determine the relative contributions of cognitive function and granularity of representation to neuronal activity dynamics in hippocampal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Quinn Lee
- Department of Neuroscience, Science Commons, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6T5, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, 6875 Boulevard LaSalle, Verdun, QC H4H 1R3, Canada.
| | - Rebecca McHugh
- Department of Neuroscience, Science Commons, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6T5, Canada
| | - Erik Morgan
- Department of Neuroscience, Science Commons, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6T5, Canada
| | - Robert J Sutherland
- Department of Neuroscience, Science Commons, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6T5, Canada
| | - Robert J McDonald
- Department of Neuroscience, Science Commons, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB T1K 6T5, Canada
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The Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Fear Memory: Dynamics, Connectivity, and Engrams. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222212113. [PMID: 34830009 PMCID: PMC8619965 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222212113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
It is becoming increasingly apparent that long-term memory formation relies on a distributed network of brain areas. While the hippocampus has been at the center of attention for decades, it is now clear that other regions, in particular the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), are taking an active part as well. Recent evidence suggests that the mPFC-traditionally implicated in the long-term storage of memories-is already critical for the early phases of memory formation such as encoding. In this review, we summarize these findings, relate them to the functional importance of the mPFC connectivity, and discuss the role of the mPFC during memory consolidation with respect to the different theories of memory storage. Owing to its high functional connectivity to other brain areas subserving memory formation and storage, the mPFC emerges as a central hub across the lifetime of a memory, although much still remains to be discovered.
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Cocina F, Vitalis A, Caflisch A. Unsupervised Methods for Detection of Neural States: Case Study of Hippocampal-Amygdala Interactions. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0484-20.2021. [PMID: 34544761 PMCID: PMC8577062 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0484-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus and amygdala are functionally coupled brain regions that play a crucial role in processes involving memory and learning. Because interareal communication has been reported both during specific sleep stages and in awake, behaving animals, these brain regions can serve as an archetype to establish that measuring functional interactions is important for comprehending neural systems. To this end, we analyze here a public dataset of local field potentials (LFPs) recorded in rats simultaneously from the hippocampus and amygdala during different behaviors. Employing a specific, time-lagged embedding technique, named topological causality (TC), we infer directed interactions between the LFP band powers of the two regions across six frequency bands in a time-resolved manner. The combined power and interaction signals are processed with our own unsupervised tools developed originally for the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations to effectively visualize and identify putative, neural states that are visited by the animals repeatedly. Our proposed methodology minimizes impositions onto the data, such as isolating specific epochs, or averaging across externally annotated behavioral stages, and succeeds in separating internal states by external labels such as sleep or stimulus events. We show that this works better for two of the three rats we analyzed, and highlight the need to acknowledge individuality in analyses of this type. Importantly, we demonstrate that the quantification of functional interactions is a significant factor in discriminating these external labels, and we suggest our methodology as a general tool for large, multisite recordings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Cocina
- Biochemistry department, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland CH-8057
| | - Andreas Vitalis
- Biochemistry department, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland CH-8057
| | - Amedeo Caflisch
- Biochemistry department, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland CH-8057
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Bostanciklioğlu M. Neuromodulation of Memory Formation and Extinction. Curr Neurovasc Res 2021; 17:319-326. [PMID: 32316891 DOI: 10.2174/1567202617999200421202818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Memory retrieval is mediated by discharges of acetylcholine, glutamate, gammaaminobutyric acid, norepinephrine, and serotonin/5-hydroxytryptamine circuits. These projections and memory interact through engram circuits, neurobiological traces of memory. Increased excitability in engram circuits of the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus results in remote and recent memory retrievals, respectively. However, due to degenerated neurotransmitter projections, the excitability state of engram circuits is decreased in the patient with dementia; and thus, acquired- memory cannot be retrieved by natural cues. Here, we suggest that artificial neuropharmacological stimulations of the acquired-memory with an excitation potential higher than a natural cue can excite engram circuits in the medial prefrontal cortex, which results in the retrieval of lost memories in dementia. The neuropharmacological foundations of engram cell-mediated memory retrieval strategy in severe dementia, in line with this has also been explained. We particularly highlighted the close interactions between periaqueductal gray, locus coeruleus, raphe nuclei, and medial prefrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala as treatment targets for memory loss. Furthermore, the engram circuits projecting raphe nuclei, locus coeruleus, and pontomesencephalic tegmentum complex could be significant targets of memory editing and memory formation in the absence of experience, and a well-defined study of the neural events underlying the interaction of brain stem and memory will be relevant for such developments. We anticipate our perspective to be a starting point for more sophisticated in vivo models for neuropharmacological modulations of memory retrieval in Alzheimer's dementia.
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Peng X, Burwell RD. Beyond the hippocampus: The role of parahippocampal-prefrontal communication in context-modulated behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 185:107520. [PMID: 34537379 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Multiple paradigms indicate that the physical environment can influence spontaneous and learned behavior. In rodents, context-dependent behavior is putatively supported by the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe. A preponderance of the literature has targeted the role of the hippocampus. In addition to the hippocampus proper, the medial temporal lobe also comprises parahippocampal areas, including the perirhinal and postrhinal cortices. These parahippocampal areas directly connect with multiple regions in the prefrontal cortex. The function of these connections, however, is not well understood. This article first reviews the involvement of the perirhinal, postrhinal, and prefrontal cortices in context-dependent behavior in rodents. Then, based on functional and anatomical evidence, we suggest that perirhinal and postrhinal contributions to context-dependent behavior go beyond supporting context representation in the hippocampus. Specifically, we propose that the perirhinal and postrhinal cortices act as a contextual-support network that directly provides contextual and spatial information to the prefrontal cortex. In turn, the perirhinal and postrhinal cortices modulate prefrontal input to the hippocampus in the service of context-guided behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyuan Peng
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Rebecca D Burwell
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
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41
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McMakin DL, Kimbler A, Tustison NJ, Pettit JW, Mattfeld AT. Negative Overgeneralization is Associated with Anxiety and Mechanisms of Pattern Completion in Peripubertal Youth. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:231-240. [PMID: 34270763 PMCID: PMC8847909 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examines neural mechanisms of negative overgeneralization, the increased likelihood of generalizing negative information, in peri-puberty. Theories suggest that weak pattern separation (overlapping representations are made distinct, indexed by DG/CA3 hippocampal subfield activation) underlies negative overgeneralization. We alternatively propose that neuro-maturational changes that favor pattern completion (cues reinstate stored representations, indexed by CA1 activation) are modulated by circuitry involved in emotional responding (amygdala, medial prefrontal cortices [mPFC]) to drive negative overgeneralization. Youth (N=34, 9-14 years) recruited from community and clinic settings participated in an emotional mnemonic similarity task while undergoing MRI. At Study, participants indicated the valence of images; at Test, participants made recognition memory judgments. Critical lure stimuli, that were similar to images at Study, were presented at Test, and errors ("false alarms") to negative relative to neutral stimuli reflected negative overgeneralization. Negative overgeneralization was related to greater and more similar patterns of activation in CA1 and both dorsal and ventral mPFC for negative relative to neutral stimuli. At Study, amygdala exhibited greater functional coupling with CA1 and dorsal mPFC during negative items that were later generalized. Negative overgeneralization is rooted in amygdala and mPFC modulation at encoding and pattern completion at retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana L McMakin
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA.,Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA.,Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA
| | - Adam Kimbler
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA
| | - Nicholas J Tustison
- Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
| | - Jeremy W Pettit
- Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA.,Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA
| | - Aaron T Mattfeld
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA.,Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199 USA
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42
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Yoo S, Stremlau M, Pinto A, Woo H, Curtis O, van Praag H. Effects of Combined Anti-Hypertensive and Statin Treatment on Memory, Fear Extinction, Adult Neurogenesis, and Angiogenesis in Adult and Middle-Aged Mice. Cells 2021; 10:1778. [PMID: 34359946 PMCID: PMC8304131 DOI: 10.3390/cells10071778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyperlipidemia and hypertension are modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline. About 25% of adults over age 65 use both antihypertensives (AHTs) and statins to treat these conditions. Recent research in humans suggests that their combined use may delay or prevent dementia onset. However, it is not clear whether and how combination treatment may benefit brain function. To begin to address this question, we examined effects of atorvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, and Captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), administration on memory function, anxiety-like behavior, adult hippocampal neurogenesis and angiogenesis in adult and middle-aged male C57Bl/6J mice. In adult mice (3-months-old) combination (combo) treatment, as well as administration of each compound individually, for six weeks, accelerated memory extinction in contextual fear conditioning. However, pattern separation in the touchscreen-based location discrimination test, a behavior linked to adult hippocampal neurogenesis, was unchanged. In addition, dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis and vascularization were unaffected. In middle-aged mice (10-months-old) combo treatment had no effect on spatial memory in the Morris water maze, but did reduce anxiety in the open field test. A potential underlying mechanism may be the modest increase in new hippocampal neurons (~20%) in the combo as compared to the control group. DG vascularization was not altered. Overall, our findings suggest that statin and anti-hypertensive treatment may serve as a potential pharmacotherapeutic approach for anxiety, in particular for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients who have impairments in extinction of aversive memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungwoo Yoo
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA; (S.Y.); (A.P.); (H.W.); (O.C.)
| | | | - Alejandro Pinto
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA; (S.Y.); (A.P.); (H.W.); (O.C.)
| | - Hyewon Woo
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA; (S.Y.); (A.P.); (H.W.); (O.C.)
| | - Olivia Curtis
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA; (S.Y.); (A.P.); (H.W.); (O.C.)
| | - Henriette van Praag
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA; (S.Y.); (A.P.); (H.W.); (O.C.)
- National Institute on Aging (NIA), Baltimore, MD 21224, USA;
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Icenhour A, Petrakova L, Hazzan N, Theysohn N, Merz CJ, Elsenbruch S. When gut feelings teach the brain to fear pain: Context-dependent activation of the central fear network in a novel interoceptive conditioning paradigm. Neuroimage 2021; 238:118229. [PMID: 34082119 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The relevance of contextual factors in shaping neural mechanisms underlying visceral pain-related fear learning remains elusive. However, benign interoceptive sensations, which shape patients' clinical reality, may context-dependently become conditioned predictors of impending visceral pain. In a novel context-dependent interoceptive conditioning paradigm, we elucidated the putative role of the central fear network in the acquisition and extinction of pain-related fear induced by interoceptive cues and pain-predictive contexts. In this fMRI study involving rectal distensions as a clinically-relevant model of visceroception, N = 27 healthy men and women underwent differential conditioning. During acquisition training, visceral sensations of low intensity as conditioned stimuli (CS) predicted visceral pain as unconditioned stimulus (US) in one context (Con+), or safety from pain in another context (Con-). During extinction training, interoceptive CS remained unpaired in both contexts, which were operationalized as images of different rooms presented in the MRI scanner. Successful contextual conditioning was supported by increased negative valence of Con+ compared to Con- after acquisition training, which resolved after extinction training. Although interoceptive CS were perceived as comparatively pleasant, they induced significantly greater neural activation of the amygdala, ventromedial PFC, and hippocampus when presented in Con+, while contexts alone did not elicit differential responses. During extinction training, a shift from CS to context differentiation was observed, with enhanced responses in the amygdala, ventromedial, and ventrolateral PFC to Con+ relative to Con-, whereas no CS-induced differential activation emerged. Context-dependent interoceptive conditioning can turn benign interoceptive cues into predictors of visceral pain that recruit key regions of the fear network. This first evidence expands knowledge about learning and memory mechanisms underlying interoceptive hypervigilance and maladaptive avoidance behavior, with implications for disorders of the gut-brain axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriane Icenhour
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, Essen 45147, Germany.
| | - Liubov Petrakova
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitaetsstr. 150, Bochum 44801 Germany
| | - Nelly Hazzan
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, Essen 45147, Germany
| | - Nina Theysohn
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, Essen 45147, Germany
| | - Christian J Merz
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitaetsstr. 150, Bochum 44801, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, Essen 45147, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitaetsstr. 150, Bochum 44801 Germany
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Developing of Focal Ischemia in the Hippocampus or the Amygdala Reveals a Regional Compensation Rule for Fear Memory Acquisition. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0398-20.2021. [PMID: 33785521 PMCID: PMC8174052 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0398-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Circuit compensation is often observed in patients with acute ischemic stroke, suggesting the importance of the interaction between brain regions. Also, contextual fear memory is an association between multisensory contexts and fearful stimuli, for which the interaction between the hippocampus and the amygdala is believed to be critical. To understand how focal ischemia in one region could influence the other region, we used a modified photo-thrombosis to induce focal ischemia in the hippocampus or the amygdala or both in freely-moving rats. We found that the learning curve and short-term memory (STM) were not affected in the rats although focal ischemia was induced 5 h before learning in either the hippocampus or the amygdala; these were impaired by the induction of ischemia in both the regions. Furthermore, the learning curve and STM were impaired when ischemia was induced 24 h before learning in either the hippocampus or the amygdala when the synaptic transmission was altered in one region because of ischemia in the other region. These results suggest that the circuit compensation between the hippocampus and the amygdala is critical for fear memory acquisition.
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Asim M, Wang B, Hao B, Wang X. Ketamine for post-traumatic stress disorders and it's possible therapeutic mechanism. Neurochem Int 2021; 146:105044. [PMID: 33862176 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a devastating medical illness, for which currently available pharmacotherapies have poor efficacy. Accumulating evidence from clinical and preclinical animal investigations supports that ketamine exhibits a rapid and persistent effect against PTSD, though the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be clarified. In this literature review, we recapitulate the achievements from early ketamine studies to the most up-to-date discoveries, with an effort to discuss an inclusive therapeutic role of ketamine for PTSD treatment and its possible therapeutic mechanism. Ketamine seems to have an inimitable mechanism of action entailing glutamate modulation via actions at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptors, as well as downstream activation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways to potentiate synaptic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Asim
- Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Science, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong; Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bing Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Bo Hao
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoguang Wang
- Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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Gomis-González M, Galera-López L, Ten-Blanco M, Busquets-Garcia A, Cox T, Maldonado R, Ozaita A. Protein Kinase C-Gamma Knockout Mice Show Impaired Hippocampal Short-Term Memory While Preserved Long-Term Memory. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:617-630. [PMID: 32996086 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02135-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The brain encodes, stores, and retrieves relevant information in the form of memories that are classified as short-term (STM) and long-term memories (LTM) depending on the interval between acquisition and retrieval. It is classically accepted that STM undergo a consolidation process to form LTM, but the molecular determinants involved are not well understood. Among the molecular components relevant for memory formation, we focused our attention on the protein kinase C (PKC) family of enzymes since they control key aspects of the synaptic plasticity and memory. Within the different PKC isoforms, PKC-gamma has been specifically associated with learning and memory since mice lacking this isoform (PKC-gamma KO mice) showed mild cognitive impairment and deficits in hippocampal synaptic plasticity. We now reveal that PKC-gamma KO mice present a severe impairment in hippocampal-dependent STM using different memory tests including the novel object-recognition and novel place-recognition, context fear conditioning and trace fear conditioning. In contrast, no differences between genotypes were observed in an amygdala-dependent test, the delay fear conditioning. Strikingly, all LTM tasks that could be assessed 24 h after acquisition were not perturbed in the KO mice. The analysis of c-Fos expression in several brain areas after trace fear conditioning acquisition showed a blunted response in the dentate gyrus of PKC-gamma KO mice compared with WT mice, but such differences between genotypes were absent when the amygdala or the prefrontal cortex were examined. In the hippocampus, PKC-gamma was found to translocate to the membrane after auditory trace, but not after delay fear conditioning. Together, these results indicate that PKC-gamma dysfunction affects specifically hippocampal-dependent STM performance and disclose PKC-gamma as a molecular player differentially involved in STM and LTM processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Gomis-González
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lorena Galera-López
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marc Ten-Blanco
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Faculty of Experimental Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, UFV, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Arnau Busquets-Garcia
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Thomas Cox
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, GU2 7WG, Guildford, UK
| | - Rafael Maldonado
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
- IMIM, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
- Laboratori de Neurofarmacologia, Facultat de Ciències de la Salut i de la Vida, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, C/ Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Andrés Ozaita
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
- IMIM, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
- Laboratori de Neurofarmacologia, Facultat de Ciències de la Salut i de la Vida, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, C/ Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
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Stanton ME, Murawski NJ, Jablonski SA, Robinson-Drummer PA, Heroux NA. Mechanisms of context conditioning in the developing rat. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 179:107388. [PMID: 33482320 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The article reviews our studies of contextual fear conditioning (CFC) in rats during a period of development---Postnatal Day (PND) 17-33---that represents the late-infant, juvenile, and early-adolescent stages. These studies seek to acquire 'systems level' knowledge of brain and memory development and apply it to a rodent model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This rodent model focuses on alcohol exposure from PND4-9, a period of brain development equivalent to the human third trimester, when neocortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum are especially vulnerable to adverse effects of alcohol. Our research emphasizes a variant of CFC, termed the Context Preexposure Facilitation Effect (CPFE, Fanselow, 1990), in which context representations incidentally learned on one occasion are retrieved and associated with immediate shock on a subsequent occasion. These representations can be encoded at the earliest developmental stage but seem not to be retained or retrieved until the juvenile period. This is associated with developmental differences in context-elicited expression, in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, of immediate early genes (IEGs) that are implicated in long-term memory. Loss-of-function studies establish a functional role for these regions as soon as the CPFE emerges during ontogeny. In our rodent model of FASD, the CPFE is much more sensitive to alcohol dose than other commonly used cognitive tasks. This impairment can be reversed by acute administration during behavioral testing of drugs that enhance cholinergic function. This effect is associated with normalized IEG expression in prefrontal cortex during incidental context learning. In summary, our findings suggest that long-term memory of incidentally-learned context representations depends on prefrontal-hippocampal circuitry that is important both for the normative development of context conditioning and for its disruption by developmental alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Stanton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States.
| | - Nathen J Murawski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States
| | - Sarah A Jablonski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States
| | | | - Nicholas A Heroux
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States
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Krasne FB, Zinn R, Vissel B, Fanselow MS. Extinction and discrimination in a Bayesian model of context fear conditioning (BaconX). Hippocampus 2021; 31:790-814. [PMID: 33452843 PMCID: PMC8359206 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23298] [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: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The extinction of contextual fear is commonly an essential requirement for successful exposure therapy for fear disorders. However, experimental work on extinction of contextual fear is limited, and there little or no directly relevant theoretical work. Here, we extend BACON, a neurocomputational model of context fear conditioning that provides plausible explanations for a number of aspects of context fear conditioning, to deal with extinction (calling the model BaconX). In this model, contextual representations are formed in the hippocampus and association of fear to them occurs in the amygdala. Representation creation, conditionability, and development of between‐session extinction are controlled by degree of confidence (assessed by the Bayesian weight of evidence) that an active contextual representation is in fact that of the current context (i.e., is “valid”). The model predicts that: (1) extinction which persists between sessions will occur only if at a sessions end there is high confidence that the active representation is valid. It follows that the shorter the context placement‐to‐US (shock) interval (“PSI”) and the less is therefore learned about context, the longer extinction sessions must be for enduring extinction to occur, while too short PSIs will preclude successful extinction. (2) Short‐PSI deficits can be rescued by contextual exposure even after conditioning has occurred. (3) Learning to discriminate well between a conditioned and similar safe context requires representations of each to form, which may not occur if PSI was too short. (4) Extinction‐causing inhibition must be applied downstream of the conditioning locus for reasonable generalization properties to be generated. (5) Context change tends to cause return of extinguished contextual fear. (6). Extinction carried out in the conditioning context generalizes better than extinction executed in contexts to which fear has generalized (as done in exposure therapy). (7) BaconX suggests novel approaches to exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franklin B Krasne
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Raphael Zinn
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Bryce Vissel
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.,St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Health Network Sydney, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Department of Psychology and Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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49
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Absence Makes the Mind Grow Fonder: Reconceptualizing Studies of Safety Learning in Translational Research on Anxiety. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:1-13. [PMID: 33420710 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00855-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Overgeneralized fear (OGF), or indiscriminate fear responses to signals of threat and nonthreat, is a well-studied cognitive mechanism in human anxiety. Anxiety-related OGF has been studied primarily through fear-learning paradigms and conceptualized as overly exaggerated learning of cues signaling imminent threat. However, the role of safety learning in OGF has not only received much less empirical attention but has been fundamentally conceptualized as learning about the absence of threat rather than the presence of safety. As a result, the relative contributions of exaggerated fear learning and weakened safety learning to anxiety-related OGF remain poorly understood, as do the potentially unique biological and behavioral underpinnings of safety learning. The present review outlines these gaps by, first, summarizing animal and human research on safety learning related to anxiety and OGF. Second, we outline innovations in methods to tease apart unique biological and behavioral contributions of safety learning to OGF. Lastly, we describe clinical and treatment implications of this framework for translational research relevant to human anxiety.
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50
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Simonetti M, Paldy E, Njoo C, Bali KK, Worzfeld T, Pitzer C, Kuner T, Offermanns S, Mauceri D, Kuner R. The impact of Semaphorin 4C/Plexin-B2 signaling on fear memory via remodeling of neuronal and synaptic morphology. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:1376-1398. [PMID: 31444474 PMCID: PMC7985029 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0491-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant fear is a cornerstone of several psychiatric disorders. Consequently, there is large interest in elucidation of signaling mechanisms that link extracellular cues to changes in neuronal function and structure in brain pathways that are important in the generation and maintenance of fear memory and its behavioral expression. Members of the Plexin-B family of receptors for class 4 semaphorins play important roles in developmental plasticity of neurons, and their expression persists in some areas of the adult nervous system. Here, we aimed to elucidate the role of Semaphorin 4C (Sema4C) and its cognate receptor, Plexin-B2, in the expression of contextual and cued fear memory, setting a mechanistic focus on structural plasticity and exploration of contributing signaling pathways. We observed that Plexin-B2 and Sema4C are expressed in forebrain areas related to fear memory, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala and the hippocampus, and their expression is regulated by aversive stimuli that induce fear memory. By generating forebrain-specific Plexin-B2 knockout mice and analyzing fear-related behaviors, we demonstrate that Sema4C-PlexinB2 signaling plays a crucial functional role in the recent and remote recall of fear memory. Detailed neuronal morphological analyses revealed that Sema4C-PlexinB2 signaling largely mediates fear-induced structural plasticity by enhancing dendritic ramifications and modulating synaptic density in the adult hippocampus. Analyses on signaling-related mutant mice showed that these functions are mediated by PlexinB2-dependent RhoA activation. These results deliver important insights into the mechanistic understanding of maladaptive plasticity in fear circuits and have implications for novel therapeutic strategies against fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Simonetti
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eszter Paldy
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christian Njoo
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kiran Kumar Bali
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Worzfeld
- grid.10253.350000 0004 1936 9756Institute of Pharmacology, Marburg University, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 1, 35043 Marburg, Germany ,grid.418032.c0000 0004 0491 220XDepartment of Pharmacology, Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Ludwigstrasse 43, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Claudia Pitzer
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Interdisciplinary Neurobehavioral Core, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kuner
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Anatomy and Cell Biology Institute, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Offermanns
- grid.418032.c0000 0004 0491 220XDepartment of Pharmacology, Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Ludwigstrasse 43, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Daniela Mauceri
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of Neurobiology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rohini Kuner
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
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