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Gomes-de-Souza L, Busnardo C, Santos A, Paz HS, Resstel LB, Planeta CS, Nunes-de-Souza RL, Crestani CC. Functional lateralization in the medial prefrontal cortex control of contextual conditioned emotional responses in rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 133:111015. [PMID: 38653363 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111015] [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: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
A functional lateralization has been reported in control of emotional responses by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, a hemisphere asymmetry in involvement of the mPFC in expression of fear conditioning responses has never been reported. Therefore, we investigated whether control by mPFC of freezing and cardiovascular responses during re-exposure to an aversively conditioned context is lateralized. For this, rats had guide cannulas directed to the mPFC implanted bilaterally or unilaterally in the right or left hemispheres. Vehicle or the non-selective synaptic inhibitor CoCl2 was microinjected into the mPFC 10 min before re-exposure to a chamber where the animals had previously received footshocks. A catheter was implanted into the femoral artery before the fear retrieval test for cardiovascular recordings. We observed that bilateral microinjection of CoCl2 into the mPFC reduced both the freezing behavior (enhancing locomotion and rearing) and arterial pressure and heart rate increases during re-exposure to the aversively conditioned context. Unilateral microinjection of CoCl2 into the right hemisphere of the mPFC also decreased the freezing behavior (enhancing locomotion and rearing), but without affecting the cardiovascular changes. Conversely, unilateral synaptic inhibition in the left mPFC did not affect either behavioral or cardiovascular responses during fear retrieval test. Taken together, these results suggest that the right hemisphere of the mPFC is necessary and sufficient for expression of freezing behavior to contextual fear conditioning. However, the control of cardiovascular responses and freezing behavior during fear retrieval test is somehow dissociated in the mPFC, being the former bilaterally processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Gomes-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Busnardo
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Adrielly Santos
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Higor S Paz
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Leonardo B Resstel
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Cleopatra S Planeta
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Ricardo L Nunes-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Carlos C Crestani
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
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Canto-de-Souza L, Baptista-de-Souza D, Nunes-de-Souza RL, Planeta C. Distinct roles of the left and right prelimbic cortices in the modulation of ethanol consumption in male mice under acute and chronic social defeat stress. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1161-1176. [PMID: 38347153 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06550-8] [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: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Chronic stress exposure disrupts the medial prefrontal cortex's (mPFC) ability to regulate impulses, leading to the loss of control over alcohol drinking in rodents, emphasizing the critical role of this forebrain area in regulating alcohol consumption. Moreover, chronic stress exposure causes lateralization of mPFC functions with volumetric and functional changes, resulting in hyperactivity in the right hemisphere and functional decrease in the left. OBJECTIVES This study investigated the inhibitory role of the left prelimbic cortex (LPrL) on ethanol consumption induced by chronic social defeat stress (SDS) in male mice and to examine if inactivation of the LPrL causes disinhibition of the right mPFC, leading to an increase in ethanol consumption. We also investigated the role of lateralization and neurochemical alterations in the mPFC related to ethanol consumption induced by chronic SDS. To this end, we examined the activation patterns of ΔFosB, VGLUT2, and GAD67 in the left and right mPFC. RESULTS Temporarily blocking the LPrL or right PrL (RPrL) cortices during acute SDS did not affect male mice's voluntary ethanol consumption in male mice. When each cortex was blocked in mice previously exposed to chronic SDS, ethanol consumption also remained unaffected. However, male mice with LPrL lesions during chronic SDS showed an increase in voluntary ethanol consumption, which was associated with enhanced ΔFosB/VGLUT2-positive neurons within the RPrL cortex. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the LPrL may play a role in inhibiting ethanol consumption induced by chronic SDS, while the RPrL may be involved in the disinhibition of ethanol consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Canto-de-Souza
- Lab. Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP, 14800-903, Brazil
| | - Daniela Baptista-de-Souza
- Lab. Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP, 14800-903, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza
- Lab. Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP, 14800-903, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences UFSCar/UNESP, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil
| | - Cleopatra Planeta
- Lab. Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, SP, 14800-903, Brazil.
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences UFSCar/UNESP, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil.
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da Costa VF, Ramírez JCC, Ramírez SV, Avalo-Zuluaga JH, Baptista-de-Souza D, Canto-de-Souza L, Planeta CS, Rodríguez JLR, Nunes-de-Souza RL. Emotional- and cognitive-like responses induced by social defeat stress in male mice are modulated by the BNST, amygdala, and hippocampus. Front Integr Neurosci 2023; 17:1168640. [PMID: 37377628 PMCID: PMC10291097 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2023.1168640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Chronic exposure to social defeat stress (SDS) has been used to investigate the neurobiology of depressive- and anxiety-like responses and mnemonic processes. We hypothesized that these affective, emotional, and cognitive consequences induced by SDS are regulated via glutamatergic neurons located in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), amygdaloid complex, and hippocampus in mice. Methods Here, we investigated the influence of chronic SDS on (i) the avoidance behavior assessed in the social interaction test, (ii) the anxiety-like behavior (e.g., elevated plus-maze, and open field tests) (iii) depressive-like behaviors (e.g., coat state, sucrose splash, nesting building, and novel object exploration tests), (iv) the short-term memory (object recognition test), (v) ΔFosB, CaMKII as well as ΔFosB + CaMKII labeling in neurons located in the BNST, amygdaloid complex, dorsal (dHPC) and the ventral (vHPC) hippocampus. Results The main results showed that the exposure of mice to SDS (a) increased defensive and anxiety-like behaviors and led to memory impairment without eliciting clear depressive-like or anhedonic effects; (b) increased ΔFosB + CaMKII labeling in BNST and amygdala, suggesting that both areas are strongly involved in the modulation of this type of stress; and produced opposite effects on neuronal activation in the vHPC and dHPC, i.e., increasing and decreasing, respectively, ΔFosB labeling. The effects of SDS on the hippocampus suggest that the vHPC is likely related to the increase of defensive- and anxiety-related behaviors, whereas the dHPC seems to modulate the memory impairment. Discussion Present findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating the involvement of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the circuits that modulate emotional and cognitive consequences induced by social defeat stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinícius Fresca da Costa
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Johana Caterin Caipa Ramírez
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Stephany Viatela Ramírez
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Julian Humberto Avalo-Zuluaga
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Daniela Baptista-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
| | - Lucas Canto-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
| | - Cleopatra S. Planeta
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | | | - Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences (PIPGCF) UFSCar-UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
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Cao J, Liu X, Liu JX, Zhao S, Guo YX, Wang GY, Wang XL. Inhibition of glutamatergic neurons in layer II/III of the medial prefrontal cortex alleviates paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain and anxiety. Eur J Pharmacol 2022; 936:175351. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.175351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Rearing in an Enriched Environment Ameliorates the ADHD-like Behaviors of Lister Hooded Rats While Suppressing Neuronal Activities in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. Cells 2022; 11:cells11223649. [PMID: 36429076 PMCID: PMC9688563 DOI: 10.3390/cells11223649] [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: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In addition to genetic factors, environmental factors play a role in the pathogenesis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study used Lister hooded rats (LHRs) as ADHD model animals to evaluate the effects of environmental factors. Male LHR pups were kept in four rearing conditions from postnatal day 23 (4 rats in a standard cage; 12 rats in a large flat cage; and 4 or 12 rats in an enriched environment [EE]) until 9 weeks of age. EE rearing but not rearing in a large flat cage decreased the activity of LHRs in the open field test that was conducted for 7 consecutive days. In the drop test, most rats reared in an EE remained on a disk at a height, whereas most rats reared in a standard cage fell off. RNA sequencing revealed that the immediate-early gene expression in the medial prefrontal cortex of LHRs reared in an EE was reduced. cFos-expressing neurons were reduced in number in LHRs reared in an EE. These results suggest that growing in an EE improves ADHD-like behaviors and that said improvement is due to the suppression of neuronal activity in the mPFC.
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Canto-de-Souza L, Demetrovich PG, Plas S, Souza RR, Epperson J, Wahlstrom KL, Nunes-de-Souza RL, LaLumiere RT, Planeta CS, McIntyre CK. Daily Optogenetic Stimulation of the Left Infralimbic Cortex Reverses Extinction Impairments in Male Rats Exposed to Single Prolonged Stress. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 15:780326. [PMID: 34987362 PMCID: PMC8721142 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.780326] [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: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex. PTSD-like pathophysiology and behaviors have been observed in rodents exposed to a single prolonged stress (SPS) procedure. When animals are left alone for 7 days after SPS treatment, they show increased anxiety-like behavior and impaired extinction of conditioned fear, and reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex. Here, we tested the hypothesis that daily optogenetic stimulation of the infralimbic region (IL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during the 7 days after SPS would reverse SPS effects on anxiety and fear extinction. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent SPS and then received daily optogenetic stimulation (20 Hz, 2 s trains, every 10 s for 15 min/day) of glutamatergic neurons of the left or right IL for seven days. After this incubation period, rats were tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). Twenty-four hours after the EPM test, rats underwent auditory fear conditioning (AFC), extinction training and a retention test. SPS increased anxiety-like behavior in the EPM task and produced a profound impairment in extinction of AFC. Optogenetic stimulation of the left IL, but not right, during the 7-day incubation period reversed the extinction impairment. Optogenetic stimulation did not reverse the increased anxiety-like behavior, suggesting that the extinction effects are not due to a treatment-induced reduction in anxiety. Results indicate that increased activity of the left IL after traumatic experiences can prevent development of extinction impairments. These findings suggest that non-invasive brain stimulation may be a useful tool for preventing maladaptive responses to trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Canto-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil.,Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.,School of Behavior and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Peyton G Demetrovich
- School of Behavior and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Samantha Plas
- School of Behavior and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Rimenez R Souza
- School of Behavior and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States.,Texas Biomedical Device Center, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Joseph Epperson
- Texas Biomedical Device Center, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Krista L Wahlstrom
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil.,Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.,Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar/UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Cleopatra Silva Planeta
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University - UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil.,Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar/UNESP, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Christa K McIntyre
- School of Behavior and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States.,Texas Biomedical Device Center, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
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