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Brown TE, Sorg BA. Net gain and loss: influence of natural rewards and drugs of abuse on perineuronal nets. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:3-20. [PMID: 35568740 PMCID: PMC9700711 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01337-x] [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: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Overindulgence, excessive consumption, and a pattern of compulsive use of natural rewards, such as certain foods or drugs of abuse, may result in the development of obesity or substance use disorder, respectively. Natural rewards and drugs of abuse can trigger similar changes in the neurobiological substrates that drive food- and drug-seeking behaviors. This review examines the impact natural rewards and drugs of abuse have on perineuronal nets (PNNs). PNNs are specialized extracellular matrix structures that ensheathe certain neurons during development over the critical period to provide synaptic stabilization and a protective microenvironment for the cells they surround. This review also analyzes how natural rewards and drugs of abuse impact the density and maturation of PNNs within reward-associated circuitry of the brain, which may contribute to maladaptive food- and drug-seeking behaviors. Finally, we evaluate the relatively few studies that have degraded PNNs to perturb reward-seeking behaviors. Taken together, this review sheds light on the complex way PNNs are regulated by natural rewards and drugs and highlights a need for future studies to delineate the molecular mechanisms that underlie the modification and maintenance of PNNs following exposure to rewarding stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis E Brown
- Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
| | - Barbara A Sorg
- R.S. Dow Neurobiology, Legacy Research Institute, Portland, OR, 97232, USA
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2
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Wingert JC, Sorg BA. Impact of Perineuronal Nets on Electrophysiology of Parvalbumin Interneurons, Principal Neurons, and Brain Oscillations: A Review. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2021; 13:673210. [PMID: 34040511 PMCID: PMC8141737 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2021.673210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialized extracellular matrix structures that surround specific neurons in the brain and spinal cord, appear during critical periods of development, and restrict plasticity during adulthood. Removal of PNNs can reinstate juvenile-like plasticity or, in cases of PNN removal during early developmental stages, PNN removal extends the critical plasticity period. PNNs surround mainly parvalbumin (PV)-containing, fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons in several brain regions. These inhibitory interneurons profoundly inhibit the network of surrounding neurons via their elaborate contacts with local pyramidal neurons, and they are key contributors to gamma oscillations generated across several brain regions. Among other functions, these gamma oscillations regulate plasticity associated with learning, decision making, attention, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. The detailed mechanisms by which PNN removal increases plasticity are only beginning to be understood. Here, we review the impact of PNN removal on several electrophysiological features of their underlying PV interneurons and nearby pyramidal neurons, including changes in intrinsic and synaptic membrane properties, brain oscillations, and how these changes may alter the integration of memory-related information. Additionally, we review how PNN removal affects plasticity-associated phenomena such as long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD), and paired-pulse ratio (PPR). The results are discussed in the context of the role of PV interneurons in circuit function and how PNN removal alters this function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jereme C Wingert
- Program in Neuroscience, Robert S. Dow Neurobiology Laboratories, Legacy Research Institute, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Barbara A Sorg
- Program in Neuroscience, Robert S. Dow Neurobiology Laboratories, Legacy Research Institute, Portland, OR, United States
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3
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Sulis W. The Continuum Between Temperament and Mental Illness as Dynamical Phases and Transitions. Front Psychiatry 2021; 11:614982. [PMID: 33536952 PMCID: PMC7848037 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.614982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The full range of biopsychosocial complexity is mind-boggling, spanning a vast range of spatiotemporal scales with complicated vertical, horizontal, and diagonal feedback interactions between contributing systems. It is unlikely that such complexity can be dealt with by a single model. One approach is to focus on a narrower range of phenomena which involve fewer systems but still cover the range of spatiotemporal scales. The suggestion is to focus on the relationship between temperament in healthy individuals and mental illness, which have been conjectured to lie along a continuum of neurobehavioral regulation involving neurochemical regulatory systems (e.g., monoamine and acetylcholine, opiate receptors, neuropeptides, oxytocin), and cortical regulatory systems (e.g., prefrontal, limbic). Temperament and mental illness are quintessentially dynamical phenomena, and need to be addressed in dynamical terms. A meteorological metaphor suggests similarities between temperament and chronic mental illness and climate, between individual behaviors and weather, and acute mental illness and frontal weather events. The transition from normative temperament to chronic mental illness is analogous to climate change. This leads to the conjecture that temperament and chronic mental illness describe distinct, high level, dynamical phases. This suggests approaching biopsychosocial complexity through the study of dynamical phases, their order and control parameters, and their phase transitions. Unlike transitions in physical systems, these biopsychosocial phase transitions involve information and semiotics. The application of complex adaptive dynamical systems theory has led to a host of markers including geometrical markers (periodicity, intermittency, recurrence, chaos) and analytical markers such as fluctuation spectroscopy, scaling, entropy, recurrence time. Clinically accessible biomarkers, in particular heart rate variability and activity markers have been suggested to distinguish these dynamical phases and to signal the presence of transitional states. A particular formal model of these dynamical phases will be presented based upon the process algebra, which has been used to model information flow in complex systems. In particular it describes the dual influences of energy and information on the dynamics of complex systems. The process algebra model is well-suited for dealing with the particular dynamical features of the continuum, which include transience, contextuality, and emergence. These dynamical phases will be described using the process algebra model and implications for clinical practice will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Sulis
- Collective Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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A Multidisciplinary Approach Reveals an Age-Dependent Expression of a Novel Bioactive Peptide, Already Involved in Neurodegeneration, in the Postnatal Rat Forebrain. Brain Sci 2018; 8:brainsci8070132. [PMID: 29996490 PMCID: PMC6070872 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci8070132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The basal forebrain has received much attention due to its involvement in multiple cognitive functions, but little is known about the basic neuronal mechanisms underlying its development, nor those mediating its primary role in Alzheimer’s disease. We have previously suggested that a novel 14-mer peptide, ‘T14’, could play a pivotal role in Alzheimer’s disease, via reactivation of a developmental signaling pathway. In this study, we have characterized T14 in the context of post-natal rat brain development, using a combination of different techniques. Ex-vivo rat brain slices containing the basal forebrain, at different stages of development, were used to investigate large-scale neuronal network activity in real time with voltage-sensitive dye imaging. Subsequent Western blot analysis revealed the expression profile of endogenous T14, its target alpha7 nicotinic receptor and the familiar markers of Alzheimer’s: amyloid beta and phosphorylated Tau. Results indicated maximal neuronal activity at the earliest ages during development, reflected in a concomitant profile of T14 peptide levels and related proteins. In conclusion, these findings show that the peptide, already implicated in neurodegenerative events, has an age-dependent expression, suggesting a possible contribution to the physiological mechanisms underlying brain maturation.
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Johnson BA, Frostig RD. Long-Range, Border-Crossing, Horizontal Axon Radiations Are a Common Feature of Rat Neocortical Regions That Differ in Cytoarchitecture. Front Neuroanat 2018; 12:50. [PMID: 29977194 PMCID: PMC6021490 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2018.00050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Employing wide-field optical imaging techniques supported by electrophysiological recordings, previous studies have demonstrated that stimulation of a spatially restricted area (point) in the sensory periphery results in a large evoked neuronal activity spread in mammalian primary cortices. In rats' primary cortices, such large evoked spreads extend diffusely in multiple directions, cross cortical cytoarchitectural borders and can trespass into other unimodal sensory areas. These point spreads are supported by a spatially matching, diffuse set of long-range horizontal projections within gray matter that extend in multiple directions and cross borders to interconnect different cortical areas. This horizontal projection system is in addition to well-known area-to-area clustered projections to defined targets through white matter. Could similar two-projection cortical systems also be found in cortical regions that differ in their cytoarchitectural structure? To address this question, an adeno-associated viral vector expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) was injected as an anterograde tract tracer into granular somatosensory cortex (trunk area), dysgranular cortex (somatosensory dysgranular zone and extrastriate cortex) and agranular motor cortex (MCx). Irrespective of the injection site the same two projection systems were found, and their quantification revealed a close similarity to findings in primary sensory cortices. Following detailed reconstruction, the diffuse horizontal axon radiation was found to possess numerous varicosities and to include short, medium and long axons, the latter extending up to 5.2 mm. These "proof of concept" findings suggest that the similarity of the two projection systems among different cortical areas could potentially constitute a canonical motif of neocortical organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett A Johnson
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Ron D Frostig
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,The Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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Radnikow G, Feldmeyer D. Layer- and Cell Type-Specific Modulation of Excitatory Neuronal Activity in the Neocortex. Front Neuroanat 2018; 12:1. [PMID: 29440997 PMCID: PMC5797542 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2018.00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
From an anatomical point of view the neocortex is subdivided into up to six layers depending on the cortical area. This subdivision has been described already by Meynert and Brodmann in the late 19/early 20. century and is mainly based on cytoarchitectonic features such as the size and location of the pyramidal cell bodies. Hence, cortical lamination is originally an anatomical concept based on the distribution of excitatory neuron. However, it has become apparent in recent years that apart from the layer-specific differences in morphological features, many functional properties of neurons are also dependent on cortical layer or cell type. Such functional differences include changes in neuronal excitability and synaptic activity by neuromodulatory transmitters. Many of these neuromodulators are released from axonal afferents from subcortical brain regions while others are released intrinsically. In this review we aim to describe layer- and cell-type specific differences in the effects of neuromodulator receptors in excitatory neurons in layers 2–6 of different cortical areas. We will focus on the neuromodulator systems using adenosine, acetylcholine, dopamine, and orexin/hypocretin as examples because these neuromodulator systems show important differences in receptor type and distribution, mode of release and functional mechanisms and effects. We try to summarize how layer- and cell type-specific neuromodulation may affect synaptic signaling in cortical microcircuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Radnikow
- Research Centre Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-10, Jülich, Germany
| | - Dirk Feldmeyer
- Research Centre Jülich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-10, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Germany
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Greenfield SA, Badin AS, Ferrati G, Devonshire IM. Optical imaging of the rat brain suggests a previously missing link between top-down and bottom-up nervous system function. NEUROPHOTONICS 2017; 4:031213. [PMID: 28573153 PMCID: PMC5443969 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.4.3.031213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Optical imaging with voltage-sensitive dyes enables the visualization of extensive yet highly transient coalitions of neurons (assemblies) operating throughout the brain on a subsecond time scale. We suggest that operating at the mesoscale level of brain organization, neuronal assemblies may provide a functional link between "bottom-up" cellular mechanisms and "top-down" cognitive ones within anatomically defined regions. We demonstrate in ex vivo rat brain slices how varying spatiotemporal dynamics of assemblies reveal differences not previously appreciated between: different stages of development in cortical versus subcortical brain areas, different sensory modalities (hearing versus vision), different classes of psychoactive drugs (anesthetics versus analgesics), different effects of anesthesia linked to hyperbaric conditions and, in vivo, depths of anesthesia. The strategy of voltage-sensitive dye imaging is therefore as powerful as it is versatile and as such can now be applied to the evaluation of neurochemical signaling systems and the screening of related new drugs, as well as to mathematical modeling and, eventually, even theories of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A. Greenfield
- Neuro-Bio Ltd., Building F5, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, United Kingdom
| | - Antoine-Scott Badin
- Neuro-Bio Ltd., Building F5, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, United Kingdom
- University of Oxford, Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Giovanni Ferrati
- Neuro-Bio Ltd., Building F5, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, United Kingdom
| | - Ian M. Devonshire
- Nottingham University Medical School, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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