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Bigot M, De Badts CH, Benchetrit A, Vicq É, Moigneu C, Meyrel M, Wagner S, Hennrich AA, Houenou J, Lledo PM, Henry C, Alonso M. Disrupted basolateral amygdala circuits supports negative valence bias in depressive states. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:382. [PMID: 39300117 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03085-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Negative bias is an essential characteristic of depressive episodes leading patients to attribute more negative valence to environmental cues. This negative bias affects all levels of information processing including emotional response, attention and memory, leading to the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms. In this context, pleasant stimuli become less attractive and unpleasant ones more aversive, yet the related neural circuits underlying this bias remain largely unknown. By studying a mice model for depression chronically receiving corticosterone (CORT), we showed a negative bias in valence attribution to olfactory stimuli that responds to antidepressant drug. This result paralleled the alterations in odor value assignment we observed in bipolar depressed patients. Given the crucial role of amygdala in valence coding and its strong link with depression, we hypothesized that basolateral amygdala (BLA) circuits alterations might support negative shift associated with depressive states. Contrary to humans, where limits in spatial resolution of imaging tools impair easy amygdala segmentation, recently unravelled specific BLA circuits implicated in negative and positive valence attribution could be studied in mice. Combining CTB and rabies-based tracing with ex vivo measurements of neuronal activity, we demonstrated that negative valence bias is supported by disrupted activity of specific BLA circuits during depressive states. Chronic CORT administration induced decreased recruitment of BLA-to-NAc neurons preferentially involved in positive valence encoding, while increasing recruitment of BLA-to-CeA neurons preferentially involved in negative valence encoding. Importantly, this dysfunction was dampened by chemogenetic hyperactivation of BLA-to-NAc neurons. Moreover, altered BLA activity correlated with durable presynaptic connectivity changes coming from the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus, recently demonstrated as orchestrating valence assignment in the amygdala. Together, our findings suggest that specific BLA circuits alterations might support negative bias in depressive states and provide new avenues for translational research to understand the mechanisms underlying depression and treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Bigot
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, Collège doctoral, Paris, France
| | - Claire-Hélène De Badts
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Axel Benchetrit
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Éléonore Vicq
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Carine Moigneu
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Manon Meyrel
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of psychiatry, Mondor University Hospital, Créteil, France
- NeuroSpin, PsyBrain Team, UNIACT Lab, CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Université Paris Est Créteil, Faculté de Santé de Créteil, INSERM U955, IMRB, Translational Neuropsychiatry team, Créteil, France
| | - Sébastien Wagner
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Alexandru Adrian Hennrich
- Max von Pettenkofer-Institute Virology, Medical Faculty, and Gene Center, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Josselin Houenou
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of psychiatry, Mondor University Hospital, Créteil, France
- NeuroSpin, PsyBrain Team, UNIACT Lab, CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Université Paris Est Créteil, Faculté de Santé de Créteil, INSERM U955, IMRB, Translational Neuropsychiatry team, Créteil, France
| | - Pierre-Marie Lledo
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Chantal Henry
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France.
- Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France.
- Departement of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie & Neurosciences, Paris, France.
| | - Mariana Alonso
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 3571, Perception and Action Unit, F-75015, Paris, France.
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2
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Ysbæk-Nielsen AT. Exploring volumetric abnormalities in subcortical L-HPA axis structures in pediatric generalized anxiety disorder. Nord J Psychiatry 2024; 78:402-410. [PMID: 38573199 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2024.2335980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is debilitating and increasingly prevalent, yet its etiology remains unclear. Some believe the disorder to be propagated by chronic dysregulation of the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (L-HPA) axis, but morphometric studies of implicated subcortical areas have been largely inconclusive. Recognizing that certain subcortical subdivisions are more directly involved in L-HPA axis functioning, this study aims to detect specific abnormalities in these critical areas. METHODS Thirty-eight MRI scans of preschool children with (n = 15) and without (n = 23) GAD underwent segmentation and between-group volumetric comparisons of the basolateral amygdala (BLA), ventral hippocampal subiculum (vSC), and mediodorsal medial magnocellular (MDm) area of the thalamus. RESULTS Children with GAD displayed significantly larger vSC compared to healthy peers, F(1, 31) = 6.50, pFDR = .048. On average, children with GAD presented with larger BLA and MDm, Fs(1, 31) ≥ 4.86, psFDR ≤ .054. Exploratory analyses revealed right-hemispheric lateralization of all measures, most notably the MDm, F(1, 31) = 8.13, pFDR = .024, the size of which scaled with symptom severity, r = .83, pFDR = .033. CONCLUSION The BLA, vSC, and MDm are believed to be involved in the regulation of anxiety and stress, both individually and collectively through the excitation and inhibition of the L-HPA axis. All were found to be enlarged in children with GAD, perhaps reflecting hypertrophy related to hyperexcitability, or early neuronal overgrowth. Longitudinal studies should investigate the relationship between these early morphological differences and the long-term subcortical atrophy previously observed.
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3
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Seoane S, van den Heuvel M, Acebes Á, Janssen N. The subcortical default mode network and Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae128. [PMID: 38665961 PMCID: PMC11043657 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae128] [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: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The default mode network is a central cortical brain network suggested to play a major role in several disorders and to be particularly vulnerable to the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Subcortical involvement in the default mode network and its alteration in Alzheimer's disease remains largely unknown. We performed a systematic review, meta-analysis and empirical validation of the subcortical default mode network in healthy adults, combined with a systematic review, meta-analysis and network analysis of the involvement of subcortical default mode areas in Alzheimer's disease. Our results show that, besides the well-known cortical default mode network brain regions, the default mode network consistently includes subcortical regions, namely the thalamus, lobule and vermis IX and right Crus I/II of the cerebellum and the amygdala. Network analysis also suggests the involvement of the caudate nucleus. In Alzheimer's disease, we observed a left-lateralized cluster of decrease in functional connectivity which covered the medial temporal lobe and amygdala and showed overlap with the default mode network in a portion covering parts of the left anterior hippocampus and left amygdala. We also found an increase in functional connectivity in the right anterior insula. These results confirm the consistency of subcortical contributions to the default mode network in healthy adults and highlight the relevance of the subcortical default mode network alteration in Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Seoane
- Department of Complex Traits Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies (ITB), University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
| | - Martijn van den Heuvel
- Department of Complex Traits Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Section Complex Trait Genetics, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - Ángel Acebes
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies (ITB), University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
| | - Niels Janssen
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies (ITB), University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
- Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, University of La Laguna, Tenerife 38200, Spain
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4
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Chen APF, Russell G, Ashour A, Yacoub A. Presentation and Management of Acute Mania in Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome, A Metabolic Genetic Disorder. Case Rep Psychiatry 2024; 2024:5593846. [PMID: 38605735 PMCID: PMC11008969 DOI: 10.1155/2024/5593846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Fanconi-Bickel syndrome (FBS) is a rare metabolic disorder caused by decreased glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) function due to several known mutations in the SLC2A2 gene. As of 2020, 144 cases of FBS have been described in the literature. Metabolic and somatic sequelae include dysglycemia and accumulation of glycogen in the kidney and liver. However, there are no descriptions in the literature of possible neuropsychiatric manifestations of FBS. This case report is to our knowledge the first in this regard, describing a patient with FBS who was admitted to our psychiatric inpatient unit while experiencing acute mania. We conceptualize the case as a novel psychiatric presentation of acute mania in FBS, which may inform our understanding of bipolar disorder pathophysiology because of the hypothesized functional changes in neural pathways involving the paraventricular thalamus induced by decreased GLUT2 activity in FBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allen P. F. Chen
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Geoffrey Russell
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Amnie Ashour
- The Division of General Surgery at New York-Presbyterian, Brooklyn, NY, USA
| | - Adeeb Yacoub
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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5
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Reeders PC, Rivera Núñez MV, Vertes RP, Mattfeld AT, Allen TA. Identifying the midline thalamus in humans in vivo. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:1835-1847. [PMID: 36598561 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02607-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The midline thalamus is critical for flexible cognition, memory, and stress regulation in humans and its dysfunction is associated with several neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Despite the pervasive role of the midline thalamus in cognition and disease, there is a limited understanding of its function in humans, likely due to the absence of a rigorous noninvasive neuroimaging methodology to identify its location. Here, we introduce a new method for identifying the midline thalamus in vivo using probabilistic tractography and k-means clustering with diffusion weighted imaging data. This approach clusters thalamic voxels based on data-driven cortical and subcortical connectivity profiles and then segments the midline thalamus according to anatomical connectivity tracer studies in rodents and macaques. Results from two different diffusion weighted imaging sets, including adult data (22-35 years) from the Human Connectome Project (n = 127) and adolescent data (9-14 years) collected at Florida International University (n = 34) showed that this approach reliably classifies midline thalamic clusters. As expected, these clusters were most evident along the dorsal/ventral extent of the third ventricle and were primarily connected to the agranular medial prefrontal cortex (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex), nucleus accumbens, and medial temporal lobe regions. The midline thalamus was then bisected based on a human brain atlas into a dorsal midline thalamic cluster (paraventricular and paratenial nuclei) and a ventral midline thalamic cluster (rhomboid and reuniens nuclei). This anatomical connectivity-based identification of the midline thalamus offers the opportunity for necessary investigation of this region in vivo in the human brain and how it relates to cognitive functions in humans, and to psychiatric and neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Puck C Reeders
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
- Brain Institute, Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Miami, FL, 33155, USA
| | - M Vanessa Rivera Núñez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Robert P Vertes
- Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33231, USA
| | - Aaron T Mattfeld
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Timothy A Allen
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
- Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
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6
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Kiilerich KF, Lorenz J, Scharff MB, Speth N, Brandt TG, Czurylo J, Xiong M, Jessen NS, Casado-Sainz A, Shalgunov V, Kjaerby C, Satała G, Bojarski AJ, Jensen AA, Herth MM, Cumming P, Overgaard A, Palner M. Repeated low doses of psilocybin increase resilience to stress, lower compulsive actions, and strengthen cortical connections to the paraventricular thalamic nucleus in rats. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3829-3841. [PMID: 37783788 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02280-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Psilocybin (a classic serotonergic psychedelic drug) has received appraisal for use in psychedelic-assisted therapy of several psychiatric disorders. A less explored topic concerns the use of repeated low doses of psychedelics, at a dose that is well below the psychedelic dose used in psychedelic-assisted therapy and often referred to as microdosing. Psilocybin microdose users frequently report increases in mental health, yet such reports are often highly biased and vulnerable to placebo effects. Here we establish and validate a psilocybin microdose-like regimen in rats with repeated low doses of psilocybin administration at a dose derived from occupancy at rat brain 5-HT2A receptors in vivo. The rats tolerated the repeated low doses of psilocybin well and did not manifest signs of anhedonia, anxiety, or altered locomotor activity. There were no deficits in pre-pulse inhibition of the startle reflex, nor did the treatment downregulate or desensitize the 5-HT2A receptors. However, the repeated low doses of psilocybin imparted resilience against the stress of multiple subcutaneous injections, and reduced the frequency of self-grooming, a proxy for human compulsive actions, while also increasing 5-HT7 receptor expression and synaptic density in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. These results establish a well-validated regimen for further experiments probing the effects of repeated low doses of psilocybin. Results further substantiate anecdotal reports of the benefits of psilocybin microdosing as a therapeutic intervention, while pointing to a possible physiological mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kat F Kiilerich
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joe Lorenz
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Malthe B Scharff
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nikolaj Speth
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Tobias G Brandt
- Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Julia Czurylo
- Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mengfei Xiong
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Naja S Jessen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Agata Casado-Sainz
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vladimir Shalgunov
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Celia Kjaerby
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Grzegorz Satała
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Andrzej J Bojarski
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Anders A Jensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Matthias M Herth
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paul Cumming
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Agnete Overgaard
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mikael Palner
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
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7
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Gao C, Gohel CA, Leng Y, Ma J, Goldman D, Levine AJ, Penzo MA. Molecular and spatial profiling of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. eLife 2023; 12:81818. [PMID: 36867023 PMCID: PMC10014079 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is known to regulate various cognitive and behavioral processes. However, while functional diversity among PVT circuits has often been linked to cellular differences, the molecular identity and spatial distribution of PVT cell types remain unclear. To address this gap, here we used single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and identified five molecularly distinct PVT neuronal subtypes in the mouse brain. Additionally, multiplex fluorescent in situ hybridization of top marker genes revealed that PVT subtypes are organized by a combination of previously unidentified molecular gradients. Lastly, comparing our dataset with a recently published single-cell sequencing atlas of the thalamus yielded novel insight into the PVT's connectivity with the cortex, including unexpected innervation of auditory and visual areas. This comparison also revealed that our data contains a largely non-overlapping transcriptomic map of multiple midline thalamic nuclei. Collectively, our findings uncover previously unknown features of the molecular diversity and anatomical organization of the PVT and provide a valuable resource for future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Gao
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown UniversityProvidenceUnited States
| | - Chiraag A Gohel
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismRockvilleUnited States
| | - Yan Leng
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - Jun Ma
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - David Goldman
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismRockvilleUnited States
| | - Ariel J Levine
- National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Mario A Penzo
- National Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaUnited States
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8
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Siripongsatian D, Kunawudhi A, Promteangtrong C, Kiatkittikul P, Jantarato A, Choolam A, Ponglikitmongkol K, Siripongboonsitti T, Kaeowirun T, Chotipanich C. Alterations in 18F-FDG PET/MRI and 15O-Water PET Brain Findings in Patients With Neurological Symptoms After COVID-19 Vaccination: A Pilot Study. Clin Nucl Med 2022; 47:e230-e239. [PMID: 35025789 PMCID: PMC8820745 DOI: 10.1097/rlu.0000000000004041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate functional abnormalities in the brain of patients with neurological adverse effects following COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccination using 18F-FDG PET/MRI and 15O-water PET. METHODS Eight patients (1 man and 7 women, aged 26-47 years [median age, 36.5 years]) who experienced neurological symptoms after the first COVID-19 vaccination underwent CT, MRI, 18F-FDG PET/MRI, and 15O-water PET of the brain. After 7 days, each patient underwent a follow-up 18F-FDG PET/MRI and 15O-water PET of the brain. Imaging data were analyzed using visual and semiquantitative analyses, which included a cluster subtraction workflow (P = 0.05). RESULTS There was no evidence of vascular abnormalities, acute infarction, or hemorrhage on the CT or MRI scans. On the 15O-water PET images, 1 patient had mildly significant decreases in perfusion in the bilateral thalamus and bilateral cerebellum, and another patient showed a diffuse increase in perfusion in the cerebral white matter. The visual and semiquantitative analyses showed hypometabolism in the bilateral parietal lobes in all 8 patients on both the first and follow-up 18F-FDG PET/MRI scans. Metabolic changes in the bilateral cuneus were also observed during the first visit; all patients exhibited neurological symptoms. Moreover, 6 patients showed hypometabolism, and 2 patients showed hypermetabolism. CONCLUSION All regions of metabolic abnormality were part of the fear network model that has been implicated in anxiety. Our study findings support the concepts of and provide evidence for the immunization stress-related response and the biopsychosocial model.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Tharathorn Kaeowirun
- Department of Radiology, Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital, Royal Thai Air Force, Bangkok, Thailand
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9
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Kark SM, Adams JG, Sathishkumar M, Granger SJ, McMillan L, Baram TZ, Yassa MA. Why do mothers never stop grieving for their deceased children? Enduring alterations of brain connectivity and function. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:925242. [PMID: 36118972 PMCID: PMC9478601 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.925242] [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: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A child's death is a profound loss for mothers and affects hundreds of thousands of women. Mothers report inconsolable and progressive grief that is distinct from depression and impacts daily emotions and functions. The brain mechanisms responsible for this relatively common and profound mental health problem are unclear, hampering its clinical recognition and care. In an initial exploration of this condition, we used resting state functional MRI (fMRI) scans to examine functional connectivity in key circuits, and task-based fMRI to examine brain network activity in grieving mothers in response to pictures of their deceased child and as well as recognizable deceased celebrities and unfamiliar individuals. We compared nine mothers who had lost an adult child and aged-matched control mothers with a living child of a similar age. Additionally, we collected diffusion imaging scans to probe structural connectivity and complemented the imaging studies with neuropsychological assessments. Increased functional activation in Ventral Attention/Salience Networks accompanied by a reduced activation in the medial prefrontal cortex in response to the deceased child's picture robustly distinguished the grieving mothers from controls. Heightened resting-state functional connectivity between the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) and the amygdala distinguished the grieving mothers from the controls and correlated with subjective grief severity. Structurally, maternal grief and its severity were associated with alterations in corticolimbic white matter tracts. Finally, grieving mothers performed worse than controls on neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, and executive function, linked with grief severity. Reduced activation in cortical regions inhibiting emotions and changes in the PVT circuitry-a region involved in long-term emotional memories and decision making under conflict-distinguish grieving mothers from controls. Notably, the magnitude of neurobiological changes correlates with the subjective severity of grief. Together, these new discoveries delineate a prevalent and under-recognized mental health syndrome and chart a path for its appreciation and care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Kark
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Joren G Adams
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Mithra Sathishkumar
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Steven J Granger
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Liv McMillan
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Michael A Yassa
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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10
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Flagel SB. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus and its potential role in psychopathology. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:385-386. [PMID: 34302058 PMCID: PMC8616922 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01112-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Shelly B. Flagel
- grid.214458.e0000000086837370Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA ,grid.214458.e0000000086837370Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
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Abend R, Ruiz SG, Bajaj MA, Harrewijn A, Linke JO, Atlas LY, Winkler AM, Pine DS. Threat imminence reveals links among unfolding of anticipatory physiological response, cortical-subcortical intrinsic functional connectivity, and anxiety. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 16:100428. [PMID: 35036479 PMCID: PMC8749274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100428] [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: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive expression of fear responses in anticipation of threat occurs in anxiety, but understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is limited. Animal research indicates that threat-anticipatory defensive responses are dynamically organized by threat imminence and rely on conserved circuitry. Insight from basic neuroscience research in animals on threat imminence could guide mechanistic research in humans mapping abnormal function in this circuitry to aberrant defensive responses in pathological anxiety. 50 pediatric anxiety patients and healthy-comparisons (33 females) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task whereby cues signaled delivery of painful (threat) or non-painful (safety) thermal stimulation. Temporal changes in skin-conductance indexed anxiety effects on anticipatory responding as function of threat imminence. Multivariate network analyses of resting-state functional connectivity data from a subsample were used to identify intrinsic-function correlates of anticipatory-response dynamics, within a specific, distributed network derived from translational research on defensive responding. By considering threat imminence, analyses revealed specific anxiety effects. Importantly, pathological anxiety was associated with excessive deployment of anticipatory physiological response as threat, but not safety, outcomes became more imminent. Magnitude of increase in threat-anticipatory physiological responses corresponded with magnitude of intrinsic connectivity within a cortical-subcortical circuit. Moreover, more severe anxiety was associated with stronger associations between anticipatory physiological responding and connectivity that ventromedial prefrontal cortex showed with hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, regions implicated in animal models of anxiety. These findings link basic and clinical research, highlighting variations in intrinsic function in conserved defensive circuitry as a potential pathophysiological mechanism in anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Sonia G. Ruiz
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Mira A. Bajaj
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Julia O. Linke
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Lauren Y. Atlas
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anderson M. Winkler
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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