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Bai F, Huang L, Deng J, Long Z, Hao X, Chen P, Wu G, Wen H, Deng Q, Bao X, Huang J, Yang M, Li D, Ren Y, Zhang M, Xiong Y, Li H. Prelimbic area to lateral hypothalamus circuit drives social aggression. iScience 2023; 26:107718. [PMID: 37810230 PMCID: PMC10551839 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107718] [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: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Controlling aggression is a vital skill in social species such as rodents and humans and has been associated with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In this study, we showed that during aggressive behavior, the activity of GABAergic neurons in the prelimbic area (PL) of the mPFC was significantly suppressed. Specific activation of GABAergic PL neurons significantly curbed male-to-male aggression and inhibited conditioned place preference (CPP) for aggression-paired contexts, whereas specific inhibition of GABAergic PL neurons brought about the opposite effect. Moreover, GABAergic projections from PL neurons to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) orexinergic neurons mediated aggressive behavior. Finally, directly modulated LH-orexinergic neurons influence aggressive behavior. These results suggest that GABAergic PL-orexinergic LH projection is an important control circuit for intermale aggressive behavior, both of which could be targets for curbing aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuhai Bai
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Lu Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Jiao Deng
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, China
| | - Zonghong Long
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Xianglin Hao
- Department of Pathology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Penghui Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Guangyan Wu
- Experimental Center of Basic Medicine, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Huizhong Wen
- Department of Neurobiology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Qiangting Deng
- Editorial Office of Journal of Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Xiaohang Bao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Ming Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Defeng Li
- Clinical Medical Research Center, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Yukun Ren
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Min Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
| | - Ying Xiong
- Department of Neurobiology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Hong Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
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de Almeida AP, Baldo MVC, Motta SC. Dynamics in brain activation and behaviour in acute and repeated social defensive behaviour. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220799. [PMID: 35703050 PMCID: PMC9198769 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In nature, confrontations between conspecifics are recurrent and related, in general, due to the lack of resources such as food and territory. Adequate defence against a conspecific aggressor is essential for the individual's survival and the group integrity. However, repeated social defeat is a significant stressor promoting several behavioural changes, including social defence per se. What would be the neural basis of these behavioural changes? To build new hypotheses about this, we here investigate the effects of repeated social stress on the neural circuitry underlying motivated social defence behaviour in male mice. We observed that animals re-exposed to the aggressor three times spent more time in passive defence during the last exposure than in the first one. These animals also show less activation of the amygdalar and hypothalamic nuclei related to the processing of conspecific cues. In turn, we found no changes in the activation of the hypothalamic dorsal pre-mammillary nucleus (PMD) that is essential for passive defence. Therefore, our data suggest that the balance between the activity of circuits related to conspecific processing and the PMD determines the pattern of social defence behaviour. Changes in this balance may be the basis of the adaptations in social defence after repeated social defeat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisson P. de Almeida
- Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, Brazil
| | - Marcus V. C. Baldo
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, Brazil
| | - Simone C. Motta
- Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, Brazil
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Hahn JD, Gao L, Boesen T, Gou L, Hintiryan H, Dong HW. Macroscale connections of the mouse lateral preoptic area and anterior lateral hypothalamic area. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:2254-2285. [PMID: 35579973 PMCID: PMC9283274 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25331] [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: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The macroscale neuronal connections of the lateral preoptic area (LPO) and the caudally adjacent lateral hypothalamic area anterior region (LHAa) were investigated in mice by anterograde and retrograde axonal tracing. Both hypothalamic regions are highly and diversely connected, with connections to >200 gray matter regions spanning the forebrain, midbrain, and rhombicbrain. Intrahypothalamic connections predominate, followed by connections with the cerebral cortex and cerebral nuclei. A similar overall pattern of LPO and LHAa connections contrasts with substantial differences between their input and output connections. Strongest connections include outputs to the lateral habenula, medial septal and diagonal band nuclei, and inputs from rostral and caudal lateral septal nuclei; however, numerous additional robust connections were also observed. The results are discussed in relation to a current model for the mammalian forebrain network that associates LPO and LHAa with a range of functional roles, including reward prediction, innate survival behaviors (including integrated somatomotor and physiological control), and affect. The present data suggest a broad and intricate role for LPO and LHAa in behavioral control, similar in that regard to previously investigated LHA regions, contributing to the finely tuned sensory‐motor integration that is necessary for behavioral guidance supporting survival and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel D Hahn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Lei Gao
- UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tyler Boesen
- UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Lin Gou
- UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Houri Hintiryan
- UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hong-Wei Dong
- UCLA Brain Research & Artificial Intelligence Nexus, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Watts AG, Kanoski SE, Sanchez-Watts G, Langhans W. The physiological control of eating: signals, neurons, and networks. Physiol Rev 2022; 102:689-813. [PMID: 34486393 PMCID: PMC8759974 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00028.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
During the past 30 yr, investigating the physiology of eating behaviors has generated a truly vast literature. This is fueled in part by a dramatic increase in obesity and its comorbidities that has coincided with an ever increasing sophistication of genetically based manipulations. These techniques have produced results with a remarkable degree of cell specificity, particularly at the cell signaling level, and have played a lead role in advancing the field. However, putting these findings into a brain-wide context that connects physiological signals and neurons to behavior and somatic physiology requires a thorough consideration of neuronal connections: a field that has also seen an extraordinary technological revolution. Our goal is to present a comprehensive and balanced assessment of how physiological signals associated with energy homeostasis interact at many brain levels to control eating behaviors. A major theme is that these signals engage sets of interacting neural networks throughout the brain that are defined by specific neural connections. We begin by discussing some fundamental concepts, including ones that still engender vigorous debate, that provide the necessary frameworks for understanding how the brain controls meal initiation and termination. These include key word definitions, ATP availability as the pivotal regulated variable in energy homeostasis, neuropeptide signaling, homeostatic and hedonic eating, and meal structure. Within this context, we discuss network models of how key regions in the endbrain (or telencephalon), hypothalamus, hindbrain, medulla, vagus nerve, and spinal cord work together with the gastrointestinal tract to enable the complex motor events that permit animals to eat in diverse situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan G Watts
- The Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Scott E Kanoski
- The Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Graciela Sanchez-Watts
- The Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Wolfgang Langhans
- Physiology and Behavior Laboratory, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule-Zürich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
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Cortical ensembles orchestrate social competition through hypothalamic outputs. Nature 2022; 603:667-671. [PMID: 35296862 PMCID: PMC9576144 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04507-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Most social species self-organize into dominance hierarchies1,2, which decreases aggression and conserves energy3,4, but it is not clear how individuals know their social rank. We have only begun to learn how the brain represents social rank5-9 and guides behaviour on the basis of this representation. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in social dominance in rodents7,8 and humans10,11. Yet, precisely how the mPFC encodes relative social rank and which circuits mediate this computation is not known. We developed a social competition assay in which mice compete for rewards, as well as a computer vision tool (AlphaTracker) to track multiple, unmarked animals. A hidden Markov model combined with generalized linear models was able to decode social competition behaviour from mPFC ensemble activity. Population dynamics in the mPFC predicted social rank and competitive success. Finally, we demonstrate that mPFC cells that project to the lateral hypothalamus promote dominance behaviour during reward competition. Thus, we reveal a cortico-hypothalamic circuit by which the mPFC exerts top-down modulation of social dominance.
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Neural circuits for coping with social defeat. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 60:99-107. [PMID: 31837481 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
When resources, such as food, territory, and potential mates are limited, competition among animals of the same species is inevitable. Over bouts of agonistic interactions, winners and losers are determined. Losing is a traumatic experience, both physically and psychologically. Losers not only need to deploy a set of species-specific defensive behaviors to minimize the physical damage during defeat, but also adjust their behavior towards the winners to avoid future fights in which they are likely disadvantaged. The expression of defensive behaviors and the fast and long-lasting changes in behaviors accompanying defeat must be supported by a complex neural circuit. This review summarizes the brain regions that have been implicated in coping with social defeat, one centered on basolateral amygdala and the other on ventromedial hypothalamus. Gaps in our knowledge and hypotheses that may help guide future experiments are also discussed.
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Neurobiology of maternal regulation of infant fear: the role of mesolimbic dopamine and its disruption by maltreatment. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:1247-1257. [PMID: 30758321 PMCID: PMC6784970 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0340-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Child development research highlights caregiver regulation of infant physiology and behavior as a key feature of early life attachment, although mechanisms for maternal control of infant neural circuits remain elusive. Here we explored the neurobiology of maternal regulation of infant fear using neural network and molecular levels of analysis in a rodent model. Previous research has shown maternal suppression of amygdala-dependent fear learning during a sensitive period. Here we characterize changes in neural networks engaged during maternal regulation and the transition to infant self-regulation. Metabolic mapping of 2-deoxyglucose uptake during odor-shock conditioning in postnatal day (PN)14 rat pups showed that maternal presence blocked fear learning, disengaged mesolimbic circuitry, basolateral amygdala (BLA), and plasticity-related AMPA receptor subunit trafficking. At PN18, when maternal presence only socially buffers threat learning (similar to social modulation in adults), maternal presence failed to disengage the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, and failed to disengage both the BLA and plasticity-related AMPA receptor subunit trafficking. Further, maternal presence failed to block threat learning at PN14 pups following abuse, and mesolimbic dopamine engagement and AMPA were not significantly altered by maternal presence-analogous to compromised maternal regulation of children in abusive relationships. Our results highlight three key features of maternal regulation: (1) maternal presence blocks fear learning and amygdala plasticity through age-dependent suppression of amygdala AMPA receptor subunit trafficking, (2) maternal presence suppresses engagement of brain regions within the mesolimbic dopamine circuit, and (3) early-life abuse compromises network and molecular biomarkers of maternal regulation, suggesting reduced social scaffolding of the brain.
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Abstract
Control of multiple life-critical physiological and behavioral functions requires the hypothalamus. Here, we provide a comprehensive description and rigorous analysis of mammalian intrahypothalamic network architecture. To achieve this at the gray matter region (macroscale) level, macroscale connection (macroconnection) data for the rat hypothalamus were extracted from the primary literature. The dataset indicated the existence of 7,982 (of 16,770 possible) intrahypothalamic macroconnections. Network analysis revealed that the intrahypothalamic macroconnection network (its macroscale subconnectome) is divided into two identical top-level subsystems (or subnetworks), each composed of two nested second-level subsystems. At the top-level, this suggests a deeply integrated network; however, regional grouping of the two second-level subsystems suggested a partial separation between control of physiological functions and behavioral functions. Furthermore, inclusion of four candidate hubs (dominant network nodes) in the second-level subsystem that is associated prominently with physiological control suggests network primacy with respect to this function. In addition, comparison of network analysis with expression of gene markers associated with inhibitory (GAD65) and excitatory (VGLUT2) neurotransmission revealed a significant positive correlation between measures of network centrality (dominance) and the inhibitory marker. We discuss these results in relation to previous understandings of hypothalamic organization and provide, and selectively interrogate, an updated hypothalamus structure-function network model to encourage future hypothesis-driven investigations of identified hypothalamic subsystems.
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Canteras NS. Hypothalamic survival circuits related to social and predatory defenses and their interactions with metabolic control, reproductive behaviors and memory systems. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Rangel MJ, Baldo MVC, Canteras NS. Influence of the anteromedial thalamus on social defeat-associated contextual fear memory. Behav Brain Res 2018; 339:269-277. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.10.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Revised: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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