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Abstract
The cerebellum has a well-established role in controlling motor functions, including coordination, posture, and the learning of skilled movements. The mechanisms for how it carries out motor behavior remain under intense investigation. Interestingly though, in recent years the mechanisms of cerebellar function have faced additional scrutiny since nonmotor behaviors may also be controlled by the cerebellum. With such complexity arising, there is now a pressing need to better understand how cerebellar structure, function, and behavior intersect to influence behaviors that are dynamically called upon as an animal experiences its environment. Here, we discuss recent experimental work that frames possible neural mechanisms for how the cerebellum shapes disparate behaviors and why its dysfunction is catastrophic in hereditary and acquired conditions-both motor and nonmotor. For these reasons, the cerebellum might be the ideal therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda H Kim
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA;
| | - Detlef H Heck
- Center for Cerebellar Network Structure and Function in Health and Disease, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
| | - Roy V Sillitoe
- Departments of Neuroscience and Pediatrics, Program in Developmental Biology, and Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA;
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Nietz AK, Popa LS, Carter RE, Gerhart ML, Manikonda K, Ranum LP, Ebner TJ. Cerebral cortical functional hyperconnectivity in a mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 (SCA8). BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.20.599947. [PMID: 38948725 PMCID: PMC11212952 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.20.599947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 8 (SCA8) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a bidirectionally expressed CTG●CAG expansion mutation in the ATXN-8 and ATXN8-OS genes. While primarily a motor disorder, psychiatric and cognitive symptoms have been reported. It is difficult to elucidate how the disease alters brain function in areas with little or no degeneration producing both motor and cognitive symptoms. Using transparent polymer skulls and CNS-wide GCaMP6f expression, we studied neocortical networks throughout SCA8 progression using wide-field Ca2+ imaging in a transgenic mouse model of SCA8. We observed that neocortical networks in SCA8+ mice were hyperconnected globally which led to network configurations with increased global efficiency and centrality. At the regional level, significant network changes occurred in nearly all cortical regions, however mainly involved sensory and association cortices. Changes in functional connectivity in anterior motor regions worsened later in the disease. Near perfect decoding of animal genotype was obtained using a generalized linear model based on canonical correlation strengths between activity in cortical regions. The major contributors to decoding were concentrated in the somatosensory, higher visual and retrosplenial cortices and occasionally extended into the motor regions, demonstrating that the areas with the largest network changes are predictive of disease state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela K. Nietz
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Laurentiu S. Popa
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Russell E. Carter
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Morgan L Gerhart
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Keerthi Manikonda
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Laura P.W. Ranum
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Timothy J. Ebner
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
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Rahman SM, Hauser C, Luebke AE. Loss of calcitonin gene-related peptide (αCGRP) and use of a vestibular challenge highlight balance deficiencies in aging mice. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303801. [PMID: 38865379 PMCID: PMC11168652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Aging impacts the vestibular system and contributes to imbalance. In fact, imbalance precedes changes in cognition in the elderly. However, research is limited in assessing aging mouse models that are deficient in crucial neuromodulators like Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP). We studied the loss of CGRP and its effects in the aging mouse, namely its effect on both static and dynamic imbalances. Postural sway and rotarod testing were performed before and after a vestibular challenge (VC) in the 129S wild type and the αCGRP (-/-) null mice. Four age groups were tested that correspond to young adulthood, late adulthood, middle age, and senescence in humans. Our results suggest wild type mice experience a decline in rotarod ability due to aging after they reach their prime performance at 6-10 months of age, while the αCGRP (-/-) null mice perform poorly on rotarod early in life but improve with age as they get older, potentially due to vestibular compensation. Our postural sway study suggests that a vestibular challenge can lead to significantly reduced CoP ellipse areas (freezing behaviors) in older mice, and this change occurs earlier in the αCGRP (-/-) null but requires future studies to evaluate anxiety effects. These results indicate that αCGRP is an important component of proper balance and that the loss of αCGRP can contribute to balance complications that may compound with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafaqat M. Rahman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States of America
| | - Catherine Hauser
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States of America
| | - Anne E. Luebke
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Del Monte Institute of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States of America
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Hodgdon EA, Anderson R, Azzawi HA, Wilson TW, Calhoun VD, Wang YP, Solis I, Greve DN, Stephen JM, Ciesielski KTR. MRI morphometry of the anterior and posterior cerebellar vermis and its relationship to sensorimotor and cognitive functions in children. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 67:101385. [PMID: 38713999 PMCID: PMC11096723 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The human cerebellum emerges as a posterior brain structure integrating neural networks for sensorimotor, cognitive, and emotional processing across the lifespan. Developmental studies of the cerebellar anatomy and function are scant. We examine age-dependent MRI morphometry of the anterior cerebellar vermis, lobules I-V and posterior neocortical lobules VI-VII and their relationship to sensorimotor and cognitive functions. METHODS Typically developing children (TDC; n=38; age 9-15) and healthy adults (HAC; n=31; 18-40) participated in high-resolution MRI. Rigorous anatomically informed morphometry of the vermis lobules I-V and VI-VII and total brain volume (TBV) employed manual segmentation computer-assisted FreeSurfer Image Analysis Program [http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu]. The neuropsychological scores (WASI-II) were normalized and related to volumes of anterior, posterior vermis, and TBV. RESULTS TBVs were age independent. Volumes of I-V and VI-VII were significantly reduced in TDC. The ratio of VI-VII to I-V (∼60%) was stable across age-groups; I-V correlated with visual-spatial-motor skills; VI-VII with verbal, visual-abstract and FSIQ. CONCLUSIONS In TDC neither anterior I-V nor posterior VI-VII vermis attained adult volumes. The "inverted U" developmental trajectory of gray matter peaking in adolescence does not explain this finding. The hypothesis of protracted development of oligodendrocyte/myelination is suggested as a contributor to TDC's lower cerebellar vermis volumes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Hodgdon
- Pediatric Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Ryan Anderson
- Pediatric Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Hussein Al Azzawi
- Pediatric Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute of Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14090 Mother Teresa Lane, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
| | - Isabel Solis
- Pediatric Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Douglas N Greve
- MGH/MIT Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia M Stephen
- Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, 1101 Yale Blvd N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
| | - Kristina T R Ciesielski
- Pediatric Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; MGH/MIT Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Faris P, Pischedda D, Palesi F, D’Angelo E. New clues for the role of cerebellum in schizophrenia and the associated cognitive impairment. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 18:1386583. [PMID: 38799988 PMCID: PMC11116653 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1386583] [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: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder associated with severe cognitive dysfunction. Although research has mainly focused on forebrain abnormalities, emerging results support the involvement of the cerebellum in SZ physiopathology, particularly in Cognitive Impairment Associated with SZ (CIAS). Besides its role in motor learning and control, the cerebellum is implicated in cognition and emotion. Recent research suggests that structural and functional changes in the cerebellum are linked to deficits in various cognitive domains including attention, working memory, and decision-making. Moreover, cerebellar dysfunction is related to altered cerebellar circuit activities and connectivity with brain regions associated with cognitive processing. This review delves into the role of the cerebellum in CIAS. We initially consider the major forebrain alterations in CIAS, addressing impairments in neurotransmitter systems, synaptic plasticity, and connectivity. We then focus on recent findings showing that several mechanisms are also altered in the cerebellum and that cerebellar communication with the forebrain is impaired. This evidence implicates the cerebellum as a key component of circuits underpinning CIAS physiopathology. Further studies addressing cerebellar involvement in SZ and CIAS are warranted and might open new perspectives toward understanding the physiopathology and effective treatment of these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawan Faris
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Doris Pischedda
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Fulvia Palesi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Egidio D’Angelo
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Digital Neuroscience Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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Cattarinussi G, Di Giorgio A, Sambataro F. Cerebellar dysconnectivity in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is associated with cognitive and clinical variables. Schizophr Res 2024; 267:497-506. [PMID: 38582653 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.03.039] [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: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abnormal cerebellar functional connectivity (FC) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). However, the patterns of cerebellar dysconnectivity in these two disorders and their association with cognitive functioning and clinical symptoms have not been fully clarified. In this study, we examined cerebellar FC alterations in SCZ and BD-I and their association with cognition and psychotic symptoms. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of 39 SCZ, 43 BD-I, and 61 healthy controls from the Consortium for Neuropsychiatric Phenomics dataset were examined. The cerebellum was parcellated into ten functional networks, and seed-based FC was calculated for each cerebellar system. Principal component analyses were used to reduce the dimensionality of the diagnosis-related FC and cognitive variables. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between FC and cognitive and clinical data. RESULTS We observed decreased cerebellar FC with the frontal, temporal, occipital, and thalamic areas in individuals with SCZ, and a more widespread decrease in cerebellar FC in individuals with BD-I, involving the frontal, cingulate, parietal, temporal, occipital, and thalamic regions. SCZ had increased within-cerebellum and cerebellar frontal FC compared to BD-I. In BD-I, memory and verbal learning performances, which were higher compared to SCZ, showed a greater interaction with cerebellar FC patterns. Additionally, patterns of increased cortico-cerebellar FC were marginally associated with positive symptoms in patients. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that shared and distinct patterns of cortico-cerebellar dysconnectivity in SCZ and BD-I could underlie cognitive impairments and psychotic symptoms in these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Cattarinussi
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Annabella Di Giorgio
- Department of Mental Health and Addictions, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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Kakizawa S, Park JJ, Tonoki A. Biology of cognitive aging across species. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24 Suppl 1:15-24. [PMID: 38126240 DOI: 10.1111/ggi.14782] [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: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Aging is associated with cognitive decline, which can critically affect quality of life. Examining the biology of cognitive aging across species will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms involved in this process, and identify potential interventions that could help to improve cognitive function in aging individuals. This minireview aimed to explore the mechanisms and processes involved in cognitive aging across a range of species, from flies to rodents, and covers topics, such as the role of reactive oxygen species and autophagy/mitophagy in cognitive aging. Overall, this literature provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of cognitive aging across species, highlighting the latest research findings and identifying potential avenues for future research. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 15-24.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sho Kakizawa
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Joong-Jean Park
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ayako Tonoki
- Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
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de Mooij-van Malsen JG, Röhrdanz N, Buschhoff AS, Schiffelholz T, Sigurdsson T, Wulff P. Task-specific oscillatory synchronization of prefrontal cortex, nucleus reuniens, and hippocampus during working memory. iScience 2023; 26:107532. [PMID: 37636046 PMCID: PMC10450413 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107532] [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: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory requires maintenance of and executive control over task-relevant information on a timescale of seconds. Spatial working memory depends on interactions between hippocampus, for the representation of space, and prefrontal cortex, for executive control. A monosynaptic hippocampal projection to the prefrontal cortex has been proposed to serve this interaction. However, connectivity and inactivation experiments indicate a critical role of the nucleus reuniens in hippocampal-prefrontal communication. We have investigated the dynamics of oscillatory coherence throughout the prefrontal-hippocampal-reuniens network in a touchscreen-based working memory task. We found that coherence at distinct frequencies evolved depending on phase and difficulty of the task. During choice, the reuniens did not participate in enhanced prefrontal-hippocampal theta but in gamma coherence. Strikingly, the reuniens was strongly embedded in performance-related increases in beta coherence, suggesting the execution of top-down control. In addition, we show that during working memory maintenance the prefrontal-hippocampal-reuniens network displays performance-related delay activity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Niels Röhrdanz
- Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Schiffelholz
- Center of Integrative Psychiatry, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Torfi Sigurdsson
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Neuroscience Center, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Peer Wulff
- Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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