1
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Alves J, Dos Santos APB, Vieira ADS, Martini APR, de Lima RMS, Smaniotto TÂ, de Moraes RO, Gomes RF, Acerbi GCDA, de Assis EZB, Lampert C, Dalmaz C, Couto Pereira NDS. Coping with the experience of frustration throughout life: Sex- and age-specific effects of early life stress on the susceptibility to reward devaluation. Neuroscience 2024; 553:160-171. [PMID: 38960089 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.06.020] [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: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Early life stress may lead to lifelong impairments in psychophysiological functions, including emotional and reward systems. Unpredicted decrease in reward magnitude generates a negative emotional state (frustration) that may be involved with susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. We evaluated, in adolescents and adult rats of both sexes, whether maternal separation (MS) alters the ability to cope with an unexpected reduction of reward later in life. Litters of Wistar rats were divided into controls (non handled - NH) or subjected to MS. Animals were trained to find sugary cereal pellets; later the amount was reduced. Increased latency to reach the reward-associated area indicates higher inability to regulate frustration. The dorsal hippocampus (dHC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) were evaluated for protein levels of NMDA receptor subunits (GluN2A/GluN2B), synaptophysin, PSD95, SNAP-25 and CRF1. We found that adult MS males had greater vulnerability to reward reduction, together with decreased GluN2A and increased GluN2B immunocontent in the dHC. MS females and adolescents did not differ from controls. We concluded that MS enhances the response to frustration in adult males. The change in the ratio of GluN2A and GluN2B subunits in dHC could be related to a stronger, more difficult to update memory of the aversive experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joelma Alves
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Bosquetti Dos Santos
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Aline Dos Santos Vieira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Rodrigues Martini
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Randriely Merscher Sobreira de Lima
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Thiago Ângelo Smaniotto
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Rafael Oliveira de Moraes
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Roger Ferreira Gomes
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Giulia Conde de Albite Acerbi
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Z B de Assis
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carine Lampert
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Carla Dalmaz
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Natividade de Sá Couto Pereira
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
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2
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Rekapalli AK, Roman IC, Brenhouse HC, Cody CR. An adverse rearing environment alters maternal responsiveness to infant ultrasonic vocalizations. Int J Dev Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 39003605 DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Rodent pups use a variety of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to facilitate maternal care. Importantly, infant USV repertoires are dependent on both the age and early life experiences of the pups. We have shown that an adverse rearing environment modeled with the maternal separation (MS) paradigm alters caregiving behavior but little is known about how pup USVs differentially elicit maternal attention. In the present study, maternal approach towards a vocalizing pup over a non-vocalizing pup was tested in a Y-maze apparatus at two developmental time points over the course of MS. At postnatal day (P)10, MS dams engaged in longer interaction times with vocalizing pups compared to non-vocalizing pup, and this effect was strongest in male pups. As expected at P20, dams did not show a preference for either the vocalizing or non-vocalizing pups regardless of rearing environment; however, MS dams spent a greater amount of time in the center of the apparatus as compared to control dams, which can be interpreted as a measure of uncertainty or indecision. These effects of MS on dam USV sensitivity are important considering the sex specific effects of MS exposure across all developmental stages. Our novel findings support the hypothesis that sex-specific pup-dam interactions may drive later life outcomes following adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Isabel C Roman
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Caitlyn R Cody
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Cody CR, de la Villarmois EA, Fernandez AM, Lardizabal J, McKnight C, Tseng K, Brenhouse HC. Effects of early life adversity and adolescent basolateral amygdala activity on corticolimbic connectivity and anxiety behaviors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.26.586708. [PMID: 38853948 PMCID: PMC11160567 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.26.586708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Early postnatal development of corticolimbic circuitry is shaped by the environment and is vulnerable to early life challenges. Prior work has shown that early life adversity (ELA) leads to hyperinnervation of glutamatergic basolateral amygdala (BLA) projections to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in adolescence. While hyperinnervation is associated with later-life anxiety behaviors, the physiological changes underpinning corticolimbic and behavioral impacts of ELA are not understood. We tested whether postsynaptic BLA-driven PFC activity is enhanced in ELA-exposed animals, using the maternal separation (MS) model of ELA. PFC local-field potential following BLA stimulation was facilitated in MS-exposed adolescents. Since ELA increases activity of the early-developing BLA, while the PFC exhibits protracted development, we further examined impacts of glutamatergic BLA activity during early adolescence on later-life PFC innervation and heightened anxiety. In early adolescence, MS-exposed animals exhibited decreased anxiety-like behavior, and acute adolescent BLA inhibition induced behaviors that resembled those of MS animals. To examine long-lasting impacts of adolescent BLA activity on innervation, BLA-originating axonal boutons in the PFC were quantified in late adolescence after early adolescent BLA inhibition. We further tested whether late adolescent BLA-PFC changes were associated with anxious reactivity expressed as heightened acoustic startle responses. MS rearing increased BLA-PFC innervation and threat reactivity in late adolescence, however early adolescent BLA inhibition was insufficient to prevent MS effects, suggesting that earlier BLA activity or post-synaptic receptor rearrangement in the PFC drives altered innervation. Taken together, these findings highlight both pre- and postsynaptic changes in the adolescent BLA-PFC circuit following ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlyn R Cody
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston MA 02115
| | | | | | | | - Chaney McKnight
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston MA 02115
| | - Kuei Tseng
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois, Chicago IL 60612
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Liao CP, Majeed M, Hobert O. Experience-dependent, sexually dimorphic synaptic connectivity defined by sex-specific cadherin expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.08.593207. [PMID: 38766005 PMCID: PMC11100761 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.08.593207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
We describe here the molecular mechanisms by which juvenile experience defines patterns of sexually dimorphic synaptic connectivity in the adult nervous system of the nematode C. elegans. We show that starvation of juvenile males disrupts serotonin-dependent activation of the CREB transcription factor in a nociceptive sensory neuron, PHB. CREB acts through a cascade of transcription factors to control expression of an atypical cadherin protein, FMI-1/Flamingo. During postembryonic development, FMI-1/Flamingo has the capacity to promote and maintain synaptic connectivity of the PHB nociceptive sensory to a command interneuron, AVA, in both sexes, but the serotonin transcriptional regulatory cassette antagonizes FMI-1/Flamingo expression in males, thereby establishing sexually dimorphic connectivity between PHB and AVA. A critical regulatory node in this process is the CREB-target LIN-29, a Zn finger transcription factor which integrates four different layers of information - sexual specificity, past feeding status, time and cell-type specificity. Our findings provide the mechanistic details of how an early juvenile experience defines sexually dimorphic synaptic connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-Po Liao
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Maryam Majeed
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Present address: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle,
USA
| | - Oliver Hobert
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA
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5
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Premachandran H, Wilkin J, Arruda-Carvalho M. Minimizing Variability in Developmental Fear Studies in Mice: Toward Improved Replicability in the Field. Curr Protoc 2024; 4:e1040. [PMID: 38713136 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.1040] [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] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
In rodents, the first weeks of postnatal life feature remarkable changes in fear memory acquisition, retention, extinction, and discrimination. Early development is also marked by profound changes in brain circuits underlying fear memory processing, with heightened sensitivity to environmental influences and stress, providing a powerful model to study the intersection between brain structure, function, and the impacts of stress. Nevertheless, difficulties related to breeding and housing young rodents, preweaning manipulations, and potential increased variability within that population pose considerable challenges to developmental fear research. Here we discuss several factors that may promote variability in studies examining fear conditioning in young rodents and provide recommendations to increase replicability. We focus primarily on experimental conditions, design, and analysis of rodent fear data, with an emphasis on mouse studies. The convergence of anatomical, synaptic, physiological, and behavioral changes during early life may increase variability, but careful practice and transparency in reporting may improve rigor and consensus in the field. © 2024 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanista Premachandran
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Jennifer Wilkin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Maithe Arruda-Carvalho
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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6
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Laine MA, Greiner EM, Shansky RM. Sex differences in the rodent medial prefrontal cortex - What Do and Don't we know? Neuropharmacology 2024; 248:109867. [PMID: 38387553 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2024.109867] [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: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex, particularly its medial subregions (mPFC), mediates critical functions such as executive control, behavioral inhibition, and memory formation, with relevance for everyday functioning and psychopathology. Despite broad characterization of the mPFC in multiple model organisms, the extent to which mPFC structure and function vary according to an individual's sex is unclear - a knowledge gap that can be attributed to a historical bias for male subjects in neuroscience research. Recent efforts to consider sex as a biological variable in basic science highlight the great need to close this gap. Here we review the knowns and unknowns about how rodents categorized as male or female compare in mPFC neuroanatomy, pharmacology, as well as in aversive, appetitive, and goal- or habit-directed behaviors that recruit the mPFC. We propose that long-standing dogmatic concepts of mPFC structure and function may not remain supported when we move beyond male-only studies, and that empirical challenges to these dogmas are warranted. Additionally, we note some common pitfalls in this work. Most preclinical studies operationalize sex as a binary categorization, and while this approach has furthered the inclusion of non-male rodents it is not as such generalizable to what we know of sex as a multidimensional, dynamic variable. Exploration of sex variability may uncover both sex differences and sex similarities, but care must be taken in their interpretation. Including females in preclinical research needs to go beyond the investigation of sex differences, improving our knowledge of how this brain region and its subregions mediate behavior and health. This article is part of the Special Issue on "PFC circuit function in psychiatric disease and relevant models".
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Laine
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - E M Greiner
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - R M Shansky
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
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7
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Feeney K, Pintos Lobo R, Hare MM, Morris SSJ, Laird AR, Musser ED. Parental Deprivation- and Threat-Based Factors Associated with Youth Emotion-Based Neurocircuitry and Externalizing Behavior: A Systematic Review. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024; 52:311-323. [PMID: 37831222 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01138-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Parental factors, including negative parenting practices (e.g., family conflict, low monitoring), parental depression, and parental substance use, are associated with externalizing behaviors among youth. However, the ways in which these parental factors are associated with youth brain function and consequent externalizing behavior has been less studied. Both the dimensional and stress acceleration models provide frameworks for understanding how parental factors may be associated with frontolimbic and frontoparietal networks implicated in emotional attention and regulation processes. The current review builds upon this work by examining how deprivation- and threat-based parental factors are associated with youth neurocircuitry involved in emotional functioning and externalizing behaviors. A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines was completed and included five studies assessing parenting behaviors, six studies assessing parental depressive symptoms and/or diagnosis, and 12 studies assessing parental history of substance use. Synthesis of reviewed studies discusses support for the dimensional and stress acceleration models within the context of deprivation and threat. Further, a limited number of studies tested (i.e., six studies) and supported (i.e., three studies) youth neural structure and function as a mediator of the association between parental factors and youth externalizing behavior. Specific recommendations for future work include more deliberate planning related to sample composition, improved clarity related to parental constructs, consistency in methodology, and longitudinal study design in order to better understand associations between contextual parental influences and youth neural and behavioral functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Feeney
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
| | | | - Megan M Hare
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Angela R Laird
- Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
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8
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Granata L, Fanikos M, Brenhouse HC. Early life adversity accelerates hypothalamic drive of pubertal timing in female rats with associated enhanced acoustic startle. Horm Behav 2024; 159:105478. [PMID: 38241961 PMCID: PMC10926229 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Early life adversity in the form of childhood maltreatment in humans or as modeled by maternal separation (MS) in rodents is often associated with an earlier emergence of puberty in females. Earlier pubertal initiation is an example of accelerated biological aging and predicts later risk for anxiety in women, especially in populations exposed to early life trauma. Here we investigated external pubertal markers as well as hypothalamic gene expression of pubertal regulators kisspeptin and gonadotropin-releasing hormone, to determine a biological substrate for MS-induced accelerated puberty. We further investigated a mechanism by which developmental stress might regulate pubertal timing. As kisspeptin and gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion are typically inhibited by corticotropin releasing hormone at its receptor CRH-R1, we hypothesized that MS induces a downregulation of Crhr1 gene transcription in a cell-specific manner. Finally, we explored the association between pubertal timing and anxiety-like behavior in an acoustic startle paradigm, to drive future preclinical research linking accelerated puberty and anxiety. We replicated previous findings that MS leads to earlier puberty in females but not males, and found expression of kisspeptin and gonadotropin-releasing hormone mRNA to be prematurely increased in MS females. RNAscope confirmed increased expression of these genes, and further revealed that kisspeptin-expressing neurons in females were less likely to express Crhr1 after MS. Early puberty was associated with higher acoustic startle magnitude in females. Taken together, these findings indicate precocial maturation of central pubertal timing mechanisms after MS, as well as a potential role of CRH-R1 in these effects and an association with a translational measure of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Granata
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Michaela Fanikos
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Heather C Brenhouse
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of America.
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9
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Noel ES, Chen A, Peña YA, Honeycutt JA. Early life adversity drives sex-dependent changes in 5-mC DNA methylation of parvalbumin cells in the prefrontal cortex in rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.31.578313. [PMID: 38352518 PMCID: PMC10862911 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.31.578313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) can result in increased risk for developing affective disorders, such as anxiety or depression, later in life, with women showing increased risk. Interactions between an individual's genes and their environment play key roles in producing, as well as mitigating, later life neuropathology. Our current understanding of the underlying epigenomic drivers of ELA associated anxiety and depression are limited, and this stems in part from the complexity of underlying biochemical processes associated with how early experiences shapes later life behavior. Epigenetic alterations, or experience-driven modifications to DNA, can be leveraged to understand the interplay between genes and the environment. The present study characterized DNA methylation patterning, assessed via evaluation of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC), following ELA in a Sprague Dawley rat model of ELA induced by early caregiver deprivation. This study utilized maternal separation to investigate sex- and age-specific outcomes of ELA on epigenetic patterning in parvalbumin (PV)-containing interneurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a subpopulation of inhibitory neurons which are associated with ELA and affective dysfunction. While global analysis of 5-mC methylation and CpG site specific pyrosequencing of the PV promoter, Pvalb, showed no obvious effects of ELA, when analyses were restricted to assessing 5-mC intensity in colocalized PV cells, there were significant sex and age dependent effects. We found that ELA leads sex-specific changes in PV cell counts, and that cell counts can be predicted by 5-mC intensity, with males and females showing distinct patterns of methylation and PV outcomes. ELA also produced sex-specific effects in corticosterone reactivity, with juvenile females showing a blunted stress hormone response compared to controls. Overall, ELA led to a sex-specific developmental shift in PV profile, which is comparable to profiles that are seen at a later developmental timepoint, and this shift may be mediated in part by epigenomic alterations driven by altered DNA methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma S Noel
- Program in Biochemistry, Brunswick, ME 04011 USA
| | - Alissa Chen
- Program in Neuroscience, Brunswick, ME 04011 USA
| | | | - Jennifer A Honeycutt
- Program in Neuroscience, Brunswick, ME 04011 USA
- Department of Psychology Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME 04011 USA
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Dalla C, Jaric I, Pavlidi P, Hodes GE, Kokras N, Bespalov A, Kas MJ, Steckler T, Kabbaj M, Würbel H, Marrocco J, Tollkuhn J, Shansky R, Bangasser D, Becker JB, McCarthy M, Ferland-Beckham C. Practical solutions for including sex as a biological variable (SABV) in preclinical neuropsychopharmacological research. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 401:110003. [PMID: 37918446 PMCID: PMC10842858 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.110003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Recently, many funding agencies have released guidelines on the importance of considering sex as a biological variable (SABV) as an experimental factor, aiming to address sex differences and avoid possible sex biases to enhance the reproducibility and translational relevance of preclinical research. In neuroscience and pharmacology, the female sex is often omitted from experimental designs, with researchers generalizing male-driven outcomes to both sexes, risking a biased or limited understanding of disease mechanisms and thus potentially ineffective therapeutics. Herein, we describe key methodological aspects that should be considered when sex is factored into in vitro and in vivo experiments and provide practical knowledge for researchers to incorporate SABV into preclinical research. Both age and sex significantly influence biological and behavioral processes due to critical changes at different timepoints of development for males and females and due to hormonal fluctuations across the rodent lifespan. We show that including both sexes does not require larger sample sizes, and even if sex is included as an independent variable in the study design, a moderate increase in sample size is sufficient. Moreover, the importance of tracking hormone levels in both sexes and the differentiation between sex differences and sex-related strategy in behaviors are explained. Finally, the lack of robust data on how biological sex influences the pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD), or toxicological effects of various preclinically administered drugs to animals due to the exclusion of female animals is discussed, and methodological strategies to enhance the rigor and translational relevance of preclinical research are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Dalla
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
| | - Ivana Jaric
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pavlina Pavlidi
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Georgia E Hodes
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Nikolaos Kokras
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Anton Bespalov
- Partnership for Assessment and Accreditation of Scientific Practice (PAASP GmbH), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martien J Kas
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Mohamed Kabbaj
- Department of Biomedical Sciences & Neurosciences, College of Medicine, Florida State University, USA
| | - Hanno Würbel
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jordan Marrocco
- Department of Biology, Touro University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | | | - Rebecca Shansky
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02128, USA
| | - Debra Bangasser
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Jill B Becker
- Department of Psychology and Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Margaret McCarthy
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Baltimore MD, USA
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11
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Ortelli OA, Pitcairn SR, Dyson CH, Weiner JL. Sexually dimorphic effects of a modified adolescent social isolation paradigm on behavioral risk factors of alcohol use disorder in Long Evans Rats. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 9:100134. [PMID: 38188062 PMCID: PMC10768969 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2023.100134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) is a major risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and comorbid neuropsychiatric conditions. We previously demonstrated that an adolescent social isolation (aSI) model of ELS significantly increased behavioral risk factors for these disorders (e.g. anxiety-like behaviors, alcohol drinking) in male, but not female rats. Since many neurodevelopmental milestones are accelerated in females, we investigated whether an earlier/shorter isolation window (PND 21-38) would yield comparable phenotypes in both sexes. In two experiments, Long Evans rats were socially isolated (SI) or group-housed (GH) on postnatal day (PND) 21 and locomotion was assessed in the open field test (OFT; PND 30). Experiment 1 also assessed behavior on the elevated plus-maze (EPM) (PND 32). In Experiment 2, all rats were single housed on PND 38 to assess home cage alcohol drinking. Experiment 1 revealed that SI females had increased locomotor activity in the OFT but did not differ from GH subjects on the EPM. The OFT results were replicated in both sexes in Experiment 2 and both male and female SI rats had significantly greater ethanol consumption during an eight day continuous access paradigm. In contrast, during subsequent intermittent two-bottle choice drinking, only SI females displayed greater ethanol intake and preference and increased consumption of a quinine-adulterated alcohol solution. These findings demonstrate that early life social isolation can promote AUD vulnerability-related phenotypes in female rats but that there are profound sex differences in the vulnerability window to this early life stressor. Uncovering the neural mechanisms responsible for these sexually dimorphic differences in sensitivity to ELS may shed light on the biological substrates associated with vulnerability to AUD and comorbid disorders of negative emotion in men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia A. Ortelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Stacy R. Pitcairn
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Christina H. Dyson
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Jeffrey L. Weiner
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
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12
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Nieves GM, Bravo M, Bath KG. Early life adversity ablates sex differences in active versus passive threat responding in mice. Stress 2023; 26:2244598. [PMID: 37624104 PMCID: PMC10529224 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2023.2244598] [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: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) heightens the risk for anxiety disorders (which are characterized by heightened fear and avoidance behaviors), with females being twice as likely as males to develop pathology. Pavlovian fear conditioning tasks have been used to study possible mechanisms supporting endophenotypes of pathology. Identification of sex and ELA selective effects on the nature of behavioral responding in these paradigms may provide a unique window into coping strategies in response to learned fear to guide more mechanistic studies. The goals of this study were two-fold; First, to test if male and female mice employed different coping strategies in response to threat learning using different conditioning parameters (low, medium, and high intensity foot shocks). Second, to test if ELA in the form of limited bedding and nesting (LBN) altered the behavioral response of mice to conditioning. Mice received 6 tone/foot-shock pairings at one of three different foot-shock intensities (0.35 mA; 0.57 mA; 0.7 mA). Freezing, darting, and foot-shock reactivity were measured across trials. During conditioning, control-reared female mice exhibited significantly higher rates of darting behavior compared to control males at nearly all shock intensities tested. LBN rearing decreased the proportion of darting females to levels observed in males. Thus, ELA in the form of LBN significantly diminished the recruitment of active versus passive coping strategies in female mice but did not generally change male responding. Additional work will be required to understand the neural basis of these behavioral effects. Findings extending from this work have the potential to shed light on how ELA impacts trajectories of regional brain development with implications for sex-selective risk for behavioral endophenotypes associated with pathology and possibly symptom presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Manzano Nieves
- Department of Psychiatry, Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, and Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10021
| | - Marilyn Bravo
- David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
| | - Kevin G. Bath
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute/Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY, 10032
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical College, New York, NY 1003
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13
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Lonstein JS, Vitale EM, Olekanma D, McLocklin A, Pence N, Bredewold R, Veenema AH, Johnson AW, Burt SA. Anxiety, aggression, reward sensitivity, and forebrain dopamine receptor expression in a laboratory rat model of early-life disadvantage. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22421. [PMID: 37860907 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22421] [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: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Despite early-life disadvantage (ELD) in humans being a highly heterogenous construct, it consistently predicts negative neurobehavioral outcomes. The numerous environmental contributors and neural mechanisms underlying ELD remain unclear, though. We used a laboratory rat model to evaluate the effects of limited resources and/or heavy metal exposure on mothers and their adult male and female offspring. Dams and litters were chronically exposed to restricted (1-cm deep) or ample (4-cm deep) home cage bedding postpartum, with or without lead acetate (0.1%) in their drinking water from insemination through 1-week postweaning. Restricted-bedding mothers showed more pup-directed behaviors and behavioral fragmentation, while lead-exposed mothers showed more nestbuilding. Restricted bedding-raised male offspring showed higher anxiety and aggression. Either restricted bedding or lead exposure impaired goal-directed performance in a reinforcer devaluation task in females, whereas restricted bedding alone disrupted it in males. Lead exposure, but not limited bedding, also reduced sucrose reward sensitivity in a progressive ratio task in females. D1 and D2 receptor mRNA in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were each affected by the early-life treatments and differently between the sexes. Most notably, adult males (but not females) exposed to both early-life treatments had greatly increased D1 receptor mRNA in the NAc core. These results illuminate neural mechanisms through which ELD threatens neurobehavioral development and highlight forebrain dopamine as a factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Lonstein
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Erika M Vitale
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Doris Olekanma
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Andrew McLocklin
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Nathan Pence
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Remco Bredewold
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Alexa H Veenema
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Alexander W Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
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14
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Milbocker KA, Smith IF, Brengel EK, LeBlanc GL, Roth TL, Klintsova AY. Exercise in Adolescence Enhances Callosal White Matter Refinement in the Female Brain in a Rat Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Cells 2023; 12:cells12070975. [PMID: 37048047 PMCID: PMC10092997 DOI: 10.3390/cells12070975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
A total of 1 in 20 infants born annually are exposed to alcohol prenatally, which disrupts neurodevelopment and results in several disorders categorized under the umbrella term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Children and adolescents affected by FASD exhibit delayed maturation of cerebral white matter, which contributes to deficits in executive function, visuospatial processing, sensory integration, and interhemispheric communication. Research using animal models of FASD have uncovered that oligoglia proliferation, differentiation, and survival are vulnerable to alcohol teratogenesis in the male brain due in part to the activation of the neuroimmune system during gestation and infancy. A comprehensive investigation of prenatal alcohol exposure on white matter development in the female brain is limited. This study demonstrated that the number of mature oligodendrocytes and the production of myelin basic protein were reduced first in the female corpus callosum following alcohol exposure in a rat model of FASD. Analysis of myelin-related genes confirmed that myelination occurs earlier in the female corpus callosum compared to their counterparts, irrespective of postnatal treatment. Moreover, dysregulated oligodendrocyte number and myelin basic protein production was observed in the male and female FASD brain in adolescence. Targeted interventions that support white matter development in FASD-affected youth are nonexistent. The capacity for an adolescent exercise intervention to upregulate corpus callosum myelination was evaluated: we discovered that volunteer exercise increases the number of mature oligodendrocytes in alcohol-exposed female rats. This study provides critical evidence that oligoglia differentiation is difficult but not impossible to induce in the female FASD brain in adolescence following a behavioral intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina A Milbocker
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Ian F Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Eric K Brengel
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Gillian L LeBlanc
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Tania L Roth
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Anna Y Klintsova
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
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15
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Points of divergence on a bumpy road: early development of brain and immune threat processing systems following postnatal adversity. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:269-283. [PMID: 35705633 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01658-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Lifelong indices of maladaptive behavior or illness often stem from early physiological aberrations during periods of dynamic development. This is especially true when dysfunction is attributable to early life adversity (ELA), when the environment itself is unsuitable to support development of healthy behavior. Exposure to ELA is strongly associated with atypical sensitivity and responsivity to potential threats-a characteristic that could be adaptive in situations where early adversity prepares individuals for lifelong danger, but which often manifests in difficulties with emotion regulation and social relationships. By synthesizing findings from animal research, this review will consider threat sensitivity through the lenses of associated corticolimbic brain circuitry and immune mechanisms, both of which are immature early in life to maximize adaptation for protection against environmental challenges to an individual's well-being. The forces that drive differential development of corticolimbic circuits include caretaking stimuli, physiological and psychological stressors, and sex, which influences developmental trajectories. These same forces direct developmental processes of the immune system, which bidirectionally communicates with sensory systems and emotion regulation circuits within the brain. Inflammatory signals offer a further force influencing the timing and nature of corticolimbic plasticity, while also regulating sensitivity to future threats from the environment (i.e., injury or pathogens). The early development of these systems programs threat sensitivity through juvenility and adolescence, carving paths for probable function throughout adulthood. To strategize prevention or management of maladaptive threat sensitivity in ELA-exposed populations, it is necessary to fully understand these early points of divergence.
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16
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Sex differences in addiction-relevant behavioral outcomes in rodents following early life stress. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 6. [PMID: 37101684 PMCID: PMC10124992 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2023.100067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
In humans, exposure to early life stress (ELS) is an established risk factor for the development of substance use disorders (SUDs) during later life. Similarly, rodents exposed to ELS involving disrupted mother-infant interactions, such as maternal separation (MS) or adverse caregiving due to scarcity-adversity induced by limited bedding and nesting (LBN) conditions, also exhibit long-term alterations in alcohol and drug consumption. In both humans and rodents, there is a range of addiction-related behaviors that are associated with drug use and even predictive of subsequent SUDs. In rodents, these include increased anxiety-like behavior, impulsivity, and novelty-seeking, altered alcohol and drug intake patterns, as well as disrupted reward-related processes involving consummatory and social behaviors. Importantly, the expression of these behaviors often varies throughout the lifespan. Moreover, preclinical studies suggest that sex differences play a role in how exposure to ELS impacts reward and addiction-related phenotypes as well as underlying brain reward circuitry. Here, addiction-relevant behavioral outcomes and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) dysfunction resulting from ELS in the form of MS and LBN are discussed with a focus on age- and sex-dependent effects. Overall, these findings suggest that ELS may increase susceptibility for later life drug use and SUDs by interfering with the normal maturation of reward-related brain and behavioral function.
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17
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Haikonen J, Englund J, Amarilla SP, Kharybina Z, Shintyapina A, Kegler K, Garcia MS, Atanasova T, Taira T, Hartung H, Lauri SE. Aberrant cortical projections to amygdala GABAergic neurons contribute to developmental circuit dysfunction following early life stress. iScience 2022; 26:105724. [PMID: 36582824 PMCID: PMC9792886 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105724] [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: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) results in enduring dysfunction of the corticolimbic circuitry, underlying emotional and social behavior. However, the neurobiological mechanisms involved remain elusive. Here, we have combined viral tracing and electrophysiological techniques to study the effects of maternal separation (MS) on frontolimbic connectivity and function in young (P14-21) rats. We report that aberrant prefrontal inputs to basolateral amygdala (BLA) GABAergic interneurons transiently increase the strength of feed-forward inhibition in the BLA, which raises LTP induction threshold in MS treated male rats. The enhanced GABAergic activity after MS exposure associates with lower functional synchronization within prefrontal-amygdala networks in vivo. Intriguingly, no differences in these parameters were detected in females, which were also resistant to MS dependent changes in anxiety-like behaviors. Impaired plasticity and synchronization during the sensitive period of circuit refinement may contribute to long-lasting functional changes in the prefrontal-amygdaloid circuitry that predispose to neuropsychiatric conditions later on in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joni Haikonen
- HiLife Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jonas Englund
- Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Shyrley Paola Amarilla
- Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Zoia Kharybina
- HiLife Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Alexandra Shintyapina
- Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kristel Kegler
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marta Saez Garcia
- HiLife Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tsvetomira Atanasova
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tomi Taira
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Henrike Hartung
- HiLife Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sari E. Lauri
- HiLife Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Corresponding author
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18
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Kwarteng F, Wang R, Micov V, Hausknecht KA, Turk M, Ishiwari K, Oubraim S, Wang AL, Richards JB, Haj-Dahmane S, Shen RY. Adolescent chronic unpredictable stress leads to increased anxiety and attention deficit/hyperactivity-like symptoms in adulthood. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:3779-3791. [PMID: 36348027 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06242-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early-life adversities during development (e.g., child abuse and neglect) are linked to multiple behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety disorders, which have high comorbidity. However, the impact of adversities during adolescence, a crucial period in early life for these disorders, is understudied. Using a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model in rats, we investigated whether adversities in adolescence could lead to increased anxiety and ADHD-like symptoms in adulthood. METHODS Mid- to late-adolescent (5-7-week-old) male and female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a mild CUS procedure for 2 weeks. Various stressors were applied in an unpredictable way. Rats of both sexes were then trained with a 2-choice reaction time (2-CRT) task during adulthood, which are designed to detect ADHD-like symptoms, including increased impulsivity and lapse of attention. In addition, an open field test was conducted to examine if CUS resulted in a persistent increase in anxiety-like behavior during adulthood. RESULTS Both male and female rats with CUS exposure travelled shorter distances in the open field and spent less time in the center zone, indicating increased anxiety. In the 2-CRT task, rats of both sexes with CUS exposure showed increased impulsivity. Augmented lapses of attention were observed in female but not male rats. CONCLUSION Chronic unpredictable stress during adolescence increases anxiety and leads to ADHD-like symptoms in both male and female rats in adulthood. The deficits are more severe in females than in males. These observations support that adversities during adolescence persistently increase anxiety, which is comorbid with attention deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis Kwarteng
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Ruixiang Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Veronika Micov
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Kathryn A Hausknecht
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Marisa Turk
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Keita Ishiwari
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Saida Oubraim
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - An-Li Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Jerry B Richards
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Samir Haj-Dahmane
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA
| | - Roh-Yu Shen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
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19
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Granata L, Parakoyi A, Brenhouse HC. Age- and sex-specific effects of maternal separation on the acoustic startle reflex in rats: early baseline enhancement in females and blunted response to ambiguous threat. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1023513. [PMID: 36386786 PMCID: PMC9643533 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1023513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) increases the incidence of later-life anxiety disorders. Dysregulated threat processing, including responsivity to ambiguous threats, is an indicator of anxiety disorders and can be influenced by childhood experiences. The acoustic startle response is a defensive reflex displayed by mammals when exposed to sudden intense stimuli reflecting individual variations in vigilance. These measures can be altered by previous experience and experimental modifications, including the introduction of unconditioned aversive stimuli. Rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in the 22 KHz range in negative contexts. As such, 22 KHz USVs are an ethologically relevant social cue of environmental threat shown to induce anxiety-like behavior in recipient rats. Because the timing of symptom manifestation after early life adversity can differ between sexes, the current study sought to identify the age- and sex-specific effects of daily maternal separation (MS) on responsivity to ambiguous threat in rats. In Experiment 1, rat pups underwent MS or control rearing from postnatal day (P) 2–20, then underwent behavioral testing beginning on P24, 34, or 54 to determine whether MS modified the baseline startle response or the modulation of startle by 22 KHz USVs. In Experiment 2, rats were tested in a light-enhanced startle paradigm at P54 after MS or control rearing to determine whether MS influenced light-enhanced startle. Results show an enhancement of the baseline startle magnitude by MS in females at P34. At P54, MS reduced the modulation of the startle response by 22 KHz USVs and prevented light-enhanced startle, indicating an MS-induced deficit in defensive responsivity when exposed to potential threat.
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20
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Demaestri C, Gallo M, Mazenod E, Hong AT, Arora H, Short AK, Stern H, Baram TZ, Bath KG. Resource scarcity but not maternal separation provokes unpredictable maternal care sequences in mice and both upregulate Crh-associated gene expression in the amygdala. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 20:100484. [PMID: 36120094 PMCID: PMC9475315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) is a major risk factor for the development of pathology, including anxiety disorders. Neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes following ELA are multifaceted and are influenced heavily by the type of adversity experienced and sex of the individual experiencing ELA. It remains unclear what properties of ELA portend differential neurobiological risk and the basis of sex-differences for negative outcomes. Predictability of the postnatal environment has emerged as being a core feature supporting development, with the most salient signals deriving from parental care. Predictability of parental care may be a distinguishing feature of different forms of ELA, and the degree of predictability afforded by these manipulations may contribute to the diversity of outcomes observed across models. Further, questions remain as to whether differing levels of predictability may contribute to differential effects on neurodevelopment and expression of genes associated with risk for pathology. Here, we tested the hypothesis that changes in maternal behavior in mice would be contingent on the type of ELA experienced, directly comparing predictability of care in the limited bedding and nesting (LBN) and maternal separation (MS) paradigms. We then tested whether the predictability of the ELA environment altered the expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh), a sexually-dimorphic neuropeptide that regulates threat-related learning, in the amygdala of male and female mice. The LBN manipulation reliably increased the entropy of maternal care, a measure that indicates lower predictability between sequences of dam behavior. LBN and MS rearing similarly increased the frequency of nest sorties and licking of pups but had mixed effects on other aspects of dam-, pup-, and nest-related behaviors. Increased expression of Crh-related genes was observed in pups that experienced ELA, with gene expression measures showing a significant interaction with sex and type of ELA manipulation. Specifically, MS was associated with increased expression of Crh-related genes in males, but not females, and LBN primarily increased expression of these genes in females, but not males. The present study provides evidence for predictability as a distinguishing feature of models of ELA and demonstrates robust consequences of these differing experience on sex-differences in gene expression critically associated with stress responding and sex differences in risk for pathology. Type of early life adversity differentially altered quantity of maternal behavior. Limited bedding and nesting increased unpredictable dam behavior. Amygdalar Crh expression in male and female pups were dependent on the type rearing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Demaestri
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Meghan Gallo
- Doctoral Program in Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.,Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elisa Mazenod
- Doctoral Program in Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Alexander T Hong
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Hina Arora
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Annabel K Short
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Hal Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Kevin G Bath
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
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21
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Waters RC, Gould E. Early Life Adversity and Neuropsychiatric Disease: Differential Outcomes and Translational Relevance of Rodent Models. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:860847. [PMID: 35813268 PMCID: PMC9259886 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.860847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
It is now well-established that early life adversity (ELA) predisposes individuals to develop several neuropsychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorder. However, ELA is a very broad term, encompassing multiple types of negative childhood experiences, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect, as well as trauma associated with chronic illness, family separation, natural disasters, accidents, and witnessing a violent crime. Emerging literature suggests that in humans, different types of adverse experiences are more or less likely to produce susceptibilities to certain conditions that involve affective dysfunction. To investigate the driving mechanisms underlying the connection between experience and subsequent disease, neuroscientists have developed several rodent models of ELA, including pain exposure, maternal deprivation, and limited resources. These studies have also shown that different types of ELA paradigms produce different but somewhat overlapping behavioral phenotypes. In this review, we first investigate the types of ELA that may be driving different neuropsychiatric outcomes and brain changes in humans. We next evaluate whether rodent models of ELA can provide translationally relevant information regarding links between specific types of experience and changes in neural circuits underlying dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elizabeth Gould
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
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22
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Levis SC, Birnie MT, Bolton JL, Perrone CR, Montesinos JS, Baram TZ, Mahler SV. Enduring disruption of reward and stress circuit activities by early-life adversity in male rats. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:251. [PMID: 35705547 PMCID: PMC9200783 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01988-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, early-life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, poverty, and chaotic environment is linked to increased risk of later-life emotional disorders including depression and substance abuse. These disorders involve underlying disruption of reward circuits and likely vary by sex. Accordingly, we previously found that ELA leads to anhedonia for natural rewards and cocaine in male rodents, whereas in females ELA instead increases vulnerability to addiction-like use of opioid drugs and palatable food. While these findings suggest that ELA-induced disruption of reward circuitry may differ between the sexes, the specific circuit nodes that are influenced by ELA in either sex remain poorly understood. Here, in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, we ask how ELA impacts opioid addiction-relevant behaviors that we previously tested after ELA in females. We probe potential circuit mechanisms in males by assessing opioid-associated neuronal activation in stress and reward circuit nodes including nucleus accumbens (NAc), amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and paraventricular thalamus. We find that ELA diminishes opioid-seeking behaviors in males, and alters heroin-induced activation of NAc, PFC, and amygdala, suggesting a potential circuit-based mechanism. These studies demonstrate that ELA leads to behavioral and neurobiological disruptions consistent with anhedonia in male rodents, unlike the increased opioid seeking we previously saw in females. Our findings, taken together with our prior work, suggest that men and women could face qualitatively different mental health consequences of ELA, which may be essential for individually tailoring future intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C Levis
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
| | - Matthew T Birnie
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Jessica L Bolton
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Christina R Perrone
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Johanna S Montesinos
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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23
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Levis SC, Baram TZ, Mahler SV. Neurodevelopmental origins of substance use disorders: Evidence from animal models of early-life adversity and addiction. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2170-2195. [PMID: 33825217 PMCID: PMC8494863 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder with devastating personal, societal, and economic consequences. In humans, early-life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, neglect, and resource scarcity are linked with increased risk of later-life addiction, but the brain mechanisms underlying this link are still poorly understood. Here, we focus on data from rodent models of ELA and addiction, in which causal effects of ELA on later-life responses to drugs and the neurodevelopmental mechanisms by which ELA increases vulnerability to addiction can be determined. We first summarize evidence for a link between ELA and addiction in humans, then describe how ELA is commonly modeled in rodents. Since addiction is a heterogeneous disease with many individually varying behavioral aspects that may be impacted by ELA, we next discuss common rodent assays of addiction-like behaviors. We then summarize the specific addiction-relevant behavioral phenotypes caused by ELA in male and female rodents and discuss some of the underlying changes in brain reward and stress circuits that are likely responsible. By better understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which ELA promotes addiction vulnerability, we hope to facilitate development of new approaches for preventing or treating addiction in those with a history of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C. Levis
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Stephen V. Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
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24
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Alcohol Deprivation Differentially Changes Alcohol Intake in Female and Male Rats Depending on Early-Life Stressful Experience. NEUROSCI 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/neurosci3020016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Experiencing early-life adverse events has enduring effects on individual vulnerability to alcohol abuse and the development of addiction-related behaviors. In rodents, it can be studied using maternal separation (MS) stress. Studies have shown that, depending on the protocol used, MS can affect the mother and pups’ behavior and are associated with behavioral alterations later in adulthood, associated with both positive or negative outcomes. However, it is not fully elucidated how MS affects relapse-like behaviors when experienced by female or male individuals. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of brief and prolonged MS on the alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) in female and male rats. Female and male Wistar rats were exposed to brief (15 min/day) or prolonged (180 min/day) MS from postnatal day (PND) 2 to 10. Later, during adulthood (PND 70), animals were submitted to an ADE protocol. Brief MS exposure prevented the ADE in both females and males, while prolonged MS exposure also prevented the ADE in female rats. Moreover, the ADE was more robust in females when compared to males. In conclusion, we showed that male and female rats are differentially affected by alcohol deprivation periods depending on their early-life experiences.
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25
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Chen Y, Zheng Y, Yan J, Zhu C, Zeng X, Zheng S, Li W, Yao L, Xia Y, Su WW, Chen Y. Early Life Stress Induces Different Behaviors in Adolescence and Adulthood May Related With Abnormal Medial Prefrontal Cortex Excitation/Inhibition Balance. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:720286. [PMID: 35058738 PMCID: PMC8765554 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.720286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life stress is thought to be a risk factor for emotional disorders, particularly depression and anxiety. Although the excitation/inhibition (E/I) imbalance has been implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, whether early life stress affects the E/I balance in the medial prefrontal cortex at various developmental stages is unclear. In this study, rats exposed to maternal separation (MS) that exhibited a well-established early life stress paradigm were used to evaluate the E/I balance in adolescence (postnatal day P43-60) and adulthood (P82-100) by behavior tests, whole-cell recordings, and microdialysis coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis. First, the behavioral tests revealed that MS induced both anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in adolescent rats but only depressive-like behavior in adult rats. Second, MS increased the action potential frequency and E/I balance of synaptic transmission onto L5 pyramidal neurons in the prelimbic (PrL) brain region of adolescent rats while decreasing the action potential frequency and E/I balance in adult rats. Finally, MS increases extracellular glutamate levels and decreased the paired-pulse ratio of evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) of pyramidal neurons in the PrL of adolescent rats. In contrast, MS decreased extracellular glutamate levels and increased the paired-pulse ratio of evoked EPSCs of pyramidal neurons in the PrL of adult rats. The present results reveal a key role of E/I balance in different MS-induced disorders may related to the altered probability of presynaptic glutamate release at different developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiwen Chen
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuanjia Zheng
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinglan Yan
- Research Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
| | - Chuanan Zhu
- Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xiamen, China
| | - Xuan Zeng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shaoyi Zheng
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenwen Li
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lin Yao
- Research Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
| | - Yucen Xia
- Research Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
| | - Wei-Wei Su
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yongjun Chen
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Research Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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26
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Birnie MT, Levis SC, Mahler SV, Baram TZ. Developmental Trajectories of Anhedonia in Preclinical Models. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 58:23-41. [PMID: 35156184 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This chapter discusses how the complex concept of anhedonia can be operationalized and studied in preclinical models. It provides information about the development of anhedonia in the context of early-life adversity, and the power of preclinical models to tease out the diverse molecular, epigenetic, and network mechanisms that are responsible for anhedonia-like behaviors.Specifically, we first discuss the term anhedonia, reviewing the conceptual components underlying reward-related behaviors and distinguish anhedonia pertaining to deficits in motivational versus consummatory behaviors. We then describe the repertoire of experimental approaches employed to study anhedonia-like behaviors in preclinical models, and the progressive refinement over the past decade of both experimental instruments (e.g., chemogenetics, optogenetics) and conceptual constructs (salience, valence, conflict). We follow with an overview of the state of current knowledge of brain circuits, nodes, and projections that execute distinct aspects of hedonic-like behaviors, as well as neurotransmitters, modulators, and receptors involved in the generation of anhedonia-like behaviors. Finally, we discuss the special case of anhedonia that arises following early-life adversity as an eloquent example enabling the study of causality, mechanisms, and sex dependence of anhedonia.Together, this chapter highlights the power, potential, and limitations of using preclinical models to advance our understanding of the origin and mechanisms of anhedonia and to discover potential targets for its prevention and mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Birnie
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Sophia C Levis
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Neurobiology/Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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27
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Milbocker KA, Campbell TS, Collins N, Kim S, Smith IF, Roth TL, Klintsova AY. Glia-Driven Brain Circuit Refinement Is Altered by Early-Life Adversity: Behavioral Outcomes. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:786234. [PMID: 34924972 PMCID: PMC8678604 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.786234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life adversity (ELA), often clinically referred to as "adverse childhood experiences (ACE)," is the exposure to stress-inducing events in childhood that can result in poor health outcomes. ELA negatively affects neurodevelopment in children and adolescents resulting in several behavioral deficits and increasing the risk of developing a myriad of neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. The neurobiological mechanisms by which ELA alters neurodevelopment in childhood have been the focus of numerous reviews. However, a comprehensive review of the mechanisms affecting adolescent neurodevelopment (i.e., synaptic pruning and myelination) is lacking. Synaptic pruning and myelination are glia-driven processes that are imperative for brain circuit refinement during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Failure to optimize brain circuitry between key brain structures involved in learning and memory, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, leads to the emergence of maladaptive behaviors including increased anxiety or reduced executive function. As such, we review preclinical and clinical literature to explore the immediate and lasting effects of ELA on brain circuit development and refinement. Finally, we describe a number of therapeutic interventions best-suited to support adolescent neurodevelopment in children with a history of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Anna Y. Klintsova
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
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28
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Ellis SN, Honeycutt JA. Sex Differences in Affective Dysfunction and Alterations in Parvalbumin in Rodent Models of Early Life Adversity. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:741454. [PMID: 34803622 PMCID: PMC8600234 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.741454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The early life environment markedly influences brain and behavioral development, with adverse experiences associated with increased risk of anxiety and depressive phenotypes, particularly in females. Indeed, early life adversity (ELA) in humans (i.e., caregiver deprivation, maltreatment) and rodents (i.e., maternal separation, resource scarcity) is associated with sex-specific emergence of anxious and depressive behaviors. Although these disorders show clear sex differences in humans, little attention has been paid toward evaluating sex as a biological variable in models of affective dysfunction; however, recent rodent work suggests sex-specific effects. Two widely used rodent models of ELA approximate caregiver deprivation (i.e., maternal separation) and resource scarcity (i.e., limited bedding). While these approaches model aspects of ELA experienced in humans, they span different portions of the pre-weaning developmental period and may therefore differentially contribute to underlying mechanistic risk. This is borne out in the literature, where evidence suggests differences in trajectories of behavior depending on the type of ELA and/or sex; however, the neural underpinning of these differences is not well understood. Because anxiety and depression are thought to involve dysregulation in the balance of excitatory and inhibitory signaling in ELA-vulnerable brain regions (e.g., prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus), outcomes are likely driven by alterations in local and/or circuit-specific inhibitory activity. The most abundant GABAergic subtypes in the brain, accounting for approximately 40% of inhibitory neurons, contain the calcium-binding protein Parvalbumin (PV). As PV-expressing neurons have perisomatic and proximal dendritic targets on pyramidal neurons, they are well-positioned to regulate excitatory/inhibitory balance. Recent evidence suggests that PV outcomes following ELA are sex, age, and region-specific and may be influenced by the type and timing of ELA. Here, we suggest the possibility of a combined role of PV and sex hormones driving differences in behavioral outcomes associated with affective dysfunction following ELA. This review evaluates the literature across models of ELA to characterize neural (PV) and behavioral (anxiety- and depressive-like) outcomes as a function of sex and age. Additionally, we detail a putative mechanistic role of PV on ELA-related outcomes and discuss evidence suggesting hormone influences on PV expression/function which may help to explain sex differences in ELA outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seneca N Ellis
- Program in Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, United States
| | - Jennifer A Honeycutt
- Program in Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, United States.,Department of Psychology, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, United States
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29
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Gee DG. Early Adversity and Development: Parsing Heterogeneity and Identifying Pathways of Risk and Resilience. Am J Psychiatry 2021; 178:998-1013. [PMID: 34734741 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21090944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Adversity early in life is common and is a major risk factor for the onset of psychopathology. Delineating the neurodevelopmental pathways by which early adversity affects mental health is critical for early risk identification and targeted treatment approaches. A rapidly growing cross-species literature has facilitated advances in identifying the mechanisms linking adversity with psychopathology, specific dimensions of adversity and timing-related factors that differentially relate to outcomes, and protective factors that buffer against the effects of adversity. Yet, vast complexity and heterogeneity in early environments and neurodevelopmental trajectories contribute to the challenges of understanding risk and resilience in the context of early adversity. In this overview, the author highlights progress in four major areas-mechanisms, heterogeneity, developmental timing, and protective factors; synthesizes key challenges; and provides recommendations for future research that can facilitate progress in the field. Translation across species and ongoing refinement of conceptual models have strong potential to inform prevention and intervention strategies that can reduce the immense burden of psychopathology associated with early adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn
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30
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Hanson JL, Williams AV, Bangasser DA, Peña CJ. Impact of Early Life Stress on Reward Circuit Function and Regulation. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:744690. [PMID: 34744836 PMCID: PMC8563782 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.744690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life stress - including experience of child maltreatment, neglect, separation from or loss of a parent, and other forms of adversity - increases lifetime risk of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. A major component of this risk may be early life stress-induced alterations in motivation and reward processing, mediated by changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Here, we review evidence of the impact of early life stress on reward circuit structure and function from human and animal models, with a focus on the NAc. We then connect these results to emerging theoretical models about the indirect and direct impacts of early life stress on reward circuit development. Through this review and synthesis, we aim to highlight open research questions and suggest avenues of future study in service of basic science, as well as applied insights. Understanding how early life stress alters reward circuit development, function, and motivated behaviors is a critical first step toward developing the ability to predict, prevent, and treat stress-related psychopathology spanning mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Alexia V. Williams
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Debra A. Bangasser
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Catherine J. Peña
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
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31
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Sikes-Keilp C, Rubinow DR. In search of sex-related mediators of affective illness. Biol Sex Differ 2021; 12:55. [PMID: 34663459 PMCID: PMC8524875 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-021-00400-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the rates of affective disorders have been recognized for decades. Studies of physiologic sex-related differences in animals and humans, however, have generally yielded little in terms of explaining these differences. Furthermore, the significance of these findings is difficult to interpret given the dynamic, integrative, and highly context-dependent nature of human physiology. In this article, we provide an overview of the current literature on sex differences as they relate to mood disorders, organizing existing findings into five levels at which sex differences conceivably influence physiology relevant to affective states. These levels include the following: brain structure, network connectivity, signal transduction, transcription/translation, and epigenesis. We then evaluate the importance and limitations of this body of work, as well as offer perspectives on the future of research into sex differences. In creating this overview, we attempt to bring perspective to a body of research that is complex, poorly synthesized, and far from complete, as well as provide a theoretical framework for thinking about the role that sex differences ultimately play in affective regulation. Despite the overall gaps regarding both the underlying pathogenesis of affective illness and the role of sex-related factors in the development of affective disorders, it is evident that sex should be considered as an important contributor to alterations in neural function giving rise to susceptibility to and expression of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David R Rubinow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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32
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Demaree JL, Ortiz RJ, Cai X, Aggarwal D, Senthilkumar I, Lawson C, Kulkarni P, Cushing BS, Ferris C. Exposure to methylphenidate during peri-adolescence decouples the prefrontal cortex: a multimodal MRI study. Am J Transl Res 2021; 13:8480-8495. [PMID: 34377346 PMCID: PMC8340152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study was designed to assess the effects of daily psychostimulant exposure during juvenility and peri-adolescence on brain morphology and functional connectivity using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging. We hypothesized that long-term exposure to methylphenidate would enhance connectivity with the prefrontal cortex. Male rats were given daily injections of either methylphenidate (n=10), dextroamphetamine (n=10) or saline vehicle (n=10) from postnatal day 21 to 42. They were imaged between postnatal day 43 and 48. Voxel-based morphometry, diffusion weighted imaging, and resting state functional connectivity were used to quantify brain structure and function. Images from each modality were registered and analyzed, using a 3D MRI rat atlas providing site-specific data over 171 different brain areas. Following imaging, rats were tested for cognitive function using novel object preference. Long-lasting psychostimulant treatment was associated with only a few significant changes in brain volume and measures of anisotropy compared to vehicle. Resting state functional connectivity imaging revealed decreased coupling between the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia and sensory motor cortices. There were no significant differences between experimental groups for cognitive behavior. In this exploratory study, we showed that chronic psychostimulant treatment throughout juvenility and preadolescence has a minimal effect on brain volume and gray matter microarchitecture, but significantly uncouples the connectivity in the cerebral/basal ganglia circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack L Demaree
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Richard J Ortiz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El PasoEl Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Xuezhu Cai
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Dipak Aggarwal
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Ilakya Senthilkumar
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher Lawson
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Praveen Kulkarni
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce S Cushing
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El PasoEl Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Craig Ferris
- Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
- Psychology and Pharmaceutical Sciences Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA, USA
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33
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Coley EJ, Mayer EA, Osadchiy V, Chen Z, Subramanyam V, Zhang Y, Hsiao EY, Gao K, Bhatt R, Dong T, Vora P, Naliboff B, Jacobs JP, Gupta A. Early life adversity predicts brain-gut alterations associated with increased stress and mood. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100348. [PMID: 34113697 PMCID: PMC8170500 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations in the brain-gut system have been implicated in various disease states, but little is known about how early-life adversity (ELA) impacts development and adult health as mediated by brain-gut interactions. We hypothesize that ELA disrupts components of the brain-gut system, thereby increasing susceptibility to disordered mood. In a sample of 128 healthy adult participants, a history of ELA and current stress, depression, and anxiety were assessed using validated questionnaires. Fecal metabolites were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomic profiling. Functional brain connectivity was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. Sparse partial least squares-discriminant analysis, controlling for sex, body mass index, age, and diet was used to predict brain-gut alterations as a function of ELA. ELA was correlated with four gut-regulated metabolites within the glutamate pathway (5-oxoproline, malate, urate, and glutamate gamma methyl ester) and alterations in functional brain connectivity within primarily sensorimotor, salience, and central executive networks. Integrated analyses revealed significant associations between these metabolites, functional brain connectivity, and scores for perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. This study reveals a novel association between a history of ELA, alterations in the brain-gut axis, and increased vulnerability to negative mood and stress. Results from the study raise the hypothesis that select gut-regulated metabolites may contribute to the adverse effects of critical period stress on neural development via pathways related to glutamatergic excitotoxicity and oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena J.L. Coley
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Emeran A. Mayer
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Los Angeles, CA, USA,UCLA Microbiome Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Vadim Osadchiy
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zixi Chen
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Vishvak Subramanyam
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Yurui Zhang
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Elaine Y. Hsiao
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,UCLA Microbiome Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kan Gao
- Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Microbiology, Nanjing Agricultural University, PR China
| | - Ravi Bhatt
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Imaging Genetics Center, Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tien Dong
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Los Angeles, CA, USA,UCLA Microbiome Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Parenteral Nutrition, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Priten Vora
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Bruce Naliboff
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan P. Jacobs
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Los Angeles, CA, USA,UCLA Microbiome Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Parenteral Nutrition, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Arpana Gupta
- G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA,Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Los Angeles, CA, USA,UCLA Microbiome Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA,Corresponding author. Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA CHS, 42-210 MC737818 10833 Le Conte Avenue, USA.
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Breton JM, Barraza M, Hu KY, Frias SJ, Long KL, Kaufer D. Juvenile exposure to acute traumatic stress leads to long-lasting alterations in grey matter myelination in adult female but not male rats. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 14:100319. [PMID: 33937444 PMCID: PMC8079662 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress early in life can have a major impact on brain development, and there is increasing evidence that childhood stress confers vulnerability for later developing psychiatric disorders. In particular, during peri-adolescence, brain regions crucial for emotional regulation, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala (AMY) and hippocampus (HPC), are still developing and are highly sensitive to stress. Changes in myelin levels have been implicated in mental illnesses and stress effects on myelin and oligodendrocytes (OLs) are beginning to be explored as a novel and underappreciated mechanism underlying psychopathologies. Yet there is little research on the effects of acute stress on myelin during peri-adolescence, and even less work exploring sex-differences. Here, we used a rodent model to test the hypothesis that exposure to acute traumatic stress as a juvenile would induce changes in OLs and myelin content across limbic brain regions. Male and female juvenile rats underwent 3 h of restraint stress with exposure to a predator odor on postnatal day (p) 28. Acute stress induced a physiological response, increasing corticosterone release and reducing weight gain in stress-exposed animals. Brain sections containing the PFC, AMY and HPC were taken either in adolescence (p40), or in adulthood (p95) and stained for markers of OLs and myelin. We found that acute stress induced sex-specific changes in grey matter (GM) myelination and OLs in both the short- and long-term. Exposure to a single stressor as a juvenile increased GM myelin content in the AMY and HPC in p40 males, compared to the respective control group. At p40, corticosterone release during stress exposure was also positively correlated with GM myelin content in the AMY of male rats. Single exposure to juvenile stress also led to long-term effects exclusively in female rats. Compared to controls, stress-exposed females showed reduced GM myelin content in all three brain regions. Acute stress exposure decreased PFC and HPC OL density in p40 females, perhaps contributing towards this observed long-term decrease in myelin content. Overall, our findings suggest that the juvenile brain is vulnerable to exposure to a brief severe stressor. Exposure to a single short traumatic event during peri-adolescence produces long-lasting changes in GM myelin content in the adult brain of female, but not male, rats. These findings highlight myelin plasticity as a potential contributor to sex-specific sensitivity to perturbation during a critical window of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jocelyn M. Breton
- University of California, Berkeley, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, United States
| | - Matthew Barraza
- University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cellular Biology, United States
| | - Kelsey Y. Hu
- University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cellular Biology, United States
| | - Samantha Joy Frias
- University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cellular Biology, United States
| | - Kimberly L.P. Long
- University of California, Berkeley, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, United States
| | - Daniela Kaufer
- University of California, Berkeley, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, United States
- University of California, Berkeley, Integrative Biology, United States
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, M5G1M1, Canada
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35
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Merz MP, Turner JD. Is early life adversity a trigger towards inflammageing? Exp Gerontol 2021; 150:111377. [PMID: 33905877 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There are many 'faces' of early life adversity (ELA), such as childhood trauma, institutionalisation, abuse or exposure to environmental toxins. These have been implicated in the onset and severity of a wide range of chronic non-communicable diseases later in life. The later-life disease risk has a well-established immunological component. This raises the question as to whether accelerated immune-ageing mechanistically links early-life adversity to the lifelong health trajectory resulting in either 'poor' or 'healthy' ageing. Here we examine observational and mechanistic studies of ELA and inflammageing, highlighting common and distinct features in these two life stages. Many biological processes appear in common including reduction in telomere length, increased immunosenescence, metabolic distortions and chronic (viral) infections. We propose that ELA shapes the developing immune, endocrine and nervous system in a non-reversible way, creating a distinct phenotype with accelerated immunosenescence and systemic inflammation. We conclude that ELA might act as an accelerator for inflammageing and age-related diseases. Furthermore, we now have the tools and cohorts to be able to dissect the interaction between ELA and later life phenotype. This should, in the near future, allow us to identify the ecological and mechanistic processes that are involved in 'healthy' or accelerated immune-ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam P Merz
- Immune Endocrine and Epigenetics Research Group, Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), 29 rue Henri Koch, L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, 2 avenue de Université, L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Jonathan D Turner
- Immune Endocrine and Epigenetics Research Group, Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), 29 rue Henri Koch, L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
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36
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An Adolescent Sensitive Period for Threat Responding: Impacts of Stress and Sex. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:651-658. [PMID: 33342545 PMCID: PMC7954972 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety and fear-related disorders peak in prevalence during adolescence, a window of rapid behavioral development and neural remodeling. However, understanding of the development of threat responding and the underlying neural circuits remains limited. Preclinical models of threat conditioning and extinction have provided an unparalleled glimpse into the developing brain. In this review we discuss mouse and rat studies on the development of threat response regulation, with a focus on the adolescent period. Evidence of nonlinear patterns of threat responding during adolescence and the continued development of the underlying circuitry is highly indicative of an adolescent sensitive period for threat response regulation. While we highlight literature in support of this unique developmental window, we also emphasize the need for causal studies to clarify the parameters defining such a sensitive period. In doing so, we explore how stress and biological sex affect the development and expression of threat response regulation during adolescence and beyond. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of how these factors interact with and affect developmental trajectories of learning and memory will inform treatment and prevention strategies for pediatric anxiety disorders.
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Uliana DL, Gomes FV, Grace AA. Stress impacts corticoamygdalar connectivity in an age-dependent manner. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46:731-740. [PMID: 33096542 PMCID: PMC8027626 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-00886-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Stress is a socio-environmental risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders, with the age of exposure potentially determining the outcome. Several brain regions mediate stress responsivity, with a prominent role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) and their reciprocal inhibitory connectivity. Here we investigated the impact of stress exposure during adolescence and adulthood on the activity of putative pyramidal neurons in the BLA and corticoamygdalar plasticity using in vivo electrophysiology. 155 male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a combination of footshock/restraint stress in either adolescence (postnatal day 31-40) or adulthood (postnatal day 65-74). Both adolescent and adult stress increased the number of spontaneously active putative BLA pyramidal neurons 1-2 weeks, but not 5-6 weeks post stress. High-frequency stimulation (HFS) of BLA and mPFC depressed evoked spike probability in the mPFC and BLA, respectively, in adult but not adolescent rats. In contrast, an adult-like BLA HFS-induced decrease in spike probability of mPFC neurons was found 1-2 weeks post-adolescent stress. Changes in mPFC and BLA neuron discharge were found 1-2 weeks post-adult stress after BLA and mPFC HFS, respectively. All these changes were transient since they were not found 5-6 weeks post adolescent or adult stress. Our findings indicate that stress during adolescence may accelerate the development of BLA-PFC plasticity, probably due to BLA hyperactivity, which can also disrupt the reciprocal communication of BLA-mPFC after adult stress. Therefore, precocious BLA-mPFC connectivity alterations may represent an early adaptive stress response that ultimately may contribute to vulnerability to adult psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela L. Uliana
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
| | - Felipe V. Gomes
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA ,grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Present Address: Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP Brazil
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA USA
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38
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Levis SC, Mahler SV, Baram TZ. The Developmental Origins of Opioid Use Disorder and Its Comorbidities. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:601905. [PMID: 33643011 PMCID: PMC7904686 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.601905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) rarely presents as a unitary psychiatric condition, and the comorbid symptoms likely depend upon the diverse risk factors and mechanisms by which OUD can arise. These factors are heterogeneous and include genetic predisposition, exposure to prescription opioids, and environmental risks. Crucially, one key environmental risk factor for OUD is early life adversity (ELA). OUD and other substance use disorders are widely considered to derive in part from abnormal reward circuit function, which is likely also implicated in comorbid mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. ELA may disrupt reward circuit development and function in a manner predisposing to these disorders. Here, we describe new findings addressing the effects of ELA on reward circuitry that lead to OUD and comorbid disorders, potentially via shared neural mechanisms. We discuss some of these OUD-related problems in both humans and animals. We also highlight the increasingly apparent, crucial contribution of biological sex in mediating the range of ELA-induced disruptions of reward circuitry which may confer risk for the development of OUD and comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C. Levis
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Stephen V. Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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Chen R, Weitzner AS, McKennon LA, Fonken LK. Light at night during development in mice has modest effects on adulthood behavior and neuroimmune activation. Behav Brain Res 2021; 405:113171. [PMID: 33577883 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to light at night (LAN) can disrupt the circadian system, thereby altering neuroimmune reactivity and related behavior. Increased exposure to LAN affects people of all ages - and could have particularly detrimental effects during early-life and adolescence. Despite this, most research on the behavioral and physiological effects of LAN has been conducted in adult animals. Here we evaluated the effects of dim LAN during critical developmental windows on adulthood neuroimmune function and affective/sickness behaviors. Male and female C57BL/6 J mice were exposed to dim LAN [12:12 light (150 lx)/dim (15 lx) cycle] during early life (PND10-24) or adolescence (PND30-44) [control: 12:12 light (150 lx)/dark (0 lx) cycle]. Behaviors were assessed during juvenile (PND 42-44) and adult (PND60) periods. Contrary to our hypothesis, juvenile mice that were exposed to dim LAN did not exhibit changes in anxiety- or depressive-like behaviors. By adulthood, adolescent LAN-exposed female mice showed a modest anxiety-like phenotype in one behavioral task but not another. Adolescent LAN exposure also induced depressive-like behavior in a forced swim task in adulthood in both male and female mice. Additionally, developmental LAN exacerbated the hippocampal cytokine response (IL-1β) following peripheral LPS in female, but not male mice. These results suggest female mice may be more susceptible to developmental LAN than male mice: LAN female mice had a modest anxiety-like phenotype in adulthood, and upon LPS challenge, higher hippocampal IL-1β expression. Taken together, developmental LAN exposure in mice promotes a modest increase in susceptibility to anxiety- and depressive-like symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruizhuo Chen
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Aidan S Weitzner
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Lara A McKennon
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Laura K Fonken
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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40
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Gildawie KR, Ryll LM, Hexter JC, Peterzell S, Valentine AA, Brenhouse HC. A two-hit adversity model in developing rats reveals sex-specific impacts on prefrontal cortex structure and behavior. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100924. [PMID: 33515957 PMCID: PMC7847967 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Adversity early in life substantially impacts prefrontal cortex (PFC) development and vulnerability to later-life psychopathology. Importantly, repeated adverse experiences throughout childhood increase the risk for PFC-mediated behavioral deficits more commonly in women. Evidence from animal models points to effects of adversity on later-life neural and behavioral dysfunction; however, few studies have investigated the neurobiological underpinnings of sex-specific, long-term consequences of multiple developmental stressors. We modeled early life adversity in rats via maternal separation (postnatal day (P)2-20) and juvenile social isolation (P21-35). In adulthood, anxiety-like behavior was assessed in the elevated zero maze and the presence and structural integrity of PFC perineuronal nets (PNNs) enwrapping parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons was quantified. PNNs are extracellular matrix structures formed during critical periods in postnatal development that play a key role in the plasticity of PV cells. We observed a female-specific effect of adversity on hyperactivity and risk-assessment behavior. Moreover, females – but not males – exposed to multiple hits of adversity demonstrated a reduction in PFC PV cells in adulthood. We also observed a sex-specific, potentiated reduction in PV + PNN structural integrity. These findings suggest a sex-specific impact of repeated adversity on neurostructural development and implicate PNNs as a contributor to associated behavioral dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lilly M Ryll
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jessica C Hexter
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shayna Peterzell
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
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Neural meaning making, prediction, and prefrontal-subcortical development following early adverse caregiving. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 32:1563-1578. [PMID: 33427163 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Early adversities that are caregiving-related (crEAs) are associated with a significantly increased risk for mental health problems. Recent neuroscientific advances have revealed alterations in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-subcortical circuitry following crEAs. While this work has identified alterations in affective operations (e.g., perceiving, reacting, controlling, learning) associated with mPFC-subcortical circuitry, this circuitry has a much broader function extending beyond operations. It plays a primary role in affective meaning making, involving conceptual-level, schematized knowledge to generate predictions about the current environment. This function of mPFC-subcortical circuitry motivates asking whether mPFC-subcortical phenotypes following crEAs support semanticized knowledge content (or the concept-level knowledge) and generate predictive models. I present a hypothesis motivated by research findings across four different lines of work that converge on mPFC-subcortical neuroanatomy, including (a) the neurobiology supporting emotion regulation processes in adulthood, (b) the neurobiology that is activated by caregiving cues during development, (c) the neurobiology that is altered by crEAs, and (d) the neurobiology of semantic-based meaning making. I hypothesize that the affective behaviors following crEAs result in part from affective semantic memory processes supported by mPFC-subcortical circuitry that over the course of development, construct affective schemas that generate meaning making and guide predictions. I use this opportunity to review some of the literature on mPFC-subcortical circuit development following crEAs to illustrate the motivation behind this hypothesis. Long recognized by clinical science and cognitive neuroscience, studying schema-based processes may be particularly helpful for understanding how affective meaning making arises from developmental trajectories of mPFC-subcortical circuitry.
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Richardson R, Bowers J, Callaghan BL, Baker KD. Does maternal separation accelerate maturation of perineuronal nets and parvalbumin-containing inhibitory interneurons in male and female rats? Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 47:100905. [PMID: 33385787 PMCID: PMC7786030 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal separation did not accelerate maturation of PNNs in amygdala or PFC. Maternal separation did not affect PV density in infant and juveniles. No sex differences were observed in effects of maternal separation on PNNs or PV. Impact of early adversity may be more easily seen with functional neural measures.
Early life adversity impacts on a range of emotional, cognitive, and psychological processes. A recent theoretical model suggests that at least some of these effects are due to accelerated maturation of specific physiological systems and/or neural circuits. For example, maternal separation (MS), a model of early life adversity in rodents, accelerates maturation of memory systems, and here we examined its impact on maturation of perineuronal nets (PNNs) and parvalbumin (PV)-containing inhibitory interneurons. PNNs are specialized extracellular matrix structures suggested to be involved in stabilizing long-term memories and in the closure of a sensitive period in memory development. PV-containing inhibitory interneurons are the type of cell that PNNs preferentially surround, and are also thought to be involved in memory. In Experiment 1, with male rats, there was an increase in PNNs in both the amygdala and prefrontal cortex with age from infancy to juvenility. Contrary to prediction, MS had no impact on either PNN or PV expression. The same pattern was observed in female rats in Experiment 2. Taken together, these data show that the early maturation of memory in MS infants is not due to an accelerated maturation of PNNs or PV-containing cells in either the amygdala or prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeremy Bowers
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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White JD, Arefin TM, Pugliese A, Lee CH, Gassen J, Zhang J, Kaffman A. Early life stress causes sex-specific changes in adult fronto-limbic connectivity that differentially drive learning. eLife 2020; 9:58301. [PMID: 33259286 PMCID: PMC7725504 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
It is currently unclear whether early life stress (ELS) affects males and females differently. However, a growing body of work has shown that sex moderates responses to stress and injury, with important insights into sex-specific mechanisms provided by work in rodents. Unfortunately, most of the ELS studies in rodents were conducted only in males, a bias that is particularly notable in translational work that has used human imaging. Here we examine the effects of unpredictable postnatal stress (UPS), a mouse model of complex ELS, using high resolution diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. We show that UPS induces several neuroanatomical alterations that were seen in both sexes and resemble those reported in humans. In contrast, exposure to UPS induced fronto-limbic hyper-connectivity in males, but either no change or hypoconnectivity in females. Moderated-mediation analysis found that these sex-specific changes are likely to alter contextual freezing behavior in males but not in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordon D White
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States
| | - Tanzil M Arefin
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Alexa Pugliese
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States
| | - Choong H Lee
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Jeff Gassen
- Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, United States
| | - Jiangyang Zhang
- Bernard and Irene Schwartz Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Arie Kaffman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States
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Prenatal stress exposure and multimodal assessment of amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex connectivity in infants. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 46:100877. [PMID: 33220629 PMCID: PMC7689043 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-human animal research shows stress alters amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) connectivity. It is unclear how prenatal stress may alter human infant connectivity. Prenatal stress was associated with decreased amygdala–mPFC functional connectivity. Prenatal stress was associated with increased amygdala–mPFC structural connectivity. This work provides insight into how stress contributes to neurodevelopmental risk.
Stressful experiences are linked to neurodevelopment. There is growing interest in the role of stress in the connectivity between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a circuit that subserves automatic emotion regulation. However, the specific timing and mechanisms that underlie the association between stress and amygdala–mPFC connectivity are unclear. Many factors, including variations in fetal exposure to maternal stress, appear to affect early developing brain circuitry. However, few studies have examined the associations of stress and amygdala–mPFC connectivity in early life, when the brain is most plastic and sensitive to environmental influence. In this longitudinal pilot study, we characterized the association between prenatal stress and amygdala–mPFC connectivity in young infants (approximately age 5 weeks). A final sample of 33 women who provided data on preconception and prenatal stress during their pregnancy returned with their offspring for a magnetic resonance imaging scan session, which enabled us to characterize amygdala–mPFC structural and functional connectivity as a function of prenatal stress. Increased prenatal stress was associated with decreased functional connectivity and increased structural connectivity between the amygdala and mPFC. These results provide insight into the influence of prenatal maternal stress on the early development of this critical regulatory circuitry.
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Premachandran H, Zhao M, Arruda-Carvalho M. Sex Differences in the Development of the Rodent Corticolimbic System. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:583477. [PMID: 33100964 PMCID: PMC7554619 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.583477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, a growing body of research has shown sex differences in the prevalence and symptomatology of psychopathologies, such as depression, anxiety, and fear-related disorders, all of which show high incidence rates in early life. This has highlighted the importance of including female subjects in animal studies, as well as delineating sex differences in neural processing across development. Of particular interest is the corticolimbic system, comprising the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. In rodents, these corticolimbic regions undergo dynamic changes in early life, and disruption to their normative development is believed to underlie the age and sex-dependent effects of stress on affective processing. In this review, we consolidate research on sex differences in the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex across early development. First, we briefly introduce current principles on sexual differentiation of the rodent brain. We then showcase corticolimbic regional sex differences in volume, morphology, synaptic organization, cell proliferation, microglia, and GABAergic signaling, and explain how these differences are influenced by perinatal and pubertal gonadal hormones. In compiling this research, we outline evidence of what and when sex differences emerge in the developing corticolimbic system, and illustrate how temporal dynamics of its maturational trajectory may differ in male and female rodents. This will help provide insight into potential neural mechanisms underlying sex-specific critical windows for stress susceptibility and behavioral emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mudi Zhao
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Maithe Arruda-Carvalho
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Francis-Oliveira J, Shieh IC, Vilar Higa GS, Barbosa MA, De Pasquale R. Maternal separation induces changes in TREK-1 and 5HT 1A expression in brain areas involved in the stress response in a sex-dependent way. Behav Brain Res 2020; 396:112909. [PMID: 32949645 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Depression is a prevalent disease in modern society, and has been linked to stressful events at early ages. Women are more susceptible to depression, and the neural basis for this are still under investigation. Serotonin is known to be involved in depression, and a decrease in 5HT1A expression is observed on temporal and cortical areas in both men and women with depression. As knockout animals for TREK-1 are resilient to depression, this channel has emerged as a new potential pharmacological target for depression treatment. In this study, maternal separation (MS) was used to emulate early-life stress, and evaluate behaviour, as well as TREK-1 and 5HT1A expression in the brain using immunohistochemistry. In juvenile females, 5HT1A reduction coupled to increased TREK-1 in the dentate gyrus (DG) was associated with behavioural despair, as well as increased TREK-1 expression in basolateral amygdala (BLA) and prelimbic cortex (PL). In juvenile males, MS induced an increase in 5HT1A in the BLA, and in TREK-1 in the PL, while no behavioural despair was observed. Anhedonia and anxiety-like behaviour were not induced by MS. We conclude stress-induced increase in TREK-1 in PL and GD is associated to depression, while 5HT1A changes coupled to TREK-1 changes may be necessary to induce depression, with females being more vulnerable to MS effects than males. Thus, TREK-1 and 5HT1A may be potential pharmacological targets for antidepressants development.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Francis-Oliveira
- Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute I, São Paulo University, Ave Lineu Prestes 1524, 05508-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - I C Shieh
- Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute I, São Paulo University, Ave Lineu Prestes 1524, 05508-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - G S Vilar Higa
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Mathematics Computation Cognition Center, Rua Arcturus 03, 09606-070, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | - M A Barbosa
- Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute I, São Paulo University, Ave Lineu Prestes 1524, 05508-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - R De Pasquale
- Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute I, São Paulo University, Ave Lineu Prestes 1524, 05508-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Demaestri C, Pan T, Critz M, Ofray D, Gallo M, Bath KG. Type of early life adversity confers differential, sex-dependent effects on early maturational milestones in mice. Horm Behav 2020; 124:104763. [PMID: 32407728 PMCID: PMC7487052 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) increases risk for negative health outcomes, with sex disparities in prevalence and form of ELA experienced and risk for neuropsychiatric pathology. ELA comes in many forms (e.g. parental neglect/loss, limited access to resources) but whether disparate forms of ELA have common effects on outcomes, and if males and females are equally affected, remains unknown. Epidemiological studies often fail to accurately account for differences in type, timing, and duration of adversity experienced. Rodent models allow precise control of many of these variables. However, differences in the form of ELA, species, strain, housing, and testing paradigms used may contribute to differences in outcomes leading to questions of whether differences are the result of the form of ELA or these other variables. Here, we directly compared two mouse models of ELA, maternal separation (MS) and limited bedding (LB) in males and females on development of the body, motor and visual milestones, stress physiology, and anxiety-like behavior. LB affected timing of early milestones, somatic growth, and stress physiology in both sexes, yet only females showed later anxiety-like behaviors. MS rearing affected males and females similarly in early milestone development, yet only males showed changes in stress physiology and anxiety-like outcomes. These studies provide a platform to directly compare MS and LB models within one lab. The current work advances our understanding of the unique features of ELA that shape early neurodevelopmental events and risk for later pathology, increasing the translational relevance of these ELA models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Demaestri
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Tracy Pan
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Madalyn Critz
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Dayshalis Ofray
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Meghan Gallo
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Kevin G Bath
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, 190 Thayer St., Box 1821, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
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48
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Manzano Nieves G, Bravo M, Baskoylu S, Bath KG. Early life adversity decreases pre-adolescent fear expression by accelerating amygdala PV cell development. eLife 2020; 9:55263. [PMID: 32692310 PMCID: PMC7413666 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) is associated with increased risk for stress-related disorders later in life. The link between ELA and risk for psychopathology is well established but the developmental mechanisms remain unclear. Using a mouse model of resource insecurity, limited bedding (LB), we tested the effects of LB on the development of fear learning and neuronal structures involved in emotional regulation, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA). LB delayed the ability of peri-weanling (21 days old) mice to express, but not form, an auditory conditioned fear memory. LB accelerated the developmental emergence of parvalbumin (PV)-positive cells in the BLA and increased anatomical connections between PL and BLA. Fear expression in LB mice was rescued through optogenetic inactivation of PV-positive cells in the BLA. The current results provide a model of transiently blunted emotional reactivity in early development, with latent fear-associated memories emerging later in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marilyn Bravo
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Saba Baskoylu
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Kevin G Bath
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, United States
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Abstract
Abstract
Although early-life adversity can undermine healthy development, children growing up in harsh environments may develop intact, or even enhanced, skills for solving problems in high-adversity contexts (i.e., “hidden talents”). Here we situate the hidden talents model within a larger interdisciplinary framework. Summarizing theory and research on hidden talents, we propose that stress-adapted skills represent a form of adaptive intelligence that enables individuals to function within the constraints of harsh, unpredictable environments. We discuss the alignment of the hidden talents model with current knowledge about human brain development following early adversity; examine potential applications of this perspective to multiple sectors concerned with youth from harsh environments, including education, social services, and juvenile justice; and compare the hidden talents model with contemporary developmental resilience models. We conclude that the hidden talents approach offers exciting new directions for research on developmental adaptations to childhood adversity, with translational implications for leveraging stress-adapted skills to more effectively tailor education, jobs, and interventions to fit the needs and potentials of individuals from a diverse range of life circumstances. This approach affords a well-rounded view of people who live with adversity that avoids stigma and communicates a novel, distinctive, and strength-based message.
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González-Pardo H, Arias JL, Gómez-Lázaro E, López Taboada I, Conejo NM. Sex-Specific Effects of Early Life Stress on Brain Mitochondrial Function, Monoamine Levels and Neuroinflammation. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10070447. [PMID: 32674298 PMCID: PMC7408325 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10070447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 07/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences have been reported in the susceptibility to early life stress and its neurobiological correlates in humans and experimental animals. However, most of the current research with animal models of early stress has been performed mainly in males. In the present study, prolonged maternal separation (MS) paradigm was applied as an animal model to resemble the effects of adverse early experiences in male and female rats. Regional brain mitochondrial function, monoaminergic activity, and neuroinflammation were evaluated as adults. Mitochondrial energy metabolism was greatly decreased in MS females as compared with MS males in the prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, and the nucleus accumbens shell. In addition, MS males had lower serotonin levels and increased serotonin turnover in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. However, MS females showed increased dopamine turnover in the prefrontal cortex and increased norepinephrine turnover in the striatum, but decreased dopamine turnover in the hippocampus. Sex differences were also found for pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, with increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of MS males, and increased IL-6 levels in the striatum of MS females. These results evidence the complex sex- and brain region-specific long-term consequences of early life stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor González-Pardo
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience of the Principality of Asturias (INEUROPA), University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, s/n E-33003 Oviedo, Spain; (H.G.-P.); (J.L.A.); (I.L.T.)
| | - Jorge L. Arias
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience of the Principality of Asturias (INEUROPA), University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, s/n E-33003 Oviedo, Spain; (H.G.-P.); (J.L.A.); (I.L.T.)
| | - Eneritz Gómez-Lázaro
- Department of Basic Psychological Processes and their Development, Basque Country University, Avda. Tolosa 70, s/n E-20018 San Sebastian, Spain;
| | - Isabel López Taboada
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience of the Principality of Asturias (INEUROPA), University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, s/n E-33003 Oviedo, Spain; (H.G.-P.); (J.L.A.); (I.L.T.)
| | - Nélida M. Conejo
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience of the Principality of Asturias (INEUROPA), University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijóo, s/n E-33003 Oviedo, Spain; (H.G.-P.); (J.L.A.); (I.L.T.)
- Correspondence:
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