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Santos TB, Kramer-Soares JC, Coelho CAO, Oliveira MGM. Temporal association activates projections from the perirhinal cortex and ventral CA1 to the prelimbic cortex and from the prelimbic cortex to the basolateral amygdala. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11456-11470. [PMID: 37823340 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In trace fear conditioning, the prelimbic cortex exhibits persistent activity during the interval between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, which maintains a conditioned stimulus representation. Regions cooperating for this function or encoding the conditioned stimulus before the interval could send inputs to the prelimbic cortex, supporting learning. The basolateral amygdala has conditioned stimulus- and unconditioned stimulus-responsive neurons, convergently activated. The prelimbic cortex could directly project to the basolateral amygdala to associate the transient memory of the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus. We investigated the neuronal circuit supporting temporal associations using contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval, in which 5 s separates the contextual conditioned stimulus from the unconditioned stimulus. Injecting retrobeads, we quantified c-Fos in prelimbic cortex- or basolateral amygdala-projecting neurons from 9 regions after contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval or contextual fear conditioning, in which the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli overlap. The contextual fear conditioning with a 5-s interval activated ventral CA1 and perirhinal cortex neurons projecting to the prelimbic cortex and prelimbic cortex neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala. Both fear conditioning activated ventral CA1 and lateral entorhinal cortex neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala and basolateral amygdala neurons projecting to prelimbic cortex. The perirhinal cortex → prelimbic cortex and ventral CA1 → prelimbic cortex connections are the first identified prelimbic cortex afferent projections participating in temporal associations. These results help to understand time-linked memories, a process required in episodic and working memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thays B Santos
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
| | - Juliana C Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
- Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul-UNICSUL, São Paulo 08060-070, Brazil
| | - Cesar A O Coelho
- Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Maria G M Oliveira
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-UNIFESP, São Paulo 04023-062, Brazil
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Roland AV, Coelho CAO, Haun HL, Gianessi CA, Lopez MF, D'Ambrosio S, Machinski SN, Kroenke CD, Frankland PW, Becker HC, Kash TL. Alcohol Dependence Modifies Brain Networks Activated During Withdrawal and Reaccess: A c-Fos-Based Analysis in Mice. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 94:393-404. [PMID: 36736419 PMCID: PMC10517410 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-level alcohol consumption causes neuroplastic changes in the brain that promote pathological drinking behavior. Some of these changes have been characterized in defined brain circuits and cell types, but unbiased approaches are needed to explore broader patterns of adaptations. METHODS We used whole-brain c-Fos mapping and network analysis to assess patterns of neuronal activity during alcohol withdrawal and following reaccess in a well-characterized model of alcohol dependence. Mice underwent 4 cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol to increase voluntary alcohol consumption, and a subset underwent forced swim stress to further escalate consumption. Brains were collected either 24 hours (withdrawal) or immediately following a 1-hour period of alcohol reaccess. c-fos counts were obtained for 110 brain regions using iDISCO and ClearMap. Then, we classified mice as high or low drinkers and used graph theory to identify changes in network properties associated with high-drinking behavior. RESULTS During withdrawal, chronic intermittent ethanol mice displayed widespread increased c-Fos expression relative to air-exposed mice, independent of forced swim stress. Reaccess drinking reversed this increase. Network modularity, a measure of segregation into communities, was increased in high-drinking mice after alcohol reaccess relative to withdrawal. The cortical amygdala showed increased cross-community coactivation during withdrawal in high-drinking mice, and cortical amygdala silencing in chronic intermittent ethanol mice reduced voluntary drinking. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol withdrawal in dependent mice causes changes in brain network organization that are attenuated by reaccess drinking. Olfactory brain regions, including the cortical amygdala, drive some of these changes and may play an important but underappreciated role in alcohol dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison V Roland
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Cesar A O Coelho
- Neuroscience and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Harold L Haun
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Carol A Gianessi
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Marcelo F Lopez
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina; Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Shannon D'Ambrosio
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Samantha N Machinski
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Christopher D Kroenke
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, Oregon; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Paul W Frankland
- Neuroscience and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Howard C Becker
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina; Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina; Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina; Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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Hartley CA, Coelho CAO, Boeke E, Ramirez F, Phelps EA. Individual differences in blink rate modulate the effect of instrumental control on subsequent Pavlovian responding. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:87-97. [PMID: 30386862 PMCID: PMC6373194 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5082-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Pavlovian conditioned responses to cues that signal threat are rapidly acquired and tend to persist over time. However, recent research suggests that the ability to actively avoid or exert control over an anticipated threat can diminish the subsequent expression of Pavlovian responses. Studies in animal models suggest that active avoidance behavior and its consequences may be mediated by dopaminergic function. In the present study, we sought to replicate the finding that active control over threat can attenuate subsequent Pavlovian responding in humans and conducted exploratory analyses testing whether individual differences in blink rate, a putative index of dopaminergic function, might modulate this effect. METHODS Participants underwent Pavlovian aversive conditioning, followed immediately by one of two conditions. In the active avoidance condition, participants had the opportunity to actively prevent the occurrence of an anticipated shock, whereas in a yoked extinction condition, participants passively observed the cessation of shocks, but with no ability to influence their occurrence. The following day, the conditioned stimuli were presented without shock, but both groups of participants had no opportunity to employ active instrumental responses. Blink rate was measured throughout the task, and skin conductance responses served as our index of Pavlovian conditioned responding. RESULTS Consistent with our previous findings, we observed that the group that could actively avoid the shock on day 1 exhibited attenuated recovery of Pavlovian conditioned responses. Further, we found that individuals in the active avoidance group with higher blink rates exhibited a more robust attenuation of spontaneous recovery. CONCLUSION This finding suggests that individual variation in dopaminergic function may modulate the efficacy with which active avoidance strategies can attenuate reactive Pavlovian responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine A Hartley
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, USA.
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, USA.
| | - Cesar A O Coelho
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Emily Boeke
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth A Phelps
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, USA
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Coelho CAO, Ferreira TL, Kramer-Soares JC, Sato JR, Oliveira MGM. Network supporting contextual fear learning after dorsal hippocampal damage has increased dependence on retrosplenial cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006207. [PMID: 30086129 PMCID: PMC6097702 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal damage results in profound retrograde, but no anterograde amnesia in contextual fear conditioning (CFC). Although the content learned in the latter have been discussed, alternative regions supporting CFC learning were seldom proposed and never empirically addressed. Here, we employed network analysis of pCREB expression quantified from brain slices of rats with dorsal hippocampal lesion (dHPC) after undergoing CFC session. Using inter-regional correlations of pCREB-positive nuclei between brain regions, we modelled functional networks using different thresholds. The dHPC network showed small-world topology, equivalent to SHAM (control) network. However, diverging hubs were identified in each network. In a direct comparison, hubs in both networks showed consistently higher centrality values compared to the other network. Further, the distribution of correlation coefficients was different between the groups, with most significantly stronger correlation coefficients belonging to the SHAM network. These results suggest that dHPC network engaged in CFC learning is partially different, and engage alternative hubs. We next tested if pre-training lesions of dHPC and one of the new dHPC network hubs (perirhinal, Per; or disgranular retrosplenial, RSC, cortices) would impair CFC. Only dHPC-RSC, but not dHPC-Per, impaired CFC. Interestingly, only RSC showed a consistently higher centrality in the dHPC network, suggesting that the increased centrality reflects an increased functional dependence on RSC. Our results provide evidence that, without hippocampus, the RSC, an anatomically central region in the medial temporal lobe memory system might support CFC learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar A. O. Coelho
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tatiana L. Ferreira
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, UFABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana C. Kramer-Soares
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - João R. Sato
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, UFABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Maria Gabriela M. Oliveira
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Dunsmoor JE, Kubota JT, Li J, Coelho CAO, Phelps EA. Racial stereotypes impair flexibility of emotional learning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:1363-73. [PMID: 27107298 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexibility of associative learning can be revealed by establishing and then reversing cue-outcome discriminations. Here, we used functional MRI to examine whether neurobehavioral correlates of reversal-learning are impaired in White and Asian volunteers when initial learning involves fear-conditioning to a racial out-group. For one group, the picture of a Black male was initially paired with shock (threat) and a White male was unpaired (safe). For another group, the White male was a threat and the Black male was safe. These associations reversed midway through the task. Both groups initially discriminated threat from safety, as expressed through skin conductance responses (SCR) and activity in the insula, thalamus, midbrain and striatum. After reversal, the group initially conditioned to a Black male exhibited impaired reversal of SCRs to the new threat stimulus (White male), and impaired reversals in the striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, midbrain and thalamus. In contrast, the group initially conditioned to a White male showed successful reversal of SCRs and successful reversal in these brain regions toward the new threat. These findings provide new evidence that an aversive experience with a racial out-group member impairs the ability to flexibly and appropriately adjust fear expression towards a new threat in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Jennifer T Kubota
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, 60637 Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, University of Chicago
| | - Jian Li
- Department of Psychology and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University
| | - Cesar A O Coelho
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, S-Paulo 04023062, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth A Phelps
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
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Abstract
Fear-related behaviors are prone to relapse following extinction. We tested in humans a compound extinction design ("deepened extinction") shown in animal studies to reduce post-extinction fear recovery. Adult subjects underwent fear conditioning to a visual and an auditory conditioned stimulus (CSA and CSB, respectively) separately paired with an electric shock. The target CS (CSA) was extinguished alone followed by compound presentations of the extinguished CSA and nonextinguished CSB. Recovery of conditioned skin conductance responses to CSA was reduced 24 h after compound extinction, as compared with a group who received an equal number of extinction trials to the CSA alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar A O Coelho
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo 04023062, Brazil
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Phelps
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
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