Sex and estrous cycle-linked differences in the effect of cannabidiol on panic-like responding in rats and mice

Clinical and preclinical studies point towards anxiolytic actions of cannabidiol (CBD), but its effect in panic disorder has been less explored and few studies consider effects in females. We here compared the effect of CBD on the response of male and female rats and mice to a panicogenic challenge; exposure to low O2 (rats) or high CO2 (mice) paying attention in females to possible effects of estrous cycle phase. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 J mice were exposed to 7% O2 for 5 min (rats) or 20% CO2 (mice) and escape behaviour, which has been associated with panic attacks, was quantified as undirected jumps towards the gas chamber's ceiling. The effect of pretreatment with CBD (1-10 mg kg-1 i.p. in rats or 10-60 mg kg-1 i.p. in mice) was tested. The results showed that low O2 (rats) or high CO2 (mice) evoked escape in both sexes. In female rats the response was estrous cycle-sensitive: females in late diestrus made significantly more jumps than females in proestrus. In female mice escape was not influenced by estrous cycle phase and CBD was panicolytic. In female rats CBD attenuated escape behaviour in late diestrus phase but not in proestrus. In male rats and mice CBD had no effect on escape behaviour. Therefore, CBD is panicolytic in female rats and mice but not in males. In rats the effect is estrous cycle-sensitive: rats were most responsive to CBD in late diestrus. In mice higher doses were required to elicit effects and estrous cycle had no effect.

Maturation of nucleus accumbens synaptic transmission signals a critical period for the rescue of social deficits in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Social behavior emerges early in development, a time marked by the onset of neurodevelopmental disorders featuring social deficits, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although social deficits are at the core of the clinical diagnosis of ASD, very little is known about their neural correlates at the time of clinical onset. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region extensively implicated in social behavior, undergoes synaptic, cellular and molecular alterations in early life, and is particularly affected in ASD mouse models. To explore a link between the maturation of the NAc and neurodevelopmental deficits in social behavior, we compared spontaneous synaptic transmission in NAc shell medium spiny neurons (MSNs) between the highly social C57BL/6J and the idiopathic ASD mouse model BTBR T⁺Itpr3^tf/J at postnatal day (P) 4, P6, P8, P12, P15, P21 and P30. BTBR NAc MSNs display increased spontaneous excitatory transmission during the first postnatal week, and increased inhibition across the first, second and fourth postnatal weeks, suggesting accelerated maturation of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs compared to C57BL/6J mice. BTBR mice also show increased optically evoked medial prefrontal cortex-NAc paired pulse ratios at P15 and P30. These early changes in synaptic transmission are consistent with a potential critical period, which could maximize the efficacy of rescue interventions. To test this, we treated BTBR mice in either early life (P4-P8) or adulthood (P60-P64) with the mTORC1 antagonist rapamycin, a well-established intervention for ASD-like behavior. Rapamycin treatment rescued social interaction deficits in BTBR mice when injected in infancy, but did not affect social interaction in adulthood.

Panic-like responses of female Wistar rats confronted by Bothrops alternatus pit vipers, or exposure to acute hypoxia: Effect of oestrous cycle

Anxiety-related diseases are more than twice as common in women than in men, and in women, symptoms may be exacerbated during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Despite this, most research into the underlying mechanisms, which drives drug development, have been carried out using male animals. In an effort to redress this imbalance, we compared responses of male and female Wistar rats during exposure to two unconditioned threatening stimuli that evoke panic-related defensive behaviours: confrontation with a predator (Bothrops alternatus) and acute exposure to hypoxia (7% O₂ ). Threatened by venomous snake, male and female rats initially displayed defensive attention, risk assessment, and cautious interaction with the snake, progressing to defensive immobility to overt escape. Both males and females displayed higher levels of risk assessment but less interaction with the predator. They also spent more time in the burrow, displaying inhibitory avoidance, and more time engaged in defensive attention, and non-oriented escape behaviour. In females, anxiety-like behaviour was most pronounced in the oestrous and proestrus phases whereas panic-like behaviour was more pronounced during the dioestrus phase, particularly during late dioestrus. Acute hypoxia evoked panic-like behaviour (undirected jumping) in both sexes, but in females, responsiveness in late dioestrus was significantly greater than at other stages of the cycle. The results reveal that females respond in a qualitatively similar manner to males during exposure to naturally occurring threatening stimuli, but the responses of females is oestrous cycle dependent with a significant exacerbation of panic-like behaviour in the late dioestrus phase.

Coherent spin-wave transport in an antiferromagnet

Magnonics is a research field complementary to spintronics, in which quanta of spin waves (magnons) replace electrons as information carriers, promising lower dissipation1-3. The development of ultrafast nanoscale magnonic logic circuits calls for new tools and materials to generate coherent spin waves with frequencies as high, and wavelengths as short, as possible4,5. Antiferromagnets can host spin waves at terahertz (THz) frequencies and are therefore seen as a future platform for the fastest and the least dissipative transfer of information6-11. However, the generation of short-wavelength coherent propagating magnons in antiferromagnets has so far remained elusive. Here we report the efficient emission and detection of a nanometer-scale wavepacket of coherent propagating magnons in antiferromagnetic DyFeO3 using ultrashort pulses of light. The subwavelength confinement of the laser field due to large absorption creates a strongly non-uniform spin excitation profile, enabling the propagation of a broadband continuum of coherent THz spin waves. The wavepacket contains magnons with a shortest detected wavelength of 125 nm that propagate with supersonic velocities of more than 13 km/s into the material. This source of coherent short-wavelength spin carriers opens up new prospects for THz antiferromagnetic magnonics and coherence-mediated logic devices at THz frequencies.

Serotonin 2C receptors in the basolateral amygdala mediate the anxiogenic effect caused by serotonergic activation of the dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus

BACKGROUND

Stimulation of serotonergic neurons within the dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus facilitates inhibitory avoidance acquisition in the elevated T-maze. It has been hypothesized that such anxiogenic effect is due to serotonin release in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, where facilitation of serotonin 2C receptor-mediated neurotransmission increases anxiety. Besides the dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus, the dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus is recruited by anxiogenic stimulus/situations. However, the behavioral consequences of pharmacological manipulation of this subnucleus are still unknown.

AIMS

Investigate whether blockade of serotonin 2C receptors in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala counteracts the anxiogenic effect caused by the stimulation of dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus serotonergic neurons. Evaluate the effects caused by the excitatory amino acid kainic acid or serotonin 1A receptor-modulating drugs in the dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus.

METHODS

Male Wistar rats were tested in the elevated T-maze and light-dark transition tests after intra-basolateral nucleus of the amygdala injection of the serotonin 2C receptor antagonist SB-242084 (6-chloro-2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-N-[6-[(2-methyl-3-pyridinyl)oxy]-3-pyridinyl]-1H-indole-1-carboxyamide dihydrochloride) followed by intra-dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus administration of the serotonin 1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 (N-[2-[4-2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinil-cyclohexanecarboxamide maleate). In the dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus, animals were injected with kainic acid, WAY-100635 or the serotonin 1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT ((±)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin hydrobromide) and tested in the elevated T-maze.

RESULTS

SB-242084 in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala blocked the anxiogenic effect caused by the injection of WAY-100635 in the dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus. Kainic acid in the dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus increased anxiety, but also impaired escape expression in the elevated T-maze. Neither WAY-100635 nor 8-OH-DPAT in the dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus affected rat's behavior in the elevated T-maze.

CONCLUSION

Serotonin 2C receptors in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala mediate the anxiogenic effect caused by the stimulation of serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe dorsomedial subnucleus. The dorsal raphe caudal subnucleus regulates anxiety- and panic-like behaviors, presumably by a serotonin 1A receptor-independent mechanism.

The Supraoptic Nucleus of the Hypothalamus Modulates Autonomic, Neuroendocrine, and Behavioral Responses to Acute Restraint Stress in Rats

AIMS

Acute restraint stress (RS) has been reported to cause neuronal activation in the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SON). The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of SON on autonomic (mean arterial pressure [MAP], heart rate [HR], and tail temperature), neuroendocrine (corticosterone, oxytocin, and vasopressin plasma levels), and behavioral responses to RS.

METHODS

Guide cannulas were implanted bilaterally in the SON of male Wistar rats for microinjection of the unspecific synaptic blocker cobalt chloride (CoCl2, 1 mM) or vehicle (artificial cerebrospinal fluid, 100 nL). A catheter was introduced into the femoral artery for MAP and HR recording. Rats were subjected to RS, and it was studied the effect of microinjection of CoCl2 or vehicle into the SON on pressor and tachycardic responses, drop in tail temperature, plasma oxytocin, vasopressin, and corticosterone levels, and anxiogenic-like effect induced by RS.

RESULTS

SON pretreatment with CoCl2 reduced the RS-induced MAP and HR increase, without affecting the RS-evoked tail temperature decrease. Microinjection of CoCl2 into areas surrounding the SON did not affect RS-induced increase in MAP and HR, reinforcing the idea that SON influences RS-evoked cardiovascular responses. Also, SON pretreatment with CoCl2 reduced RS-induced increase in corticosterone and oxytocin, without affecting vasopressin plasma levels, suggesting its involvement in RS-induced neuroendocrine responses. Finally, the CoCl2 microinjection into SON inhibited the RS-caused delayed anxiogenic-like effect.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that SON is an important component of the neural pathway that controls autonomic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral responses induced by RS.

The alpha- and beta-noradrenergic receptors blockade in the dorsal raphe nucleus impairs the panic-like response elaborated by medial hypothalamus neurons

Dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) neurons are reciprocally connected to the locus coeruleus (LC) and send neural pathways to the medial hypothalamus (MH). The aim of this work was to investigate whether the blockade of α₁-, α₂- or β-noradrenergic receptors in the DRN or the inactivation of noradrenergic neurons in the LC modify defensive behaviours organised by MH neurons. For this purpose, Wistar male rats received microinjections of WB4101, RX821002, propranolol (α₁-_, α₂- and β-noradrenergic receptor antagonists, respectively) or physiological saline in the DRN, followed 10 min later by MH GABA_A receptor blockade. Other groups of animals received DSP-4 (a noradrenergic neurotoxin), physiological saline or only a needle insertion (sham group) into the LC, and 5 days later, bicuculline or physiological saline was administered in the MH. In all these cases, after MH treatment, the frequency and duration of defensive responses were recorded over 15 min. An anterograde neural tract tracer was also deposited in the DRN. DRN neurons send pathways to lateral and dorsomedial hypothalamus. Blockade of α₁- and β-noradrenergic receptors in the DRN decreased escape reactions elicited by bicuculline microinjections in the MH. In addition, a significant increase in anxiety-like behaviours was observed after the blockade of α₂-noradrenergic receptors in the DRN. LC pretreatment with DSP-4 decreased both anxiety- and panic attack-like behaviours evoked by GABA_A receptor blockade in the MH. In summary, the present findings suggest that the norepinephrine-mediated system modulates defensive reactions organised by MH neurons at least in part via noradrenergic receptors recruitment on DRN neurons.

5-HT1A receptors of the rat dorsal raphe lateral wings and dorsomedial subnuclei differentially control anxiety- and panic-related defensive responses

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DR), the main source of 5-HT projections to brain areas involved in anxiety regulation, is composed by 5 subnuclei that differ morphologically, functionally and neurochemically. Based on immunohistochemical evidence, it has been proposed that whereas 5-HT cells of the dorsomedial (dmDR) and caudal subnuclei are implicated in the pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), neurons of the lateral wings (lwDR) are associated with panic disorder (PD). We here tested this hypothesis from a behavioral perspective by investigating the consequences of the non-selective stimulation of neurons within the dmDR and lwDR, or the pharmacological manipulation of 5-HT1A receptors located in these nuclei, of male Wistar rats exposed to the elevated T-maze. This test allows the measurement of both a GAD- (i.e. inhibitory avoidance) and a PD- (i.e. escape) related response in the same animal. Intra-dmDR injection of either the excitatory amino acid kainic acid or the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 facilitated inhibitory avoidance acquisition, suggesting an anxiogenic effect, and inhibited escape expression, a panicolytic-like effect. Microinjection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT caused the opposite effect. Administration of the same drugs into the lwDR only altered escape performance. Whereas kainic acid and 8-OH-DPAT facilitated its expression, WAY-100635 inhibited it. At higher doses, kainic acid administration evoked vigorous escape reactions as measured in an open-field. These findings implicate 5-HT neurons of the dmDR in the regulation of both GAD- and PD-related defensive behaviors. They also support a primary role of the lwDR in the mediation of PD-associated responses.

268 INFLUENCE OF DONOR AGE ON DEVELOPMENTAL COMPETENCE OF IN VITRO v. IN VIVO MATURED BOVINE OOCYTES OBTAINED BY REPEATED OVUM PICKUP FROM FOLLICLE-STIMULATING-HORMONE-STIMULATED AND NONSTIMULATED ANIMALS

Recent findings on oogenesis, folliculogenesis, and ovarian aging in cows make the bovine system an attractive model for elucidating ovarian function and dysfunction as well as reproductive aging in women. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of donor age on the developmental competence of in vitro v. in vivo matured bovine cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) obtained by ultrasound-guided repeated ovum pickup (OPU). Two groups (G1 and G2) of German Simmental heifers (14 months old at the beginning of the experiment, n = 5 and n = 7), first-lactation young cows (2–4 y old, n = 5 and n = 3), and old cows (10–15 y old, n = 5 and n = 3) were subjected to twice-weekly OPU without hormonal prestimulation 32 (G1) and 6 times (G2). Afterward, animals in G1 were punctured at 5-week intervals 9 times after FSH superstimulation to obtain in vivo matured COC at the metaphase II stage. Data were analysed using a mixed model (SAS). In the twice-weekly OPU for G1 and G2 combined, significantly (P < 0.05) more COC per animal and OPU session were obtained from the old cows (9.9 ± 1.0) compared with heifers and young cows (6.0 ± 0.8 and 7.0 ± 1.0, respectively). When G1 and G2 were regarded separately, lower numbers of COC (P < 0.01) were obtained in G1 than in G2 (2.7 ± 0.8, 4.4 ± 0.8, 7.0 ± 0.8 and 9.2 ± 1.5, 9.4 ± 2.3, 12.9 ± 2.3 for heifers, young cows, and old cows of G1 and G2, respectively). Cleavage rates (CR) on day 3 after IVF (day 0) were not affected by donor age and were not different between groups. Cultivation of COC from young cows in G1 led to higher blastocyst rates (BR) on day 7 (P < 0.05) compared with old cows and heifers. No differences in BR were observed between animals of G2. Significantly more COC (P < 0.01) were obtained in all age groups from FSH superstimulated donors (10.6 ± 0.8, 9.0 ± 0.9, and 11.7 ± 0.9 for heifers, young cows, and old cows, respectively). Cleavage rates and BR were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in all age groups after FSH superstimulation compared with those of nonstimulated donors. However, there were no differences in CR and BR between age groups (CR: 82.8 ± 7.0, 89.9 ± 7.0, 77.1 ± 6.2%; BR: 34.4 ± 7.2, 44.6 ± 7.2, 36.7 ± 7.2%). We conclude that although the numbers of COC obtained per animal and session were significantly different between G1 and G2, in vitro results were highly repeatable after OPU without hormonal prestimulation. Higher CR and BR were obtained after IVF of in vivo matured COC obtained from FSH superstimulated donors, regardless of animal age. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FOR 1041).