White matter microstructural integrity continues to develop from adolescence to young adulthood in mice and humans: Same phenotype, different mechanism.

As direct evaluation of a mouse model of human neurodevelopment, adolescent and young adult mice and humans underwent MR diffusion tensor imaging to quantify age-related differences in microstructural integrity of brain white matter fibers. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was greater in older than younger mice and humans. Despite the cross-species commonality, the underlying developmental mechanism differed: whereas evidence for greater axonal extension contributed to higher FA in older mice, evidence for continuing myelination contributed to higher FA in human adolescent development. These differences occurred in the context of species distinctions in overall brain growth: whereas the continued growth of the brain and skull in the murine model can accommodate volume expansion into adulthood, human white matter volume and myelination continue growth into adulthood within a fixed intracranial volume. Appreciation of the similarities and differences in developmental mechanism can enhance the utility of animal models of brain white matter structure, function, and response to exogenous manipulation.

The effects of puberty and sex on adolescent white matter development: A systematic review.

Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood, is characterized by rapid brain development in white matter (WM) that is attributed in part to rising levels in adrenal and gonadal hormones. The extent to which pubertal hormones and related neuroendocrine processes explain sex differences in WM during this period is unclear. In this systematic review, we sought to examine whether there are consistent associations between hormonal changes and morphological and microstructural properties of WM across species and whether these effects are sex-specific. We identified 90 (75 human, 15 non-human) studies that met inclusion criteria for our analyses. While studies in human adolescents show notable heterogeneity, results broadly demonstrate that increases in gonadal hormones across pubertal development are associated with macro- and microstructural changes in WM tracts that are consistent with the sex differences found in non-human animals, particularly in the corpus callosum. We discuss limitations of the current state of the science and recommend important future directions for investigators in the field to consider in order to advance our understanding of the neuroscience of puberty and to promote forward and backward translation across model organisms.

Alcohol's effects on the mouse brain are modulated by age and sex.

Binge alcohol consumption is common among adolescents and may impair normal brain development. Emerging, longitudinal studies in adolescents suggest that the effects of binge alcohol exposure on brain structure differ between sexes. To test the hypothesis that the effects of binge alcohol exposure on developmental brain growth trajectories are influenced by age of exposure and sex, adolescent and adult, male and female C57Bl/6 mice (n = 32), were exposed to a binge-like ethanol (EtOH) exposure paradigm (i.e., 5 cycles of 2 on/2 off days of 5 g/kg EtOH intraperitoneal) or served as saline controls. Longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging was acquired at baseline, following binge EtOH exposure, and after 2 weeks of recovery. Alcohol treatment showed interactions with age and sex in altering whole brain volume: adolescents of both sexes demonstrated inhibited whole brain growth relative to their control counterparts, although significance was only attained in female mice which showed a larger magnitude response to EtOH compared to male mice. In region of interest analyses, the somatosensory cortex and cerebellum showed inhibited growth in male and female adolescent mice exposed to EtOH, but the difference relative to controls did not reach multiple comparison-corrected statistical significance. These data suggest that in mice exposed to binge EtOH treatment, adolescent age of exposure and female sex may confer a higher risk to the detrimental effects of EtOH on brain structure and reinforce the need for direct testing of both sexes.

Poor subjective sleep predicts compromised quality of life but not cognitive impairment in abstinent individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder.

How disrupted sleep contributes to cognitive dysfunction over the dynamic course of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is an emerging topic of investigation. Here, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate subjective sleep in 90 individuals with AUD sober for an average of 3 months and in 50 healthy controls. Relative to controls, AUD individuals had higher global PSQI scores (worse sleep), higher scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), worse Quality of Life (QoL) indicators, and poorer performance on cognitive composite tests (executive functioning, attention and working memory, visual and verbal learning or memory). Among AUD individuals, a higher PSQI score correlated with a higher BDI-II score and worse QoL, but not with cognitive scales. Also noted in the AUD group were higher global PSQI scores in individuals also diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The four variables explained 29.8% of the variance in AUD PSQI scores. In women with AUD, the four factors explained 39.3% of the variance in PSQI scores (MDD was salient); in AUD men, the four measures explained 19.9% of the variance (QoL predominated). Together, these results suggest that poor PSQI-defined sleep does not predict cognitive performance in abstinent AUD individuals and further, that differential factors associate with poor sleep in men and women with AUD.

Prepubertal gonadectomy reveals sex differences in approach-avoidance behavior in adult mice.

Adolescence is a developmental period that is associated with physical, cognitive, and affective maturation and a time when sex biases in multiple psychiatric diseases emerge. While puberty onset marks the initiation of adolescence, it is unclear whether the pubertal rise in gonadal hormones generates sex differences in approach-avoidance behaviors that may impact psychiatric vulnerability. To examine the influence of pubertal development on adult behavior, we removed the gonads or performed sham surgery in male and female mice just prior to puberty onset and assessed performance in an odor-guided foraging task and anxiety-related behaviors in adulthood. We observed no significant sex differences in foraging or anxiety-related behaviors between intact adult male and female mice but found significant differences between adult male and female mice that had been gonadectomized (GDX) prior to puberty onset. GDX males failed to acquire the odor-guided foraging task, showed reduced locomotion, and exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior, while GDX females showed the opposite pattern of behavior. These data suggest that puberty may minimize rather than drive differences in approach-avoidance phenotypes in male and female mice.

Imaging striatal dopamine release using a nongenetically encoded near infrared fluorescent catecholamine nanosensor.

Neuromodulation plays a critical role in brain function in both health and disease, and new tools that capture neuromodulation with high spatial and temporal resolution are needed. Here, we introduce a synthetic catecholamine nanosensor with fluorescent emission in the near infrared range (1000-1300 nm), near infrared catecholamine nanosensor (nIRCat). We demonstrate that nIRCats can be used to measure electrically and optogenetically evoked dopamine release in brain tissue, revealing hotspots with a median size of 2 µm. We also demonstrated that nIRCats are compatible with dopamine pharmacology and show D2 autoreceptor modulation of evoked dopamine release, which varied as a function of initial release magnitude at different hotspots. Together, our data demonstrate that nIRCats and other nanosensors of this class can serve as versatile synthetic optical tools to monitor neuromodulatory neurotransmitter release with high spatial resolution.

Neuroscience: Sex Hormones at Work in the Neocortex.

Sex hormones have easy access to the brain and their receptors are expressed by cortical neurons. Until recently, little was known about what impact, if any, they have on cortical processing. New data reveal that estradiol potently alters inhibitory neurotransmission in the neocortex.

Adolescent pruning and stabilization of dendritic spines on cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons do not depend on gonadal hormones.

Pyramidal neurons in the neocortex receive a majority of their synapses on dendritic spines, whose growth, gain, and loss regulate the strength and identity of neural connections. Juvenile brains typically show higher spine density and turnover compared to adult brains, potentially enabling greater capacity for experience-dependent circuit 'rewiring'. Although spine pruning and stabilization in frontal cortex overlap with pubertal milestones, it is unclear if gonadal hormones drive these processes. To address this question, we used hormone manipulations and in vivo 2-photon microscopy to test for a causal relationship between pubertal hormones and spine pruning and stabilization in layer 5 neurons in the frontal cortex of female mice. We found that spine density, gains, and losses decreased from P27 to P60 and that these measures were not affected by pre-pubertal hormone injections or ovariectomy. Further analyses of spine morphology after manipulation of gonadal hormones suggest that gonadal hormones may play a role in morphological maturation and dynamics. Our data help to segregate hormone-sensitive and hormone-insensitive maturational processes that occur simultaneously in dorsomedial frontal cortex. These data provide more specific insight into adolescent development and may have implications for understanding the neurodevelopmental effects of changes in pubertal timing in humans.

Age, sex, and gonadal hormones differently influence anxiety- and depression-related behavior during puberty in mice.

Anxiety and depression symptoms increase dramatically during adolescence, with girls showing a steeper increase than boys after puberty onset. The timing of the onset of this sex bias led us to hypothesize that ovarian hormones contribute to depression and anxiety during puberty. In humans, it is difficult to disentangle direct effects of gonadal hormones from social and environmental factors that interact with pubertal development to influence mental health. To test the role of gonadal hormones in anxiety- and depression-related behavior during puberty, we manipulated gonadal hormones in mice while controlling social and environmental factors. Similar to humans, we find that mice show an increase in depression-related behavior from pre-pubertal to late-pubertal ages, but this increase is not dependent on gonadal hormones and does not differ between sexes. Anxiety-related behavior, however, is more complex during puberty, with differences that depend on sex, age, behavioral test, and hormonal status. Briefly, males castrated before puberty show greater anxiety-related behavior during late puberty compared to intact males, while pubertal females are unaffected by ovariectomy or hormone injections in all assays except the marble burying test. Despite this sex-specific effect of pubertal hormones on anxiety-related behavior, we find no sex differences in intact young adults, suggesting that males and females use separate mechanisms to converge on a similar behavioral phenotype. Our results are consistent with anxiolytic effects of testicular hormones during puberty in males but are not consistent with a causal role for ovarian hormones in increasing anxiety- and depression-related behavior during puberty in females.

Ovarian Hormones Organize the Maturation of Inhibitory Neurotransmission in the Frontal Cortex at Puberty Onset in Female Mice.

The frontal cortex matures late in development, showing dramatic changes after puberty onset, yet few experiments have directly tested the role of pubertal hormones in cortical maturation. One mechanism thought to play a primary role in regulating the maturation of the neocortex is an increase in inhibitory neurotransmission, which alters the balance of excitation and inhibition. We hypothesized that pubertal hormones could regulate maturation of the frontal cortex by this mechanism. Here, we report that manipulations of gonadal hormones do significantly alter the maturation of inhibitory neurotransmission in the cingulate region of the mouse medial frontal cortex, an associative region that matures during the pubertal transition and is implicated in decision making, learning, and psychopathology. We find that inhibitory neurotransmission, but not excitatory neurotransmission, increases onto cingulate pyramidal neurons during peri-pubertal development and that this increase can be blocked by pre-pubertal, but not post-pubertal, gonadectomy. We next used pre-pubertal hormone treatment to model early puberty onset, a phenomenon increasingly observed in girls living in developed nations. We find that pre-pubertal hormone treatment drives an early increase in inhibitory neurotransmission in the frontal cortex, but not the somatosensory cortex, suggesting that earlier puberty can advance cortical maturation in a regionally specific manner. Pre-pubertal hormone treatment also accelerates maturation of tonic inhibition and performance in a frontal-cortex-dependent reversal-learning task. These data provide rare evidence of enduring, organizational effects of ovarian hormones at puberty and provide a potential mechanism by which gonadal hormones could regulate the maturation of the associative neocortex.

Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex?

Postnatal brain development is studded with sensitive periods during which experience dependent plasticity is enhanced. This enables rapid learning from environmental inputs and reorganization of cortical circuits that matches behavior with environmental contingencies. Significant headway has been achieved in characterizing and understanding sensitive period biology in primary sensory cortices, but relatively little is known about sensitive period biology in associative neocortex. One possible mediator is the onset of puberty, which marks the transition to adolescence, when animals shift their behavior toward gaining independence and exploring their social world. Puberty onset correlates with reduced behavioral plasticity in some domains and enhanced plasticity in others, and therefore may drive the transition from juvenile to adolescent brain function. Pubertal onset is also occurring earlier in developed nations, particularly in unserved populations, and earlier puberty is associated with vulnerability for substance use, depression and anxiety. In the present article we review the evidence that supports a causal role for puberty in developmental changes in the function and neurobiology of the associative neocortex. We also propose a model for how pubertal hormones may regulate sensitive period plasticity in associative neocortex. We conclude that the evidence suggests puberty onset may play a causal role in some aspects of associative neocortical development, but that further research that manipulates puberty and measures gonadal hormones is required. We argue that further work of this kind is urgently needed to determine how earlier puberty may negatively impact human health and learning potential. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Adolescent plasticity.

Aggressive interactions are associated with reductions in RFamide-related peptide, but not kisspeptin, neuronal activation in mice.

Aggressive interactions lead to changes in both future behavior and circulating testosterone (T) concentrations in animals across taxa. The specific neural circuitry and neurochemical systems by which these encounters alter neuroendocrine functioning are not well understood. Neurons expressing the inhibitory and stimulatory neuropeptides, RFamide-related peptide (RFRP) and kisspeptin, respectively, project to neural loci regulating aggression in addition to neuroendocrine cells controlling sex steroid production. Given these connections to both the reproductive axis and aggression circuitry, RFRP and kisspeptin are in unique positions to mediate post-encounter changes in both T and behavior. The present study examined the activational state of RFRP and kisspeptin neurons of male C57BL/6 mice following an aggressive encounter. Both winners and losers exhibited reduced RFRP/FOS co-localization relative to handling stress controls. Social exposure controls did not display reduced RFRP neuronal activation, indicating that this effect is due to aggressive interaction specifically rather than social interaction generally. RFRP neuronal activation positively correlated with latencies to display several offensive behaviors within winners. These effects were not observed in the anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nucleus kisspeptin cell population. Together, these findings point to potential neuromodulatory role for RFRP in aggressive behavior and in disinhibiting the reproductive axis to facilitate an increase in T in response to social challenge.

Circadian Control of the Female Reproductive Axis Through Gated Responsiveness of the RFRP-3 System to VIP Signaling.

Throughout most of the ovulatory cycle, estrogen negative feedback restrains the GnRH neuronal system. Just before ovulation, however, estrogen negative feedback is removed to permit stimulation of the preovulatory GnRH/LH surge (positive feedback) by the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The mammalian ortholog of avian gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone, RFamide-related peptide 3 (RFRP-3), participates in the circadian-timed removal of estrogen negative feedback to permit the LH surge. The present study examined the specific neurochemical means by which the SCN controls RFRP-3 activity and explored whether the RFRP-3 system exhibits time-dependent responsiveness to SCN signaling to precisely time the LH surge. We found that RFRP-3 cells in female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) receive close appositions from SCN-derived vasopressin-ergic and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-ergic terminal fibers. Central VIP administration markedly suppressed RFRP-3 cellular activity in the evening, but not the morning, relative to saline controls, whereas vasopressin was without effect at either time point. Double-label in situ hybridization for Rfrp-3 and the VIP receptors VPAC1 and VPAC2 revealed that the majority of RFRP-3 cells do not coexpress either receptor in Syrian hamsters or mice, suggesting that SCN VIP-ergic signaling inhibits RFRP-3 cells indirectly. The timing of this VIP-mediated disinhibition is further coordinated via temporally gated responsiveness of RFRP-3 cells to circadian signaling. Together, these findings reveal a novel circadian hierarchy of control coordinating the preovulatory LH surge and ovulation.

Adolescent maturation of inhibitory inputs onto cingulate cortex neurons is cell-type specific and TrkB dependent.

The maturation of inhibitory circuits during adolescence may be tied to the onset of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia. Neurotrophin signaling likely plays a critical role in supporting inhibitory circuit development and is also implicated in psychiatric disease. Within the neocortex, subcircuits may mature at different times and show differential sensitivity to neurotrophin signaling. We measured miniature inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs and mEPSCs) in Layer 5 cell-types in the mouse anterior cingulate (Cg) across the periadolescent period. We differentiated cell-types mainly by Thy1 YFP transgene expression and also retrobead injection labeling in the contralateral Cg and ipsilateral pons. We found that YFP- neurons and commissural projecting neurons had lower frequency of mIPSCs than neighboring YFP+ neurons or pons projecting neurons in juvenile mice (P21-25). YFP- neurons and to a lesser extent commissural projecting neurons also showed a significant increase in mIPSC amplitude during the periadolescent period (P21-25 vs. P40-50), which was not seen in YFP+ neurons or pons projecting neurons. Systemic disruption of tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) signaling during P23-50 in TrkBF616A mice blocked developmental changes in mIPSC amplitude, without affecting miniature excitatory post synaptic currents (mEPSCs). Our data suggest that the maturation of inhibitory inputs onto Layer 5 pyramidal neurons is cell-type specific. These data may inform our understanding of adolescent brain development across species and aid in identifying candidate subcircuits that may show greater vulnerability in mental illness.

Effects of Pinealectomy and Short Day Lengths on Reproduction and Neuronal RFRP-3, Kisspeptin, and GnRH in Female Turkish Hamsters.

Long days (LDs) stimulate and short days (SDs) inhibit reproduction in photoperiodic rodents by modifying nocturnal pineal melatonin secretion. In LD Turkish hamsters, unlike other rodents, pinealectomy induces reproductive quiescence comparable to that produced by SDs. We assessed whether SDs and pinealectomy induce similar or different patterns of kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (also known as RFamide-related peptide-3 [RFRP-3] in mammals) expression, important mediators of seasonal reproductive changes in other species. Brains were harvested from sham-operated female Turkish hamsters maintained in LDs and SDs and LD-pinealectomized (pinx) females, all housed in their respective photoperiods for 12 weeks. Uterine weights were substantially higher in LD-sham than in LD-pinx and SD-sham females. RFRP-3-immunoreactive(-ir) cells in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus were greater in number and size in the reproductively competent LD-sham hamsters than in both reproductively suppressed SD-sham and LD-pinx hamsters. LD-sham hamsters had more kisspeptin-ir cells in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus than did LD-pinx hamsters. Reproductive quiescence, whether induced by short-day lengths or pinealectomy, was generally accompanied by comparable changes in RFRP-3 and kisspeptin, suggesting that long-duration melatonin signaling and withdrawal of melatonin by pinealectomy may act through the same neural substrates to induce gonadal quiescence.

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone reduces sexual motivation but not lordosis behavior in female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Reproductive success is maximized when female sexual motivation and behavior coincide with the time of optimal fertility. Both processes depend upon coordinated hormonal events, beginning with signaling by the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal system. Two neuropeptidergic systems that lie upstream of GnRH, gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH; also known as RFamide related peptide-3) and kisspeptin, are potent inhibitory and excitatory modulators of GnRH, respectively, that participate in the timing of the preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge and ovulation. Whether these neuropeptides serve as neuromodulators to coordinate female sexual behavior with the limited window of fertility has not been thoroughly explored. In the present study, either intact or ovariectomized, hormone-treated female hamsters were implanted for fifteen days with chronic release osmotic pumps filled with GnIH or saline. The effect of GnIH on sexual motivation, vaginal scent marking, and lordosis was examined. Following mating, FOS activation was quantified in brain regions implicated in the regulation of female sexual behavior. Intracerebroventricular administration of GnIH reduced sexual motivation and vaginal scent marking, but not lordosis behavior. GnIH administration altered FOS expression in key neural loci implicated in female reproductive behavior, including the medial preoptic area, medial amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, independent of changes in circulating gonadal steroids and kisspeptin cell activation. Together, these data point to GnIH as an important modulator of female proceptive sexual behavior and motivation, independent of downstream alterations in sex steroid production.

Dorsomedial hypothalamic lesions block Syrian hamster testicular regression in short day lengths without diminishing increased testosterone negative-feedback sensitivity.

The dorsomedial nucleus (DMN) of the hypothalamus, the only site within the mediobasal hypothalamus of Syrian hamsters that both binds melatonin and has abundant concentrations of androgen receptors, has been proposed as a target tissue for induction of seasonal changes in brain sensitivity to steroid negative feedback. We tested whether DMN ablation, which does not interfere with pineal gland secretion of melatonin in short day lengths, prevents testicular regression by altering sensitivity to steroid negative feedback. Hamsters with DMN lesions, unlike control hamsters, failed to undergo testicular regression after transfer from a long (14 h light/day) to a short day length (8 h light/day); however, increased negative-feedback inhibition of follicle-stimulating hormone by testosterone was not compromised by ablation of the DMN, indicating that this tissue is not an essential mediator of seasonal changes in feedback sensitivity. We propose a redundant neural network comprised of multiple structures, each of which contributes to neuroendocrine mechanisms, that determines the effect of short days on gonadal function.

Winter day lengths counteract stimulatory effects of apomorphine and yohimbine on sexual behavior of male Syrian hamsters.

Yohimbine and apomorphine selectively act on noradrenergic and dopaminergic neural substrates to augment male sexual behavior (MSB) in several rodent species. The present study assessed whether these drugs can overcome the suppressive effects of short winter-like day lengths on MSB. Yohimbine treatments that markedly increase copulatory behavior of male hamsters in long days were completely ineffective in facilitating MSB when injected after gonadal regression induced by 16 wks of short day lengths and after complete gonadal recrudescence after 32 wks of short days; apomorphine was similarly ineffective. The brain circuit that mediates MSB either may be less responsive to yohimbine and apomorphine in short than long days, or these drugs may not produce equivalent neurotransmitter changes in the two day lengths. After 32 wks of short-day treatment, all males had undergone testicular recrudescence and successfully ejaculated on initial tests with sexually receptive females after a hiatus of at least 4 mo during which they were denied mating opportunities. This suggests that overwintering males in the field are in a state of reproductive readiness at the outset of spring conditions favorable for survival of offspring.

The protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin reduces sex behavior during a critical period after testosterone treatment in male Syrian hamsters.

Testosterone (T) is critical for maintaining male sexual behavior (MSB) in rodents, in part by altering protein synthesis in a well-defined neural circuit. The specific timing of protein synthesis essential for expression of MSB has never been investigated. We administered the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin (Ani) to castrated male Syrian hamsters treated sc with 100 µg T in an aqueous vehicle once weekly; this T regimen maintains MSB while elevating circulating T concentrations for only a few hours after each injection. Hamsters were injected s.c. with the vehicle or 12.5 mg Ani at one of several times relative to T administration; MSB was assessed once per week, 6 days after the previous T injection, for 5 weeks. Anisomycin administered 6-12 h after T injection significantly reduced the expression of sexual behavior, whereas Ani treatment between 3 h before and 3 h after T injection did not impair MSB. This experiment is the first to assess the specific timing of protein synthesis relative to a T pulse that is required for the expression of MSB. The demarcation of a critical interval for T-induced protein synthesis necessary for maintenance of MSB should facilitate specification of the genomic, proteomic, and biochemical cascades that subserve actions of T on male copulation.

Facilitation of male sexual behavior in Syrian hamsters by the combined action of dihydrotestosterone and testosterone.

BACKGROUND: Testosterone (T) controls male Syrian hamster sexual behavior, however, neither of T's primary metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E(2)), even in highly supraphysiological doses, fully restores sexual behavior in castrated hamsters. DHT and T apparently interact with androgen receptors differentially to control male sexual behavior (MSB), but whether these two hormones act synergistically or antagonistically to control MSB has received scant experimental attention and is addressed in the present study. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sexually experienced male Syrian hamsters were gonadectomized and monitored 5 weeks later to confirm elimination of the ejaculatory reflex (week 0), at which time they received subcutaneous DHT-filled or empty capsules that remained in situ for the duration of the experiment. Daily injections of a physiological dose of 25 µg T or vehicle commenced two weeks after capsule implantation. MSB was tested 2, 4 and 5 weeks after T treatment began. DHT capsules were no more effective than control treatment for long-term restoration of ejaculation. Combined DHT + T treatment, however, restored the ejaculatory reflex more effectively than T alone, as evidenced by more rapid recovery of ejaculatory behavior, shorter ejaculation latencies, and a greater number of ejaculations in 30 minute tests. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: DHT and T administered together restored sexual behavior to pre-castration levels more rapidly than did T alone, whereas DHT and vehicle were largely ineffective. The additive actions of DHT and T on MSB are discussed in relation to different effects of these androgens on androgen receptors in the male hamster brain mating circuit.