Inputs to the locus coeruleus from the periaqueductal gray and rostroventral medulla shape opioid-mediated descending pain modulation.

The supraspinal descending pain modulatory system (DPMS) shapes pain perception via monoaminergic modulation of sensory information in the spinal cord. However, the role and synaptic mechanisms of descending noradrenergic signaling remain unclear. Here, we establish that noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC) are essential for supraspinal opioid antinociception. While much previous work has emphasized the role of descending serotonergic pathways, we find that opioid antinociception is primarily driven by excitatory output from the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) to the LC. Furthermore, we identify a previously unknown opioid-sensitive inhibitory input from the rostroventromedial medulla (RVM), the suppression of which disinhibits LC neurons to drive spinal noradrenergic antinociception. We describe pain-related activity throughout this circuit and report the presence of prominent bifurcating outputs from the vlPAG to the LC and the RVM. Our findings substantially revise current models of the DPMS and establish a supraspinal antinociceptive pathway that may contribute to multiple forms of descending pain modulation.

Cortico-cortical connectivity is influenced by levodopa in tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease.

Resting tremor is the most common presenting motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). The supplementary motor area (SMA) is a main target of the basal-ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuit and has direct, facilitatory connections with the primary motor cortex (M1), which is important for the execution of voluntary movement. Dopamine potentially modulates SMA and M1 activity, and both regions have been implicated in resting tremor. This study investigated SMA-M1 connectivity in individuals with PD ON and OFF dopamine medication, and whether SMA-M1 connectivity is implicated in resting tremor. Dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to measure SMA-M1 connectivity in PD participants ON and OFF levodopa. Resting tremor was measured using electromyography and accelerometry. Stimulating SMA inhibited M1 excitability OFF levodopa, and facilitated M1 excitability ON levodopa. ON medication, SMA-M1 facilitation was significantly associated with smaller tremor than SMA-M1 inhibition. The current findings contribute to our understanding of the neural networks involved in PD which are altered by levodopa medication and provide a neurophysiological basis for the development of interventions to treat resting tremor.

Disrupting direct inputs from the dorsal subiculum to the granular retrosplenial cortex impairs flexible spatial memory in the rat.

In a changing environment, animals must process spatial signals in a flexible manner. The rat hippocampal formation projects directly upon the retrosplenial cortex, with most inputs arising from the dorsal subiculum and terminating in the granular retrosplenial cortex (area 29). The present study examined whether these same projections are required for spatial working memory and what happens when available spatial cues are altered. Consequently, injections of iDREADDs were made into the dorsal subiculum of rats. In a separate control group, GFP-expressing adeno-associated virus was injected into the dorsal subiculum. Both groups received intracerebral infusions within the retrosplenial cortex of clozapine, which in the iDREADDs rats should selectively disrupt the subiculum to retrosplenial projections. When tested on reinforced T-maze alternation, disruption of the subiculum to retrosplenial projections had no evident effect on the performance of those alternation trials when all spatial-cue types remained present and unchanged. However, the same iDREADDs manipulation impaired performance on all three alternation conditions when there was a conflict or selective removal of spatial cues. These findings reveal how the direct projections from the dorsal subiculum to the retrosplenial cortex support the flexible integration of different spatial cue types, helping the animal to adopt the spatial strategy that best meets current environmental demands.

Relationship between functional connectivity and weight-gain risk of antipsychotics in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms by which antipsychotic medications (APs) contribute to obesity in schizophrenia are not well understood. Because AP effects on functional brain connectivity may contribute to weight effects, the current study investigated how AP-associated weight-gain risk relates to functional connectivity in schizophrenia. METHODS: Fifty-five individuals with schizophrenia (final N = 54) were divided into groups based on previously reported AP weight-gain risk (no APs/low risk [N = 19]; moderate risk [N = 17]; high risk [N = 18]). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was completed after an overnight fast ("fasted") and post-meal ("fed"). Correlations between AP weight-gain risk and functional connectivity were assessed at the whole-brain level and in reward- and eating-related brain regions (anterior insula, caudate, nucleus accumbens). RESULTS: When fasted, greater AP weight-gain risk was associated with increased connectivity between thalamus and sensorimotor cortex (pFDR = 0.021). When fed, greater AP weight-gain risk was associated with increased connectivity between left caudate and left precentral/postcentral gyri (pFDR = 0.048) and between right caudate and multiple regions, including the left precentral/postcentral gyri (pFDR = 0.001), intracalcarine/precuneal/cuneal cortices (pFDR < 0.001), and fusiform gyrus (pFDR = 0.008). When fed, greater AP weight-gain risk was also associated with decreased connectivity between right anterior insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (pFDR = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: APs with higher weight-gain risk were associated with greater connectivity between reward-related regions and sensorimotor regions when fasted, perhaps relating to motor anticipation for consumption. Higher weight-gain risk APs were also associated with increased connectivity between reward, salience, and visual regions when fed, potentially reflecting greater desire for consumption following satiety.

A locus coeruleus to dorsal hippocampus pathway mediates cue-induced reinstatement of opioid self-administration in male and female rats.

Opioid use disorder is a chronic relapsing disorder encompassing misuse, dependence, and addiction to opioid drugs. Long term maintenance of associations between the reinforcing effects of the drug and the cues associated with its intake are a leading cause of relapse. Indeed, exposure to the salient drug-associated cues can lead to drug cravings and drug seeking behavior. The dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) and locus coeruleus (LC) have emerged as important structures for linking the subjective rewarding effects of opioids with environmental cues. However, their role in cue-induced reinstatement of opioid use remains to be further elucidated. In this study, we showed that chemogenetic inhibition of excitatory dHPC neurons during re-exposure to drug-associated cues significantly attenuates cue-induced reinstatement of morphine-seeking behavior. In addition, the same manipulation reduced reinstatement of sucrose-seeking behavior but failed to alter memory recall in the object location task. Finally, intact activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) LC-dHPCTh afferents is necessary to drive cue induced reinstatement of morphine-seeking as inhibition of this pathway blunts cue-induced drug-seeking behavior. Altogether, these studies show an important role of the dHPC and LC-dHPCTh pathway in mediating cue-induced reinstatement of opioid seeking.

Brain connectivity changes to fast versus slow dopamine increases.

The rewarding effects of stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate (MP) depend crucially on how fast they raise dopamine in the brain. Yet how the rate of drug-induced dopamine increases impacts brain network communication remains unresolved. We manipulated route of MP administration to generate fast versus slow dopamine increases. We hypothesized that fast versus slow dopamine increases would result in a differential pattern of global brain connectivity (GBC) in association with regional levels of dopamine D1 receptors, which are critical for drug reward. Twenty healthy adults received MP intravenously (0.5 mg/kg; fast dopamine increases) and orally (60 mg; slow dopamine increases) during simultaneous [11C]raclopride PET-fMRI scans (double-blind, placebo-controlled). We tested how GBC was temporally associated with slow and fast dopamine increases on a minute-to-minute basis. Connectivity patterns were strikingly different for slow versus fast dopamine increases, and whole-brain spatial patterns were negatively correlated with one another (rho = -0.54, pspin < 0.001). GBC showed "fast>slow" associations in dorsal prefrontal cortex, insula, posterior thalamus and brainstem, caudate and precuneus; and "slow>fast" associations in ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, and frontopolar cortex (pFDR < 0.05). "Fast>slow" GBC patterns showed significant spatial correspondence with D1 receptor availability (estimated via normative maps of [11C]SCH23390 binding; rho = 0.22, pspin < 0.05). Further, hippocampal GBC to fast dopamine increases was significantly negatively correlated with self-reported 'high' ratings to intravenous MP across individuals (r(19) = -0.68, pbonferroni = 0.015). Different routes of MP administration produce divergent patterns of brain connectivity. Fast dopamine increases are uniquely associated with connectivity patterns that have relevance for the subjective experience of drug reward.

Impact of alcohol exposure on neural development and network formation in human cortical organoids.

Prenatal alcohol exposure is the foremost preventable etiology of intellectual disability and leads to a collection of diagnoses known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Alcohol (EtOH) impacts diverse neural cell types and activity, but the precise functional pathophysiological effects on the human fetal cerebral cortex are unclear. Here, we used human cortical organoids to study the effects of EtOH on neurogenesis and validated our findings in primary human fetal neurons. EtOH exposure produced temporally dependent cellular effects on proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis. In addition, we identified EtOH-induced alterations in post-translational histone modifications and chromatin accessibility, leading to impairment of cAMP and calcium signaling, glutamatergic synaptic development, and astrocytic function. Proteomic spatial profiling of cortical organoids showed region-specific, EtOH-induced alterations linked to changes in cytoskeleton, gliogenesis, and impaired synaptogenesis. Finally, multi-electrode array electrophysiology recordings confirmed the deleterious impact of EtOH on neural network formation and activity in cortical organoids, which was validated in primary human fetal tissues. Our findings demonstrate progress in defining the human molecular and cellular phenotypic signatures of prenatal alcohol exposure on functional neurodevelopment, increasing our knowledge for potential therapeutic interventions targeting FASD symptoms.

Interplay between nitric oxide and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone in the neuromodulation of the corpus luteum during late pregnancy in the rat.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide and GnRH are biological factors that participate in the regulation of reproductive functions. To our knowledge, there are no studies that link NO and GnRH in the sympathetic ganglia. Thus, the aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of NO on GnRH release from the coeliac ganglion and its effect on luteal regression at the end of pregnancy in the rat. METHODS: The ex vivo system composed by the coeliac ganglion, the superior ovarian nerve, and the ovary of rats on day 21 of pregnancy was incubated for 180 min with the addition, into the ganglionic compartment, of L-NG-nitro arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a non-selective NO synthase inhibitor. The control group consisted in untreated organ systems. RESULTS: The addition of L-NAME in the coeliac ganglion compartment decreased NO as well as GnRH release from the coeliac ganglion. In the ovarian compartment, and with respect to the control group, we observed a reduced release of GnRH, NO, and noradrenaline, but an increased production of progesterone, estradiol, and expression of their limiting biosynthetic enzymes, 3ß-HSD and P450 aromatase, respectively. The inhibition of NO production by L-NAME in the coeliac ganglion compartment also reduced luteal apoptosis, lipid peroxidation, and nitrotyrosine, whereas it increased the total antioxidant capacity within the corpora lutea. CONCLUSION: Collectively, the results indicate that NO production by the coeliac ganglion modulates the physiology of the ovary and luteal regression during late pregnancy in rats.

Nicotine modulation of the lateral habenula/ventral tegmental area circuit dynamics: An electrophysiological study in rats.

Nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco, has bivalent rewarding and aversive properties. Recently, the lateral habenula (LHb), a structure that controls ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) function, has attracted attention as it is potentially involved in the aversive properties of drugs of abuse. Hitherto, the LHb-modulation of nicotine-induced VTA neuronal activity in vivo is unknown. Using standard single-extracellular recording in anesthetized rats, we observed that intravenous administration of nicotine hydrogen tartrate (25-800 µg/kg i.v.) caused a dose-dependent increase in the basal firing rate of the LHb neurons of nicotine-naïve rats. This effect underwent complete desensitization in chronic nicotine (6 mg/kg/day for 14 days)-treated animals. As previously reported, acute nicotine induced an increase in the VTA DA neuronal firing rate. Interestingly, only neurons located medially (mVTA) but not laterally (latVTA) within the VTA were responsive to acute nicotine. This pattern of activation was reversed by chronic nicotine exposure which produced the selective increase of latVTA neuronal activity. Acute lesion of the LHb, similarly to chronic nicotine treatment, reversed the pattern of DA cell activation induced by acute nicotine increasing latVTA but not mVTA neuronal activity. Our evidence indicates that LHb plays an important role in mediating the effects of acute and chronic nicotine within the VTA by activating distinct subregional responses of DA neurons. The LHb/VTA modulation might be part of the neural substrate of nicotine aversive properties. By silencing the LHb chronic nicotine could shift the balance of motivational states toward the reward.

Lasting effects of a single psilocybin dose on resting-state functional connectivity in healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug that has shown lasting positive effects on clinical symptoms and self-reported well-being following a single dose. There has been little research into the long-term effects of psilocybin on brain connectivity in humans. AIM: Evaluate changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) at 1 week and 3 months after one psilocybin dose in 10 healthy psychedelic-naïve volunteers and explore associations between change in RSFC and related measures. METHODS: Participants received 0.2-0.3 mg/kg psilocybin in a controlled setting. Participants completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans at baseline, 1-week and 3-month post-administration and [11C]Cimbi-36 PET scans at baseline and 1 week. We examined changes in within-network, between-network and region-to-region RSFC. We explored associations between changes in RSFC and psilocybin-induced phenomenology as well as changes in psychological measures and neocortex serotonin 2A receptor binding. RESULTS: Psilocybin was well tolerated and produced positive changes in well-being. At 1 week only, executive control network (ECN) RSFC was significantly decreased (Cohen's d = -1.73, pFWE = 0.010). We observed no other significant changes in RSFC at 1 week or 3 months, nor changes in region-to-region RSFC. Exploratory analyses indicated that decreased ECN RSFC at 1 week predicted increased mindfulness at 3 months (r = -0.65). CONCLUSIONS: These findings in a small cohort indicate that psilocybin affects ECN function within the psychedelic 'afterglow' period. Our findings implicate ECN modulation as mediating psilocybin-induced, long-lasting increases in mindfulness. Although our findings implicate a neural pathway mediating lasting psilocybin effects, it is notable that changes in neuroimaging measures at 3 months, when personality changes are observed, remain to be identified.

Brain functional connectivity in patients with hyperthyroidism after anti-thyroid treatment.

Thyroid disease is known to affect brain metabolism and cognitive function, although the recovery of thyroid-induced brain functional changes after treatment remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the alteration in brain functional connectivity and its correlation with neuropsychological variables in hyperthyroid patients before and after anti-thyroid treatment using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) technique. This is a follow-up rsfMRI study of previous work that showed impaired brain functional connectivity in hyperthyroid patients compared to healthy controls. We included rsfMRI and neuropsychological data from 21 hyperthyroid patients out of an original cohort of 28 patients, before and after anti-thyroid treatment for 30 weeks. Functional connectivity analysis and neuropsychological scores were compared using paired t tests in patients at baseline and at follow-up. Patients showed an improvement in some of the memory (p < .05) and executive, visuospatial and motor (p < .001) functions after treatment, and also showed increased functional connectivity in the regions of the right fronto-parietal network, left fronto-parietal network, and default mode network (DMN) (p < .05). At follow-up, the functional connectivity of the right fronto-parietal network showed a significantly positive correlation with the recognition of objects memory score. The overall findings suggest that anti-thyroid treatment with carbimazole improves the functional connectivity within some of the resting state networks in the hyperthyroid patients, whereas the remaining networks still show impairment.

Early phase of pupil dilation is mediated by the peripheral parasympathetic pathway.

Pupil diameter fluctuates in association with changes in brain states induced by the neuromodulator systems. However, it remains unclear how the neuromodulator systems control the activity of the iris sphincter (constrictor) and dilator muscles to change the pupil size. The present study compared temporal patterns of pupil dilation during movement when each muscle was pharmacologically manipulated in the human eye. When the iris sphincter muscle was blocked with tropicamide, the latency of pupil dilation was delayed and the magnitude of pupil dilation was reduced during movement. In contrast, when the iris dilator muscle was continuously stimulated with phenylephrine, the latency and magnitude of rapid pupil dilation did not differ from the untreated control eye, but sustained pupil dilation was reduced until the end of movement. These results suggest that the iris sphincter muscle, which is under the control of the parasympathetic pathway, is quickly modulated by the neuromodulator system and plays a major role in rapid pupil dilation. However, the iris dilator muscle receives signals from the neuromodulator system with a slow latency and is involved in maintaining sustained pupil dilation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY By pharmacologically manipulating the pupil dilator and constrictor muscles of human eye separately, we found that the pupil constrictor muscle is a primary controller of rapid pupil dilation upon brain arousal. However, the pupil dilator muscle, which is innervated by the sympathetic nervous system and is generally considered as a major regulator of pupil dilation, is not involved in rapid pupil dilation, but was involved in long-lasting pupil dilation.

Oxytocin-conjugated saporin injected into the substantia nigra of male rats alters the activity of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system: A behavioral and neurochemical study.

Saporin conjugated to oxytocin (OXY-SAP) destroys neurons expressing oxytocinergic receptors. When injected unilaterally in the substantia nigra of male rats, OXY-SAP causes a dose-dependent decrease up to 55 % in nigral Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactivity compared to control mock peptide BLANK-SAP- and PBS-treated rats or the contralateral substantia nigra. TH decrease was parallel to a dopamine content decrease in the ipsilateral striatum compared to BLANK-SAP- or PBS-treated rats or the contralateral striatum. OXY-SAP-treated rats showed a small but significant increase of locomotor activity 28 days after intranigral injection in the Open field test compared to BLANK-SAP- or PBS-treated rats, in line with an inhibitory role of nigral oxytocin on locomotor activity. OXY-SAP-, but not BLANK-SAP- or PBS-treated rats, also showed marked dose-dependent rotational turning ipsilateral to the injected substantia nigra when challenged with d-amphetamine, but not with apomorphine. Under isoflurane anesthesia OXY-SAP-treated rats showed levels of extracellular dopamine in the dialysate from the ipsilateral striatum only half those of BLANK-SAP- or PBS-treated rats or the contralateral striatum. When treated with d-amphetamine, OXY-SAP_60/120 rats showed increased extracellular dopamine levels in the dialysate from the ipsilateral striatum two third/one third only of those found in BLANK-SAP- or PBS-treated rats or the contralateral striatum, respectively. These results show that OXY-SAP destroys nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons expressing oxytocin receptors leading to a reduced striatal dopamine function.

Disrupted population coding in the prefrontal cortex underlies pain aversion.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulates a wide range of sensory experiences. Chronic pain is known to impair normal neural response, leading to enhanced aversion. However, it remains unknown how nociceptive responses in the cortex are processed at the population level and whether such processes are disrupted by chronic pain. Using in vivo endoscopic calcium imaging, we identify increased population activity in response to noxious stimuli and stable patterns of functional connectivity among neurons in the prelimbic (PL) PFC from freely behaving rats. Inflammatory pain disrupts functional connectivity of PFC neurons and reduces the overall nociceptive response. Interestingly, ketamine, a well-known neuromodulator, restores the functional connectivity among PL-PFC neurons in the inflammatory pain model to produce anti-aversive effects. These results suggest a dynamic resource allocation mechanism in the prefrontal representations of pain and indicate that population activity in the PFC critically regulates pain and serves as an important therapeutic target.

The Dopaminergic Control of Movement-Evolutionary Considerations.

Dopamine is likely the most studied modulatory neurotransmitter, in great part due to characteristic motor deficits in Parkinson's disease that arise after the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). The SNc, together with the ventral tegmental area (VTA), play a key role modulating motor responses through the basal ganglia. In contrast to the large amount of existing literature addressing the mammalian dopaminergic system, comparatively little is known in other vertebrate groups. However, in the last several years, numerous studies have been carried out in basal vertebrates, allowing a better understanding of the evolution of the dopaminergic system, especially the SNc/VTA. We provide an overview of existing research in basal vertebrates, mainly focusing on lampreys, belonging to the oldest group of extant vertebrates. The lamprey dopaminergic system and its role in modulating motor responses have been characterized in significant detail, both anatomically and functionally, providing the basis for understanding the evolution of the SNc/VTA in vertebrates. When considered alongside results from other early vertebrates, data in lampreys show that the key role of the SNc/VTA dopaminergic neurons modulating motor responses through the basal ganglia was already well developed early in vertebrate evolution.

Predominant role of gut-vagus-brain neuronal pathway in postoperative nausea and vomiting: evidence from an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) as a clinically most common postoperative complication requires multimodal antiemetic medications targeting at a wide range of neurotransmitter pathways. Lacking of neurobiological mechanism makes this 'big little problem' still unresolved. We aim to investigate whether gut-vagus-brain reflex generally considered as one of four typical emetic neuronal pathways might be the primary mediator of PONV. METHODS: Three thousand two hundred twenty-three patients who underwent vagus nerve trunk resection (esophagectomy and gastrectomy) and non-vagotomy surgery (hepatectomy, pulmonary lobectomy and colorectomy) from December 2016 to January 2019 were enrolled. Thirty cases of gastrectomy with selective resection on the gastric branch of vagus nerve were also recruited. Nausea and intensity of vomiting was recorded within 24 h after the operation. RESULTS: PONV occurred in 11.9% of 1187 patients who underwent vagus nerve trunk resection and 28.7% of 2036 non-vagotomy patients respectively. Propensity score matching showed that vagotomy surgeries accounted for 19.9% of the whole PONV incidence, much less than that observed in the non-PONV group (35.1%, P <  0.01). Multivariate logistic regression result revealed that vagotomy was one of underlying factor that significantly involved in PONV (OR = 0.302, 95% CI, 0.237-0.386). Nausea was reported in 5.9% ~ 8.6% vagotomy and 12 ~ 17% non-vagotomy patients. Most vomiting were mild, being approximately 3% in vagotomy and 8 ~ 13% in non-vagotomy patients, while sever vomiting was much less experienced. Furthermore, lower PONV occurrence (10%) was also observed in gastrectomy undergoing selective vagotomy. CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing surgeries with vagotomy developed less PONV, suggesting that vagus nerve dependent gut-brain signaling might mainly contribute to PONV.

Bri2 BRICHOS chaperone rescues impaired fast-spiking interneuron behavior and neuronal network dynamics in an AD mouse model in vitro.

Synchronized and properly balanced electrical activity of neurons is the basis for the brain's ability to process information, to learn, and to remember. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), which causes cognitive decline in patients, this synchronization and balance is disturbed by the accumulation of neuropathological biomarkers such as amyloid-beta peptide (Aß42). Failure of Aß42 clearance mechanisms as well as desynchronization of crucial neuronal classes such as fast-spiking interneurons (FSN) are root causes for the disruption of the cognition-relevant gamma brain rhythm (30-80 Hz) and consequent cognitive impairment observed in AD. Here we show that recombinant BRICHOS molecular chaperone domains from ProSP-C or Bri2, which interfere with Aß42 aggregation, can rescue the gamma rhythm. We demonstrate that Aß42 progressively decreases gamma oscillation power and rhythmicity, disrupts the inhibition/excitation balance in pyramidal cells, and desynchronizes FSN firing during gamma oscillations in the hippocampal CA3 network of mice. Application of the more efficacious Bri2 BRICHOS chaperone rescued the cellular and neuronal network performance from all ongoing Aß42-induced functional impairments. Collectively, our findings offer critical missing data to explain the importance of FSN for normal network function and underscore the therapeutic potential of Bri2 BRICHOS to rescue the disruption of cognition-relevant brain rhythms in AD.

2-Heptanone reduces inhibitory control of the amygdala over the prelimbic region in rats.

Basolateral amygdala (BLA) nuclei and their reciprocal connections with prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are involved in the regulation of fear. 2-Heptanone is released in urine in stressed rats, and the olfactory detection of this odor produces immediate avoidance and alarm reactions and modifies neuronal activity in limbic connections in non-stressed rats. If 2-heptanone acts as a danger signal, then long-lasting actions would be expected. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the forced inhalation of 2-heptanone modifies the response capacity of the BLA-mPFC circuit in the long term (48 h). Single-unit extracellular recordings were obtained from the PL and IL during electrical stimulation of the BLA (square-wave pulses; 1 ms, 20 µA, 0.3 Hz, 110 stimuli over a total duration of 360 s) in three groups of Wistar rats: control group (no sensory stimulation), unpredictable auditory stimulation group, and 2-heptanone stimulation group. A brief-latency (1 ms), short-duration (5 ms) paucisynaptic response followed BLA stimulation and was unaffected by any sensorial stimulation. The paucisynaptic response was followed by a mostly inhibitory and long-lasting (>750 ms) afterdischarge in the control and auditory stimulation groups. In the 2-heptanone group, the inhibitory afterdischarge shifted to an excitatory afterdischarge after ∼250 ms in the PL and after ∼500 ms in the IL. Importantly, the rats that were included in this study were born in local housing facilities. Thus, these animals were never in contact with predators and instead in contact with only conspecifics. These results indicate that the forced inhalation of 2-heptanone is able to modify BLA-mPFC responsivity in the long term. 2-Heptanone decreases inhibitory control of the amygdala over mPFC activity. Disinhibition of the mPFC may lead to the adaptive expression of defensive behaviors, even in animals that are not in the presence of predators.

Frequency-Dependent Synaptic Dynamics Differentially Tune CA1 and CA2 Pyramidal Neuron Responses to Cortical Input.

Entorhinal cortex neurons make monosynaptic connections onto distal apical dendrites of CA1 and CA2 pyramidal neurons through the perforant path (PP) projection. Previous studies show that differences in dendritic properties and synaptic input density enable the PP inputs to produce a much stronger excitation of CA2 compared with CA1 pyramidal neurons. Here, using mice of both sexes, we report that the difference in PP efficacy varies substantially as a function of presynaptic firing rate. Although a single PP stimulus evokes a 5- to 6-fold greater EPSP in CA2 compared with CA1, a brief high-frequency train of PP stimuli evokes a strongly facilitating postsynaptic response in CA1, with relatively little change in CA2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that blockade of NMDARs significantly reduces strong temporal summation in CA1 but has little impact on that in CA2. As a result of the differences in the frequency- and NMDAR-dependent temporal summation, naturalistic patterns of presynaptic activity evoke CA1 and CA2 responses with distinct dynamics, differentially tuning CA1 and CA2 responses to bursts of presynaptic firing versus single presynaptic spikes, respectively.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent studies have demonstrated that abundant entorhinal cortical innervation and efficient dendritic propagation enable hippocampal CA2 pyramidal neurons to produce robust excitation evoked by single cortical stimuli, compared with CA1. Here we uncovered, unexpectedly, that the difference in efficacy of cortical excitation varies substantially as a function of presynaptic firing rate. A burst of stimuli evokes a strongly facilitating response in CA1, but not in CA2. As a result, the postsynaptic response of CA1 and CA2 to presynaptic naturalistic firing displays contrasting temporal dynamics, which depends on the activation of NMDARs. Thus, whereas CA2 responds to single stimuli, CA1 is selectively recruited by bursts of cortical input.

Dopaminergic Projection from Ventral Tegmental Area to Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Mediates Chronic Social Defeat Stress-Induced Hypolocomotion.

Numerous human clinical studies have suggested that decreased locomotor activity is a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), as well as other psychiatric diseases. In MDD, the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons are closely related to regulate the information processing of reward, motivation, cognition, and aversion. However, the neural circuit mechanism that underlie the relationship between VTA-DA neurons and MDD-related motor impairments, especially hypolocomotion, is still largely unknown. Herein, we investigate how the VTA-DA neurons contribute to the hypolocomotion performance in chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), a mouse model of depression-relevant neurobehavioral states. The results show that CSDS could affect the spontaneous locomotor activity of mice, but not the grip strength and forced locomotor ability. Chemogenetic activation of VTA-DA neurons alleviated CSDS-induced hypolocomotion. Subsequently, quantitative whole-brain mapping revealed decreased projections from VTA-DA neurons to substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) after CSDS treatment. Optogenetic activation of dopaminergic projection from VTA to SNr with the stimulation of phasic firing, but not tonic firing, could significantly increase the locomotor activity of mice. Moreover, chemogenetic activation of VTA-SNr dopaminergic circuit in CSDS mice could also rescued the decline of locomotor activity. Taken together, our data suggest that the VTA-SNr dopaminergic projection mediates CSDS-induced hypolocomotion, which provides a theoretical basis and potential therapeutic target for MDD.