Local production of corticotropin-releasing hormone in prefrontal cortex modulates male-specific novelty exploration.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 119(49): e2211454119, 2022 12 06.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36442105
ABSTRACT
Neuromodulatory substances can be released from distal afferents for communication between brain structures or produced locally to modulate neighboring circuit elements. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from long-range neurons in the hypothalamus projecting to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been shown to induce anxiety-like behaviors. However, the role of CRH produced in the mPFC has not been investigated. Here we demonstrate that a specific class of mPFC interneurons that express CRH (CrhINs) releases CRH upon high-frequency stimulation to enhance excitability of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells (L2/3 PCs) expressing the CRH receptors. When stimulated at low frequency, CrhINs release GABA resulting in the inhibition of oxytocin receptor-expressing interneurons (OxtrINs) and L2/3 PCs. Conditional deletion of CRH in mPFC CrhINs and chemogenetic activation of CrhINs have opposite effects on novelty exploration in male but not in female mice, and do not affect anxiety-related behaviors in either males or females. Our data reveal that CRH produced by local interneurons in the mPFC is required for sex-specific novelty exploration and suggest that our understanding of complex behaviors may require knowledge of local and remote neuromodulatory action.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
/
Prefrontal Cortex
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Year:
2022
Type:
Article