Low intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation enhances remyelination by newborn and surviving oligodendrocytes in the cuprizone model of toxic demyelination.

In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), newborn and surviving oligodendrocytes (OLs) can contribute to remyelination, however, current therapies are unable to enhance or sustain endogenous repair. Low intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LI-rTMS), delivered as an intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), increases the survival and maturation of newborn OLs in the healthy adult mouse cortex, but it is unclear whether LI-rTMS can promote remyelination. To examine this possibility, we fluorescently labelled oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs; Pdgfrα-CreER transgenic mice) or mature OLs (Plp-CreER transgenic mice) in the adult mouse brain and traced the fate of each cell population over time. Daily sessions of iTBS (600 pulses; 120 mT), delivered during cuprizone (CPZ) feeding, did not alter new or pre-existing OL survival but increased the number of myelin internodes elaborated by new OLs in the primary motor cortex (M1). This resulted in each new M1 OL producing ~ 471 µm more myelin. When LI-rTMS was delivered after CPZ withdrawal (during remyelination), it significantly increased the length of the internodes elaborated by new M1 and callosal OLs, increased the number of surviving OLs that supported internodes in the corpus callosum (CC), and increased the proportion of axons that were myelinated. The ability of LI-rTMS to modify cortical neuronal activity and the behaviour of new and surviving OLs, suggests that it may be a suitable adjunct intervention to enhance remyelination in people with MS.

Dexamphetamine widens temporal and spatial binding windows in healthy participants.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of psychosis is complex, but a better understanding of stimulus binding windows (BWs) could help to improve our knowledge base. Previous studies have shown that dopamine release is associated with psychosis and widened BWs. We can probe BW mechanisms using drugs of specific interest to psychosis. Therefore, we were interested in understanding how manipulation of the dopamine or catecholamine systems affect psychosis and BWs. We aimed to investigate the effect of dexamphetamine, as a dopamine-releasing stimulant, on the BWs in a unimodal illusion: the tactile funneling illusion (TFI). METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced placebo-controlled crossover study to investigate funnelling and errors of localization. We administered dexamphetamine (0.45 mg/kg) to 46 participants. We manipulated 5 spatial (5-1 cm) and 3 temporal (0, 500 and 750 ms) conditions in the TFI. RESULTS: We found that dexamphetamine increased funnelling illusion (p = 0.009) and increased the error of localization in a delay-dependent manner (p = 0.03). We also found that dexamphetamine significantly increased the error of localization at 500 ms temporal separation and 4 cm spatial separation (p interaction = 0.009; p 500ms|4cm v. baseline = 0.01). LIMITATIONS: Although amphetamine-induced models of psychosis are a useful approach to understanding the physiology of psychosis related to dopamine hyperactivity, dexamphetamine is equally effective at releasing noradrenaline and dopamine, and, therefore, we were unable to tease apart the effects of the 2 systems on BWs in our study. CONCLUSION: We found that dexamphetamine increases illusory perception on the unimodal TFI in healthy participants, which suggests that dopamine or other catecholamines have a role in increasing tactile spatial and temporal BWs.

Interactions between Guidance Cues and Neuronal Activity: Therapeutic Insights from Mouse Models.

Topographic mapping of neural circuits is fundamental in shaping the structural and functional organization of brain regions. This developmentally important process is crucial not only for the representation of different sensory inputs but also for their integration. Disruption of topographic organization has been associated with several neurodevelopmental disorders. The aim of this review is to highlight the mechanisms involved in creating and refining such well-defined maps in the brain with a focus on the Eph and ephrin families of axon guidance cues. We first describe the transgenic models where ephrin-A expression has been manipulated to understand the role of these guidance cues in defining topography in various sensory systems. We further describe the behavioral consequences of lacking ephrin-A guidance cues in these animal models. These studies have given us unexpected insight into how neuronal activity is equally important in refining neural circuits in different brain regions. We conclude the review by discussing studies that have used treatments such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to manipulate activity in the brain to compensate for the lack of guidance cues in ephrin-knockout animal models. We describe how rTMS could have therapeutic relevance in neurodevelopmental disorders with disrupted brain organization.

Neurostructural Differences in Adolescents With Treatment-Resistant Depression and Treatment Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Despite its morbidity and mortality, the neurobiology of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in adolescents and the impact of treatment on this neurobiology is poorly understood. METHODS: Using automatic segmentation in FreeSurfer, we examined brain magnetic resonance imaging baseline volumetric differences among healthy adolescents (n = 30), adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 19), and adolescents with TRD (n = 34) based on objective antidepressant treatment rating criteria. A pooled subsample of adolescents with TRD were treated with 6 weeks of active (n = 18) or sham (n = 7) 10-Hz transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Ten of the adolescents treated with active TMS were part of an open-label trial. The other adolescents treated with active (n = 8) or sham (n = 7) were participants from a randomized controlled trial. RESULTS: Adolescents with TRD and adolescents with MDD had decreased total amygdala (TRD and MDD: -5%, P = .032) and caudal anterior cingulate cortex volumes (TRD: -3%, P = .030; MDD: -.03%, P = .041) compared with healthy adolescents. Six weeks of active TMS increased total amygdala volumes (+4%, P < .001) and the volume of the stimulated left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (+.4%, P = .026) in adolescents with TRD. CONCLUSIONS: Amygdala volumes were reduced in this sample of adolescents with MDD and TRD. TMS may normalize this volumetric finding, raising the possibility that TMS has neurostructural frontolimbic effects in adolescents with TRD. TMS also appears to have positive effects proximal to the site of stimulation.

Manipulating the Level of Sensorimotor Stimulation during LI-rTMS Can Improve Visual Circuit Reorganisation in Adult Ephrin-A2A5-/- Mice.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that has the potential to treat a variety of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The extent of rTMS-induced neuroplasticity may be dependent on a subject's brain state at the time of stimulation. Chronic low intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS) has previously been shown to induce beneficial structural and functional reorganisation within the abnormal visual circuits of ephrin-A2A5-/- mice in ambient lighting. Here, we administered chronic LI-rTMS in adult ephrin-A2A5-/- mice either in a dark environment or concurrently with voluntary locomotion. One day after the last stimulation session, optokinetic responses were assessed and fluorescent tracers were injected to map corticotectal and geniculocortical projections. We found that LI-rTMS in either treatment condition refined the geniculocortical map. Corticotectal projections were improved in locomotion+LI-rTMS subjects, but not in dark + LI-rTMS and sham groups. Visuomotor behaviour was not improved in any condition. Our results suggest that the beneficial reorganisation of abnormal visual circuits by rTMS can be significantly influenced by simultaneous, ambient visual input and is enhanced by concomitant physical exercise. Furthermore, the observed pathway-specific effects suggest that regional molecular changes and/or the relative proximity of terminals to the induced electric fields influence the outcomes of LI-rTMS on abnormal circuitry.

Low-intensity transcranial magnetic stimulation promotes the survival and maturation of newborn oligodendrocytes in the adult mouse brain.

Neuronal activity is a potent extrinsic regulator of oligodendrocyte generation and central nervous system myelination. Clinically, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is delivered to noninvasively modulate neuronal activity; however, the ability of rTMS to facilitate adaptive myelination has not been explored. By performing cre-lox lineage tracing, to follow the fate of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the adult mouse brain, we determined that low intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS), administered as an intermittent theta burst stimulation, but not as a continuous theta burst or 10 Hz stimulation, increased the number of newborn oligodendrocytes in the adult mouse cortex. LI-rTMS did not alter oligodendrogenesis per se, but instead increased cell survival and enhanced myelination. These data suggest that LI-rTMS can be used to noninvasively promote myelin addition to the brain, which has potential implications for the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Comparison of ion channel inhibitor combinations for limiting secondary degeneration following partial optic nerve transection.

Following neurotrauma, secondary degeneration of neurons and glia adjacent to the injury leads to further functional loss. A combination of ion channel inhibitors (lomerizine + oxATP + YM872) has been shown to be effective at limiting structural and functional loss due to secondary degeneration. Here we assess efficacy of the combination where oxATP is replaced with Brilliant Blue G (BBG), a more clinically applicable P2X7 receptor inhibitor. Partial optic nerve transection was used to model secondary degeneration in adult female rats. Animals were treated with combinations of lomerizine + YM872 + oxATP or lomerizine + YM872 + BBG, delivered via osmotic mini-pump directly to the injury site. Outcomes assessed were Iba1 + and ED1 + microglia and macrophages, oligodendroglial cell numbers, node/paranode structure and visual function using the optokinetic nystagmus test. The lomerizine + BBG + YM872 combination was at least as effective at the tested concentrations as the lomerizine + oxATP + YM872 combination at preserving node/paranode structure and visual function when delivered locally. However, neither ion channel inhibitor combination significantly improved microglial/macrophage nor oligodendroglial numbers compared to vehicle-treated controls. In conclusion, a locally delivered combination of ion channel inhibitors incorporating lomerizine + BBG + YM872 is at least as effective at limiting secondary degeneration following partial injury to the optic nerve as the combination incorporating oxATP.

Patterns of preoptic-hypothalamic neuronal activation and LH secretion in female sheep following the introduction and withdrawal of novel males.

The neuroendocrine response of female sheep to a novel male involves neural activation in the hypothalamus. However, if males are removed, the gonadotrophic signal declines, so the neural activity is likely to change. We examined Fos-immunoreactive (IR) cells in hypothalamic tissues from seasonally anovulatory female sheep exposed to males for 2 or 6h, or for 2h followed by 4h isolation from males. Control females were killed in the absence of male exposure. Male introduction increased LH secretion in all females; male removal was associated with a reduction only in mean and basal LH concentrations. Females exposed to males for 2h had more Fos-IR cells in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) than control females. Fos-IR cells in the preoptic area (POA) were only greater than in control females after 6h exposure to a male. Removal of males decreased the number of Fos-IR cells in the ARC, VMH and OVLT, but not in the POA. Thus, hypothalamic neural activation and LH secretion in female sheep are stimulated by males and decline after male removal. However, activation in the POA persists after removal and may explain the incomplete decline in the LH response.

Adult body size, sexual history and adolescent sexual development, may predict risk of developing prostate cancer: Results from the New South Wales Lifestyle and Evaluation of Risk Study (CLEAR).

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men worldwide. The relationships between PC and possible risk factors for PC cases (n = 1,181) and male controls (n = 875) from the New South Wales (NSW) Cancer, Lifestyle and Evaluation of Risk Study (CLEAR) were examined in this study. The associations between PC risk and paternal history of PC, body mass index (BMI), medical conditions, sexual behaviour, balding pattern and puberty, after adjusting for age, income, region of birth, place of residence, and PSA testing, were examined. Adjusted risk of PC was higher for men with a paternal history of PC (OR = 2.31; 95%CI: 1.70-3.14), personal history of prostatitis (OR = 2.30; 95%CI: 1.44-3.70), benign prostatic hyperplasia (OR = 2.29; 95%CI: 1.79-2.93), being overweight (vs. normal; OR = 1.24; 95%CI: 0.99-1.55) or obese (vs. normal; OR = 1.44; 95%CI: 1.09-1.89), having reported more than seven sexual partners in a lifetime (vs. < 3 partners; OR = 2.00; 95%CI: 1.49-2.68), and having reported more than 5 orgasms a month prior to PC diagnosis (vs. ≤3 orgasms; OR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.18-2.15). PC risk was lower for men whose timing of puberty was later than their peers (vs. same as peers; OR = 0.75; 95%CI: 0.59-0.97), and a smaller risk reduction of was observed in men whose timing of puberty was earlier than their peers (vs. same as peers; OR = 0.85; 95%CI: 0.61-1.17). No associations were found between PC risk and vertex balding, erectile function, acne, circumcision, vasectomy, asthma or diabetes. These results support a role for adult body size, sexual activity, and adolescent sexual development in PC development.

Low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improves abnormal visual cortical circuit topography and upregulates BDNF in mice.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is increasingly used as a treatment for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Although the induced field is focused on a target region during rTMS, adjacent areas also receive stimulation at a lower intensity and the contribution of this perifocal stimulation to network-wide effects is poorly defined. Here, we examined low-intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS)-induced changes on a model neural network using the visual systems of normal (C57Bl/6J wild-type, n = 22) and ephrin-A2A5(-/-) (n = 22) mice, the latter possessing visuotopic anomalies. Mice were treated with LI-rTMS or sham (handling control) daily for 14 d, then fluorojade and fluororuby were injected into visual cortex. The distribution of dorsal LGN (dLGN) neurons and corticotectal terminal zones (TZs) was mapped and disorder defined by comparing their actual location with that predicted by injection sites. In the afferent geniculocortical projection, LI-rTMS decreased the abnormally high dispersion of retrogradely labeled neurons in the dLGN of ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice, indicating geniculocortical map refinement. In the corticotectal efferents, LI-rTMS improved topography of the most abnormal TZs in ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice without altering topographically normal TZs. To investigate a possible molecular mechanism for LI-rTMS-induced structural plasticity, we measured brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the visual cortex and superior colliculus after single and multiple stimulations. BDNF was upregulated after a single stimulation for all groups, but only sustained in the superior colliculus of ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice. Our results show that LI-rTMS upregulates BDNF, promoting a plastic environment conducive to beneficial reorganization of abnormal cortical circuits, information that has important implications for clinical rTMS.

Integrated analyses of zebrafish miRNA and mRNA expression profiles identify miR-29b and miR-223 as potential regulators of optic nerve regeneration.

BACKGROUND: Unlike mammals, zebrafish have the ability to regenerate damaged parts of their central nervous system (CNS) and regain functionality of the affected area. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in zebrafish regeneration may therefore provide insight into how CNS repair might be induced in mammals. Although many studies have described differences in gene expression in zebrafish during CNS regeneration, the regulatory mechanisms underpinning the differential expression of these genes have not been examined. RESULTS: We used microarrays to analyse and integrate the mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles of zebrafish retina after optic nerve crush to identify potential regulatory mechanisms that underpin central nerve regeneration. Bioinformatic analysis identified 3 miRNAs and 657 mRNAs that were differentially expressed after injury. We then combined inverse correlations between our miRNA expression and mRNA expression, and integrated these findings with target predictions from TargetScan Fish to identify putative miRNA-gene target pairs. We focused on two over-expressed miRNAs (miR-29b and miR-223), and functionally validated seven of their predicted gene targets using RT-qPCR and luciferase assays to confirm miRNA-mRNA binding. Gene ontology analysis placed the miRNA-regulated genes (eva1a, layna, nefmb, ina, si:ch211-51a6.2, smoc1, sb:cb252) in key biological processes that included cell survival/apoptosis, ECM-cytoskeleton signaling, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan binding, CONCLUSION: Our results suggest a key role for miR-29b and miR-223 in zebrafish regeneration. The identification of miRNA regulation in a zebrafish injury model provides a framework for future studies in which to investigate not only the cellular processes required for CNS regeneration, but also how these mechanisms might be regulated to promote successful repair and return of function in the injured mammalian brain.

Prostate cancer mortality outcomes and patterns of primary treatment for Aboriginal men in New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare prostate cancer mortality for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men and to describe prostate cancer treatments received by Aboriginal men. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analysed cancer registry records for all men diagnosed with prostate cancer in New South Wales (NSW) in 2001-2007 linked to hospital inpatient episodes and deaths. More detailed information on androgen-deprivation therapy and radiotherapy was obtained from medical records for 87 NSW Aboriginal men diagnosed in 2000-2011. The main outcomes were primary treatment for, and death from, prostate cancer. Analysis included Cox proportional hazards regression and logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 259 Aboriginal men among 35,214 prostate cancer cases diagnosed in 2001-2007. Age and spread of disease at diagnosis were similar for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men. Prostate cancer mortality 5 years after diagnosis was higher for Aboriginal men (17.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 12.4-23.3) than non-Aboriginal men (11.4%, 95% CI 11.0-11.8). Aboriginal men were 49% more likely to die from prostate cancer (hazard ratio 1.49, 95% CI 1.07-1.99) after adjusting for differences in demographic factors, stage at diagnosis, health access and comorbidities. Aboriginal men were less likely to have a prostatectomy for localised or regional cancer than non-Aboriginal men (adjusted odds ratio 0.60, 95% CI 0.40-0.91). Of 87 Aboriginal men with full staging and treatment information, 60% were diagnosed with localised disease. Of these, 38% had a prostatectomy (± radiotherapy), 29% had radiotherapy only and 33% had neither. CONCLUSION: More research is required to explain differences in treatment and mortality for Aboriginal men with prostate cancer compared with non-Aboriginal men. In the meantime, ongoing monitoring and efforts are needed to ensure Aboriginal men have equitable access to best care.

Maternal intravenous administration of azithromycin results in significant fetal uptake in a sheep model of second trimester pregnancy.

Treatment of intrauterine infection is likely key to preventing a significant proportion of preterm deliveries before 32 weeks of gestation. Azithromycin (AZ) may be an effective antimicrobial in pregnancy; however, few gestation age-approriate data are available to inform the design of AZ-based treatment regimens in early pregnancy. We aimed to determine whether a single intra-amniotic AZ dose or repeated maternal intravenous (i.v.) AZ doses would safely yield therapeutic levels of AZ in an 80-day-gestation (term is 150 days) ovine fetus. Fifty sheep carrying single pregnancies at 80 days gestation were randomized to receive either: (i) a single intra-amniotic AZ administration or (ii) maternal intravenous AZ administration every 12 h. Amniotic fluid, maternal plasma, and fetal AZ concentrations were determined over a 5-day treatment regimen. Markers of liver injury and amniotic fluid inflammation were measured to assess fetal injury in response to drug exposure. A single intra-amniotic administration yielded significant AZ accumulation in the amniotic fluid and fetal lung. In contrast, repeated maternal intravenous administrations achieved high levels of AZ accumulation in the fetal lung and liver and a statistically significant increase in the fetal plasma drug concentration at 120 h. There was no evidence of fetal injury in response to drug exposure. These data suggest that (i) repeated maternal i.v. AZ dosing yields substantial fetal tissue uptake, although fetal plasma drug levels remain low; (ii) transfer of AZ from the amniotic fluid is less than transplacental transfer; and (iii) exposure to high concentrations of AZ did not elicit overt changes in fetal white blood cell counts, amniotic fluid monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 concentrations, or hepatotoxicity, all consistent with an absence of fetal injury.

Auditory brainstem responses of ephrin-A2, ephrin-A5(-/-) and ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice.

Eph receptors and ephrin ligands are large families of cell surface proteins which have established roles in axonal growth and guidance. These are well characterized in the visual and somatosensory systems but are less well documented in the auditory pathway. We examined the possible functional role of two ephrin genes (ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A5) in the auditory system by measuring auditory brainstem responses (ABR) to tone bursts from 6 to 30 kHz in ephrin-A2(-/-), ephrin-A5(-/-) and ephrin-A2A5(-/-) (knockout) mice. At high frequencies, the ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice exhibited thresholds that were significantly lower than in wild-type mice by approximately 20 dB, suggesting ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A5 may have frequency-specific effects on the auditory system. There were also alterations in ABR wave peak amplitudes that were specific to each mouse strain which suggested both peripheral and central involvement of EphA-ephrin-A signalling in auditory function.

Non-severe thermal burn injuries induce long-lasting downregulation of gene expression in cortical excitatory neurons and microglia.

Burn injuries are devastating traumas, often leading to life-long consequences that extend beyond the observable burn scar. In the context of the nervous system, burn injury patients commonly develop chronic neurological disorders and have been suggested to have impaired motor cortex function, but the long-lasting impact on neurons and glia in the brain is unknown. Using a mouse model of non-severe burn injury, excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the primary motor cortex were labelled with fluorescent proteins using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs). A total of 5 weeks following the burn injury, virus labelled excitatory and inhibitory neurons were isolated using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). In addition, microglia and astrocytes from the remaining cortical tissue caudal to the motor cortex were immunolabelled and isolated with FACS. Whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing was used to identify any long-lasting changes to gene expression in the different cell types. RNA-seq analysis showed changes to the expression of a small number of genes with known functions in excitatory neurons and microglia, but not in inhibitory neurons or astrocytes. Specifically, genes related to GABA-A receptors in excitatory neurons and several cellular functions in microglia were found to be downregulated in burn injured mice. These findings suggest that non-severe burn injuries lead to long lasting transcriptomic changes in the brain, but only in specific cell types. Our findings provide a broad overview of the long-lasting impact of burn injuries on the central nervous system which may help identify potential therapeutic targets to prevent neurological dysfunction in burn patients.

Low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is safe and well tolerated by people living with MS - outcomes of the phase I randomised controlled trial (TAURUS).

Background: Low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), delivered as a daily intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) for four consecutive weeks, increased the number of new oligodendrocytes in the adult mouse brain. Therefore, rTMS holds potential as a remyelinating intervention for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: Primarily to determine the safety and tolerability of our rTMS protocol in people with MS. Secondary objectives include feasibility, blinding and an exploration of changes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and cognitive or motor performance. Methods: A randomised (2:1), placebo controlled, single blind, parallel group, phase 1 trial of 20 rTMS sessions (600 iTBS pulses per hemisphere; 25% maximum stimulator output), delivered over 4-5 weeks. Twenty participants were randomly assigned to 'sham' (n = 7) or active rTMS (n = 13), with the coil positioned at 90° or 0°, respectively. Results: Five adverse events (AEs) including one serious AE reported. None were related to treatment. Protocol compliance was high (85%) and blinding successful. Within participant MRI metrics, PROMs and cognitive or motor performance were unchanged over time. Conclusion: Twenty sessions of rTMS is safe and well tolerated in a small group of people with MS. The study protocol and procedures are feasible. Improvement of sham is warranted before further investigating safety and efficacy.

Transcranial pulsed magnetic field stimulation facilitates reorganization of abnormal neural circuits and corrects behavioral deficits without disrupting normal connectivity.

Although the organization of neuronal circuitry is shaped by activity patterns, the capacity to modify and/or optimize the structure and function of whole projection pathways using external stimuli is poorly defined. We investigate whether neuronal activity induced by pulsed magnetic fields (PMFs) alters brain structure and function. We delivered low-intensity PMFs to the posterior cranium of awake, unrestrained mice (wild-type and ephrin-A2A5(-/-)) that have disorganized retinocollicular circuitry and associated visuomotor deficits. Control groups of each genotype received sham stimulation. Following daily stimulation for 14 d, we measured biochemical, structural (anterograde tracing), and functional (electrophysiology and behavior) changes in the retinocollicular projection. PMFs induced BDNF, GABA, and nNOS expression in the superior colliculus and retina of wild-type and ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice. Furthermore, in ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice, PMFs corrected abnormal neuronal responses and selectively removed inaccurate ectopic axon terminals to improve structural and functional organization of their retinocollicular projection and restore normal visual tracking behavior. In contrast, PMFs did not alter the structure or function of the normal projection in wild-type mice. Sham PMF stimulation had no effect on any mice. Thus, PMF-induced biochemical changes are congruent with its capacity to facilitate beneficial reorganization of abnormal neural circuits without disrupting normal connectivity and function.

Dorsal striatum c-Fos activity in perseverative ephrin-A2A5-/- mice and the cellular effect of low-intensity rTMS.

Introduction: Overreliance on habit is linked with disorders, such as drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and there is increasing interest in the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to alter neuronal activity in the relevant pathways and for therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we researched the brains of ephrin-A2A5-/- mice, which previously showed perseverative behavior in progressive-ratio tasks, associated with low cellular activity in the nucleus accumbens. We investigated whether rTMS treatment had altered the activity of the dorsal striatum in a way that suggested altered hierarchical recruitment of brain regions from the ventral striatum to the dorsal striatum, which is linked to abnormal habit formation. Methods: Brain sections from a limited number of mice that underwent training and performance on a progressive ratio task with and without low-intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS) were taken from a previous study. We took advantage of the previous characterization of perseverative behavior to investigate the contribution of different neuronal subtypes and striatal regions within this limited sample. Striatal regions were stained for c-Fos as a correlate of neuronal activation for DARPP32 to identify medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and for GAD67 to identify GABA-ergic interneurons. Results and discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that neuronal activity in ephrin-A2A5-/- mice still reflected the typical organization of goal-directed behavior. There was a significant difference in the proportion of neuronal activity across the striatum between experimental groups and control but no significant effects identifying a specific regional change. However, there was a significant group by treatment interaction which suggests that MSN activity is altered in the dorsomedial striatum and a trend suggesting that rTMS increases ephrin-A2A5-/- MSN activity in the DMS. Although preliminary and inconclusive, the analysis of this archival data suggests that investigating circuit-based changes in striatal regions may provide insight into chronic rTMS mechanisms that could be relevant to treating disorders associated with perseverative behavior.

Acoustic trauma increases inhibitory effects of amygdala electrical stimulation on thalamic neurons in a rat model.

Acoustic trauma (AT) induced hearing loss elicits plasticity throughout the central auditory pathway, including at the level of the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). Hearing loss also results in altered neuronal responses in the amygdala, which is involved in sensory gating at the level of the MGN. However, whether these altered responses in the amygdala affect sensory gating at the level of the MGN requires further evaluation. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of AT-induced hearing loss on the functional connectivity between the amygdala and the MGN. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to either sham (n = 5; no sound) or AT (n = 6; 16 kHz, 1 h, 124 dB SPL) under full anaesthesia. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) recordings were made to determine hearing thresholds. Two weeks post-exposure, extracellular recordings were used to assess the effect of electrical stimulation of the amygdala on tone-evoked (sham n = 22; AT n = 30) and spontaneous (sham n = 21; AT n = 29) activity of single neurons in the MGN. AT caused a large temporary and small permanent ABR threshold shift. Electrical stimulation of the amygdala induced differential effects (excitatory, inhibitory, or no effect) on both tone-evoked and spontaneous activity. In tone-evoked activity, electrical stimulation at 300 µA, maximum current, caused a significantly larger reduction in firing rate in AT animals compared to sham, due to an increase in the magnitude of inhibitory effects. In spontaneous activity, there was also a significantly larger magnitude of inhibitory effects following AT. The findings confirm that activation of the amygdala results in changes in MGN neuronal activity, and suggest the functional connectivity between the amygdala and the MGN is significantly altered following AT and subsequent hearing loss.

Identifying reproducible resting state networks and functional connectivity alterations following chronic restraint stress in anaesthetized rats.

Background: Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in rodent models have the potential to bridge invasive experiments and observational human studies, increasing our understanding of functional alterations in the brains of patients with depression. A major limitation in current rodent rs-fMRI studies is that there has been no consensus on healthy baseline resting-state networks (RSNs) that are reproducible in rodents. Therefore, the present study aimed to construct reproducible RSNs in a large dataset of healthy rats and then evaluate functional connectivity changes within and between these RSNs following a chronic restraint stress (CRS) model within the same animals. Methods: A combined MRI dataset of 109 Sprague Dawley rats at baseline and after two weeks of CRS, collected during four separate experiments conducted by our lab in 2019 and 2020, was re-analysed. The mICA and gRAICAR toolbox were first applied to detect optimal and reproducible ICA components and then a hierarchical clustering algorithm (FSLNets) was applied to construct reproducible RSNs. Ridge-regularized partial correlation (FSLNets) was used to evaluate the changes in the direct connection between and within identified networks in the same animals following CRS. Results: Four large-scale networks in anesthetised rats were identified: the DMN-like, spatial attention-limbic, corpus striatum, and autonomic network, which are homologous across species. CRS decreased the anticorrelation between DMN-like and autonomic network. CRS decreased the correlation between amygdala and a functional complex (nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum) in the right hemisphere within the corpus striatum network. However, a high individual variability in the functional connectivity before and after CRS within RSNs was observed. Conclusion: The functional connectivity changes detected in rodents following CRS differ from reported functional connectivity alterations in patients with depression. A simple interpretation of this difference is that the rodent response to CRS does not reflect the complexity of depression as it is experienced by humans. Nonetheless, the high inter-subject variability of functional connectivity within networks suggests that rats demonstrate different neural phenotypes, like humans. Therefore, future efforts in classifying neural phenotypes in rodents might improve the sensitivity and translational impact of models used to address aetiology and treatment of psychiatric conditions including depression.