AnNoBrainer, An Automated Annotation of Mouse Brain Images using Deep Learning.

Annotation of multiple regions of interest across the whole mouse brain is an indispensable process for quantitative evaluation of a multitude of study endpoints in neuroscience digital pathology. Prior experience and domain expert knowledge are the key aspects for image annotation quality and consistency. At present, image annotation is often achieved manually by certified pathologists or trained technicians, limiting the total throughput of studies performed at neuroscience digital pathology labs. It may also mean that simpler and quicker methods of examining tissue samples are used by non-pathologists, especially in the early stages of research and preclinical studies. To address these limitations and to meet the growing demand for image analysis in a pharmaceutical setting, we developed AnNoBrainer, an open-source software tool that leverages deep learning, image registration, and standard cortical brain templates to automatically annotate individual brain regions on 2D pathology slides. Application of AnNoBrainer to a published set of pathology slides from transgenic mice models of synucleinopathy revealed comparable accuracy, increased reproducibility, and a significant reduction (~ 50%) in time spent on brain annotation, quality control and labelling compared to trained scientists in pathology. Taken together, AnNoBrainer offers a rapid, accurate, and reproducible automated annotation of mouse brain images that largely meets the experts' histopathological assessment standards (> 85% of cases) and enables high-throughput image analysis workflows in digital pathology labs.

Tau-tubulin kinase 1 phosphorylates TDP-43 at disease-relevant sites and exacerbates TDP-43 pathology.

TDP-43 pathology is a hallmark of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Namely, both diseases feature aggregated and phosphorylated TDP-43 containing inclusions in the cytoplasm and a loss of nuclear TDP-43 in affected neurons. It has been reported that tau tubulin kinase (TTBK)1/2 phosphorylate TDP-43 and TTBK1/2 overexpression induced neuronal loss and behavioral deficits in a C. elegans model of ALS. Here we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of TTBK1 in TDP-43 pathology. TTBK1 levels were observed to be elevated in ALS patients' post-mortem motor cortex. Also, TTBK1 was found to phosphorylate TDP-43 at disease-relevant sites in vitro directly, and this phosphorylation accelerated TDP-43 formation of high molecular species. Overexpression of TTBK1 in mammalian cells induced TDP-43 phosphorylation and the construction of high molecular species, concurrent with TDP-43 mis-localization and cytoplasmic inclusions. In addition, when TTBK1 was knocked down or pharmacologically inhibited, TDP-43 phosphorylation and aggregation were significantly alleviated. Functionally, TTBK1 knockdown could rescue TDP-43 overexpression-induced neurite and neuronal loss in iPSC-derived GABAergic neurons. These findings suggest that phosphorylation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of TDP-43 pathology and that TTBK1 inhibition may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of ALS and FTLD.

Central Amygdala Prepronociceptin-Expressing Neurons Mediate Palatable Food Consumption and Reward.

Food palatability is one of many factors that drives food consumption, and the hedonic drive to feed is a key contributor to obesity and binge eating. In this study, we identified a population of prepronociceptin-expressing cells in the central amygdala (PnocCeA) that are activated by palatable food consumption. Ablation or chemogenetic inhibition of these cells reduces palatable food consumption. Additionally, ablation of PnocCeA cells reduces high-fat-diet-driven increases in bodyweight and adiposity. PnocCeA neurons project to the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST), parabrachial nucleus (PBN), and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), and activation of cell bodies in the central amygdala (CeA) or axons in the vBNST, PBN, and NTS produces reward behavior but did not promote feeding of palatable food. These data suggest that the PnocCeA network is necessary for promoting the reinforcing and rewarding properties of palatable food, but activation of this network itself is not sufficient to promote feeding.

Fear extinction requires infralimbic cortex projections to the basolateral amygdala.

Fear extinction involves the formation of a new memory trace that attenuates fear responses to a conditioned aversive memory, and extinction impairments are implicated in trauma- and stress-related disorders. Previous studies in rodents have found that the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (IL) and its glutamatergic projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and basomedial amygdala (BMA) instruct the formation of fear extinction memories. However, it is unclear whether these pathways are exclusively involved in extinction, or whether other major targets of the IL, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc) also play a role. To address this outstanding issue, the current study employed a combination of electrophysiological and chemogenetic approaches in mice to interrogate the role of IL-BLA and IL-NAc pathways in extinction. Specifically, we used patch-clamp electrophysiology coupled with retrograde tracing to examine changes in neuronal activity of the IL and prelimbic cortex (PL) projections to both the BLA and NAc following fear extinction. We found that extinction produced a significant increase in the intrinsic excitability of IL-BLA projection neurons, while extinction appeared to reverse fear-induced changes in IL-NAc projection neurons. To establish a causal counterpart to these observations, we then used a pathway-specific Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADD) strategy to selectively inhibit PFC-BLA projection neurons during extinction acquisition. Using this approach, we found that DREADD-mediated inhibition of PFC-BLA neurons during extinction acquisition impaired subsequent extinction retrieval. Taken together, our findings provide further evidence for a critical contribution of the IL-BLA neural circuit to fear extinction.

Prior Cocaine Experience Impairs Normal Phasic Dopamine Signals of Reward Value in Accumbens Shell.

Dopamine signals have repeatedly been linked to associative learning and motivational processes. However, there is considerably less agreement on a role for dopamine in reward processing, and therefore whether neuroplastic changes in dopamine function following chronic exposure to drugs of abuse such as cocaine may impair appropriate valuation of rewarding stimuli. To quantify this, we voltammetrically measured real-time dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core or shell while rats received unsignaled deliveries of either a small (1 pellet) or large (2 pellets) reward. In drug-naive controls, core dopamine signals did not discriminate between reward size at any point, while in the shell dopamine encoded magnitude differences only in a slower postpeak period. Despite this lack of discrimination between rewards by the peak DA response, controls easily discriminated between reward options in a subsequent choice task. In contrast, phasic dopamine reward signals were strongly altered by cocaine experience; core dopamine decreased peak response but increased discrimination between reward magnitudes while shell lost phasic responses to reward receipt altogether. Notably, animals with cocaine-associated alterations in dopamine signals for reward magnitude failed to subsequently discriminate between reward options. These findings suggest that cocaine self-administration alters the ability for dopamine signals to appropriately assign value to rewards and thus may in part contribute to later deficits in behaviors that depend on appropriate outcome valuation.

Nociceptin receptor antagonist SB 612111 decreases high fat diet binge eating.

Binge eating is a dysregulated form of feeding behavior that occurs in multiple eating disorders including binge-eating disorder, the most common eating disorder. Feeding is a complex behavioral program supported through the function of multiple brain regions and influenced by a diverse array of receptor signaling pathways. Previous studies have shown the overexpression of the opioid neuropeptide nociceptin (orphanin FQ, N/OFQ) can induce hyperphagia, but the role of endogenous nociceptin receptor (NOP) in naturally occurring palatability-induced hyperphagia is unknown. In this study we adapted a simple, replicable form of binge eating of high fat food (HFD). We found that male and female C57BL/6J mice provided with daily one-hour access sessions to HFD eat significantly more during this period than those provided with continuous 24h access. This form of feeding is rapid and entrained. Chronic intermittent HFD binge eating produced hyperactivity and increased light zone exploration in the open field and light-dark assays respectively. Treatment with the potent and selective NOP antagonist SB 612111 resulted in a significant dose-dependent reduction in binge intake in both male and female mice, and, unlike treatment with the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, produced no change in total 24-h food intake. SB 612111 treatment also significantly decreased non-binge-like acute HFD consumption in male mice. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that high fat binge eating is modulated by NOP signaling and that the NOP system may represent a promising novel receptor to explore for the treatment of binge eating.

Mu Opioid Receptor Modulation of Dopamine Neurons in the Periaqueductal Gray/Dorsal Raphe: A Role in Regulation of Pain.

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a brain region involved in nociception modulation, and an important relay center for the descending nociceptive pathway through the rostral ventral lateral medulla. Given the dense expression of mu opioid receptors and the role of dopamine in pain, the recently characterized dopamine neurons in the ventral PAG (vPAG)/dorsal raphe (DR) region are a potentially critical site for the antinociceptive actions of opioids. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate synaptic modulation of the vPAG/DR dopamine neurons by mu opioid receptors and to (2) dissect the anatomy and neurochemistry of these neurons, in order to assess the downstream loci and functions of their activation. Using a mouse line that expresses eGFP under control of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter, we found that mu opioid receptor activation led to a decrease in inhibitory inputs onto the vPAG/DR dopamine neurons. Furthermore, combining immunohistochemistry, optogenetics, electrophysiology, and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in a TH-cre mouse line, we demonstrated that these neurons also express the vesicular glutamate type 2 transporter and co-release dopamine and glutamate in a major downstream projection structure-the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Finally, activation of TH-positive neurons in the vPAG/DR using Gq designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs displayed a supraspinal, but not spinal, antinociceptive effect. These results indicate that vPAG/DR dopamine neurons likely play a key role in opiate antinociception, potentially via the activation of downstream structures through dopamine and glutamate release.

Cocaine Self-Administration Experience Induces Pathological Phasic Accumbens Dopamine Signals and Abnormal Incentive Behaviors in Drug-Abstinent Rats.

Chronic exposure to drugs of abuse is linked to long-lasting alterations in the function of limbic system structures, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Although cocaine acts via dopaminergic mechanisms within the NAc, less is known about whether phasic dopamine (DA) signaling in the NAc is altered in animals with cocaine self-administration experience or if these animals learn and interact normally with stimuli in their environment. Here, separate groups of rats self-administered either intravenous cocaine or water to a receptacle (controls), followed by 30 d of enforced abstinence. Next, all rats learned an appetitive Pavlovian discrimination and voltammetric recordings of real-time DA release were taken in either the NAc core or shell of cocaine and control subjects. Cocaine experience differentially impaired DA signaling in the core and shell relative to controls. Although phasic DA signals in the shell were essentially abolished for all stimuli, in the core, DA did not distinguish between cues and was abnormally biased toward reward delivery. Further, cocaine rats were unable to learn higher-order associations and even altered simple conditioned approach behaviors, displaying enhanced preoccupation with cue-associated stimuli (sign-tracking; ST) but diminished time at the food cup awaiting reward delivery (goal-tracking). Critically, whereas control DA signaling correlated with ST behaviors, cocaine experience abolished this relationship. These findings show that cocaine has persistent, differential, and pathological effects on both DA signaling and DA-dependent behaviors and suggest that psychostimulant experience may remodel the very circuits that bias organisms toward repeated relapse. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Relapsing to drug abuse despite periods of abstinence and sincere attempts to quit is one of the most pernicious facets of addiction. Unfortunately, little is known about how the dopamine (DA) system functions after periods of drug abstinence, particularly its role in behavior in nondrug situations. Here, rats learned about food-paired stimuli after prolonged abstinence from cocaine self-administration. Using voltammetry, we found that real-time DA signals in cocaine-experienced rats were strikingly altered relative to controls. Further, cocaine-experienced animals found reward-predictive stimuli abnormally salient and spent more time interacting with cues. Therefore, cocaine induces neuroplastic changes in the DA system that biases animals toward salient stimuli (including reward-associated cues), putting addicts at increasing risk to relapse as addiction increases in severity.

Mesolimbic dopamine dynamically tracks, and is causally linked to, discrete aspects of value-based decision making.

BACKGROUND: To make appropriate choices, organisms must weigh the costs and benefits of potential valuable outcomes, a process known to involve the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and its dopaminergic input. However, it is currently unknown if dopamine dynamically tracks alterations in expected reward value online as behavioral preferences change and if so, if it is causally linked to specific components of value such as reward magnitude and/or delay to reinforcement. METHODS: Electrochemical methods were used to measure subsecond NAc dopamine release during a delay discounting task where magnitude was fixed but delay varied across blocks (n = 7 rats). Next, to assess whether this dopamine signaling was causally related to specific components of choice behavior, we employed selective optogenetic stimulation of dopamine terminals in the NAc using a modified delay discounting task in which both delay and magnitude varied independently (n = 23 rats). RESULTS: Cues predictive of available choices evoked dopamine release that scaled with the rat's preferred choices and dynamically shifted as delay to reinforcement for the large reward increased. In the second experiment, dopamine signaling was causally related to features of decision making, as optogenetically enhanced dopamine release within the NAc during predictive cue presentation was sufficient to alter subsequent value-related choices. Importantly, this dopamine-mediated shift in choice was limited to delay-based, but not magnitude-based, decisions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that NAc dopamine dynamically tracks delay discounting and establishes a causal role for this signaling in a subset of value-based associative strategies.

Nucleus accumbens neurons track behavioral preferences and reward outcomes during risky decision making.

BACKGROUND: To make appropriate decisions, organisms must evaluate the risks and benefits of action selection. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been shown to be critical for this processing and is necessary for appropriate risk-based decision-making behavior. However, it is not clear how NAc neurons encode this information to promote appropriate behavioral responding. METHODS: Here, rats (n = 17) were trained to perform a risky decision-making task in which discrete visual cues predicted the availability to respond for a smaller certain (safer) or larger uncertain (riskier) reward. Electrophysiological recordings were made in the NAc core and shell to evaluate neural activity during task performance. RESULTS: At test, animals exhibited individual differences in risk-taking behavior; some displayed a preference for the risky option, some the safe option, and some did not have a preference. Electrophysiological analysis indicated that NAc neurons differentially encoded information related to risk versus safe outcomes. Further, during free choice trials, neural activity during reward-predictive cues reflected individual behavioral preferences. In addition, neural encoding of reward outcomes was correlated with risk-taking behavior, with safe-preferring and risk-preferring rats showing differential activity in the NAc core and shell during reward omissions. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with previously demonstrated alterations in prospective reward value with effort and delay, NAc neurons encode information during reward-predictive cues and outcomes in a risk task that tracked the rats' preferred responses. This processing appears to contribute to subjective encoding of anticipated outcomes and thus may function to bias future risk-based decisions.

Rapid dopamine dynamics in the accumbens core and shell: learning and action.

The catecholamine dopamine (DA) has been implicated in a host of neural processes as diverse as schizophrenia, parkinsonism and reward encoding. Importantly, these distinct features of DA function are due in large part to separate neural circuits involving connections arising from different DA-releasing nuclei and projections to separate afferent targets. Emerging data has suggested that this same principle of separate neural circuits may be applicable within structural subregions, such as the core and shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Further, DA may act selectively on smaller ensembles of cells (or, microcircuits) via differential DA receptor density and distinct inputs and outputs of the microcircuits, thus enabling new learning about Pavlovian cues, instrumental responses, subjective reward processing and decision-making. In this review, by taking advantage of studies using subsecond voltammetric techniques in behaving animals to study how rapid changes in DA levels affect behavior, we examine the spatial and temporal features of DA release and how it relates to both normal learning and similarities to pathological learning in the form of addiction.

Phasic nucleus accumbens dopamine encodes risk-based decision-making behavior.

BACKGROUND: To optimize behavior, organisms evaluate the risks and benefits of available choices. The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system encodes information about response costs and reward delays that bias choices. However, it remains unclear whether subjective value associated with risk-taking behavior is encoded by DA release. METHODS: Rats (n = 11) were trained on a risk-based decision-making task in which visual cues predicted the opportunity to respond for smaller certain (safer) or larger uncertain (riskier) rewards. Following training, DA release within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) was monitored on a rapid time scale using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry during the risk-based decision-making task. RESULTS: Individual differences in risk-taking behavior were observed as animals displayed a preference for either safe or risky rewards. When only one response option was available, reward predictive cues evoked increases in DA concentration in the NAc core that scaled with each animal's preferred reward contingency. However, when both options were presented simultaneously, cue-evoked DA release signaled the animals preferred reward contingency, regardless of the future choice. Furthermore, DA signaling in the NAc core also tracked unexpected presentations or omissions of rewards following prediction error theory. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the dopaminergic projections to the NAc core encode the subjective value of future rewards that may function to influence future decisions to take risks.