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Lipina T, Men X, Blundell M, Salahpour A, Ramsey AJ. Abnormal sensory perception masks behavioral performance of Grin1 knockdown mice. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12825. [PMID: 35705513 PMCID: PMC9744498 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The development and function of sensory systems require intact glutamatergic neurotransmission. Changes in touch sensation and vision are common symptoms in autism spectrum disorders, where altered glutamatergic neurotransmission is strongly implicated. Further, cortical visual impairment is a frequent symptom of GRIN disorder, a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by pathogenic variants of GRIN genes that encode NMDA receptors. We asked if Grin1 knockdown mice (Grin1KD), as a model of GRIN disorder, had visual impairments resulting from NMDA receptor deficiency. We discovered that Grin1KD mice had deficient visual depth perception in the visual cliff test. Since Grin1KD mice are known to display robust changes in measures of learning, memory, and emotionality, we asked whether deficits in these higher-level processes could be partly explained by their visual impairment. By changing the experimental conditions to improve visual signals, we observed significant improvements in the performance of Grin1KD mice in tests that measure spatial memory, executive function, and anxiety. We went further and found destabilization of the outer segment of retina together with the deficient number and size of Meissner corpuscles (mechanical sensor) in the hind paw of Grin1KD mice. Overall, our findings suggest that abnormal sensory perception can mask the expression of emotional, motivational and cognitive behavior of Grin1KD mice. This study demonstrates new methods to adapt routine behavioral paradigms to reveal the contribution of vision and other sensory modalities in cognitive performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Lipina
- Department of Pharmacology & ToxicologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Xiaoyu Men
- Department of Pharmacology & ToxicologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Matisse Blundell
- Department of PhysiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Ali Salahpour
- Department of Pharmacology & ToxicologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Amy J. Ramsey
- Department of Pharmacology & ToxicologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
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2
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Burns TF, Rajan R. Sensing and processing whisker deflections in rodents. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10730. [PMID: 33665005 PMCID: PMC7906041 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The classical view of sensory information mainly flowing into barrel cortex at layer IV, moving up for complex feature processing and lateral interactions in layers II and III, then down to layers V and VI for output and corticothalamic feedback is becoming increasingly undermined by new evidence. We review the neurophysiology of sensing and processing whisker deflections, emphasizing the general processing and organisational principles present along the entire sensory pathway—from the site of physical deflection at the whiskers to the encoding of deflections in the barrel cortex. Many of these principles support the classical view. However, we also highlight the growing number of exceptions to these general principles, which complexify the system and which investigators should be mindful of when interpreting their results. We identify gaps in the literature for experimentalists and theorists to investigate, not just to better understand whisker sensation but also to better understand sensory and cortical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F Burns
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ramesh Rajan
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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3
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Wang C, Liu H, Li K, Wu ZZ, Wu C, Yu JY, Gong Q, Fang P, Wang XX, Duan SM, Wang H, Gu Y, Hu J, Pan BX, Schmidt MV, Liu YJ, Wang XD. Tactile modulation of memory and anxiety requires dentate granule cells along the dorsoventral axis. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6045. [PMID: 33247136 PMCID: PMC7695841 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19874-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Touch can positively influence cognition and emotion, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that tactile experience enrichment improves memory and alleviates anxiety by remodeling neurons along the dorsoventral axis of the dentate gyrus (DG) in adult mice. Tactile enrichment induces differential activation and structural modification of neurons in the dorsal and ventral DG, and increases the presynaptic input from the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), which is reciprocally connected with the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), to tactile experience-activated DG neurons. Chemogenetic activation of tactile experience-tagged dorsal and ventral DG neurons enhances memory and reduces anxiety respectively, whereas inactivation of these neurons or S1-innervated LEC neurons abolishes the beneficial effects of tactile enrichment. Moreover, adulthood tactile enrichment attenuates early-life stress-induced memory deficits and anxiety-related behavior. Our findings demonstrate that enriched tactile experience retunes the pathway from S1 to DG and enhances DG neuronal plasticity to modulate cognition and emotion. Touch can positively modulate cognitive performance and emotional response. Here the authors demonstrate that enriched tactile experience improves memory and reduces anxiety in adult mice by remodelling the pathway from the primary somatosensory cortex to the dentate gyrus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Wang
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China.,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China.,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Kun Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhen-Zhen Wu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chen Wu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China.,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jing-Ying Yu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qian Gong
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ping Fang
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xing-Xing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Technische Universität München/Klinikum Rechts der Isar, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Shu-Min Duan
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hao Wang
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yan Gu
- Center of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, and Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ji Hu
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 201210, Shanghai, China
| | - Bing-Xing Pan
- Laboratory of Fear and Anxiety Disorders, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, China
| | | | - Yi-Jun Liu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Dong Wang
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058, Hangzhou, China. .,NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
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Input-dependent regulation of excitability controls dendritic maturation in somatosensory thalamocortical neurons. Nat Commun 2017; 8:2015. [PMID: 29222517 PMCID: PMC5722950 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02172-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Input from the sensory organs is required to pattern neurons into topographical maps during development. Dendritic complexity critically determines this patterning process; yet, how signals from the periphery act to control dendritic maturation is unclear. Here, using genetic and surgical manipulations of sensory input in mouse somatosensory thalamocortical neurons, we show that membrane excitability is a critical component of dendritic development. Using a combination of genetic approaches, we find that ablation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors during postnatal development leads to epigenetic repression of Kv1.1-type potassium channels, increased excitability, and impaired dendritic maturation. Lesions to whisker input pathways had similar effects. Overexpression of Kv1.1 was sufficient to enable dendritic maturation in the absence of sensory input. Thus, Kv1.1 acts to tune neuronal excitability and maintain it within a physiological range, allowing dendritic maturation to proceed. Together, these results reveal an input-dependent control over neuronal excitability and dendritic complexity in the development and plasticity of sensory pathways. Sensory input and neuronal activity are crucial for proper morphological development of neurons. Here, Frangeul and colleagues show that membrane excitability is a critical component of dendritic development in mouse somatosensory thalamocortical neurons.
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Thalamic NMDA receptor function is necessary for patterning of the thalamocortical somatosensory map and for sensorimotor behaviors. J Neurosci 2014; 34:12001-14. [PMID: 25186746 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1663-14.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
NMDARs play a major role in patterning of topographic sensory maps in the brain. Genetic knock-out of the essential subunit of NMDARs in excitatory cortical neurons prevents whisker-specific neural pattern formation in the barrel cortex. To determine the role of NMDARs en route to the cortex, we generated sensory thalamus-specific NR1 (Grin1)-null mice (ThNR1KO). A multipronged approach, using histology, electrophysiology, optical imaging, and behavioral testing revealed that, in these mice, whisker patterns develop in the trigeminal brainstem but do not develop in the somatosensory thalamus. Subsequently, there is no barrel formation in the neocortex yet a partial afferent patterning develops. Whisker stimulation evokes weak cortical activity and presynaptic neurotransmitter release probability is also affected. We found several behavioral deficits in tasks, ranging from sensorimotor to social and cognitive. Collectively, these results show that thalamic NMDARs play a critical role in the patterning of the somatosensory thalamic and cortical maps and their impairment may lead to pronounced behavioral defects.
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Catania KC, Catania EH, Sawyer EK, Leitch DB. Barrelettes without barrels in the American water shrew. PLoS One 2013; 8:e65975. [PMID: 23755296 PMCID: PMC3670899 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Water shrews (Sorex palustris) depend heavily on their elaborate whiskers to navigate their environment and locate prey. They have small eyes and ears with correspondingly small optic and auditory nerves. Previous investigations have shown that water shrew neocortex is dominated by large representations of the whiskers in primary and secondary somatosensory cortex (S1 and S2). Flattened sections of juvenile cortex processed for cytochrome oxidase revealed clear borders of the whisker pad representation in S1, but no cortical barrels. We were therefore surprised to discover prominent barrelettes in brainstem of juvenile water shrews in the present investigation. These distinctive modules were found in the principal trigeminal nucleus (PrV), and in two of the three spinal trigeminal subnuclei (interpolaris – SpVi and caudalis – SpVc). Analysis of the shrew's whisker pad revealed the likely relationship between whiskers and barrelettes. Barrelettes persisted in adult water shrew PrV, but barrels were also absent from adult cortex. Thus in contrast to mice and rats, which have obvious barrels in primary somatosensory cortex and less clear barrelettes in the principal nucleus, water shrews have clear barrelettes in the brainstem and no barrels in the neocortex. These results highlight the diverse ways that similar mechanoreceptors can be represented in the central nervous systems of different species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth C Catania
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America.
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Abstract
In primary sensory neocortical areas of mammals, the distribution of sensory receptors is mapped with topographic precision and amplification in proportion to the peripheral receptor density. The visual, somatosensory and auditory cortical maps are established during a critical period in development. Throughout this window in time, the developing cortical maps are vulnerable to deleterious effects of sense organ damage or sensory deprivation. The rodent barrel cortex offers an invaluable model system with which to investigate the mechanisms underlying the formation of topographic maps and their plasticity during development. Five rows of mystacial vibrissa (whisker) follicles on the snout and an array of sinus hairs are represented by layer IV neural modules ('barrels') and thalamocortical axon terminals in the primary somatosensory cortex. Perinatal damage to the whiskers or the sensory nerve innervating them irreversibly alters the structural organization of the barrels. Earlier studies emphasized the role of the sensory periphery in dictating whisker-specific brain maps and patterns. Recent advances in molecular genetics and analyses of genetically altered mice allow new insights into neural pattern formation in the neocortex and the mechanisms underlying critical period plasticity. Here, we review the development and patterning of the barrel cortex and the critical period plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reha S Erzurumlu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201-1075, USA.
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Lee LJ, Lo FS, Erzurumlu RS. NMDA receptor-dependent regulation of axonal and dendritic branching. J Neurosci 2006; 25:2304-11. [PMID: 15745956 PMCID: PMC3556734 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4902-04.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In the rodent trigeminal principal nucleus (PrV), trigeminal afferent terminals and postsynaptic cells form discrete modules ("barrelettes") that replicate the patterned array of whiskers and sinus hairs on the snout. Barrelette neurons of the PrV relay whisker-specific patterns to the contralateral thalamus and, subsequently, to the primary somatosensory barrel cortex. Genetic impairment of NMDA receptor (NMDAR) function blocks development of barrelettes in the PrV. Underlying cellular and functional defects are not known. Here, we examined morphological differentiation of whisker afferents, dendritic differentiation of barrelette cells, and their electrophysiological properties in mice with genetic perturbations of the essential subunit NR1 of NMDARs. We show that in NR1 gene knock-down (KD) and knock-out mice, whisker afferents begin their embryonic development normally but, over time, fail to segregate into patches, and instead they develop exuberant terminal arbors spanning most of the PrV. Postnatal NR1KD barrelette cells, with significantly reduced NMDA currents, retain their membrane and synaptic properties but develop longer dendrites with no orientation preference. These results indicate that NMDARs regulate growth of presynaptic terminal arbors and postsynaptic dendritic branching, thereby leading to consolidation of synapses and patterning of presynaptic and postsynaptic elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Jen Lee
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA
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Krubitzer L, Kaas J. The evolution of the neocortex in mammals: how is phenotypic diversity generated? Curr Opin Neurobiol 2005; 15:444-53. [PMID: 16026978 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2005.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2005] [Accepted: 07/04/2005] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Evolution of the mammalian neocortex is difficult to examine directly. For this reason, comparative studies and developmental studies are the best way of gaining insight into the evolutionary process. Comparative studies indicate that neocortical evolution is constrained, and that the types of systems-level modifications made to the neocortex are limited. Developmental studies of gene expression suggest that genetic contingencies set up aspects of cortical organization and connectivity, and that the complex spatial and temporal interactions of genes constrain development and evolution. Although genes obviously contribute to phenotypic variability, variability can also be achieved through alterations in the sensory receptor arrays, or changes in sensory driven activity. The intracellular mechanisms that enable phenotypic variability might evolve, but often the phenotypic characteristic in question is context-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah Krubitzer
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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