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McDevitt DS, Wade QW, McKendrick GE, Nelsen J, Starostina M, Tran N, Blendy JA, Graziane NM. The Paraventricular Thalamic Nucleus and Its Projections in Regulating Reward and Context Associations. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0524-23.2024. [PMID: 38351131 PMCID: PMC10883411 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0524-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) is a brain region that mediates aversive and reward-related behaviors as shown in animals exposed to fear conditioning, natural rewards, or drugs of abuse. However, it is unknown whether manipulations of the PVT, in the absence of external factors or stimuli (e.g., fear, natural rewards, or drugs of abuse), are sufficient to drive reward-related behaviors. Additionally, it is unknown whether drugs of abuse administered directly into the PVT are sufficient to drive reward-related behaviors. Here, using behavioral as well as pathway and cell-type specific approaches, we manipulate PVT activity as well as the PVT-to-nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) neurocircuit to explore reward phenotypes. First, we show that bath perfusion of morphine (10 µM) caused hyperpolarization of the resting membrane potential, increased rheobase, and decreased intrinsic membrane excitability in PVT neurons that project to the NAcSh. Additionally, we found that direct injections of morphine (50 ng) in the PVT of mice were sufficient to generate conditioned place preference (CPP) for the morphine-paired chamber. Mimicking the inhibitory effect of morphine, we employed a chemogenetic approach to inhibit PVT neurons that projected to the NAcSh and found that pairing the inhibition of these PVT neurons with a specific context evoked the acquisition of CPP. Lastly, using brain slice electrophysiology, we found that bath-perfused morphine (10 µM) significantly reduced PVT excitatory synaptic transmission on both dopamine D1 and D2 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons in the NAcSh, but that inhibiting PVT afferents in the NAcSh was not sufficient to evoke CPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillon S McDevitt
- Neuroscience Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Quinn W Wade
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Greer E McKendrick
- Neuroscience Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Jacob Nelsen
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Mariya Starostina
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Nam Tran
- Doctor of Medicine Program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
| | - Julie A Blendy
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Nicholas M Graziane
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
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Ozdemir D, Allain F, Kieffer BL, Darcq E. Advances in the characterization of negative affect caused by acute and protracted opioid withdrawal using animal models. Neuropharmacology 2023; 232:109524. [PMID: 37003572 PMCID: PMC10844657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic brain disease which originates from long-term neuroadaptations that develop after repeated opioid consumption and withdrawal episodes. These neuroadaptations lead among other things to the development of a negative affect, which includes loss of motivation for natural rewards, higher anxiety, social deficits, heightened stress reactivity, an inability to identify and describe emotions, physical and/or emotional pain, malaise, dysphoria, sleep disorders and chronic irritability. The urge for relief from this negative affect is one of major causes of relapse, and thus represents a critical challenge for treatment and relapse prevention. Animal models of negative affect induced by opioid withdrawal have recapitulated the development of a negative emotional state with signs such as anhedonia, increased anxiety responses, increased despair-like behaviour and deficits in social interaction. This research has been critical to determine neurocircuitry adaptations during chronic opioid administration or upon withdrawal. In this review, we summarize the recent literature of rodent models of (i) acute withdrawal, (ii) protracted abstinence from passive administration of opioids, (iii) withdrawal or protracted abstinence from opioid self-administration. Finally, we describe neurocircuitry involved in acute withdrawal and protracted abstinence. This article is part of the Special Issue on "Opioid-induced changes in addiction and pain circuits".
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Affiliation(s)
- Dersu Ozdemir
- INSERM U1114, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, France
| | - Florence Allain
- INSERM U1114, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, France
| | - Brigitte L Kieffer
- INSERM U1114, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, France
| | - Emmanuel Darcq
- INSERM U1114, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, France.
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3
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Luo YF, Lu L, Song HY, Xu H, Zheng ZW, Wu ZY, Jiang CC, Tong C, Yuan HY, Liu XX, Chen X, Sun ML, Tang YM, Fan HY, Han F, Lu YM. Divergent projections of the prelimbic cortex mediate autism- and anxiety-like behaviors. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:2343-2354. [PMID: 36690791 PMCID: PMC10611563 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-01954-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The comorbidity of autism spectrum disorder and anxiety is common, but the underlying circuitry is poorly understood. Here, Tmem74-/- mice showed autism- and anxiety-like behaviors along with increased excitability of pyramidal neurons (PNs) in the prelimbic cortex (PL), which were reversed by Tmem74 re-expression and chemogenetic inhibition in PNs of the PL. To determine the underlying circuitry, we performed conditional deletion of Tmem74 in the PNs of PL of mice, and we found that alterations in the PL projections to fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) in the dorsal striatum (dSTR) (PLPNs-dSTRFSIs) mediated the hyperexcitability of FSIs and autism-like behaviors and that alterations in the PL projections to the PNs of the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus (BLA) (PLPNs-BLAPNs) mediated the hyperexcitability of PNs and anxiety-like behaviors. However, the two populations of PNs in the PL had different spatial locations, optogenetic manipulations revealed that alterations in the activity in the PL-dSTR or PL-BLA circuits led to autism- or anxiety-like behaviors, respectively. Collectively, these findings highlight that the hyperactivity of the two populations of PNs in the PL mediates autism and anxiety comorbidity through the PL-dSTR and PL-BLA circuits, which may lead to the development of new therapeutics for the autism and anxiety comorbidity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Fan Luo
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Lu Lu
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Heng-Yi Song
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Han Xu
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Zhi-Wei Zheng
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Zhou-Yue Wu
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Chen-Chen Jiang
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Chu Tong
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Hao-Yang Yuan
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Xiu-Xiu Liu
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Xiang Chen
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Mei-Ling Sun
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Ya-Min Tang
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Heng-Yu Fan
- Life Sciences Institute and Innovation Center for Cell Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Feng Han
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
- Institute of Brain Science, the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
| | - Ying-Mei Lu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
- Institute of Brain Science, the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
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Nucleus accumbens circuit disinhibits lateral hypothalamus glutamatergic neurons contributing to morphine withdrawal memory in male mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:71. [PMID: 36604429 PMCID: PMC9814415 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35758-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is physiologically critical in brain functions. The LH also plays an important role in drug addiction. However, neural circuits underlying LH involvement of drug addiction remain obscure. In the present study,our results showed that in male mice, during context-induced expression of morphine withdrawal memory, LH glutamatergic neurons played an important role; dopamine D1 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) projecting from the core of nucleus accumbens (NAcC) to the LH were an important upstream circuit to activate LH glutamatergic neurons; D1-MSNs projecting from the NAcC to the LH activated LH glutamatergic neurons through inhibiting LH local gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. These results suggest that disinhibited LH glutamatergic neurons by neural circuits from the NAcC importantly contribute to context-induced the expression of morphine withdrawal memory.
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Kember RL, Vickers-Smith R, Xu H, Toikumo S, Niarchou M, Zhou H, Hartwell EE, Crist RC, Rentsch CT, Davis LK, Justice AC, Sanchez-Roige S, Kampman KM, Gelernter J, Kranzler HR. Cross-ancestry meta-analysis of opioid use disorder uncovers novel loci with predominant effects in brain regions associated with addiction. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1279-1287. [PMID: 36171425 PMCID: PMC9682545 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01160-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Despite an estimated heritability of ~50%, genome-wide association studies of opioid use disorder (OUD) have revealed few genome-wide significant loci. We conducted a cross-ancestry meta-analysis of OUD in the Million Veteran Program (N = 425,944). In addition to known exonic variants in OPRM1 and FURIN, we identified intronic variants in RABEPK, FBXW4, NCAM1 and KCNN1. A meta-analysis including other datasets identified a locus in TSNARE1. In total, we identified 14 loci for OUD, 12 of which are novel. Significant genetic correlations were identified for 127 traits, including psychiatric disorders and other substance use-related traits. The only significantly enriched cell-type group was CNS, with gene expression enrichment in brain regions previously associated with substance use disorders. These findings increase our understanding of the biological basis of OUD and provide further evidence that it is a brain disease, which may help to reduce stigma and inform efforts to address the opioid epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L Kember
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Rachel Vickers-Smith
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Lexington, KY, USA
- Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Heng Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sylvanus Toikumo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Maria Niarchou
- Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hang Zhou
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Emily E Hartwell
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Richard C Crist
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Christopher T Rentsch
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Lea K Davis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Amy C Justice
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sandra Sanchez-Roige
- Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Kyle M Kampman
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Joel Gelernter
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Henry R Kranzler
- Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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6
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Seno FZ, Sgobbi RF, Nobre MJ. Contributions of the GABAergic system of the prelimbic cortex and basolateral amygdala to morphine withdrawal-induced contextual fear. Physiol Behav 2022; 254:113868. [PMID: 35724926 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Morphine withdrawal can trigger disruptions in neuronal pathways involved in the modulation and expression of anxiety and fear-related behaviors, particularly those involved in associative learning. When it comes to contextual fear, specific subdivisions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regulate the expression of defensive behaviors through projections to specific amygdala (AM) nuclei, such as the prelimbic cortex (PrL). The basolateral nucleus (BLA) of the AM has been shown to be involved in the modulation and expression of associative memories of fear, including those associated with opiate withdrawal-related aversive events. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of GABA mechanisms in the PrL and BLA in startle potentiation and freezing behavior caused by morphine-precipitated withdrawal. Our findings show that morphine withdrawal promotes the emergence of contextual conditioned fear in animals when they are exposed to the same environment where the withdrawal sessions were performed. This suggests that the neural circuits underlying the organism's response to conditioned stressors and the circuits modulating the negative affective states induced by drug withdrawal may overlap. The pharmacological manipulation of GABAergic neurotransmission in the PrL and BLA can reverse contextual fear in morphine-withdrawn rats, an effect that appears to be mediated, at least in part, by GABAA receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Z Seno
- Departamento de Psicologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
| | - R F Sgobbi
- Departamento de Psicologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
| | - M J Nobre
- Departamento de Psicologia, Uni-FACEF, 14401-135, Franca, SP, Brasil; Departamento de Psicologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
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