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Wang Z, Wang Z, Zhou Q. Modulation of learning safety signals by acute stress: paraventricular thalamus and prefrontal inhibition. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:961-973. [PMID: 38182776 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01790-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Distinguishing between cues predicting safety and danger is crucial for survival. Impaired learning of safety cues is a central characteristic of anxiety-related disorders. Despite recent advances in dissecting the neural circuitry underlying the formation and extinction of conditioned fear, the neuronal basis mediating safety learning remains elusive. Here, we showed that safety learning reduces the responses of paraventricular thalamus (PVT) neurons to safety cues, while activation of these neurons controls both the formation and expression of safety memory. Additionally, the PVT preferentially activates prefrontal cortex somatostatin interneurons (SOM-INs), which subsequently inhibit parvalbumin interneurons (PV-INs) to modulate safety memory. Importantly, we demonstrate that acute stress impairs the expression of safety learning, and this impairment can be mitigated when the PVT is inhibited, indicating PVT mediates the stress effect. Altogether, our findings provide insights into the mechanism by which acute stress modulates safety learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongliang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Zeyi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Qiang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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2
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Sessions LC, Kim HJ, Brewer KC, El-Banna MM, Farina CL. Intrinsic Factors and Psychological Safety Among Nursing Students During Simulation-Based Learning-A Correlational Design. Simul Healthc 2024:01266021-990000000-00120. [PMID: 38587358 DOI: 10.1097/sih.0000000000000795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Well-designed simulation-based learning (SBL) experiences enhance students' self-confidence, self-efficacy, clinical judgment, and psychomotor skill development. An emerging concept in SBL research is psychological safety. There is currently no research on factors influencing psychological safety specifically related to the SBL environment, nor is there any literature found to determine whether intrinsic student characteristic, such as self-compassion and resilience, contributes to SBL learning outcomes. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between nursing students' intrinsic characteristics (self-compassion, resilience, and anxiety sensitivity) and their psychological safety. METHODS Bivariate correlation was used to examine associations among sociodemographic variables and outcome variables. Multiple regression was used to determine the predictive nature of the sociodemographic variables. Assumptions for variables in multiple regression models were tested (normal distribution, heteroscedasticity, multicollinearity). All data were analyzed in SPSS, Version 28. The P value of significance was set at 0.05 for all analyses. RESULTS Most of the 118 participants were non-Hispanic (89%), White (65%), and females (95%). Results of the demographic bivariate analysis revealed no significant differences among this diverse group or semester in the curriculum for psychological safety. The multiple regression found self-compassion (β = 29, P = 0.004), anxiety sensitivity (β = -0.16, P = 0.049), and resilience (β = 0.26, P = 0.004) predict psychological safety. CONCLUSIONS The importance of creating a psychologically safe learning environment has been recognized as essential to best practices. Our findings suggest that an understanding of student characteristics that impact their perception of psychological safety will allow educators to develop strategies to better support learners in the simulation environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura C Sessions
- From the Department of Nursing (L.C.S.), Towson University, Towson, MD; School of Nursing (H.J.K., M.E.-B., C.L.F.), The George Washington University, Ashburn, VA; and Towson University (K.B.), Towson, MD
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3
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Navarro-Sánchez M, Gil-Miravet I, Montero-Caballero D, Castillo-Gómez E, Gundlach AL, Olucha-Bordonau FE. Some key parameters in contextual fear conditioning and extinction in adult rats. Behav Brain Res 2024; 462:114874. [PMID: 38266780 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Contextual fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm used to assess hippocampal-dependent memory in experimental animals. Perception of the context depends on activation of a distinct population of neurons in the hippocampus and in hippocampal-related areas that process discrete aspects of context perception. In the absence of any putatively associated cue, the context becomes the salient element that may warn of an upcoming aversive event; and in particular conditions, animals generalize this warning to any new or similar context. In this study we evaluated the effects of the number of sessions, the number of unconditioned stimuli per acquisition session and the distribution of extinction sessions to assess fear acquisition and extinction and determine under which conditions generalization occurred in adult, male rats. We observed that the organization and spacing of sessions were relevant factors in the acquisition and extinction of contextual fear memories. Extinction occurred with significantly greater robustness when sessions were spread over two days. Furthermore, results indicated that exposure to a single 0.3 mA, 0.5 s footshock in two different sessions could produce context-specific fear, while more acquisition sessions or more footshocks within a single session produced a generalization of the fear response to a new context. Notably, when generalization occurred, successive re-exposure to the generalized context produced extinction in a similar way to the paired exposure. Together, the present findings identify clear procedural and behavioral parameters amenable to neural systems analysis of three clinically relevant outcomes of contextual fear conditioning, i.e., memory acquisition, storage and extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Navarro-Sánchez
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Isis Gil-Miravet
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Daniel Montero-Caballero
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Esther Castillo-Gómez
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain; Spanish Stress Research Network, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Valencia, Spain; Spanish National Network for Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrew L Gundlach
- The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Francisco E Olucha-Bordonau
- Unitat Predepartamental de Medicina, Facutat de Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain; Spanish Stress Research Network, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Valencia, Spain; Spanish National Network for Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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4
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Devignes Q, Ren B, Clancy KJ, Howell K, Pollmann Y, Martinez-Sanchez L, Beard C, Kumar P, Rosso IM. Trauma-related intrusive memories and anterior hippocampus structural covariance: an ecological momentary assessment study in posttraumatic stress disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:74. [PMID: 38307849 PMCID: PMC10837434 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02795-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Trauma-related intrusive memories (TR-IMs) are hallmark symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but their neural correlates remain partly unknown. Given its role in autobiographical memory, the hippocampus may play a critical role in TR-IM neurophysiology. The anterior and posterior hippocampi are known to have partially distinct functions, including during retrieval of autobiographical memories. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between TR-IM frequency and the anterior and posterior hippocampi morphology in PTSD. Ninety-three trauma-exposed adults completed daily ecological momentary assessments for fourteen days to capture their TR-IM frequency. Participants then underwent anatomical magnetic resonance imaging to obtain measures of anterior and posterior hippocampal volumes. Partial least squares analysis was applied to identify a structural covariance network that differentiated the anterior and posterior hippocampi. Poisson regression models examined the relationship of TR-IM frequency with anterior and posterior hippocampal volumes and the resulting structural covariance network. Results revealed no significant relationship of TR-IM frequency with hippocampal volumes. However, TR-IM frequency was significantly negatively correlated with the expression of a structural covariance pattern specifically associated with the anterior hippocampus volume. This association remained significant after accounting for the severity of PTSD symptoms other than intrusion symptoms. The network included the bilateral inferior temporal gyri, superior frontal gyri, precuneus, and fusiform gyri. These novel findings indicate that higher TR-IM frequency in individuals with PTSD is associated with lower structural covariance between the anterior hippocampus and other brain regions involved in autobiographical memory, shedding light on the neural correlates underlying this core symptom of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Devignes
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Boyu Ren
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Psychiatric Biostatistics Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Kevin J Clancy
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kristin Howell
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Yara Pollmann
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | | | - Courtney Beard
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Poornima Kumar
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Isabelle M Rosso
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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5
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Krueger JN, Patel NN, Shim K, Ng K, Sangha S. Conditioned inhibition of fear and reward in male and female rats. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 208:107881. [PMID: 38135111 PMCID: PMC10922191 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107881] [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: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Stimuli in our environment are not always associated with an outcome. Some of these stimuli, depending on how they are presented, may gain inhibitory value or simply be ignored. If experienced in the presence of other cues predictive of appetitive or aversive outcomes, they typically gain inhibitory value and become predictive cues indicating the absence of appetitive or aversive outcomes. In this case, these cues are referred to as conditioned inhibitors. Here, male and female Long Evans rats underwent cue discrimination training where a reward cue was paired with sucrose, a fear cue with footshock, and an inhibitor cue resulted in neither sucrose or footshock. During a subsequent summation test for conditioned inhibition of fear and reward, the inhibitor cue was presented concurrently with the reward and fear cues without any outcome, intermixed with trials of reinforced reward and fear trials. Males showed significant conditioned inhibition of freezing, while females did not, which was not dependent on estrous. Both males and females showed significant conditioned inhibition of reward. During a retardation of fear acquisition test, the inhibitor was paired with footshock and both males and females showed delayed acquisition of fear. During a retardation of reward acquisition test, the inhibitor was paired with sucrose, and females showed delayed acquisition of reward, while males did not. In summary, males and females showed significant reward-fear-inhibitor cue discrimination, conditioned inhibition of reward, and retardation of fear acquisition. The main sex difference, which was not estrous-dependent, was the lack of conditioned inhibition of freezing in females. These data imply that while the inhibitor cue gained some inhibitory value in the females, the strength of this inhibitory value may not have been great enough to effectively downregulate freezing elicited by the fear cue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie N Krueger
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 47907
| | - Nupur N Patel
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 47907
| | - Kevin Shim
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 47907
| | - Ka Ng
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 47907
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA 47907; Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA 46202.
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6
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Felix-Ortiz AC, Terrell JM, Gonzalez C, Msengi HD, Boggan MB, Ramos AR, Magalhães G, Burgos-Robles A. Prefrontal Regulation of Safety Learning during Ethologically Relevant Thermal Threat. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0140-23.2024. [PMID: 38272673 PMCID: PMC10903390 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0140-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Learning and adaptation during sources of threat and safety are critical mechanisms for survival. The prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) have been broadly implicated in the processing of threat and safety. However, how these regions regulate threat and safety during naturalistic conditions involving thermal challenge still remains elusive. To examine this issue, we developed a novel paradigm in which adult mice learned that a particular zone that was identified with visuospatial cues was associated with either a noxious cold temperature ("threat zone") or a pleasant warm temperature ("safety zone"). This led to the rapid development of avoidance behavior when the zone was paired with cold threat or approach behavior when the zone was paired with warm safety. During a long-term test without further thermal reinforcement, mice continued to exhibit robust avoidance or approach to the zone of interest, indicating that enduring spatial-based memories were formed to represent the thermal threat and thermal safety zones. Optogenetic experiments revealed that neural activity in PL and IL was not essential for establishing the memory for the threat zone. However, PL and IL activity bidirectionally regulated memory formation for the safety zone. While IL activity promoted safety memory during normal conditions, PL activity suppressed safety memory especially after a stress pretreatment. Therefore, a working model is proposed in which balanced activity between PL and IL is favorable for safety memory formation, whereas unbalanced activity between these brain regions is detrimental for safety memory after stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ada C Felix-Ortiz
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Jaelyn M Terrell
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Carolina Gonzalez
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Hope D Msengi
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Miranda B Boggan
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Angelica R Ramos
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
| | - Gabrielle Magalhães
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
| | - Anthony Burgos-Robles
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
- Brain Health Consortium, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249
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Rosas-Vidal LE, Naskar S, Mayo LM, Perini I, Altemus M, Engelbrektsson H, Jagasia P, Heilig M, Patel S. PREFRONTAL CORRELATES OF FEAR GENERALIZATION DURING ENDOCANNABINOID DEPLETION. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.30.577847. [PMID: 38352388 PMCID: PMC10862899 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.30.577847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Maladaptive fear generalization is one of the hallmarks of trauma-related disorders. The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is crucial for modulating anxiety, fear, and stress adaptation but its role in balancing fear discrimination versus generalization is not known. To address this, we used a combination of plasma endocannabinoid measurement and neuroimaging from a childhood maltreatment exposed and non-exposed mixed population combined with human and rodent fear conditioning models. Here we show that 2-AG levels are inversely associated with fear generalization at the behavioral level in both mice and humans. In mice, 2-AG depletion increases the proportion of neurons, and the similarity between neuronal representations, of threat-predictive and neutral stimuli within prelimbic prefrontal cortex ensembles. In humans, increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortical-amygdala resting state connectivity is inversely correlated with fear generalization. These data provide convergent cross-species evidence that 2-AG is a key regulator of fear generalization and suggest 2-AG deficiency could represent a trauma-related disorder susceptibility endophenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis E Rosas-Vidal
- Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL
| | - Saptarnab Naskar
- Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL
| | - Leah M Mayo
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Linköping University, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Irene Perini
- Linköping University, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Megan Altemus
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Nashville, TN
| | - Hilda Engelbrektsson
- Linköping University, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Puja Jagasia
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Nashville, TN
| | - Markus Heilig
- Linköping University, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Sachin Patel
- Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL
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Cardoner N, Andero R, Cano M, Marin-Blasco I, Porta-Casteràs D, Serra-Blasco M, Via E, Vicent-Gil M, Portella MJ. Impact of Stress on Brain Morphology: Insights into Structural Biomarkers of Stress-related Disorders. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:935-962. [PMID: 37403395 PMCID: PMC10845094 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x21666230703091435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to acute and chronic stress has a broad range of structural effects on the brain. The brain areas commonly targeted in the stress response models include the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex. Studies in patients suffering from the so-called stress-related disorders -embracing post-traumatic stress, major depressive and anxiety disorders- have fairly replicated animal models of stress response -particularly the neuroendocrine and the inflammatory models- by finding alterations in different brain areas, even in the early neurodevelopment. Therefore, this narrative review aims to provide an overview of structural neuroimaging findings and to discuss how these studies have contributed to our knowledge of variability in response to stress and the ulterior development of stress-related disorders. There are a gross number of studies available but neuroimaging research of stress-related disorders as a single category is still in its infancy. Although the available studies point at particular brain circuitries involved in stress and emotion regulation, the pathophysiology of these abnormalities -involving genetics, epigenetics and molecular pathways-, their relation to intraindividual stress responses -including personality characteristics, self-perception of stress conditions…-, and their potential involvement as biomarkers in diagnosis, treatment prescription and prognosis are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narcís Cardoner
- Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine Bellaterra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Unitat de Neurociència Traslacional, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Raül Andero
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Unitat de Neurociència Traslacional, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Cano
- Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ignacio Marin-Blasco
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Porta-Casteràs
- Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine Bellaterra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Unitat de Neurociència Traslacional, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Maria Serra-Blasco
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Programa eHealth ICOnnecta't, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Via
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Muriel Vicent-Gil
- Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria J. Portella
- Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine Bellaterra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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Neudert MK, Schäfer A, Zehtner RI, Fricke S, Seinsche RJ, Stark R, Hermann A. Decontextualized fear memories? Stronger conditioned fear responses during extinction learning and extinction recall in a safe context predict the development of long-term analog intrusions. Psychol Med 2024; 54:159-168. [PMID: 37129070 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001125] [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] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Difficulties in the context-dependent modulation of conditioned fear are known for posttraumatic stress disorder and may explain the occurrence of intrusive memories in safe contexts. The current study therefore investigated if reduced context-dependent modulation of conditioned fear and its underlying neural circuitry constitute risk factors for the development of analog intrusions in response to an experimental trauma. METHODS Eighty-five healthy women participated in the trauma film paradigm to investigate the development of analog intrusions as well as explicit memory for an experimental trauma after one week and three months, respectively. Before, participants underwent a context-dependent fear conditioning paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging with fear acquisition in context A and extinction training in context B on a first day, as well as extinction recall in context B and fear renewal in a novel context C one day later. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) and blood oxygen level dependent responses were main outcome measures. RESULTS In addition to stronger fear acquisition in context A, stronger conditioned fear responses in the safe context B, as indicated by stronger conditioned SCRs or stronger activation of fear expressing regions during extinction learning and recall, predicted the development of long-term analog intrusions. CONCLUSIONS Stronger fear responses in safe and danger contexts were risk factors for the development of long-term analog intrusions and point to decontextualized fear memories and difficulties in the context-dependent modulation of conditioned fear. Altered fear conditioning processes and reduced storage of contextual information may cause the occurrence of fear independent of context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie K Neudert
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Axel Schäfer
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Raphaela I Zehtner
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Susanne Fricke
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Rosa J Seinsche
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andrea Hermann
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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10
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Aslanidou A, Andreatta M, Wong AHK, Wieser MJ. No influence of threat uncertainty on fear generalization. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14423. [PMID: 37623276 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Fear overgeneralization and perceived uncertainty about future outcomes have been suggested as risk factors for clinical anxiety. However, little is known regarding how they influence each other. In this study, we investigated whether different levels of threat uncertainty influence fear generalization. Three groups of healthy participants underwent a differential fear conditioning protocol followed by a generalization test. All groups learned to associate one female face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) with a female scream (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other face (CS-) was not associated with the scream. In order to manipulate threat uncertainty, one group (low uncertainty, n = 26) received 80%, the second group (moderate uncertainty, n = 32) received 60%, and the third group (high uncertainty, n = 30) 40% CS-US contingency. In the generalization test, all groups saw CS+ and CS- again along with four morphs resembling the CSs in steps of 20%. Subjective (expectancy, valence, and arousal ratings), psychophysiological (skin conductance response, SCR), and visuocortical (steady-state visual evoked potentials, ssVEPs) indices of fear were registered. Participants expected the US according to their reinforcement schedules and the discriminative responses to CS+/CS- increased with more uncertainty in skin conductance. However, acquisition of conditioned fear was not evident in ssVEPs. During the generalization test, we found no effect of threat uncertainty in any of the measured variables, but the strength of generalization for threat expectancy ratings was positively correlated with dispositional intolerance of uncertainty. This study suggests that mere threat uncertainty does not modulate fear generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asimina Aslanidou
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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11
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Ng K, Pollock M, Escobedo A, Bachman B, Miyazaki N, Bartlett EL, Sangha S. Suppressing fear in the presence of a safety cue requires infralimbic cortical signaling to central amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:359-367. [PMID: 37188848 PMCID: PMC10724163 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01598-0] [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: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Stressful events can have lasting and impactful effects on behavior, especially by disrupting normal regulation of fear and reward processing. Accurate discrimination among environmental cues predicting threat, safety or reward adaptively guides behavior. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represents a condition in which maladaptive fear persists in response to explicit safety-predictive cues that coincide with previously learned threat cues, but without threat being present. Since both the infralimbic cortex (IL) and amygdala have each been shown to be important for fear regulation to safety cues, we tested the necessity of specific IL projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) or central amygdala (CeA) during safety recall. Male Long Evans rats were used since prior work showed female Long Evans rats did not acquire the safety discrimination task used in this study. Here, we show the infralimbic projection to the central amygdala was necessary for suppressing fear cue-induced freezing in the presence of a learned safety cue, and the projection to the basolateral amygdala was not. The loss of discriminative fear regulation seen specifically during IL->CeA inhibition is similar to the behavioral disruption seen in PTSD individuals that fail to regulate fear in the presence of a safety cue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Ng
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Michael Pollock
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Abraham Escobedo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Brent Bachman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Nanami Miyazaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Edward L Bartlett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
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12
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Sep MSC, Geuze E, Joëls M. Impaired learning, memory, and extinction in posttraumatic stress disorder: translational meta-analysis of clinical and preclinical studies. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:376. [PMID: 38062029 PMCID: PMC10703817 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02660-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Current evidence-based treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are efficacious in only part of PTSD patients. Therefore, novel neurobiologically informed approaches are urgently needed. Clinical and translational neuroscience point to altered learning and memory processes as key in (models of) PTSD psychopathology. We extended this notion by clarifying at a meta-level (i) the role of information valence, i.e. neutral versus emotional/fearful, and (ii) comparability, as far as applicable, between clinical and preclinical phenotypes. We hypothesized that cross-species, neutral versus emotional/fearful information processing is, respectively, impaired and enhanced in PTSD. This preregistered meta-analysis involved a literature search on PTSD+Learning/Memory+Behavior, performed in PubMed. First, the effect of information valence was estimated with a random-effects meta-regression. The sources of variation were explored with a random forest-based analysis. The analyses included 92 clinical (N = 6732 humans) and 182 preclinical (N = 6834 animals) studies. A general impairment of learning, memory and extinction processes was observed in PTSD patients, regardless of information valence. Impaired neutral learning/memory and fear extinction were also present in animal models of PTSD. Yet, PTSD models enhanced fear/trauma memory in preclinical studies and PTSD impaired emotional memory in patients. Clinical data on fear/trauma memory was limited. Mnemonic phase and valence explained most variation in rodents but not humans. Impaired neutral learning/memory and fear extinction show stable cross-species PTSD phenotypes. These could be targeted for novel PTSD treatments, using information gained from neurobiological animal studies. We argue that apparent cross-species discrepancies in emotional/fearful memory deserve further in-depth study; until then, animal models targeting this phenotype should be applied with utmost care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milou S C Sep
- Brain Research and Innovation Centre, Ministry of Defence, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- GGZ inGeest Mental Health Care, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Mood, Anxiety, Psychosis, Sleep & Stress Program, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health, Mental Health Program, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Center location Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Elbert Geuze
- Brain Research and Innovation Centre, Ministry of Defence, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marian Joëls
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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13
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Haubrich J, Nader K. Network-level changes in the brain underlie fear memory strength. eLife 2023; 12:RP88172. [PMID: 38047914 PMCID: PMC10695559 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88172] [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] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The strength of a fear memory significantly influences whether it drives adaptive or maladaptive behavior in the future. Yet, how mild and strong fear memories differ in underlying biology is not well understood. We hypothesized that this distinction may not be exclusively the result of changes within specific brain regions, but rather the outcome of collective changes in connectivity across multiple regions within the neural network. To test this, rats were fear conditioned in protocols of varying intensities to generate mild or strong memories. Neuronal activation driven by recall was measured using c-fos immunohistochemistry in 12 brain regions implicated in fear learning and memory. The interregional coordinated brain activity was computed and graph-based functional networks were generated to compare how mild and strong fear memories differ at the systems level. Our results show that mild fear recall is supported by a well-connected brain network with small-world properties in which the amygdala is well-positioned to be modulated by other regions. In contrast, this connectivity is disrupted in strong fear memories and the amygdala is isolated from other regions. These findings indicate that the neural systems underlying mild and strong fear memories differ, with implications for understanding and treating disorders of fear dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josue Haubrich
- Department of Psychology, McGill UniversityMontréalCanada
- Department of Neurophysiology, Ruhr-University BochumBochumGermany
| | - Karim Nader
- Department of Psychology, McGill UniversityMontréalCanada
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14
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Jaltare KP, Vanderijst L, Karos K, Torta DM. The impact of the social context on the development of secondary hyperalgesia: an experimental study. Pain 2023; 164:2711-2724. [PMID: 37433188 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Social support has been shown to reduce pain ratings and physiological responses to acute pain stimuli. Furthermore, this relationship is moderated by adult attachment styles. However, these effects have not been characterized in experimentally induced symptoms of chronic pain, such as secondary hyperalgesia (SH) which is characterized by an increased sensitivity of the skin surrounding an injury. We aimed to examine whether social support by handholding from a romantic partner can attenuate the development of experimentally induced SH. Thirty-seven women, along with their partners, participated in 2 experimental sessions 1 week apart. In both sessions, SH was induced using an electrical stimulation protocol. In the support condition, the partner was seated across from the participant holding the participant's hand during the electrical stimulation, whereas in the alone condition, the participant went through the stimulation alone. Heart rate variability was measured for both the participant as well as the partner before, during, and after the stimulation. We found that the width of the area of hyperalgesia was significantly smaller in the support condition. Attachment styles did not moderate this effect of social support on the area width. Increasing attachment avoidance was associated with both a smaller width of hyperalgesia and a smaller increase in the sensitivity on the stimulated arm. For the first time, we show that social support can attenuate the development of secondary hyperalgesia and that attachment avoidance may be associated with an attenuated development of secondary hyperalgesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketan Prafull Jaltare
- Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laetitia Vanderijst
- Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kai Karos
- Section Experimental Health Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maaastricht, the Netherlands
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, the Netherlands
| | - Diana M Torta
- Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
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15
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Fitzgerald JM, Webb EK, Sangha S. Psychological and physiological correlates of stimulus discrimination in adults. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14327. [PMID: 37170664 PMCID: PMC10527767 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14327] [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: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The discrimination of cues in the environment that signal danger ("fear cue") is important for survival but depends critically on the discernment of such cues from ones that pose no threat ("safety cues"). In rodents, we previously demonstrated the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that support fear versus safety discrimination and documented that these mechanisms extend to the discrimination of reward as well. While learning about reward is equally important for survival, it remains an under-studied area of research, particularly in human studies of conditional discrimination. In the present study, we translated our rodent task of fear reward and neutral discrimination (fear, reward, and neutral discrimination [FRND]) for use in humans. Undergraduate students (N = 53) completed the FRND while electrodermal activity was recorded. Skin conductance response (SCR) amplitude, a marker of arousal response, was derived for fear, reward, and neutral cues that signaled no outcome; critical trials assessed conditional discrimination using combined fear + neutral and reward + neutral cues. Participants provided likeability ratings for each cue type. Results demonstrated that participants rated reward cues the best, fear cues the worst, and neutral cues in between, while SCR amplitude was largest for fear and reward cues and lowest for neutral cues. SCR amplitudes were reduced for fear + neutral (compared to fear) and reward + neutral cues (compared to reward). Results demonstrate that the FRND is a useful paradigm for the assessment of psychological and physiological discrimination of fear and reward. Implications and directions for future work are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - E. Kate Webb
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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16
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Haris EM, Bryant RA, Williamson T, Korgaonkar MS. Functional connectivity of amygdala subnuclei in PTSD: a narrative review. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3581-3594. [PMID: 37845498 PMCID: PMC10730419 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02291-w] [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: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
While the amygdala is often implicated in the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the pattern of results remains mixed. One reason for this may be the heterogeneity of amygdala subnuclei and their functional connections. This review used PRISMA guidelines to synthesize research exploring the functional connectivity of three primary amygdala subnuclei, basolateral (BLA), centromedial (CMA), and superficial nuclei (SFA), in PTSD (N = 331) relative to trauma-exposed (N = 155) and non-trauma-exposed controls (N = 210). Although studies were limited (N = 11), preliminary evidence suggests that in PTSD compared to trauma-exposed controls, the BLA shows greater connectivity with the dorsal anterior cingulate, an area involved in salience detection. In PTSD compared to non-trauma-exposed controls, the BLA shows greater connectivity with the middle frontal gyrus, an area involved in attention. No other connections were replicated across studies. A secondary aim of this review was to outline the limitations of this field to better shape future research. Importantly, the results from this review indicate the need to consider potential mediators of amygdala subnuclei connectivity, such as trauma type and sex, when conducting such studies. They also highlight the need to be aware of the limited inferences we can make with such small samples that investigate small subcortical structures on low field strength magnetic resonance imaging scanners. Collectively, this review demonstrates the importance of exploring the differential connectivity of amygdala subnuclei to understand the pathophysiology of PTSD and stresses the need for future research to harness the strength of ultra-high field imaging to gain a more sensitive picture of the neural connectivity underlying PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Haris
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
| | - Richard A Bryant
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Thomas Williamson
- Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Mayuresh S Korgaonkar
- Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
- Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
- Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
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17
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Abend R. Understanding anxiety symptoms as aberrant defensive responding along the threat imminence continuum. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105305. [PMID: 37414377 PMCID: PMC10528507 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105305] [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: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Threat-anticipatory defensive responses have evolved to promote survival in a dynamic world. While inherently adaptive, aberrant expression of defensive responses to potential threat could manifest as pathological anxiety, which is prevalent, impairing, and associated with adverse outcomes. Extensive translational neuroscience research indicates that normative defensive responses are organized by threat imminence, such that distinct response patterns are observed in each phase of threat encounter and orchestrated by partially conserved neural circuitry. Anxiety symptoms, such as excessive and pervasive worry, physiological arousal, and avoidance behavior, may reflect aberrant expression of otherwise normative defensive responses, and therefore follow the same imminence-based organization. Here, empirical evidence linking aberrant expression of specific, imminence-dependent defensive responding to distinct anxiety symptoms is reviewed, and plausible contributing neural circuitry is highlighted. Drawing from translational and clinical research, the proposed framework informs our understanding of pathological anxiety by grounding anxiety symptoms in conserved psychobiological mechanisms. Potential implications for research and treatment are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- School of Psychology, Reichman University, P.O. Box 167, Herzliya 4610101, Israel; Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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18
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Kutlu MG, Tat J, Christensen BA, Zachry JE, Calipari ES. Dopamine release at the time of a predicted aversive outcome causally controls the trajectory and expression of conditioned behavior. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112948. [PMID: 37543945 PMCID: PMC10528296 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is causally linked to adaptive aversive learning, and its dysregulation is a core phenotype in anxiety and stress disorders. Here, we record NAc core dopamine during a task where mice learn to discriminate between cues signaling two types of outcomes: (1) footshock presentation and (2) footshock omission. We show that dopamine release is evoked by footshock omission. This dopamine response is largest when the omission is unexpected and decreases over learning, and artificially increasing this signal disrupts discrimination learning. Conversely, optogenetic inhibition of dopamine responses to the footshock itself impairs learning. Finally, theory-driven computational modeling suggests that these effects can be explained by dopamine signaling the perceived saliency of predicted aversive events. Together, we elucidate the role of NAc dopamine in aversive learning and offer potential avenues for understanding the neural mechanisms involved in anxiety and stress disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munir Gunes Kutlu
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jennifer Tat
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | | | - Jennifer E Zachry
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Erin S Calipari
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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19
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Felix-Ortiz AC, Terrell JM, Gonzalez C, Msengi HD, Ramos AR, Boggan MB, Lopez-Pesina SM, Magalhães G, Burgos-Robles A. The infralimbic and prelimbic cortical areas bidirectionally regulate safety learning during normal and stress conditions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.05.539516. [PMID: 37205585 PMCID: PMC10187296 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.05.539516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Safety learning is a critical function for behavioral adaptation, environmental fitness, and mental health. Animal models have implicated the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in safety learning. However, whether these regions differentially contribute to safety learning and how their contributions become affected by stress still remain poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated these issues using a novel semi-naturalistic mouse model for threat and safety learning. As mice navigated within a test arena, they learned that specific zones were associated with either noxious cold temperatures ("threat") or pleasant warm temperatures ("safety"). Optogenetic-mediated inhibition revealed critical roles for the IL and PL regions for selectively controlling safety learning during these naturalistic conditions. This form of safety learning was also highly susceptible to stress pre-exposure, and while IL inhibition mimicked the deficits produced by stress, PL inhibition fully rescued safety learning in stress-exposed mice. Collectively, these findings indicate that IL and PL bidirectionally regulate safety learning during naturalistic situations, with the IL region promoting this function and the PL region suppressing it, especially after stress. A model of balanced IL and PL activity is proposed as a fundamental mechanism for controlling safety learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ada C. Felix-Ortiz
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Jaelyn M. Terrell
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Carolina Gonzalez
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Hope D. Msengi
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Angelica R. Ramos
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Miranda B. Boggan
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Savannah M. Lopez-Pesina
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
| | - Gabrielle Magalhães
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States, 02215
| | - Anthony Burgos-Robles
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
- Brain Health Consortium, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 78249
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20
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Zhou X, Gu Y, Huang L, Lei Y. Individual differences in contextual threat generalisation and uncertainty: The role of intolerance of uncertainty. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37105530 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Threat generalisation is an adaptive process that is essential for individual survival. In contrast, over-generalisation is a pathological process that underlies the development of anxiety disorders. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an individual characteristic known to influence threat generalisation by altering the responses to threat in uncertain situations. However, how it affects contextual threat generalisation remains unclear. Here, we used a novel paradigm to investigate whether contextual threat generalisation varied between individuals depending on their IU level (high or low) and the predictability of a situation (predictable or unpredictable). We analysed shock expectancy in 82 participants (age: 18-27 years) during threat acquisition and generalisation. Results showed that compared with the low IU group, the high IU group exhibited increased contextual threat generalisation to threat-related cues in unpredictable situation. These findings suggest that IU could be a marker for anxiety disorder susceptibility, as well as a target for anxiety treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuanyuan Gu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lihui Huang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
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21
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Ng KH, Sangha S. Encoding of conditioned inhibitors of fear in the infralimbic cortex. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:5658-5670. [PMID: 36411540 PMCID: PMC10152082 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac450] [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: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cues in the environment signaling the absence of threat, i.e. safety, can influence both fear and reward-seeking behaviors. Heightened and maladaptive fear is associated with reduced activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. We have previously shown in male rats that the infralimbic (IL) prefrontal cortex is necessary for suppressing fear during a safety cue. The objective of the present study was to determine if there was safety cue-specific neural activity within the IL using a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm, where a fear cue was paired with shock, a safety cue was paired with no shock, and a reward cue was paired with sucrose. To investigate how safety cues can suppress fear, the fear and safety cues were presented together as a compound fear + safety cue. Single-unit activity showed a large proportion of neurons with excitatory responses to the fear + safety cue specifically, a separate group of neurons with excitatory responses to both the reward and fear + safety cues, and bidirectional neurons with excitation to the fear + safety cue and inhibition to the fear cue. Neural activity was also found to be negatively correlated with freezing during the fear + safety cue. Together, these data implicate the IL in encoding specific aspects of conditioned inhibitors when fear is being actively suppressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka H Ng
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
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22
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Cassaday HJ, Muir C, Stevenson CW, Bonardi C, Hock R, Waite L. From safety to frustration: The neural substrates of inhibitory learning in aversive and appetitive conditioning procedures. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 202:107757. [PMID: 37044368 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory associative learning counters the effects of excitatory learning, whether appetitively or aversively motivated. Moreover, the affective responses accompanying the inhibitory associations are of opponent valence to the excitatory conditioned responses. Inhibitors for negative aversive outcomes (e.g. shock) signal safety, while inhibitors for appetitive outcomes (e.g. food reward) elicit frustration and/or disappointment. This raises the question as to whether studies using appetitive and aversive conditioning procedures should demonstrate the same neural substrates for inhibitory learning. We review the neural substrates of appetitive and aversive inhibitory learning as measured in different procedural variants and in the context of the underpinning excitatory conditioning on which it depends. The mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathways, retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus are consistently implicated in inhibitory learning. Further neural substrates identified in some procedural variants may be related to the specific motivation of the learning task and modalities of the learning cues. Finally, we consider the translational implications of our understanding of the neural substrates of inhibitory learning, for obesity and addictions as well as for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - C Muir
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham; School of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, University of Bristol
| | | | - C Bonardi
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - R Hock
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - L Waite
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
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23
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Neudert MK, Schäfer A, Zehtner RI, Fricke S, Seinsche RJ, Kruse O, Stark R, Hermann A. Behavioral pattern separation is associated with neural and electrodermal correlates of context-dependent fear conditioning. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5577. [PMID: 37019951 PMCID: PMC10076331 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31504-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hippocampus-dependent pattern separation is considered as a relevant factor for context discrimination and might therefore impact the contextual modulation of conditioned fear. However, the association between pattern separation and context-dependent fear conditioning has not been investigated so far. In the current study, 72 healthy female students completed the Mnemonic Similarity Task, a measure of behavioral pattern separation, in addition to a context-dependent fear conditioning paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The paradigm included fear acquisition in context A and extinction training in context B on a first day, as well as retrieval testing of the fear and extinction memories in the safe context B (extinction recall) and a novel context C (fear renewal) one day later. Main outcome measures comprised skin conductance responses (SCRs) and blood oxygen level-dependent responses in brain regions of the fear and extinction circuit. Regarding retrieval testing, pattern separation did not correlate with extinction recall, but with stronger dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation and conditioned SCRs (trend) during fear renewal, indicating a stronger retrieval of the fear memory trace. Our findings suggest that behavioral pattern separation ability seems to be important for context-dependent fear modulation, which is impaired in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie K Neudert
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Axel Schäfer
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Raphaela I Zehtner
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Susanne Fricke
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Rosa J Seinsche
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Onno Kruse
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andrea Hermann
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Phillips University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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24
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On making (and turning adaptive to) maladaptive aversive memories in laboratory rodents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105101. [PMID: 36804263 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Fear conditioning and avoidance tasks usually elicit adaptive aversive memories. Traumatic memories are more intense, generalized, inflexible, and resistant to attenuation via extinction- and reconsolidation-based strategies. Inducing and assessing these dysfunctional, maladaptive features in the laboratory are crucial to interrogating posttraumatic stress disorder's neurobiology and exploring innovative treatments. Here we analyze over 350 studies addressing this question in adult rats and mice. There is a growing interest in modeling several qualitative and quantitative memory changes by exposing already stressed animals to freezing- and avoidance-related tests or using a relatively high aversive training magnitude. Other options combine aversive/fearful tasks with post-acquisition or post-retrieval administration of one or more drugs provoking neurochemical or epigenetic alterations reported in the trauma aftermath. It is potentially instructive to integrate these procedures and incorporate the measurement of autonomic and endocrine parameters. Factors to consider when defining the organismic and procedural variables, partially neglected aspects (sex-dependent differences and recent vs. remote data comparison) and suggestions for future research (identifying reliable individual risk and treatment-response predictors) are discussed.
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25
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Beckers T, Hermans D, Lange I, Luyten L, Scheveneels S, Vervliet B. Understanding clinical fear and anxiety through the lens of human fear conditioning. NATURE REVIEWS PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 2:233-245. [PMID: 36811021 PMCID: PMC9933844 DOI: 10.1038/s44159-023-00156-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Fear is an adaptive emotion that mobilizes defensive resources upon confrontation with danger. However, fear becomes maladaptive and can give rise to the development of clinical anxiety when it exceeds the degree of threat, generalizes broadly across stimuli and contexts, persists after the danger is gone or promotes excessive avoidance behaviour. Pavlovian fear conditioning has been the prime research instrument that has led to substantial progress in understanding the multi-faceted psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of fear in past decades. In this Perspective, we suggest that fruitful use of Pavlovian fear conditioning as a laboratory model of clinical anxiety requires moving beyond the study of fear acquisition to associated fear conditioning phenomena: fear extinction, generalization of conditioned fear and fearful avoidance. Understanding individual differences in each of these phenomena, not only in isolation but also in how they interact, will further strengthen the external validity of the fear conditioning model as a tool with which to study maladaptive fear as it manifests in clinical anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Beckers
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dirk Hermans
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Iris Lange
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laura Luyten
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sara Scheveneels
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Vervliet
- grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium ,grid.5596.f0000 0001 0668 7884Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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26
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Inflammation shapes neural processing of interoceptive fear predictors during extinction learning in healthy humans. Brain Behav Immun 2023; 108:328-339. [PMID: 36535608 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammation could impact on the formation and persistence of interoceptive fear and hypervigilance, with relevance to psychiatric disorders and chronic pain. To systematically analyze effects of inflammation on fear learning and extinction, we performed two complementary randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies combining experimental endotoxemia as a translational model of acute systemic inflammation with a two-day multiple-threat fear conditioning paradigm involving interoceptive and exteroceptive unconditioned stimuli (US). Healthy volunteers (N = 95) were randomized to receive intravenous injections of either endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS; 0.4 ng/kg) or placebo prior to fear acquisition (study 1) or extinction training (study2). Treatment effects on behavioral and neural responses to conditioned stimuli (CS) predicting interoceptive or exteroceptive threat were assessed during fear learning and extinction phases, along with US valence ratings. Despite robust inflammatory and emotional responses triggered by LPS, no direct effects of inflammation on US ratings or on the formation or extinction of conditioned fear, as assessed with CS valence ratings, were observed. However, in the group treated with LPS prior to acquisition (i.e., study 1), we found enhanced neural responses to the interoceptive but not the exteroceptive CS in key regions of the central fear circuitry during extinction learning. After extinction, this group further showed enhanced negative valence ratings selectively for the interoceptive US during unexpected US re-exposure when compared to the placebo group. Together, inflammation during fear acquisition may promote the establishment of a more robust neural signature of the interoceptive fear memory trace, which may contribute to altered interoceptive pain perception. The fear extinction circuitry engaged during interoceptive fear memory processing may be particularly vulnerable to inflammation, with transdiagnostic implications for gut-brain mechanisms underlying disturbed interoception in psychiatric conditions and chronic visceral pain.
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27
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Ma X, Bracciano B, Hoppas N, Zimmerman S, Pickens CL. Longer duration intertrial intervals without visual stimuli have reinforcement value and increase the rate of reinforcement and punishment learning in computer-based discriminations in humans. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2022.101867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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28
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Kintscher M, Kochubey O, Schneggenburger R. A striatal circuit balances learned fear in the presence and absence of sensory cues. eLife 2023; 12:75703. [PMID: 36655978 PMCID: PMC9897731 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
During fear learning, defensive behaviors like freezing need to be finely balanced in the presence or absence of threat-predicting cues (conditioned stimulus, CS). Nevertheless, the circuits underlying such balancing are largely unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the ventral tail striatum (vTS) in auditory-cued fear learning of male mice. In vivo Ca2+ imaging showed that sizable sub-populations of direct (D1R+) and indirect pathway neurons (Adora+) in the vTS responded to footshocks, and to the initiation of movements after freezing; moreover, a sub-population of D1R+ neurons increased its responsiveness to an auditory CS during fear learning. In-vivo optogenetic silencing shows that footshock-driven activity of D1R+ neurons contributes to fear memory formation, whereas Adora+ neurons modulate freezing in the absence of a learned CS. Circuit tracing identified the posterior insular cortex (pInsCx) as an important cortical input to the vTS, and recording of optogenetically evoked EPSCs revealed long-term plasticity with opposite outcomes at the pInsCx synapses onto D1R+ - and Adora+ neurons. Thus, direct- and indirect pathways neurons of the vTS show differential signs of plasticity after fear learning, and balance defensive behaviors in the presence and absence of learned sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kintscher
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Olexiy Kochubey
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Ralf Schneggenburger
- Laboratory for Synaptic Mechanisms, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
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29
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Tashjian SM, Wise T, Mobbs D. Model-based prioritization for acquiring protection. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010805. [PMID: 36534704 PMCID: PMC9810162 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Protection often involves the capacity to prospectively plan the actions needed to mitigate harm. The computational architecture of decisions involving protection remains unclear, as well as whether these decisions differ from other beneficial prospective actions such as reward acquisition. Here we compare protection acquisition to reward acquisition and punishment avoidance to examine overlapping and distinct features across the three action types. Protection acquisition is positively valenced similar to reward. For both protection and reward, the more the actor gains, the more benefit. However, reward and protection occur in different contexts, with protection existing in aversive contexts. Punishment avoidance also occurs in aversive contexts, but differs from protection because punishment is negatively valenced and motivates avoidance. Across three independent studies (Total N = 600) we applied computational modeling to examine model-based reinforcement learning for protection, reward, and punishment in humans. Decisions motivated by acquiring protection evoked a higher degree of model-based control than acquiring reward or avoiding punishment, with no significant differences in learning rate. The context-valence asymmetry characteristic of protection increased deployment of flexible decision strategies, suggesting model-based control depends on the context in which outcomes are encountered as well as the valence of the outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Tashjian
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Toby Wise
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
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30
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Owen C, Crane J. Trauma-Informed Design of Supported Housing: A Scoping Review through the Lens of Neuroscience. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14279. [PMID: 36361166 PMCID: PMC9658651 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
There is growing recognition of the importance of the design of the built environment in supporting mental health. In this context, trauma-informed design has emerged as a new field of practice targeting the design of the built environment to support wellbeing and ameliorate the physical, psychological and emotional impacts of trauma and related pathologies such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). With high levels of prevalence of PTSD among people escaping homelessness and domestic violence, a priority area is the identification and application of evidence-based design solutions for trauma-informed supported housing. This study sought to examine the scope of existing evidence on the relationship between trauma, housing and design and the correlation of this evidence with trauma-informed design principles, and to identify gaps and opportunities for future research. In response to the commonly articulated limitations of the evidence-base in built environment design research, we combined a scoping review of literature on trauma, housing and design with insights from neuroscience to focus and extend understanding of the opportunities of trauma-informed design. We found that while limited in scope, there is strong alignment between existing evidence and the principles of trauma-informed design. We also identify three areas of future research related to the key domains of safety and security; control; and enriched environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceridwen Owen
- School of Architecture and Design, College of Sciences and Engineering, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia
| | - James Crane
- Tasmanian School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
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31
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Adkins JM, Halcomb CJ, Rogers D, Jasnow AM. Stress and sex-dependent effects on conditioned inhibition of fear. Learn Mem 2022; 29:246-255. [PMID: 36206391 PMCID: PMC9488025 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053508.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety and stress-related disorders are highly prevalent and are characterized by excessive fear to threatening and nonthreatening stimuli. Moreover, there is a large sex bias in vulnerability to anxiety and stress-related disorders-women make up a disproportionately larger number of affected individuals compared with men. Growing evidence suggests that an impaired ability to suppress fear in the presence of safety signals may in part contribute to the development and maintenance of many anxiety and stress-related disorders. However, the sex-dependent impact of stress on conditioned inhibition of fear remains unclear. The present study investigated sex differences in the acquisition and recall of conditioned inhibition in male and female mice with a focus on understanding how stress impacts fear suppression. In these experiments, the training context served as the "fear" cue and an explicit tone served as the "safety" cue. Here, we found a possible sex difference in the training requirements for safety learning, although this effect was not consistent across experiments. Reductions in freezing to the safety cue in female mice were also not due to alternative fear behavior expression such as darting. Next, using footshock as a stressor, we found that males were impaired in conditioned inhibition of freezing when the stress was experienced before, but not after, conditioned inhibition training. Females were unaffected by footshock stress when it was administered at either time. Extended conditioned inhibition training in males eliminated the deficit produced by footshock stress. Finally, exposing male and female mice to swim stress impaired safety learning in male mice only. Thus, we found sex × stress interactions in the learning of conditioned inhibition and sex-dependent effects of stress modality. The present study adds to the growing literature on sex differences in safety learning, which will be critical for developing sex-specific therapies for a variety of fear-related disorders that involve excessive fear and/or impaired fear inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan M Adkins
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Carly J Halcomb
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina 29209, USA
| | - Danielle Rogers
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Aaron M Jasnow
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina 29209, USA
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32
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Wang J, Sun X, Becker B, Lei Y. Common and separable behavioral and neural mechanisms underlie the generalization of fear and disgust. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 116:110519. [PMID: 35101603 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Generalization represents the transfer of a conditioned responses to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus (CS). Previous studies on generalization of defensive avoidance responses have primarily focused on fear and have neglected disgust generalization, which represents a key pathological mechanism in some anxiety disorders. In the present study we examined common and distinct mechanisms of fear and disgust generalization by means of a fear or disgust multi-CS conditioning and generalization paradigm with concomitant event-related potential (ERPs) acquisition in n = 62 subjects. We demonstrate that compared to fear, disgust-relevant generalized stimuli (GS) elicited larger expectancy ratings and longer reaction times (RTs) reflecting stronger ratings of 'risk'. On the electrophysiological level, increased P2 amplitudes were found in response to conditioned CS+ versus CS- across both domains, possibly reflecting higher motivational and attentional salience of aversive conditioned stimuli per se. Contingent negative variation (CNV) amplitude was significantly larger for disgust-CS+ than disgust-CS-, reflecting a stronger preparation of the disgust US. Additionally, we found that the contingent negative variation (CNV) fear generalization gradient, and CNV amplitude were increased with similarity to CS+. In contrast the CNV to disgust-GS did not differ and did not reflect disgust generalization. Together this may indicate that the CNV represents a highly fear-specific index for generalization learning. This study provides the first neurobiological evidence for common and distinct generalization learning in fear versus disgust suggesting that dysregulations in separable defensive avoidance mechanisms may underly different anxiety disorder subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxia Wang
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China; Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Xiaoying Sun
- Ningxia College of Construction, Ningxia 750021, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China.
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Kaplan GB, Lakis GA, Zhoba H. Sleep-Wake and Arousal Dysfunctions in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:Role of Orexin Systems. Brain Res Bull 2022; 186:106-122. [PMID: 35618150 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma-related condition that produces distressing fear memory intrusions, avoidance behaviors, hyperarousal/startle, stress responses and insomnia. This review focuses on the importance of the orexin neural system as a novel mechanism related to the pathophysiology of PTSD. Orexinergic neurons originate in the lateral hypothalamus and project widely to key neurotransmitter system neurons, autonomic neurons, the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis, and fear-related neural circuits. After trauma or stress, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) transmits sensory information to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and in turn to the hypothalamus and other subcortical and brainstem regions to promote fear and threat. Orexin receptors have a prominent role in this circuit as fear conditioned orexin receptor knockout mice show decreased fear expression while dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) inhibit fear acquisition and expression. Orexin activation of an infralimbic-amygdala circuit impedes fear extinction while DORA treatments enhance it. Increased orexin signaling to the amygdalocortical- hippocampal circuit promotes avoidance behaviors. Orexin has an important role in activating sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and the HPA axis stress responses. Blockade of orexin receptors reduces fear-conditioned startle responses. In PTSD models, individuals demonstrate sleep disturbances such as increased sleep latency and more transitions to wakefulness. Increased orexin activity impairs sleep by promoting wakefulness and reducing total sleep time while DORA treatments enhance sleep onset and maintenance. The orexinergic neural system provides important mechanisms for understanding multiple PTSD behaviors and provides new medication targets to treat this often persistent and debilitating illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Kaplan
- Mental Health Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118 USA; Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118 USA.
| | - Gabrielle A Lakis
- Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA; Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215 USA
| | - Hryhoriy Zhoba
- Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132 USA
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34
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Wong AH, Wirth FM, Pittig A. Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions. Behav Res Ther 2022; 151:104056. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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35
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Lawson K, Scarlata M, Cho C, Mangan C, Petersen D, Thompson H, Ehnstrom S, Mousley A, Bezek J, Bergstrom H. Adolescence alcohol exposure impairs fear extinction and alters medial prefrontal cortex plasticity. Neuropharmacology 2022; 211:109048. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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36
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Chang Y, Zhang J, Zhang J, Zhu W, Zheng Q, Qian Z, Wei C, Liu Y, Liu Z, Ren W, Han J. N6-methyladenosine RNA modification of glutamatergic neurons is associated with contextual fear discrimination. Physiol Behav 2022; 248:113741. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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37
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Yan Y, Aierken A, Wang C, Jin W, Quan Z, Wang Z, Qing H, Ni J, Zhao J. Neuronal Circuits Associated with Fear Memory: Potential Therapeutic Targets for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Neuroscientist 2022; 29:332-351. [PMID: 35057666 DOI: 10.1177/10738584211069977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that is associated with long-lasting memories of traumatic experiences. Extinction and discrimination of fear memory have become therapeutic targets for PTSD. Newly developed optogenetics and advanced in vivo imaging techniques have provided unprecedented spatiotemporal tools to characterize the activity, connectivity, and functionality of specific cell types in complicated neuronal circuits. The use of such tools has offered mechanistic insights into the exquisite organization of the circuitry underlying the extinction and discrimination of fear memory. This review focuses on the acquisition of more detailed, comprehensive, and integrated neural circuits to understand how the brain regulates the extinction and discrimination of fear memory. A future challenge is to translate these researches into effective therapeutic treatment for PTSD from the perspective of precise regulation of the neural circuits associated with the extinction and discrimination of fear memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ailikemu Aierken
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Chunjian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Jin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenzhen Quan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- The National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Qing
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Junjun Ni
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Zhao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
- Aerospace Medical Center, Aerospace Center Hospital, Beijing, China
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38
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Millon EM, Lehrer PM, Shors TJ. Meditation and Aerobic Exercise Enhance Mental Health Outcomes and Pattern Separation Learning Without Changing Heart Rate Variability in Women with HIV. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2022; 47:27-42. [PMID: 35040014 PMCID: PMC8763305 DOI: 10.1007/s10484-021-09530-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Mental and physical (MAP) training targets the brain and the body through a combination of focused-attention meditation and aerobic exercise. The following feasibility pilot study tested whether 6 weeks of MAP training improves mental health outcomes, while enhancing discrimination learning and heart rate variability (HRV) in a group of women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other stress-related conditions. Participants were assigned to training (n = 18) or no-training control (n = 8) groups depending on their ability and willingness to participate, and if their schedule allowed. Training sessions were held once a week for 6 weeks with 30 min of meditation followed by 30 min of aerobic exercise. Before and after 6 weeks of training, participants completed the Behavioral Pattern Separation Task as a measure of discrimination learning, self-report questionnaires of ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, and an assessment of HRV at rest. After training, participants reported fewer ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, and less perceived stress (p’s < 0.05). The positive impact on ruminative thoughts and depressive symptoms persisted 6 months after training. They also demonstrated enhanced discrimination of similar patterns of information (p < 0.05). HRV did not change after training (p > 0.05). Combining mental and physical training is an effective program for enhancing mental health and aspects of cognition in women living with HIV, although not necessarily through variance in heart rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Millon
- Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
| | - Paul M Lehrer
- Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Tracey J Shors
- Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.,W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
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39
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Anderson MC, Floresco SB. Prefrontal-hippocampal interactions supporting the extinction of emotional memories: the retrieval stopping model. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:180-195. [PMID: 34446831 PMCID: PMC8616908 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01131-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging has revealed robust interactions between the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus when people stop memory retrieval. Efforts to stop retrieval can arise when people encounter reminders to unpleasant thoughts they prefer not to think about. Retrieval stopping suppresses hippocampal and amygdala activity, especially when cues elicit aversive memory intrusions, via a broad inhibitory control capacity enabling prepotent response suppression. Repeated retrieval stopping reduces intrusions of unpleasant memories and diminishes their affective tone, outcomes resembling those achieved by the extinction of conditioned emotional responses. Despite this resemblance, the role of inhibitory fronto-hippocampal interactions and retrieval stopping broadly in extinction has received little attention. Here we integrate human and animal research on extinction and retrieval stopping. We argue that reconceptualising extinction to integrate mnemonic inhibitory control with learning would yield a greater understanding of extinction's relevance to mental health. We hypothesize that fear extinction spontaneously engages retrieval stopping across species, and that controlled suppression of hippocampal and amygdala activity by the prefrontal cortex reduces fearful thoughts. Moreover, we argue that retrieval stopping recruits extinction circuitry to achieve affect regulation, linking extinction to how humans cope with intrusive thoughts. We discuss novel hypotheses derived from this theoretical synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Anderson
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology, and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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40
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Labrenz F, Woud ML, Elsenbruch S, Icenhour A. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly-Chances, Challenges, and Clinical Implications of Avoidance Research in Psychosomatic Medicine. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:841734. [PMID: 35250678 PMCID: PMC8894646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.841734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behaviors are shaped by associative learning processes in response to fear of impending threats, particularly physical harm. As part of a defensive repertoire, avoidance is highly adaptive in case of acute danger, serving a potent protective function. However, persistent or excessive fear and maladaptive avoidance are considered key factors in the etiology and pathophysiology of anxiety- and stress-related psychosomatic disorders. In these overlapping conditions, avoidance can increase the risk of mental comorbidities and interfere with the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment approaches built on fear extinction. Despite resurging interest in avoidance research also in the context of psychosomatic medicine, especially in conditions associated with pain, disturbed interoception, and disorders of the gut-brain axis, current study designs and their translation into the clinical context face significant challenges limiting both, the investigation of mechanisms involved in avoidance and the development of novel targeted treatment options. We herein selectively review the conceptual framework of learning and memory processes, emphasizing how classical and operant conditioning, fear extinction, and return of fear shape avoidance behaviors. We further discuss pathological avoidance and safety behaviors as hallmark features in psychosomatic diseases, with a focus on anxiety- and stress-related disorders. Aiming to emphasize chances of improved translational knowledge across clinical conditions, we further point out limitations in current experimental avoidance research. Based on these considerations, we propose means to improve existing avoidance paradigms to broaden our understanding of underlying mechanisms, moderators and mediators of avoidance, and to inspire tailored treatments for patients suffering from psychosomatic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Labrenz
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Marcella L Woud
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Department of Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Adriane Icenhour
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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41
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Meyer HC, Sangha S, Radley JJ, LaLumiere RT, Baratta MV. Environmental certainty influences the neural systems regulating responses to threat and stress. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:1037-1055. [PMID: 34673111 PMCID: PMC8642312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Flexible calibration of threat responding in accordance with the environment is an adaptive process that allows an animal to avoid harm while also maintaining engagement of other goal-directed actions. This calibration process, referred to as threat response regulation, requires an animal to calculate the probability that a given encounter will result in a threat so they can respond accordingly. Here we review the neural correlates of two highly studied forms of threat response suppression: extinction and safety conditioning. We focus on how relative levels of certainty or uncertainty in the surrounding environment alter the acquisition and application of these processes. We also discuss evidence indicating altered threat response regulation following stress exposure, including enhanced fear conditioning, and disrupted extinction and safety conditioning. To conclude, we discuss research using an animal model of coping that examines the impact of stressor controllability on threat responding, highlighting the potential for previous experiences with control, or other forms of coping, to protect against the effects of future adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi C Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
| | - Jason J Radley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Michael V Baratta
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA.
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42
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East BS, Fleming G, Vervoordt S, Shah P, Sullivan RM, Wilson DA. Basolateral amygdala to posterior piriform cortex connectivity ensures precision in learned odor threat. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21746. [PMID: 34741138 PMCID: PMC8571329 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01320-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Odor perception can both evoke emotional states and be shaped by emotional or hedonic states. The amygdala complex plays an important role in recognition of, and response to, hedonically valenced stimuli, and has strong, reciprocal connectivity with the primary olfactory (piriform) cortex. Here, we used differential odor-threat conditioning in rats to test the role of basolateral amygdala (BLA) input to the piriform cortex in acquisition and expression of learned olfactory threat responses. Using local field potential recordings, we demonstrated that functional connectivity (high gamma band coherence) between the BLA and posterior piriform cortex (pPCX) is enhanced after differential threat conditioning. Optogenetic suppression of activity within the BLA prevents learned threat acquisition, as do lesions of the pPCX prior to threat conditioning (without inducing anosmia), suggesting that both regions are critical for acquisition of learned odor threat responses. However, optogenetic BLA suppression during testing did not impair threat response to the CS+ , but did induce generalization to the CS-. A similar loss of stimulus control and threat generalization was induced by selective optogenetic suppression of BLA input to pPCX. These results suggest an important role for amygdala-sensory cortical connectivity in shaping responses to threatening stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett S East
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Gloria Fleming
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Samantha Vervoordt
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Prachi Shah
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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43
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Bercum FM, Navarro Gomez MJ, Saddoris MP. Elevated fear responses to threatening cues in rats with early life stress is associated with greater excitability and loss of gamma oscillations in ventral-medial prefrontal cortex. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 185:107541. [PMID: 34687892 PMCID: PMC9336060 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Stress experienced early in development can have profound influences on developmental trajectories and ultimately behaviors in adulthood. Potent stressors during brain maturation can profoundly disrupt prefrontal cortical areas in particular, which can set the stage for prefrontal-dependent alterations in fear regulation and risk of drug abuse in adulthood. Despite these observations, few studies have investigated in vivo signaling in prefrontal signals in animals with a history of early life stress (ELS). Here, rats with ELS experienced during the first post-natal week were then tested on a conditioned suppression paradigm during adulthood. During conditioned suppression, electrophysiological recordings were made in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during presentations of a fear-associated cue that resolved both single-unit activity and local field potentials (LFPs). Relative to unstressed controls, ELS-experienced rats showed greater fear-related suppression of lever pressing. During presentations of the fear-associated cue (CS+), neurons in the vmPFC of ELS animals showed a significant increase in the probability of excitatory encoding relative to controls, and excitatory phasic responses in the ELS animals were reliably of higher magnitude than Controls. In contrast, vmPFC neurons in ELS subjects better discriminated between the shock-associated CS+ and the neutral ("safe") CS- cue than Controls. LFPs recorded in the same locations revealed that high gamma band (65-95 Hz) oscillations were strongly potentiated in Controls during presentation of the fear-associated CS+ cue, but this potentiation was abolished in ELS subjects. Notably, no other LFP spectra differed between ELS and Controls for either the CS+ or CS-. Collectively, these data suggest that ELS experience alters the neurobehavioral functions of PFC in adulthood that are critical for processing fear regulation. As such, these alterations may also provide insight into increased susceptibility to other PFC-dependent processes such as risk-based choice, motivation, and regulation of drug use and relapse in ELS populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia M Bercum
- Department Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
| | - Maria J Navarro Gomez
- Department Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
| | - Michael P Saddoris
- Department Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States.
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44
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Yan R, Wang T, Ma X, Zhang X, Zheng R, Zhou Q. Prefrontal inhibition drives formation and dynamic expression of probabilistic Pavlovian fear conditioning. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109503. [PMID: 34380026 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The association between cause and effect is usually probabilistic. Memories triggered by ambiguous cues may be altered or biased into a more negative perception in psychiatric diseases. Understanding the formation and modulation of this probabilistic association is important for revealing the nature of aversive memory and alterations in brain diseases. We found that 50% conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (CS-US) association during Pavlovian fear conditioning results in reduced fear responses and neural spiking in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) due to enhanced inhibition from dmPFC parvalbumin (PV) neurons. Formation of probabilistic memory is associated with increased synaptic inputs to PV-neurons and requires activation of ventral hippocampus, which detects CS-US mismatch during conditioning. Stress prior to conditioning impairs the formation of probabilistic memory by abolishing PV-neuronal plasticity, while stress prior to memory retrieval reverts enhanced PV-neuron activity. In conclusion, PV-neurons tailor learned responses to fit brain state at the moment of retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongzhen Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC
| | - Tianyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC
| | - Xiaoyan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC
| | - Xinyang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC
| | - Rui Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC
| | - Qiang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, PRC.
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45
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Venkataraman A, Hunter SC, Dhinojwala M, Ghebrezadik D, Guo J, Inoue K, Young LJ, Dias BG. Incerto-thalamic modulation of fear via GABA and dopamine. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46:1658-1668. [PMID: 33864008 PMCID: PMC8280196 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01006-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Fear generalization and deficits in extinction learning are debilitating dimensions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most understanding of the neurobiology underlying these dimensions comes from studies of cortical and limbic brain regions. While thalamic and subthalamic regions have been implicated in modulating fear, the potential for incerto-thalamic pathways to suppress fear generalization and rescue deficits in extinction recall remains unexplored. We first used patch-clamp electrophysiology to examine functional connections between the subthalamic zona incerta and thalamic reuniens (RE). Optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic ZI → RE cell terminals in vitro induced inhibitory post-synaptic currents (IPSCs) in the RE. We then combined high-intensity discriminative auditory fear conditioning with cell-type-specific and projection-specific optogenetics in mice to assess functional roles of GABAergic ZI → RE cell projections in modulating fear generalization and extinction recall. In addition, we used a similar approach to test the possibility of fear generalization and extinction recall being modulated by a smaller subset of GABAergic ZI → RE cells, the A13 dopaminergic cell population. Optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic ZI → RE cell terminals attenuated fear generalization and enhanced extinction recall. In contrast, optogenetic stimulation of dopaminergic ZI → RE cell terminals had no effect on fear generalization but enhanced extinction recall in a dopamine receptor D1-dependent manner. Our findings shed new light on the neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of ZI-located cells that contribute to adaptive fear by increasing the precision and extinction of learned associations. In so doing, these data reveal novel neuroanatomical substrates that could be therapeutically targeted for treatment of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana Venkataraman
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Emory University Neuroscience Graduate Program, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Sarah C. Hunter
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Emory University Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology Undergraduate Program, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Maria Dhinojwala
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Emory University Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology Undergraduate Program, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Diana Ghebrezadik
- grid.251844.e0000 0001 2226 7265Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA USA
| | - JiDong Guo
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Kiyoshi Inoue
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Larry J. Young
- grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Emory University Neuroscience Graduate Program, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Brian George Dias
- Emory University Neuroscience Graduate Program, Atlanta, GA, USA. .,Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA. .,Division of Research on Children, Youth & Families, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. .,Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics Program, The Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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46
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Chen YH, Wu JL, Hu NY, Zhuang JP, Li WP, Zhang SR, Li XW, Yang JM, Gao TM. Distinct projections from the infralimbic cortex exert opposing effects in modulating anxiety and fear. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:e145692. [PMID: 34263737 DOI: 10.1172/jci145692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety-related disorders can be treated by cognitive therapies and transcranial magnetic stimulation, which involve the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Subregions of the mPFC have been implicated in mediating different and even opposite roles in anxiety-related behaviors. However, precise causal targets of these top-down connections among diverse possibilities have not been established. Here, we show that the lateral septum (LS) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) represent 2 direct targets of the infralimbic cortex (IL), a subregion of the mPFC that modulates anxiety and fear. Two projections were unexpectedly found to exert opposite effects on the anxious state and learned freezing: the IL-LS projection promoted anxiety-related behaviors and fear-related freezing, whereas the IL-CeA projection exerted anxiolytic and fear-releasing effects for the same features. Furthermore, selective inhibition of corresponding circuit elements showed opposing behavioral effects compared with excitation. Notably, the IL-CeA projection implemented top-down control of the stress-induced high-anxiety state. These results suggest that distinct IL outputs exert opposite effects in modulating anxiety and fear and that modulating the excitability of these projections with distinct strategies may be beneficial for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
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47
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Campese VD. The lesser evil: Pavlovian-instrumental transfer & aversive motivation. Behav Brain Res 2021; 412:113431. [PMID: 34175357 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
While our understanding of appetitive motivation includes accounts of rich cognitive phenomena, such as choice, sensory-specificity and outcome valuation, the same is not true in aversive processes. A highly sophisticated picture has emerged of Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction, but progress in aversive motivation has been somewhat limited to these fundamental behaviors. Many differences between appetitive and aversive stimuli permit different kinds of analyses; a widely used procedure in appetitive studies that can expand the scope of aversive motivation is Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). Recently, this motivational transfer effect has been used to examine issues pertaining to sensory-specificity and the nature of defensive control in avoidance learning. Given enduring controversies and unresolved criticisms surrounding avoidance research, PIT offers a valuable, well-controlled procedure with which to similarly probe this form of motivation. Furthermore, while avoidance itself can be criticized as artificial, PIT can be an effective model for how skills learned through avoidance can be practically applied to encounters with threatening or fearful stimuli and stress. Despite sensory-related challenges presented by the limited aversive unconditioned stimuli typically used in research, transfer testing can nevertheless provide valuable information on the psychological nature of this historically controversial phenomenon.
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48
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Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, Mulc D, Španić E, Šagud M, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Vukšić M, R. Hof P. Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11060823. [PMID: 34072960 PMCID: PMC8228195 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum, putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on previous experiences. Contemporary theories of emotion converge around the key role of the amygdala as the central subcortical emotional brain structure that constantly evaluates and integrates a variety of sensory information from the surroundings and assigns them appropriate values of emotional dimensions, such as valence, intensity, and approachability. The amygdala participates in the regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions, decision-making and adaptations of instinctive and motivational behaviors to changes in the environment through implicit associative learning, changes in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity, and activation of the fight-or-flight response via efferent projections from its central nucleus to cortical and subcortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Mladenka Tkalčić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia;
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Damir Mulc
- University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Marina Šagud
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | | | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 07305, USA;
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49
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Farrell MR, Esteban JSD, Faget L, Floresco SB, Hnasko TS, Mahler SV. Ventral Pallidum GABA Neurons Mediate Motivation Underlying Risky Choice. J Neurosci 2021; 41:4500-4513. [PMID: 33837052 PMCID: PMC8152612 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2039-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Pursuing rewards while avoiding danger is an essential function of any nervous system. Here, we examine a new mechanism helping rats negotiate the balance between risk and reward when making high-stakes decisions. Specifically, we focus on GABA neurons within an emerging mesolimbic circuit nexus: the ventral pallidum (VP). These neurons play a distinct role from other VP neurons in simple motivated behaviors in mice, but their role in more complex motivated behaviors is unknown. Here, we interrogate the behavioral functions of VPGABA neurons in male and female transgenic GAD1:Cre rats (and WT littermates), using a reversible chemogenetic inhibition approach. Using a behavioral assay of risky decision-making, and of the food-seeking and shock-avoidance components of this task, we show that engaging inhibitory Gi/o signaling specifically in VPGABA neurons suppresses motivation to pursue highly salient palatable foods, and possibly also motivation to avoid being shocked. In contrast, inhibiting these neurons did not affect seeking of low-value food, free consumption of palatable food, or unconditioned affective responses to shock. Accordingly, when rats considered whether to pursue food despite potential for shock in a risky decision-making task, inhibiting VPGABA neurons caused them to more readily select a small but safe reward over a large but dangerous one, an effect not seen in the absence of shock threat. Together, results indicate that VPGABA neurons are critical for high-stakes adaptive responding that is necessary for survival, but which may also malfunction in psychiatric disorders.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In a dynamic world, it is essential to implement appropriate behaviors under circumstances involving rewards, threats, or both. Here, we demonstrate a crucial role for VPGABA neurons in high-stakes motivated behavior of several types. We show that this VPGABA role in motivation impacts decision-making, as inhibiting these neurons yields a conservative, risk-averse strategy not seen when the task is performed without threat of shock. These new roles for VPGABA neurons in behavior may inform future strategies for treating addiction, and other disorders of maladaptive decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell R Farrell
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California 92697
| | | | - Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, California 92093
- VASDHS Research Service, San Diego, California 92161
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California 92697
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Pentkowski NS, Rogge-Obando KK, Donaldson TN, Bouquin SJ, Clark BJ. Anxiety and Alzheimer's disease: Behavioral analysis and neural basis in rodent models of Alzheimer's-related neuropathology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:647-658. [PMID: 33979573 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is commonly associated with cognitive decline but is also composed of neuropsychiatric symptoms including psychological distress and alterations in mood, including anxiety and depression. Emotional dysfunction in AD is frequently modeled using tests of anxiety-like behavior in transgenic rodents. These tests often include the elevated plus-maze, light/dark test and open field test. In this review, we describe prototypical behavioral paradigms used to examine emotional dysfunction in transgenic models of AD, specifically anxiety-like behavior. Next, we summarize the results of studies examining anxiety-like behavior in transgenic rodents, noting that the behavioral outcomes using these paradigms have produced inconsistent results. We suggest that future research will benefit from using a battery of tests to examine emotional behavior in transgenic AD models. We conclude by discussing putative, overlapping neurobiological mechanisms underlying AD-related neuropathology, stress and anxiety-like behavior reported in AD models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan S Pentkowski
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, Mexico.
| | | | - Tia N Donaldson
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, Mexico
| | - Samuel J Bouquin
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, Mexico
| | - Benjamin J Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, Mexico.
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