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Li Y, Du W, Liu R, Zan G, Ye B, Li Q, Sheng Z, Yuan Y, Song Y, Liu J, Liu Z. Paraventricular nucleus-central amygdala oxytocinergic projection modulates pain-related anxiety-like behaviors in mice. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023; 29:3493-3506. [PMID: 37248645 PMCID: PMC10580334 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14282] [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: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Anxiety disorders associated with pain are a common health problem. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the role of paraventricular nucleus (PVN)-central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) oxytocinergic projections in anxiety-like behaviors induced by inflammatory pain. METHODS After inflammatory pain induction by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), mice underwent elevated plus maze, light-dark transition test, and marble burying test to examine the anxiety-like behaviors. Chemogenetic, optogenetic, and fiber photometry recordings were used to modulate and record the activity of the oxytocinergic projections of the PVN-CeA. RESULTS The key results are as follows: inflammatory pain-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice accompanied by decreased activity of PVN oxytocin neurons. Chemogenetic activation of PVN oxytocin neurons prevented pain-related anxiety-like behaviors, whereas inhibition of PVN oxytocin neurons induced anxiety-like behaviors in naïve mice. PVN oxytocin neurons projected directly to the CeA, and microinjection of oxytocin into the CeA blocked anxiety-like behaviors. Inflammatory pain also decreased the activity of CeA neurons, and optogenetic activation of PVNoxytocin -CeA circuit prevented anxiety-like behavior in response to inflammatory pain. CONCLUSION The results of our study suggest that oxytocin has anti-anxiety effects and provide novel insights into the role of PVNoxytocin -CeA projections in the regulation of anxiety-like behaviors induced by inflammatory pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu‐Jie Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Wei‐Jia Du
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Rui Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Gui‐Ying Zan
- Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia MedicaChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Bing‐Lu Ye
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Qian Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhi‐Hao Sheng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Ya‐Wei Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yu‐Jie Song
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jing‐Gen Liu
- Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia MedicaChinese Academy of SciencesShanghaiChina
| | - Zhi‐Qiang Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal‐Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of MedicineTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
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Lee JHA, Chen Q, Zhuo M. Synaptic Plasticity in the Pain-Related Cingulate and Insular Cortex. Biomedicines 2022; 10:2745. [PMID: 36359264 PMCID: PMC9687873 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10112745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Cumulative animal and human studies have consistently demonstrated that two major cortical regions in the brain, namely the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insular cortex (IC), play critical roles in pain perception and chronic pain. Neuronal synapses in these cortical regions of adult animals are highly plastic and can undergo long-term potentiation (LTP), a phenomenon that is also reported in brain areas for learning and memory (such as the hippocampus). Genetic and pharmacological studies show that inhibiting such cortical LTP can help to reduce behavioral sensitization caused by injury as well as injury-induced emotional changes. In this review, we will summarize recent progress related to synaptic mechanisms for different forms of cortical LTP and their possible contribution to behavioral pain and emotional changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Hyun Alex Lee
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Science Building, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Qiyu Chen
- Institute of Brain Research, Qingdao International Academician Park, Qingdao 266199, China
- Center for Neuron and Disease, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
| | - Min Zhuo
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Science Building, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Institute of Brain Research, Qingdao International Academician Park, Qingdao 266199, China
- Oujiang Laboratory, Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health, Wenzhou 325000, China
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Baettig L, Baeumelt A, Ernst J, Boeker H, Grimm S, Richter A. The awareness of the scared - context dependent influence of oxytocin on brain function. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 14:2073-2083. [PMID: 31317388 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-019-00143-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter and has been originally recognized for its role in childbirth and lactation. Later, it became widely known as a "cuddle hormone" that induces trusting behavior towards strangers and reduces social stress and anxiety. Several studies showed that oxytocin influences empathic behavior and has prosocial effects. The anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula are brain regions that are active when humans observe fear in others. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether oxytocin administration affects activity in these regions depending on whether a threat is directed at another person (empathy) compared to when the threat is directed at the subject itself (fear). Our findings demonstrate increased anterior cingulate cortex activation after oxytocin administration in the fear, but not in the empathy condition. Furthermore, oxytocin administration was associated with deceased anterior insula activity in the empathy condition. However, our findings do not support the idea that oxytocin generally augments activity in brain regions associated with empathy. Thereby this study supports current research questioning that oxytocin has exclusively prosocial effects on human behavior. Rather, the effect of oxytocin depends on various contextual (e.g. presence of a familiar person) and interindividual (e.g. sex, mental disorder) factors. Therefore, to consider oxytocin an empathy inducing hormone is an oversimplification and future research should focus on factors moderating oxytocin effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Baettig
- Department of Consultation-Liaison-Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Baeumelt
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jutta Ernst
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Boeker
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simone Grimm
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
- Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andre Richter
- Department of Consultation-Liaison-Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Glenn DE, Risbrough VB, Simmons AN, Acheson DT, Stout DM. The Future of Contextual Fear Learning for PTSD Research: A Methodological Review of Neuroimaging Studies. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2019; 38:207-228. [PMID: 29063483 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2017_30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
There has been a great deal of recent interest in human models of contextual fear learning, particularly due to the use of such paradigms for investigating neural mechanisms related to the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the construct of "context" in fear conditioning research is broad, and the operational definitions and methods used to investigate contextual fear learning in humans are wide ranging and lack specificity, making it difficult to interpret findings about neural activity. Here we will review neuroimaging studies of contextual fear acquisition in humans. We will discuss the methodology associated with four broad categories of how contextual fear learning is manipulated in imaging studies (colored backgrounds, static picture backgrounds, virtual reality, and configural stimuli) and highlight findings for the primary neural circuitry involved in each paradigm. Additionally, we will offer methodological recommendations for human studies of contextual fear acquisition, including using stimuli that distinguish configural learning from discrete cue associations and clarifying how context is experimentally operationalized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Glenn
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Victoria B Risbrough
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Alan N Simmons
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Dean T Acheson
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Daniel M Stout
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. MC0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
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Herpertz SC, Schmitgen MM, Fuchs C, Roth C, Wolf RC, Bertsch K, Flor H, Grinevich V, Boll S. Oxytocin Effects on Pain Perception and Pain Anticipation. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2019; 20:1187-1198. [PMID: 31009765 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2018] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate whether the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) modulates pain processing in humans. This study differentiates behavioral and neuronal OT effects on pain perception and pain anticipation by using a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. Forty-six males received intranasally administered OT in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled group design. Although OT exerted no direct effect on perceived pain, OT was found to modulate the blood oxygen level-dependent response in the ventral striatum for painful versus warm unconditioned stimuli and to decrease activity in the anterior insula (IS) with repeated thermal pain stimuli. Regarding pain anticipation, OT increased responses to CSpain versus CSminus in the nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, in the OT condition increased correct expectations, particularly for the most certain conditioned stimuli (CS)-unconditioned stimuli associations (CSminus and CSpain) were found, as well as greatest deactivations in the right posterior IS in response to the least certain condition (CSwarm) with posterior IS activity and correct expectancies being positively correlated. In conclusion, OT seems to have both a direct effect on pain processing via the ventral striatum and by inducing habituation in the anterior IS as well as on pain anticipation by boostering associative learning in general and the neuronal conditioned fear of pain response in particular. PERSPECTIVE: The neuropeptide OT has recently raised the hope to offer a novel avenue for modulating pain experience. This study found OT to modulate pain processing and to facilitate the anticipation of pain, inspiring further research on OT effects on the affective dimension of the pain experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine C Herpertz
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Mike M Schmitgen
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine Fuchs
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinna Roth
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Robert Christian Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Herta Flor
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Valery Grinevich
- Schaller Research Group on Neuropeptides, German Cancer Research Center DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sabrina Boll
- Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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Oxytocin for learning calm and safety. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 136:5-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2017] [Revised: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Janeček M, Dabrowska J. Oxytocin facilitates adaptive fear and attenuates anxiety responses in animal models and human studies-potential interaction with the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Cell Tissue Res 2018; 375:143-172. [PMID: 30054732 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-018-2889-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Despite its relatively well-understood role as a reproductive and pro-social peptide, oxytocin (OT) tells a more convoluted story in terms of its modulation of fear and anxiety. This nuanced story has been obscured by a great deal of research into the therapeutic applications of exogenous OT, driving more than 400 ongoing clinical trials. Drawing from animal models and human studies, we review the complex evidence concerning OT's role in fear learning and anxiety, clarifying the existing confusion about modulation of fear versus anxiety. We discuss animal models and human studies demonstrating the prevailing role of OT in strengthening fear memory to a discrete signal or cue, which allows accurate and rapid threat detection that facilitates survival. We also review ostensibly contrasting behavioral studies that nonetheless provide compelling evidence of OT attenuating sustained contextual fear and anxiety-like behavior, arguing that these OT effects on the modulation of fear vs. anxiety are not mutually exclusive. To disambiguate how endogenous OT modulates fear and anxiety, an understudied area compared to exogenous OT, we survey behavioral studies utilizing OT receptor (OTR) antagonists. Based on emerging evidence about the role of OTR in rat dorsolateral bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) and elsewhere, we postulate that OT plays a critical role in facilitating accurate discrimination between stimuli representing threat and safety. Supported by human studies, we demonstrate that OT uniquely facilitates adaptive fear but reduces maladaptive anxiety. Last, we explore the limited literature on endogenous OT and its interaction with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) with a special emphasis on the dorsolateral BNST, which may hold the key to the neurobiology of phasic fear and sustained anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Janeček
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Joanna Dabrowska
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
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