Running-induced anxiety is dependent on increases in hippocampal neurogenesis

Differential effects of voluntary exercise and housing density on anxiety-like behavior in C57Bl/6 mice

The interaction of voluntary exercise and housing density on a) anxiety-like behavior and b) the stimulant effects of methamphetamine in C57Bl/6 mice were evaluated. Upon arrival, mice were housed singly or in pairs, and permitted access to home-cage running wheels or not for 4 weeks. Testing for anxiety-like behavior occurred over the next 3 weeks, one test per week [Elevated-Plus Maze (EPM) → Hyponeophagia (HNP) task → Open-Field (OF) task]. The final, OF task involved an 8-hour session in which mice were permitted to explore the chamber (drug free) during Hours 1-3; given an injection (s.c.) of methamphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) after Hour 3; followed by continued behavioral sampling during Hours 4-8. Several tasks (HNP and OF, but not EPM) consistently showed voluntary exercise induced anxiety-like behavior. In addition, two measures (time in center and time resting in the perimeter) in the OF task revealed that exercise mice compared to controls were more responsive to the anxiogenic effects of methamphetamine. Although pair housing was anxiolytic, it did not ameliorate the anxiogenic effects of voluntary exercise. Taken together, these results, when viewed in tandem with previous studies that utilized a less anxious mouse strain (Swiss Webster), may suggest that voluntary exercise is anxiogenic in an anxiety-prone mouse strain such as C57Bl/6 and highlight the importance of considering mouse strain when evaluating the impact of environmental manipulations on anxiety-like behavior in animal models.

Environmental Enrichment Facilitates Anxiety in Conflict-Based Tests but Inhibits Predator Threat-Induced Defensive Behaviour in Male Mice

INTRODUCTION

Environmental enrichment (EE) is a useful and sophisticated tool that improves rodents' well-being by stimulating social behaviour and cognitive, motor, and sensory functions. Exposure to EE induces neuroplasticity in different brain areas, including the limbic system, which has been implicated in the control of anxiety and fear. However, the effects of EE on ethologically relevant naturalistic behaviours, such as those displayed by prey in the presence of predators, remain largely unexplored.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In the present study, we investigated anxiety- and panic attack-like behaviours in a predator (cat)-prey confrontation paradigm and compared them with those in classical assays, such as the elevated plus-maze (EPM), marble-burying, and open field tests (OFTs), using C57BL/6J male mice housed in enriched or standard environments for 6 weeks.

RESULTS

We observed that EE exposure caused enhancement of the levels of anxiety-like behaviours in the EPM and OFTs, increasing risk assessment (an anxiety-related response), and decreasing escape (a panic attack-like response) behaviours during exposure to the predator versus prey confrontation paradigm.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, our findings suggest that enriched external environments can modify the processing of fear- and anxiety-related stimuli in dangerous situations, changing the decision-making defensive strategy.

Adult Neurogenesis, Glia, and the Extracellular Matrix

In the adult mammalian hippocampus, new neurons arise from stem and progenitor cell division, in a process known as adult neurogenesis. Adult-generated neurons are sensitive to experience and may participate in hippocampal functions, including learning and memory, anxiety and stress regulation, and social behavior. Increasing evidence emphasizes the importance of new neuron connectivity within hippocampal circuitry for understanding the impact of adult neurogenesis on brain function. In this Review, we discuss how the functional consequences of new neurons arise from the collective interactions of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, glial cells, and the extracellular matrix, which together form the "tetrapartite synapse."

Acute forced exercise increases Bdnf IV mRNA and reduces exploratory behavior in C57BL/6J mice

Acute exercise has been shown to improve memory in humans. Potential mechanisms include increased Bdnf expression, noradrenergic activity and modification of glutamate receptors. Because mice are commonly used to study exercise and brain plasticity, it is important to explore how acute exercise impacts behavior in this model. C57BL/6J mice were assigned to three groups: control, moderate-intensity running, and high-intensity running. Control mice were placed on a stationary treadmill for 30 minutes and moderate- and high-intensity mice ran for 30 minutes at 12 and 15-17 m/min, respectively. Mice were sacrificed immediately after running and the hippocampus removed. Total Bdnf, Bdnf exon IV, and glutamate receptor subunits were quantified with quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Total and phosphorylated GluR1 (Ser845 and Ser831) protein was quantified following immunoblotting. Utilizing the same protocol for control and high-intensity running, object location memory was examined in a separate cohort of mice. Anxiety-like behavior was assessed in the open field task (OFT) in a third cohort of mice that were separated into four groups: control-saline, control-DSP-4, acute exercise-saline, and acute exercise-DSP-4. DSP-4 was used to lesion the central noradrenergic system. We observed higher Bdnf IV mRNA in high-intensity runners compared to controls, but no effects of acute exercise on memory. In the OFT, runners traveled less distance and spent more time grooming than controls. DSP-4 did not attenuate the effects of exercise. A single bout of exercise increases Bdnf IV mRNA in an intensity-dependent manner; however, high-intensity running reduces exploratory behavior in C57BL/6J mice.

α4-GABAA receptors of hippocampal pyramidal neurons are associated with resilience against activity-based anorexia for adolescent female mice but not for males

Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is an animal model of anorexia nervosa, a mental illness with highest mortality and with onset that is most frequently during adolescence. We questioned whether vulnerability of adolescent mice to ABA differs between sexes and whether individual differences in resilience are causally linked to α4βδ-GABAAR expression. C57BL6/J WT and α4-KO adolescent male and female mice underwent ABA induction by combining wheel access with food restriction. ABA vulnerability was measured as the extent of food restriction-evoked hyperactivity on a running wheel and body weight losses. α4βδ-GABAAR levels at plasma membranes of pyramidal cells in dorsal hippocampus were assessed by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Temporal patterns and extent of weight loss during ABA induction were similar between sexes. Both sexes also exhibited individual differences in ABA vulnerability. Correlation analyses revealed that, for both sexes, body weight changes precede and thus are likely to drive suppression of wheel running. However, the suppression was during the food-anticipatory hours for males, while for females, suppression was delayed by a day and during food-access hours. Correspondingly, only females adaptively increased food intake. ABA induced up-regulation of α4βδ-GABAARs at plasma membranes of dorsal hippocampal pyramidal cells of females, and especially those females exhibiting resilience. Conversely, α4-KO females exhibited greater food restriction-evoked hyperactivity than WT females. In contrast, ABA males did not up-regulate α4βδ-GABAARs, did not exhibit genotype differences in vulnerability, and exhibited no correlation between plasmalemmal α4βδ-GABAARs and ABA resilience. Thus, food restriction-evoked hyperactivity is driven by anxiety but can be suppressed through upregulation of hippocampal α4βδ-GABAARs for females but not for males. This knowledge of sex-related differences in the underlying mechanisms of resilience to ABA indicates that drugs targeting α4βδ-GABAARs may be helpful for treating stress-induced anxiety and anorexia nervosa of females but not males.

The Long Run: Neuroprotective Effects of Physical Exercise on Adult Neurogenesis from Youth to Old Age

BACKGROUND

The rapid lengthening of life expectancy has raised the problem of providing social programs to counteract the age-related cognitive decline in a growing number of older people. Physical activity stands among the most promising interventions aimed at brain wellbeing, because of its effective neuroprotective action and low social cost. The purpose of this review is to describe the neuroprotective role exerted by physical activity in different life stages. In particular, we focus on adult neurogenesis, a process which has proved being highly responsive to physical exercise and may represent a major factor of brain health over the lifespan.

METHODS

The most recent literature related to the subject has been reviewed. The text has been divided into three main sections, addressing the effects of physical exercise during childhood/ adolescence, adulthood and aging, respectively. For each one, the most relevant studies, carried out on both human participants and rodent models, have been described.

RESULTS

The data reviewed converge in indicating that physical activity exerts a positive effect on brain functioning throughout the lifespan. However, uncertainty remains about the magnitude of the effect and its biological underpinnings. Cellular and synaptic plasticity provided by adult neurogenesis are highly probable mediators, but the mechanism for their action has yet to be conclusively established.

CONCLUSION

Despite alternative mechanisms of action are currently debated, age-appropriate physical activity programs may constitute a large-scale, relatively inexpensive and powerful approach to dampen the individual and social impact of age-related cognitive decline.

Conditional Depletion of Hippocampal Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Exacerbates Neuropathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Damage occurring to noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) contributes to the evolution of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in a variety of conditions and diseases. One cause of LC damage may be loss of neurotrophic support from LC target regions. We tested this hypothesis by conditional unilateral knockout of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in adult mice. To evaluate the consequences of BDNF loss in the context of neurodegeneration, the mice harbored familial mutations for human amyloid precursor protein and presenilin-1. In these mice, BDNF depletion reduced tyrosine hydroxylase staining, a marker of noradrenergic neurons, in the rostral LC. BDNF depletion also reduced noradrenergic innervation in the hippocampus, the frontal cortex, and molecular layer of the cerebellum, assessed by staining for dopamine beta hydroxylase. BDNF depletion led to an increase in cortical amyloid plaque numbers and size but was without effect on plaque numbers in the striatum, a site with minimal innervation from the LC. Interestingly, cortical Iba1 staining for microglia was reduced by BDNF depletion and was correlated with reduced dopamine beta hydroxylase staining. These data demonstrate that reduction of BDNF levels in an LC target region can cause retrograde damage to LC neurons, leading to exacerbation of neuropathology in distinct LC target areas. Methods to reduce BDNF loss or supplement BDNF levels may be of value to reduce neurodegenerative processes normally limited by LC noradrenergic activities.

Adult hippocampal neuroplasticity triggers susceptibility to recurrent depression

Depression is a highly prevalent and recurrent neuropsychiatric disorder associated with alterations in emotional and cognitive domains. Neuroplastic phenomena are increasingly considered central to the etiopathogenesis of and recovery from depression. Nevertheless, a high number of remitted patients experience recurrent episodes of depression, remaining unclear how previous episodes impact on behavior and neuroplasticity and/or whether modulation of neuroplasticity is important to prevent recurrent depression. Through re-exposure to an unpredictable chronic mild stress protocol in rats, we observed the re-appearance of emotional and cognitive deficits. Furthermore, treatment with the antidepressants fluoxetine and imipramine was effective to promote sustained reversion of a depressive-like phenotype; however, their differential impact on adult hippocampal neuroplasticity triggered a distinct response to stress re-exposure: while imipramine re-established hippocampal neurogenesis and neuronal dendritic arborization contributing to resilience to recurrent depressive-like behavior, stress re-exposure in fluoxetine-treated animals resulted in an overproduction of adult-born neurons along with neuronal atrophy of granule neurons, accounting for an increased susceptibility to recurrent behavioral changes typical of depression. Strikingly, cell proliferation arrest compromised the behavior resilience induced by imipramine and buffered the susceptibility to recurrent behavioral changes promoted by fluoxetine. This study shows that previous exposure to a depressive-like episode impacts on the behavioral and neuroanatomical changes triggered by subsequent re-exposure to similar experimental conditions and reveals that the proper control of adult hippocampal neuroplasticity triggered by antidepressants is essential to counteract recurrent depressive-like episodes.

Anxiolytic Actions of Exercise in Absence of New Neurons

Physical exercise reduces anxiety-like behavior in adult mice. The specific mechanisms that mediate this anxiolytic effect are unclear, but adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus has been implicated because it is robustly increased by running and has been linked to anxiodepressive-like behavior. We therefore tested the effects of long-term wheel running on anxiety-like behavior in GFAP-TK (TK) mice, a transgenic strain with complete ablation of adult neurogenesis. Five weeks of running reduced anxiety-like behavior equally in both TK mice and wild type (WT) control mice on two tests, elevated plus-maze and novelty-suppressed feeding. WT and TK mice also had similar patterns of c-fos expression in the hippocampus following anxiety testing. Following testing on the elevated plus-maze, running reduced c-fos expression in the dorsal dentate gyrus and CA3 in both WT and TK mice. Following testing on novelty-suppressed feeding, running reduced c-fos expression throughout the dentate gyrus and CA3 in both WT and TK mice. Interestingly, following testing on a less anxiogenic version of novelty-suppressed feeding, running reduced c-fos expression only in the dorsal dentate gyrus in both WT and TK mice, supporting earlier suggestions that the dorsal hippocampus is less involved in emotional behavior than the ventral region. These results suggest that although running increases adult neurogenesis, new neurons are not involved in the decreased anxiety-like behavior or hippocampal activation produced by running. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Enhanced anxiety in the male offspring of sires that self-administered cocaine

We previously showed that paternal cocaine exposure reduced the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine in male offspring. Here, we sought to determine whether paternal cocaine experience could also influence anxiety levels in offspring. Male rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine (controls received saline passively) for 60 days and then were bred with naïve females. Measures of anxiety and cocaine-induced anxiogenic effects were assessed in the adult offspring. Cocaine-sired male offspring exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviors, as measured using the novelty-induced hypophagia and defensive burying tasks, relative to saline-sired males. In contrast, sire cocaine experience had no effect on anxiety-like behaviors in female offspring. When challenged with an anxiogenic (but not anorectic) dose of cocaine (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.), anxiety-like behavior was enhanced in all animals to an equal degree regardless of sire drug experience. Since anxiety and depression are often co-morbid, we also assessed measures of depressive-like behavior. Sire cocaine experience had no effect on depression-like behaviors, as measured by the forced swim task, among male offspring. In a separate group of naïve littermates, select neuronal correlates of anxiety were measured. Male offspring of cocaine-experienced sires showed increased mRNA and protein expression of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 2 in the hippocampus. Together, these results indicate that cocaine-experienced sires produce male progeny that have increased baseline anxiety, which is unaltered by subsequent cocaine exposure.

Effects of acute treadmill running at different intensities on activities of serotonin and corticotropin-releasing factor neurons, and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in rats

Accumulating evidence suggests that physical exercise can reduce and prevent the incidence of stress-related psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety. Activation of serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is implicated in antidepressant/anxiolytic properties. In addition, the incidence and symptoms of these disorders may involve dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that is initiated by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Thus, it is possible that physical exercise produces its antidepressant/anxiolytic effects by affecting these neuronal activities. However, the effects of acute physical exercise at different intensities on these neuronal activation and behavioral changes are still unclear. Here, we examined the activities of 5-HT neurons in the DRN and CRF neurons in the PVN during 30 min of treadmill running at different speeds (high speed, 25 m/min; low speed, 15m/min; control, only sitting on the treadmill) in male Wistar rats, using c-Fos/5-HT or CRF immunohistochemistry. We also performed the elevated plus maze test and the forced swim test to assess anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, respectively. Acute treadmill running at low speed, but not high speed, significantly increased c-Fos expression in 5-HT neurons in the DRN compared to the control, whereas high-speed running significantly enhanced c-Fos expression in CRF neurons in the PVN compared with the control and low-speed running. Furthermore, low-speed running resulted in decreased anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors compared with high-speed running. These results suggest that acute physical exercise with mild and low stress can efficiently induce optimal neuronal activation that is involved in the antidepressant/anxiolytic effects.

Impact of voluntary exercise and housing conditions on hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor, miR-124 and anxiety

BACKGROUND

Lack of physical activity and increased levels of stress contribute to the development of multiple physical and mental disorders. An increasing number of studies relate voluntary exercise with greater resilience to psychological stress, a process that is highly regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of exercise on stress resilience are still poorly understood. Here we have studied the impact of long term exercise and housing conditions on: a) hippocampal expression of glucocorticoid receptor (Nr3c1), b) epigenetic regulation of Nr3c1 (DNA methylation at the Nr3c1-1F promoter and miR-124 expression), c) anxiety (elevated plus maze, EPM), and d) adrenal gland weight and adrenocorticotropic hormone receptor (Mc2r) expression.

RESULTS

Exercise increased Nr3c1 and Nr3c1-1F expression and decreased miR-124 levels in the hippocampus in single-housed mice, suggesting enhanced resilience to stress. The opposite was found for pair-housed animals. Bisulfite sequencing showed virtually no DNA methylation in the Nr3c1-1F promoter region. Single-housing increased the time spent on stretch attend postures. Exercise decreased the time spent at the open arms of the EPM, however, the mobility of the exercise groups was significantly lower. Exercise had opposite effects on the adrenal gland weight of single and pair-housed mice, while it had no effect on adrenal Mc2r expression.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that exercise exerts a positive impact on stress resilience in single-housed mice that could be mediated by decreasing miR-124 and increasing Nr3c1 expression in the hippocampus. However, pair-housing reverses these effects possibly due to stress from dominance disputes between pairs.

Oral self-administration of EtOH: sex-dependent modulation by running wheel access in C57BL/6J mice

BACKGROUND

The effects of stress, including neuroendocrine and behavioral sequelae aimed at maintaining homeostasis, are associated with increased alcohol consumption. Because both stress and drinking are multifactorial, the mechanisms underlying the relationship are difficult to elucidate. We therefore employed an animal model investigating the influence of blocked access to a running wheel on drinking in C57BL/6J (B6) mice.

METHODS

In the first experiment, naïve, adult male and female subjects were individually housed for 2 weeks with 24-hour access to a running wheel and 12% ethanol (EtOH) in a 2-bottle, free choice paradigm. After determining baseline consumption and preference, experimental subjects had the running wheel placed in a locked position for 6 hours, and the EtOH bottle was removed during the first half of this period. Two subsequent experiments, again in adult, naïve B6 mice, examined the influence of locked running wheels on self-administration of 20% EtOH in a limited access paradigm, and blood EtOH concentrations (BECs) were determined on the final day of this protocol.

RESULTS

In all 3 studies, using both between- and within-subject analyses, females showed transient yet reliable increases in alcohol drinking during blocked access to a rotating activity, while drinking in male mice was largely insensitive to this manipulation, although both sexes showed appreciable BECs (>130 mg/dl in females and 80 mg/dl in males) following a 2-hour EtOH access period.

CONCLUSIONS

These data add to a burgeoning literature suggesting that the factors contributing to excessive alcohol use differ between males and females and that females may be especially sensitive to the influence of wheel manipulation. Elucidating the sex-dependent mechanisms mediating differences in alcohol sensitivity and response is critical to understanding the causes of alcoholism and in developing effective treatments and interventions.

Low-intensity treadmill exercise and/or bright light promote neurogenesis in adult rat brain

The hippocampus is a brain region responsible for learning and memory functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of low-intensity exercise and bright light exposure on neurogenesis and brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in adult rat hippocampus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control, exercise, light, or exercise + light groups (n = 9 per group). The rats in the exercise group were subjected to treadmill exercise (5 days per week, 30 minutes per day, over a 4-week period), the light group rats were irradiated (5 days per week, 30 minutes per day, 10 000 lx, over a 4-week period), the exercise + light group rats were subjected to treadmill exercise in combination with bright light exposure, and the control group rats remained sedentary over a 4-week period. Compared with the control group, there was a significant increase in neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of rats in the exercise, light, and exercise + light groups. Moreover, the expression level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the rat hippocampal dentate gyrus was significantly higher in the exercise group and light group than that in the control group. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression between the control group and exercise + light group. These results indicate that low-intensity treadmill exercise (first 5 minutes at a speed of 2 m/min, second 5 minutes at a speed of 5 m/min, and the last 20 minutes at a speed of 8 m/min) or bright-light exposure therapy induces positive biochemical changes in the brain. In view of these findings, we propose that moderate exercise or exposure to sunlight during childhood can be beneficial for neural development.

Modulation of GABAA receptor signaling increases neurogenesis and suppresses anxiety through NFATc4

Correlative evidence suggests that GABAergic signaling plays an important role in the regulation of activity-dependent hippocampal neurogenesis and emotional behavior in adult mice. However, whether these are causally linked at the molecular level remains elusive. Nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) proteins are activity-dependent transcription factors that respond to environmental stimuli in different cell types, including hippocampal newborn neurons. Here, we identify NFATc4 as a key activity-dependent transcriptional regulator of GABA signaling in hippocampal progenitor cells via an unbiased high-throughput genome-wide study. Next, we demonstrate that GABAA receptor (GABAAR) signaling modulates hippocampal neurogenesis through NFATc4 activity, which in turn regulates GABRA2 and GABRA4 subunit expression via binding to specific promoter responsive elements, as assessed by ChIP and luciferase assays. Furthermore, we show that selective pharmacological enhancement of GABAAR activity promotes hippocampal neurogenesis via the calcineurin/NFATc4 axis. Importantly, the NFATc4-dependent increase in hippocampal neurogenesis after GABAAR stimulation is required for the suppression of the anxiety response in mice. Together, these data provide a novel molecular insight into the regulation of the anxiety response in mice, suggesting that the GABAAR/NFATc4 axis is a druggable target for the therapy of emotional disorders.

Evidence from mouse and man for a role of neuregulin 3 in nicotine dependence

Addiction to nicotine and the ability to quit smoking are influenced by genetic factors. We used functional genomic approaches (chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and whole-genome sequencing) to identify cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) targets following chronic nicotine administration and withdrawal (WD) in rodents. We found that chronic nicotine and WD differentially modulate CREB binding to the gene for neuregulin 3 (NRG3). Quantitative analysis of saline, nicotine and nicotine WD in two biological replicates corroborate this finding, with NRG3 increases in both mRNA and protein following WD from chronic nicotine treatment. To translate these data for human relevance, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across NRG3 were examined for association with prospective smoking cessation among smokers of European ancestry treated with transdermal nicotine in two independent cohorts. Individual SNP and haplotype analysis support the association of NRG3 SNPs and smoking cessation success. NRG3 is a neural-enriched member of the epidermal growth factor family, and a specific ligand for the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB4, which is also upregulated following nicotine treatment and WD. Mice with significantly reduced levels of NRG3 or pharmacological inhibition of ErbB4 show similar reductions in anxiety following nicotine WD compared with control animals, suggesting a role for NRG3 in nicotine dependence. Although the function of the SNP in NRG3 in humans is not known, these data suggest that Nrg3/ErbB4 signaling may be an important factor in nicotine dependence.

α4βδ-GABAARs in the hippocampal CA1 as a biomarker for resilience to activity-based anorexia

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness characterized by restricted eating and an intense fear of gaining weight. Most individuals with AN are females, diagnosed first during adolescence, 40-80% of whom exhibit excessive exercise, and an equally high number with a history of anxiety disorder. We sought to determine the cellular basis for individual differences in AN vulnerability by using an animal model, activity-based anorexia (ABA), that is induced by combining food restriction (FR) with access to a running wheel that allows voluntary exercise. Previously, we showed that by the fourth day of FR, the ABA group of adolescent female rats exhibit >500% greater levels of non-synaptic α4βδ-GABAARs at the plasma membrane of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell spines, relative to the levels found in age-matched controls that are not FR and without wheel access. Here, we show that the ABA group exhibits individual differences in body weight loss, with some losing nearly 30%, while others lose only 15%. The individual differences in weight loss are ascribable to individual differences in wheel activity that both precedes and concurs with days of FR. Moreover, the increase in activity during FR correlates strongly and negatively with α4βδ-GABAAR levels (R=-0.9, p<0.01). This negative correlation is evident within 2days of FR, before body weight loss approaches life-threatening levels for any individual. These findings suggest that increased shunting inhibition by α4βδ-GABAARs in spines of CA1 pyramidal neurons may participate in the protection against the ABA-inducing environmental factors of severe weight loss by suppressing excitability of the CA1 pyramidal neurons which, in turn, is related indirectly to suppression of excessive exercise. The data also indicate that, although exercise has many health benefits, it can be maladaptive to individuals with low levels of α4βδ-GABAARs in the CA1, particularly when combined with FR.

Divergent functional effects of sazetidine-a and varenicline during nicotine withdrawal

Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the United States. Furthermore, a recent study found that <10% of quit attempts resulted in continuous abstinence for 1 year. With the introduction of pharmacotherapies like Chantix (varenicline), a selective α4β2 nicotinic partial agonist, successful quit attempts have significantly increased. Therefore, novel subtype-specific nicotinic drugs, such as sazetidine-A, present a rich area for investigation of therapeutic potential in smoking cessation. The present studies examine the anxiety-related behavioral and functional effects of the nicotinic partial agonists varenicline and sazetidine-A during withdrawal from chronic nicotine in mice. Our studies indicate that ventral hippocampal-specific infusions of sazetidine-A, but not varenicline, are efficacious in reducing nicotine withdrawal-related anxiety-like phenotypes in the novelty-induced hypophagia (NIH) paradigm. To further investigate functional differences between these partial agonists, we utilized voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDi) in ventral hippocampal slices to determine the effects of sazetidine-A and varenicline in animals chronically treated with saline, nicotine, or undergoing 24 h withdrawal. These studies demonstrate a functional dissociation of varenicline and sazetidine-A on hippocampal network activity, which is directly related to previous drug exposure. Furthermore, the effects of the nicotinic partial agonists in VSDi assays are significantly correlated with their behavioral effects in the NIH test. These findings highlight the importance of drug history in understanding the mechanisms through which nicotinic compounds may be aiding smoking cessation in individuals experiencing withdrawal-associated anxiety.

Hippocampal serotonin-1A receptor function in a mouse model of anxiety induced by long-term voluntary wheel running

We have recently demonstrated that, in C57/Bl6 mice, long-term voluntary wheel running is anxiogenic, and focal hippocampal irradiation prevents the increase in anxiety-like behaviors and neurobiological changes in the hippocampus induced by wheel running. Evidence supports a role of hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors in anxiety. Therefore, we investigated hippocampal binding and function of 5-HT1A receptors in this mouse model of anxiety. Four weeks of voluntary wheel running resulted in hippocampal subregion-specific changes in 5-HT1A receptor binding sites and function, as measured by autoradiography of [(3) H] 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin binding and agonist-stimulated binding of [(35) S]GTPγS to G proteins, respectively. In the dorsal CA1 region, 5-HT1A receptor binding and function were not altered by wheel running or irradiation. In the dorsal dentate gyrus and CA2/3 region, 5-HT1A receptor function was decreased by not only running but also irradiation. In the ventral pyramidal layer, wheel running resulted in a decrease of 5-HT1A receptor function, which was prevented by irradiation. Neither irradiation nor wheel running affected 5-HT1A receptors in medial prefrontal cortex or in the dorsal or median raphe nuclei. Our data indicate that downregulation of 5-HT1A receptor function in ventral pyramidal layer may play a role in anxiety-like behavior induced by wheel running.

Depression-related behaviours displayed by female C57BL/6J mice during abstinence from chronic ethanol consumption are rescued by wheel-running

Withdrawal from a chronic period of alcohol consumption is commonly associated with the manifestation of depression, potentially exerting a significant influence on treatment prospects and increasing the likelihood of relapse. Better therapeutic strategies need to be developed to assist with rehabilitation. Here, we report the detection of depression-related behaviours in a mouse model of 6-week free-choice ethanol (10%, v/v) consumption followed by 2-week abstinence. Mice abstinent from alcohol showed increased immobility time on the forced-swim test, reduced saccharin consumption and increased latency to feed in the novelty-suppressed feeding test. By comparison, there was no significant effect on anxiety-related behaviours as determined by testing on the light-dark box and elevated plus maze. We found that the provision of running-wheels through the duration of abstinence attenuated depressive behaviour in the forced-swim and novelty-suppressed feeding tests, and increased saccharin consumption. Given the link between withdrawal from addictive substances and depression, this model will be useful for the study of the pathophysiology underlying alcohol-related depression. The findings of this study establish an interaction between physical activity and the development of behavioural changes following cessation of alcohol consumption that could have implications for the development of rehabilitative therapies.